A Grand Retelling | Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Switch) Review

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was one of the best games on the Gamecube. 20 years later, was Intelligent Systems able to take this classic, update it, and make it one of the Switch's best games too?
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[@MelodicLemons]

I've been playing this remake a lot recently as a graduation gift, and I honestly now feel and understand what most paper mario fans have felt for years

[@joshuakolton9955]

Which is why we’ve been so disappointed with the last 3 plus the Mario and Luigi series games.

[@Ah0yKatie]

I've been binging your Mario RPG videos for a while and I just wanted to say that the way you went about describing Vivian's identity from the lens of how it serves and improves the story, rather than diving into this from the angle of this being a CONTROVERSY like so many people seem to do (even if they're being accepting at the end of the day), made me really happy

[@Keitoded]

Overall, love the video! One note though, the reason stage hazards seemed to trigger so often in the battle you mentioned, the Crump Chapter 5 battle, was because you were heavily using Power Jump. Moves like Power Jump, Smash, Quake Hammer, Body Slam, etc, cause more stage hazards to happen, because they're "shaking the stage" and stuff. So while your point about the stage hazards being more in your favor in most likely true, I saw that plenty in my own playthrough, I don't think stage hazards trigger that much more or less than the original. It seemed like way less for me vs my last Gamecube playthrough, but I think that's due to me rarely using Quake Hammer in this playthrough versus the last one. There may be an observable difference, but I don't think that battle alone is a good enough indication is all

[@questionmarkquestionmarkques]

bobberys music would fit right into windwaker or purple streamer also you forgot to mention that you cant rewind text unlike the original (and havent been able to since sticker star)

[@MetalLegacy34]

One aspect of Vivian I think often gets overlooked is how her arc plays into the overall story of Chapter 4. That entire chapter is about identity. Mario loses his, Doopliss falsely takes on someone else’s, and Vivian firmly establishes her own. Vivian’s original turn absolutely worked great as a general “stand up for yourself” tale, but it being about her identity perfectly ties it into everything else going on in the chapter

[@Loner098]

...And then they have her join back with Beldam to give her another chance in the epilogue even though she has no reason to after saying that she wants to continue traveling with Mario...

[@MetalLegacy34]

@@Loner098 If Vivian wants to give her family another chance, that is fully her choice. Goombella even states Beldam's changed. Whether or not you believe that is up to you, but seemingly Vivian believes it enough to try to rebuild that relationship. It's not regression, it's reconciliation.

[@Loner098]

@MetalLegacy34 Well, realistically speaking, I don't think this was the correct writing decision for Vivian's ending. I feel like what should've happened is that Vivian decides to socialize with many people around her, finding her own community (considering she's apparently a transgender female in this remake), and helping out those who feel like they don't belong in this world. Mario helped her out when she was feeling hopeless, so I feel this doesn't detract from her desire to help out others who are suffering while acknowledging that those who commit bad deeds will face consequences. Yes, it's cliché, but I think I would prefer it much more over what the game had to offer. It doesn't really make sense to me as to why Beldam and Doopliss don't get any consequences for the things they've done that range from verbal abuse and turning people into pigs against to manipulating someone into summoning a demon to take over the world. Hooktail and Grubba had their comeuppance for their actions, so why do Beldam and Doopliss get off with a slap on the wrist? ...Okay, while some people *can* indeed change for the better, and if it is somehow done magically (offscreen), that doesn't automatically excuse them of the crimes they committed. Persona 5 Royal teaches this to the players, after all.

