4Gamers – HANDS-ON PREVIEW | Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is extremely engaging

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door we start with the story of a long forgotten island, where there was a beautiful treasure. When the island sinks under the sea, knowledge about both the place and its treasure gradually disappears with it. Years later, a dodgy town called Roguetown is built where the island once was. There, Princess Peach learns about the legend.

She asks Mario for help and sends him a letter asking him to find the treasure. She inserts a magical card that will help open the legendary Thousand-Year Door and get to the treasure. However, when Mario arrives in Roguetown, she is nowhere to be found. With the help of an inquisitive Goomba and a treasure map that shows the path forward, Mario searches for magical crystals that can open The Thousand-Year Door. Follow Mario in his search for Peach and the crystals, a kidnapped Princess Peach who searches for ways to help Mario and Bowser who believes that only he should kidnap Peach.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a wonderfully charming RPG set in the Mario universe. Mario and friends’ paper state gives them all the powers that paper has. By folding himself into a paper airplane, Mario can float, but by turning around he becomes a lot thinner. The environment can be torn away or folded to clear new paths. The battles take place in turn-based style. By strategically placing Mario and his partner, choosing the appropriate attacks for the enemies and blocking in time, you can bring the fights to a successful conclusion. Of course, you also get increasingly stronger attacks and spells in the meantime. You can also increase your stats when you pass levels and you can collect badges that make Mario and his companions stronger. Each companion also has different gifts that can help, both in battle and while exploring the world. In addition, enemies sometimes have certain gimmicks that they use in battle. For example, one chooses to take a quiz where your failure could have disastrous consequences. You then have to weaken another with the power of frogs.

The Paper Mario series has long been known for its cute 2D environments and The Thousand-Year Door more than lives up to that promise. The music works together with the graphics to create a cozy atmosphere that will enchant you from the start. Unfortunately, there are some monsters here and there with questionable designs that barely belong in the Mario universe, let alone Paper Mario.