1 player
Available on Nintendo Switch
In video game jargon, as in film, when you take an old title and adapt it to modern tastes, it is called making a remake. “Paper Mario – The Thousand-Year Door” is a recent example of this kind of process. It is not a practice I like in general, because very often it is about capitalising on nostalgia to sell us a game we have already played. There always have to be exceptions to prove the rule, don’t there?
“Paper Mario – The Thousand-Year Door” is a remake that does not take too many risks. Its very cartoon-like design makes it an easy game to adapt from the GameCube of the day to our current Switches. I greatly enjoyed the game on its initial release (2004) and it is for the same qualities that I recommend this reissue. But this article is also an opportunity to warn parents who would like to add this Mario to the family game library: this is not a classic game of the series! The adventures of the little plumber in the red cap are usually dedicated to the “platform” genre, that is, a game in which dexterity is paramount for moving the character from left to right, performing jumps with the right precision. The Thousand-Year Door belongs to the “role-playing game” genre. Although dexterity is also involved in some passages and notably in the fights, the rest of the time it is about living an adventure with a lot of text in order to complete epic quests.
It is therefore a very pleasant epic to go through as a family, because the game is packed with humour and parodic references to the Mario universe. To open a very ancient door (it was in the title) and reveal the treasure it hides, our protagonists will have to find seven Crystal Stars, scattered across regions each representing an adventure in itself, in a world that seems to be made of paper. It is a lovely, knowing declaration of love to the video game medium. It grasps its codes, turns them around and re-presents them in a great festival of colourful imagination. You also play several emblematic characters from the series (including Peach and Bowser) in turn. This brings a renewal to the always refreshing gameplay sequences.
So do not expect a fast-paced game, but one that is nonetheless demanding in terms of rhythm in the turn-based fights (you have to press the right buttons at the right time), or for reading all the dialogue text. It is very well written and the French version is a little gem of creativity. “Paper Mario – The Thousand-Year Door” is therefore a lovely bridge between several media, including that of the written story. The new version obviously benefits from graphics updated to current standards, but also takes advantage of certain aids and simplifications that were not obligatory but do not distort the game, while making it accessible to the greenest of novices.