[@MetalLegacy34]

@@Loner098 I actually do quite like your idea, but just for the sake of discussion I'll defend the actual ending. Vivian has always wanted to be accepted by her family. Before joining Mario, she is regularly seeking validation and support from them. She decides to go with someone who actually shows her the compassion she's been seeking, but that doesn't inheriently mean she's "over" wanting to be with her family. Her ending back with them and them all being happy is a full circle ending for her. She finally got what she wanted for the entire first half of the game. I will completely agree on the lack of consequences for the antagionists though, that's something that's always bothered me. Grodus absolutely should've died from the Shadow Queen. Him being just a head is funny, but the joke isn't worth it, he's such a nothing character he'd be the perfect body to face real consequences. Beldam I could argue faces consequences during the story. It's not the strongest argument but I’ll make one. She loses her sister directly because of her own actions (yes only temporairly but it's still something), this plan she spent 1000 years conducting gets thwarted at the very last moment (in part due to her sister defecting no less), and her entire life's purpose gets destroyed right in front of her. She doesn't really have a choice but to change, everything she's ever known and worked for gets destroyed. The personality change is conveyed to the player poorly as it's told via a third party and not shown at all, but given the context of a "where are they now" wrap up email I get why they did it that way. Again this is a weak argument, in fact a much weaker one, but Doopliss' "consequences" is having Beldam not respect his identity. He spent an entire chapter taking great joy in erasing the identity of others only to then throw a fit when his own identity gets disrespected. It is purely played for laughs and not anything real or long lasting, but I guess you could theoretically *infer* that him getting a taste of his own medicine made him see the error of his ways and that's why he changes and joins the play and everyone's alright with him. It's a stretch for sure, there's nothing in the game actually saying that happened, but it is plausible. I can't comment on P5 as I haven't played it, but for TTYD yeah the lack of consequences is definitely a weak point. I do think there's a tiny tiny bit more than what you're giving the game credit for, but it's not much. I was really hoping they would improve on it in the remake, but alas they basically didn't make any substance changes to the story at all.

[@Loner098]

@@MetalLegacy34 I am aware the writers wished to give Vivian a happy ending, but I believe Vivian should've been showing a much more rebellious side to her by calling Beldam by her own rather than "Sis" and not once apologizing, because I personally don't think Beldam deserves an apology when all Beldam's lever done is berate her own two sisters - more leaning towards Vivian, by the way - and got someone else do her dirty work for her to take over the world in shadows. Regarding Grodus, Shadow Queen, and the topic of death itself, I agree that Grodus should've died. Him being alive just kinda takes away a lot of the tension of the Shadow Queen. It would've been a stronger scene to see this game's major villain be wiped from existence permanently by an even greater power. Hooktail and Gloomtail were killed off for real, and it seemed likely that Grubba was, too, so how come Grodus getting the axe was too dark to make the cut? In fact, TEC being alive is just outright cheap. They did such a good job at making him a tragic character and then decided to bring him back with a very vague explanation that's just left to your own interpretation. As for Beldam's "consequences during the story," I feel like those are just a bit too weak for said consequences. I'm talking about consequences by something like higher authority, but the problem with that is Rogueport doesn't really have an actual justice system... Actually, I just noticed something: Grodus didn't actually use the Crystal Stars to awaken the Shadow Queen because WE still had them. Hell, Beldam probably could’ve that as well, so why even have Grodus as a middleman? But if the writers really were so dead-set on having Beldam get a change of heart, then they should've done a better build-up to justify her becoming a nice person. After all, there's a common technique in RPGs known as "show, don't tell." It allows the player to think for themselves and have enough information that doesn't just feel cheapened. As for Doopliss, I think he just sees Beldam's mistreatment as more of an annoyance that he just had to put up with, but that consequence kinda doesn't really feel any satisfying. If you have not played Persona 5 Royal, I can recommend watching a walkthrough of the game on Hawlo's channel.

[@Cityofember313]

Mario and Luigi is back and i am happy and I am excited for the review

[@maxwassermann3171]

I think this is now the best version of TTYD. I wish they had made some more improvements over the original (badges, more enemies/bosses, make the blade trouble center quests more interesting) but what we got was pretty great anyway. Now I just hope they go vack and do the same thing for Paper Mario 64.

[@allen_the_king40848]

Paper Mario: The 20-Year Comeback!

