Paper Mario The Thousand-Year Door Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

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Paper Mario The Thousand-Year Door Review, Join Mario and friends on a journey to discover the legendary treasure behind the ancient Thousand-Year Door. A hilarious adventure full of colorful characters and foldable fun awaits in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

Paper Mario The Thousand-Year Door Review Pros:

  • Beautiful paper craft-looking graphics.
  • 5GB download size.
  • Action adventure gameplay.
  • Opening and ongoing tutorial pop-ups.
  • Four save slots.
  • All characters and items are 2D in a 3D world.
  • When entering a building the view changes to the side and the wall drops down to show the interior.
  • Turn-based combat and when attacking or blocking if you time the button press you do and block more damage.
  • Get coins from the world and combat encounters to spend in the shops.
  • Shops have a system where every item you buy earns a point, and earns 300 to get rare items as rewards.
  • You can fast-forward interactions.
  • Shine sprites can be earned and exchanged to power up your party members.
  • Recruit and control a party of characters.
  • Attack and heal types all have unique little mini-games that help keep it engaging.
  • Hostels let you pay to sleep and regain all your health.
  • The game has you WITH Goombella at all times and she is a huge help.
  • Scan enemies to learn their stats, and weaknesses and show their health bar.
  • Simple controls.
  • Save blocks where you hit to save.
  • Excellent writing.
  • You can get hints from your Goombella but you can also pay Merluvlee the fortune teller for specific hints.
  • The Journal details enemy stats and any hints you have.
  • Enemies have things like spiky hats or can fly and this means you have to do particular actions to counter.
  • You can change the party attack order with a button press.
  • Enemies can be seen walking around and hitting them first gives you the upper hand in battle by doing damage straight away.
  • Fast loading times.
  • The combat is surprisingly fun and satisfying.
  • When in the world you can jump and smash things with your hammer.
  • As you play you get -*curses* that allow you to change into other things, a paper aeroplane is your first curse and this allows you to fly around.
  • Badges can be earned and found then you have X amount of BP to use to equip a badge and each badge has a BP cost.
  • The combat is surprisingly deep and can get as complex as you like.
  • Fantastic locations and each world feels unique and new.

Paper Mario The Thousand-Year Door Review Cons:

  • No touchscreen support.
  • Unskippable opening cutscenes.
  • Slow starter with a lot of lengthy interactions.
  • You can get lost quite easily and the game doesn’t do a great job of keeping you on track.
  • The first hour just feels like a huge tutorial.

Related Post: Bread & Fred Review (Nintendo Switch OLED)

Paper Mario The Thousand-Year Door:

Official website.

Developer: INTELLIGENT SYSTEMS CO., LTD. (intsys.co.jp)

Publisher: Nintendo 

Store Links – 

Nintendo

  • 8/10
    Graphics - 8/10
  • 8/10
    Sound - 8/10
  • 8/10
    Accessibility - 8/10
  • 8/10
    Length - 8/10
  • 8/10
    Fun Factor - 8/10
8/10

Summary

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a game that stands out for its beautiful paper craft-looking graphics and action-adventure gameplay. The game has a unique aesthetic, with all characters and items being 2D in a 3D world. When entering a building, the view changes to the side and the wall drops down to show the interior, adding to the game’s charm. The game also features turn-based combat, where timing the button press can increase damage and blocking effectiveness.

The game offers a variety of features to keep players engaged. You can earn coins from the world and combat encounters to spend in the shops, which have a system where every item you buy earns a point, and earning 300 points gets you rare items as rewards. You can recruit and control a party of characters, each with unique mini-games for attack and heal types that help keep the gameplay engaging. The game also allows you to fast-forward interactions, which can be a time-saver.

One of the standout features of the game is the presence of Goombella, who is with you at all times and is a huge help. You can scan enemies to learn their stats and weaknesses and show their health bar. The controls are simple, and there are save blocks where you hit to save. The writing is excellent, and you can get hints from Goombella or pay Merluvlee the fortune teller for specific hints.

However, the game does have some drawbacks. There is no touchscreen support, and the opening cutscenes are unskippable. The game is a slow starter with a lot of lengthy interactions, and the first hour feels like a huge tutorial. It can be easy to get lost, and the game doesn’t do a great job of keeping you on track.

Overall, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a game that offers a unique and engaging experience with its beautiful graphics, action-adventure gameplay, and variety of features. However, it does have some drawbacks such as a slow start and lack of guidance. But it is very easy to get past these and it is a game that will just take over as you will fall in love with the combat, the world, and will always want to see what is next.

Jim Smale

Gaming since the Atari 2600, I enjoy the weirdness in games counting Densha De Go and RC De Go as my favourite titles of all time. I prefer gaming of old where buying games from a shop was a thing, Being social in person was a thing. Join me as I attempt to adapt to this new digital age!