Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Review - The Next Level

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

The game plays like it looks – simple. It’s not an easy affair by far; rather the mechanics are so intuitive that fights, party management, and world-roaming flow naturally. If you’re a fan of the original Paper Mario you’ll be right at home here. Basically Mario and a partner take turns attacking and the effectiveness is all a matter of timing your button presses with the quick instructions given at the bottom of the screen. So Mario hits A to add damage to jumps; pulling the analogue stick until the right moment adds bang to his hammer and so on. It’s brilliance in simplicity – the timed presses beat menu managing and keep you as a part of the fight rather than a spectator. Not to mention the same concept works for defense – staying sharp in a fight can save a lot of damage and add grief to the hordes out to impede Mario and compay.

But what Mario would be complete without a bit of platforming antics? Of course it’s nothing as intense as “back in the day” but what’s here is fun. In fact Mario is accompanied by a band of partners, each adding to the diversity of Mario’s moves. Is there and item suspended across a chasm? Use Koops as a shell boomerang. Can’t find your way out of a room? Maybe Goombella can shed light on the situation. Each character not only plays an important role in battles, but works with Mario on the platforming duties too. This makes for interesting room puzzles and platforming elements you would find through standard run-and-jump games; not to mention Mario can also roll up, bend, and fold his way through more situations. Playing up the paper-angle from visuals to gameplay elements ties the entire concept-art of Paper Mario together in one appealing, playable package.

Of course Thousand-Year Door won’t appeal to everyone. If deep plots or wickedly goofy monologues are your bag, look elsewhere. Or if the original Paper Mario felt repetitive enough to last two lifetimes, its GameCube brother won’t win any points. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a simple RPG to dive into - and Tales of Symphonia is already collecting dust on your pile – look no further than this door for some quick entertainment with Nintendo’s premiere mascot.