[@mreverything7056]

I remember when I first saw the trailers for the remake, and I thought to myself “Oh that’s so cool. Maybe I’ll pick it up if I ever want to.”, since I had a Dolphin emulator and had already played the game a couple years ago. But then one trailer showed me that Hooktail’s Castle had a different battle theme, and I was HOOKED. I learned about the different character sprites and portraits, I heard that they made backtracking easier, and I needed to see what they did. If you’ve ever heard the phrase “Death by a Thousand Cuts”, then this remake for me was “Remade with a Thousand Healings”. They took a game with an already outstanding story and gameplay, and added/fixed so many little things that it just became so much more enjoyable then I thought it could be. Nostalgia Tunes badge for me basically solidifies that, unless you REEEEEALLY love the OG or modding that much, there’s no real reason to go back to it.

[@The1000YearWhore]

I feel like once the Switch successor comes out, this game will hopefully be updated to be the ideal version of TTYD. As much as I acclimated to it, the 30fps downgrade is a bit of a bummer, and the slower text speed kills me too. If they increase it to 60fps again and allow players to speed through text again, it'll be better than the OG in 99% of instances IMO.

[@Vinnie64]

I WASNT SUBSCRIBED ALREADY?! Keep up the good work! Love the vids

[@LordLemmysLabs]

@<a href="#" class="seekto" data-time="1695">28:15</a> But Fahr Out post's citizens still have a Slavic speech pattern. I haven't compared it to the original so it's POSSIBLE they toned it down, but it was absolutely still noticeable.

[@pvzgamer9718]

there were a few things that were added from what I’ve seen before but Paper mario changed a bunch over time. I do hope that a newer Paper mario would come out with the same feel as TTYD/64 and a similar story to that of SPM but more understandable too. either way I do hope Paper mario as well as Brotherhood has that same charm and feel to their predecessors.

[@questionmarkquestionmarkques]

brothership not brotherhood

[@pvzgamer9718]

@@questionmarkquestionmarkques I’m dumb and kinda slipped my mind lol, but hey least we’re still getting a new M&L game anyways

[@dylbill56remixes28]

Personally I find the Wii in general to be too much of a pain in the the butt for me to set up these days, and I'm not willing to buy an out-of-date console from an era where you needed a memory card independent of the system to save your progress, so this version is my go-to forever. I can get why some others wouldn't think so though, I guess.

[@ravenebony2267]

I've definitely been waiting for this review 😊

[@andrewvanover9747]

TTYD is my favorite game of all time, and I greatly prefer the remake, the graphics are a perfect blend of TTYD charm and modern Paper esque graphics, there's only 2 remixes I don't like: Glitzville and Rawk Hawk, I hardly have anything to complain about this remake, the atmosphere feels the same to me, and the atmosphere has been greatly enhanced in some areas imo, for example in the remake, Boggly Woods, Twilight Town, Pirate's Grotto, Sunset Station, Fahr Outpost, The Moon, X Naut Fortress and my favorite mario location, the Palace of Shadow all have enhanced atmosphere! The characters has so much more charm to them, and I never minded the some of the slowness. This remake is perfect to me. 10/10

[@nascour5991]

This remake is amazing, I wish they didn't kill most of the sfx, didn't fix the trouble center or add new troubles at all and make the dialogue so much slower and impossible to skip unlike the original but otherwise it's pretty much everything I wanted. At most I kinda wish there was a few new bosses, troubles or a boss rush mode but it's really good regardless.

[@IntrestingYTObserver]

Great review!

[@tomlion0116]

The Switch version was the first time I played this game and maaaaan it is really that good. I loved the story and the characters, the visuals, the music, the final Boss is menacing wich was a surprise for me and of course the battle system is soo deep and interesting. There is no wrong playstyle you can make it harder or easier if you want. The TTYD remake is sooo good I think it will be my Game of the Year. Everyone should play it one way or the other, The Remake or the original GameCube version (on console or on PC using Dolphin).

