Intelligent Systems ended the Role Playing Game (RPG) drought on the Nintendo 64 by releasing Paper Mario in 2001. In my opinion, Paper Mario is the definitive Mario experience on the respective console. This adventure has Mario journey across the Mushroom Kingdom to rescue the seven Star Spirits and Princess Peach from Bowser, who is actually invincibly menacing after stealing the all-mighty Star Rod.
With original characters, solid RPG gameplay, and a sprawling adventure, Paper Mario proved that Nintendo did not need Square Enix to make a credible Mario RPG. I was five-years-old when I first played this game. Even though I was never able to beat the game, even at that age, I was able to see how special it was. Paper Mario sold decently well, moving over one million units. Despite it being released at the end of Nintendo 64’s lifespan, it was the beginning to an exciting franchise.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (TTYD) took everything the original game was and made it into a masterpiece. It excels at improving the initial turn based gameplay and enhances it with more depth. They made partner characters integrated into the battle system and implemented a unique audience mechanic which makes even the original feel plain. Then, the narrative is one of a kind. It tells Mario, Peach, and Bowser’s stories individually and carefully intertwines their perspectives to tell an intriguing story. Lastly, its setting is oddly exceptional.
Rogueport is so memorable because of its gritty and raw feel. It’s dirty, crawling with shady characters, yet charming, and still entices its players to find all of its secrets. At the time, I was never able to complete the play through as a rental, but those seven days I had it are some of the most memorable I have had in my gaming upbringing.
As lovable as it sounds, TTYD only managed to sell almost two million units after its release in 2004 on the Nintendo GameCube. It did fairly well for releasing on a console that under-performed. Unfortunately, if you didn’t play it then Nintendo has not made it easy to play this game since. Before the upcoming Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake was announced, playing the version on the GameCube was the only way to play it.
There’s been no re-release of any kind which makes obtaining a copy even harder for an interested player. Looking on eBay, the prices for this game specifically, go for over $100. For this reason is what makes this TTYD Remake so important, to make it more accessible for a wider audience.
The Change up
Booting up Super Paper Mario after its release on the Nintendo Wii in 2007, I was expecting to be blown away. Even though I didn’t finish Paper Mario: TTYD, I knew it took everything Paper Mario offered and took it to the next level. The integrated partners, the raw unforgettable setting of Rogueport, and the expanded and refined battle systems. Even at 10-years-old, I thought: “How can this series get any better?” Upon first playing Super Paper Mario, I was so confused as to why it was only in 2D. I continued playing, waiting for the turn-based battles to start, waiting for my first partner character to join my party.
I realized: Super Paper Mario had turned the series to the next page. It was now more of a 2D action platformer with very light RPG mechanics. Mario can level up and you could swap between Mario, Peach and Bowser, but battles were reduced to just jumping on enemies. They even partially removed Paper Mario’s signature weapon, his hammer! Then, companion characters were reduced to mere gameplay gimmicks. I can’t recall a single ‘partner’ that had a memorable ability, or personality. The best aspect of this entry is the narrative. The story is one of the best the series has ever had with all original and quirky characters and a surprise twist to the ending. Intelligent Systems made the story feel like a true Paper Mario experience. Super Paper Mario did sell the best in the series with more than 4 million copies sold. This is probably due to the wide appeal of the Nintendo Wii and Super Paper Mario releasing during its launch window.
The Downfall
The next installment was in 2012 with the release of Paper Mario Sticker Star (SS) on the Nintendo 3DS. Something had snapped inside of Nintendo to make them take everything RPG related away from the Paper Mario series. Perhaps with the success of the Mario and Luigi series it alerted Nintendo that these two RPG series could potentially cannibalize each other? Normally there was not really a concern since Paper Mario normally claimed home consoles while Mario & Luigi claimed the handheld territory. Regardless, this restructure of Paper Mario sucked out ALL the substance and charm from the series.
“Since Paper Mario: Sticker Star, it’s no longer possible to modify Mario characters or to create original characters that touch on the Mario universe. That means that if we aren’t using Mario characters for bosses, we need to create original characters with designs that don’t involve the Mario universe at all, like we’ve done with Olly and the stationery bosses.” – Tanab
“Paper Mario’s development team lays it all out.” Video Game Chronicle, VGC, 16 July 2020
This is evident by just playing the first few hours of Paper Mario SS. There are no original characters, a Toad’s mushroom color is the most distinguishable personality trait about them. Bowser throughout the entirety of the game… and does not have a single line of dialogue!? Not only is it creepy that he doesn’t say a single word, but this is very out of character for Bowser, as he’s normally talking nonstop. Talking mess about his nemesis, Mario. Lastly, there are things that can make or break this game, literally. Mario finds real world objects referred to as Thing Stickers, which can be applied in battle or to solve certain ‘puzzles’ outside of battle.
For example, In a boss battle against a Giant Pokey, Mario is expected to use a baseball bat Thing Sticker. However, if you don’t have this specific Thing Sticker, the boss fight is totally one-sided battle. This is infuriating. I remember having to look this up at the time because I didn’t have the baseball bat. On top of that: battles are meaningless. They provide no incentive or progression to Mario. In fact, they make you waste your stickers which is more detrimental since the stickers are all a one time use. Paper Mario SS was released on Nintendo 3DS and sold favorably to a decent audience.
I was so turned off by Paper Mario SS that I didn’t even attempt to play Paper Mario Color Splash (CS). It’s ironic how in just 2 games I went from thinking, “How can this series get any better?” to, “How can it get any worse?” Instead of listening to player feedback, Intelligent Systems doubled down using an underwhelming battle system, using toads for ALL characters and having Bowser as the main antagonist. At least he has dialogue in this entry. Paper Mario CS ended up selling fewer than 200,000 copies which is an abysmal performance from a release with ‘Mario’ in its name. There’s a reason why it’s one of the select few Wii U titles that hasn’t seen a deluxe edition release on the Nintendo Switch.
The Hope
The Latest Entry in the series, Paper Mario Origami King (OK) is a promising effort showing that the series is slowly, but surely moving back in the direction the fans want. With a return of companion characters, minor RPG elements and more cohesive narrative. Don’t get me wrong, the writing has always been solid in all the Paper Mario series, but it’s clear that more recent Paper Mario games are focused on just telling jokes and their stories are Mario just having to thwart Bowser. There hasn’t been a new villain since Super Paper Mario! However, Paper Mario OK introduces a new antagonist, Olly, the Origami King.
As for the battle system, I see how Intelligent Systems were trying to incorporate RPG elements; By having Mario level up and having companion characters “contribute” to battles, but at the end of the day, the ring battle system is more like a tedious puzzle. Battling in Paper Mario is supposed to be fun and this entry misses the mark. Paper Mario OK is not amazing, but it’s clearly an attempt to make features more like classic Paper Mario. We showed up for it. Paper Mario OK sold over three million copies which shows that there is still a yearn for the series to do better.
The Next Chapter
Even though there are more “action” oriented Paper Mario, games in the series, Paper Mario TTYD remains the series’ high-point that the fans want the return of. Finally, Nintendo is going to deliver by releasing Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake today! It may not be a new game, but modernizing this classic games’ graphics is all that’s needed to make this gem feel like new. This is a perfect opportunity for new players to experience the true pinnacle of the Paper Mario Series.
I can’t recommend it enough to all players. It’s not just a great RPG, but an exceptional game on its own. With the Nintendo Switch having such a big install base, I have no doubt that Paper Mario TTYD Remake will dethrone Super Paper Mario to become the best selling title in the series. It deserves the title.
