Several Mario titles have caught my eye now, thanks to the 1001 list. There's no disputing how good this plumber is at platforming, but sometimes you want something more. You want a solid plot. You want an open world. You want to be able to explore.
We do, of course, have those types of Mario games too - Mario is a jack of all trades, really. But those titles didn't always sit well with me. The Paper Mario series, however...
After the success of the original comes the inevitable sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, a GameCube RPG that will have us teaming up to tackle the many obstacles en route to our goal, which probably involves a princess named Peach, let's face it.
I'm looking forward to this one.
Fun Times
Yo, bro, so, here we go. A letter from Princess Peach arrives in the post, and Mario, being mute, gets to listen to Luigi read it out to him. It sets the scene for our adventure and ultimately leaves us no choice.
That's not so much a call to adventure as an order, so I guess we'll have to get suited and booted and be on our way to Rogueport.
I have to say, it doesn't look too shabby from here. This is Rougeport, the wretched hive of yada yada that the Princess has found herself in while on holiday. It looks great, and the performance is right up there too. Mario practically slides around the level in his spritely fashion.
It instantly reminds me of the recent South Park games, which immediately reminds me of how I still haven't gotten around to them, either. They're not on the 1001 list, though. We've got priorities here. No deadlines, thankfully, but priorities.
Cries in the distance introduce us to the locals, and we soon find ourselves right in the thick of it.
The scene is transformed into a familiar stage as our foe lines up against our party in a turn-based fighting arena. If you've played Paper Mario or Superstar Saga, you'll be right at home. Attacks are simple, and timed inputs deal extra damage, or counter an incoming threat. A vast amount of the action is all on the A-button, so newcomers shouldn't be daunted by the fight either.
After slinking away from trouble, Goombella introduces herself to us, and the plot can get moving. It's all told through speech bubbles, but there won't be any speech to be heard alongside them. I wasn't a big fan of how much text there was at the start of previous Mario titles, but is there any other way to get the point across in a game like this, for a target audience that perhaps isn't used to RPGs?
When all is said and done (or written out and done), our party doubles in size and we've got our first quest: find Professor Frankly.
Goombella's special skill is to blurt out information about the place we are in or the people we meet, but I immediately ignore her and just ask the first local I walk into, who happens to know exactly what I need to get started.
I couldn't agree more, Professor. Let's get to the gameplay already.
Like all RPGs, it starts in the sewers. Actually appropriate when your lead character is a plumber...
Goombella's skill is more useful in battle, though it does take up her turn to get her notebook out. Don't jump on a spikey helmet, hit it with a hammer. Gotcha.
Mario's hammer makes full use of the timing mechanics, where we have to hold the analogue stick for just the right length of time before smacking our hammer for maximum damage. It's simple, and it works.
We get to explore the sewers a little more and get some idea of the way The Thousand-Year Doors plays outside of endless speech bubbles. You'll encounter wandering enemies to fight, find items to heal your party members, and talk to mysterious beings locked inside chests.
Yes, Professor, it'll be fine. The key's right outside the door anyway. I don't know why I didn't pick it up before coming here.
Don't look at me like that, Professor. Let's just learn to fly and get on with our travels, shall we?
Now we're getting somewhere. A starting point for our journey to gather all the Crystal Stars, and a skill for Mario to use along the way.
I forget what that skill actually is, as the tutorial got into talking about how the crowd can have as much of an impact on a fight as you and your party members have.
I didn't even notice the crowd, but as fights take place on a stage, sure enough, the seats start to fill up the better you do in the contest. Their cheering will refill your Star Power gauge, which can be spent on special abilities, like mass healing your party with a little mini-game.
And, sometimes, enemies will sneak into the crowd, and if you don't spot and deal with them, they can impact your performance by throwing things at you. Lovely. Let's see that in action.
Heading back down to the sewers to find the route to Petal Meadows, we encounter a boss fight.
Thank you, Goombella. Let's get our hammers out, shall we? You don't have one? Well, you do your best regardless.
The crowd really are starting to flood in now, and I spot one guy who might just spell trouble for me. Is he going to chuck something at me when I least expect it? There was something about pressing the X-button when you spot someone who needs sorting out, but that didn't do anything...
Oh, right, giant squid to fight. No, you, stop!
He dropped a flipping sandbag or something on Goombella's head! She's dizzy now, and her attacks have a chance of missing. I hope you're happy. I hope we get a cut of the profits. Are we even selling tickets to these fights?
Questions for another day. Our path clear, we can proceed to the Petal Meadows.
Apart from the dragon, this place looks lovely. If Super Mario 64 was seeing Mario in a new dimension, The Thousand-Year Door is seeing Mario in a new light. It's so bright and welcoming. It puts Sunshine to shame. I just want to run through these fields, and that's finally what we get to do - after a few fights and a spot of levelling up.
Paper Mario games have a distinct look - that's their schtick - and when a game actually uses a gimmick smartly, you can't help but warm to it. Hidden in a bush is a pipe that drops Mario not in a new area, as usually happens, but out on the background, where he can run across the hills to hit an interactive block.
Immediately, the world flips to life, a bridge getting constructed piece by piece, page by page. I'd have just stuck a sticker down, but I think that's another Mario game entirely...
We reach Petalburg, where we can ask the locals about the Crystal Stars, as well as that dragon we saw earlier.
I will, thank you, but perhaps not right now. I can't play The Thousand-Year Door all morning, so let me just hit this save block and... who's that?
Hmm. I've got a few questions for next time.
Final Word
I've barely dipped my toes into The Thousand-Year Door, but I know I want to. The 1001 write up mentions how each section seems to offer up new mechanics, and then goes on to say how Mario becomes a professional wrestler at one point. Say no more. No, really, say no more, I'm in.
Approachable, colourful, no doubt turning deeper and more nuanced than I can imagine, this Paper Mario sequel has, like the first, found another fan. Yeah, it's text-heavy, it's full of childish humour, it's simple... but I could do with a simple RPG sometimes. I could do with a cheerful quest. And, come to think of it, I don't think I need to know anything about Paper Mario to be able to follow The Thousand-Year Door, so I could get stuck into them in whatever order takes my fancy.
So far, it seems like more of the same, but better. Better looking, better feeling. That comes with a new console generation, it comes with learning from mistakes, but it comes with developers wanting to make a charming game for an audience that doesn't want (or aren't old enough for) blood and guts in their RPGs.
If you were intrigued by Paper Mario but didn't play it, try The Thousand-Year Door. If anything, it's told me that I really have missed out on some stellar titles over the years, through one reason or another, and that if a 16-year-old game can still entertain and engage players, then there's no point rushing to get to any other game released since.
Find something that grabs your attention and see where it'll take you.
Fun Facts
To say Nintendo were embroiled in legal issues regarding the marketing of this game would be sensationalistic - the lawsuit was dropped within a week when the company looking to sue realised it was in the wrong.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, developed by Intelligent Systems, first released in 2004.
Version played: Nintendo GameCube, 2004, via emulation.