[@ShikanRaider]

Sounds like someone didn't fight any enemies in Riverside Station, otherwise the banger of a theme that is chapter 6's rendition of the battle theme would've been mentioned. I personally enjoyed this remake and rank it slightly above the original. Most of the stuff they added was good (a lot of them you did mention), while a few aren't. Rawk Hawk's 'new' theme being a total downgrade and the two new bosses being completely not fun to fight against, to name some. Overall though it's a good game and remake... I still like the original Paper Mario a lot more however. The remake didn't change my opionion on that.

[@kakaoke4061]

I actually got only hit by the stage cannons in the final boss fight. My whole playthrough they only fired at my enemies to the point I thought, the game is bugged

[@JKMX76]

Idk if anyone has ever told you this but you kinda sound like AntDude

[@mitch_universe4058]

Extremely glad they added a toggle for the old music in this game. Some of the new tracks in this game just do not do it for me. Particularly Petalburg and Rogueport

[@jessehcreative]

I wish there was an actual toggle like smash Bros, where you can pick which version of which track you want to play when

[@milesrodger3724]

I still feel empty since 100% it

[@carolineneh2791]

I love your thoughts on the game I'm about to get it soon Psssstt... BTW I Subscribed to your channel your are welcome

[@bartsneezin]

Music is a mixed bag for me. Some tracks outpace their original counterparts in terms of the amount of ambience they bring by a significant amount (Rogueport Sewers, Twilight Town), while other tracks drown out the original melody with a barrage of noise (Macho Grubba theme) or completely alter the atmosphere crafted by the original version (Glitzville theme). My biggest overall complaint with the new soundtrack is the tendency for songs to fill quieter or emptier portions of the original score with more instrumentation. The OG soundtrack was often reflective, ambient, and helped sell the immersion into the game's world. The new soundtrack is so much louder by comparison, disrupting moments where the player is meant to relax, take in the vibe, or reflect on a character moment/story beat and tossing a shit ton of noise at you. I just wish the new soundtrack took more time to breathe instead of packing every single second with a loud instrument or intense solo, because that's NOT the kind of game TTYD is.

[@AllMightyLantern]

I personally don’t like accents being included in games that require you to read text. That always required me to give something another read through to understand what the character said. So the remake omitting accents is a boon for me personally.

[@chanderule605]

I just wish it had 60fps, feels weird as hell to see the original be way smoother than the new one

[@rayflyers]

As a trans woman who also had to leave an unaccepting family, Vivian's story always resonated with me, and it means so much to me that Nintendo made it explicit in this translation!

[@ShyGuyXXL]

I'm glad that they restored Vivian's trans identity, but I think they could've been more clear in explaining that Beldam increased the bullying after Vivian transitioned. The only thing Vivian actually says is "now their usual bullying feels heavier". That doesn't sound like the bullying got worse. Instead, it sounds like it's Vivian who is taking it to heart more. (Which has other unfortunate implications, but that's a different conversation.) It's not clear that Beldam's behavior has changed, especially when Vivian describes it as "their usual bullying". I think the line should've been: "It took me a long time to realize I was their sister, not their brother. Beldam wasn't exactly nice to me before, but ever since then, she's become unbearable." Something along those lines. In the original japanese script, Beldam was actively being transphobic by rubbing Vivian's biological sex in her face in front of everyone. That was changed in the first english localization to her just calling Vivian ugly, but now it was changed again to her just calling her sappy. So ironically, Beldam is never actually being transphobic when she bullies Vivian in the remake. She's just being awful in a bunch of other ways. So for all we know, Beldam doesn't actually mind Vivian's identity. It's like they tried to erase depictions of transphobia... in a story whose moral is that transphobia is cruel... which doesn't really work. If they had changed that one line to be more clear, you'd have all the implications you need, without it being overly explicit.

[@FireRising86]

It’s a freaking Mario game not a gender studies class

[@doormat4874]

as a trans woman named vivian i was so happy to see the localization finally showed that aspect of her character