Havokk
7 reviews liked by Havokk
[This review contains spoilers!]
Recently I was discussing with some friends what was the best remake ever made, and I genuinely struggled to think of an answer as to what would be my pick. However, that has now become the easiest question in the world for me: the best remake ever made is Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo Switch. It’s hard to understate how hyped I was for this game ever since its first announcement, having watched its reveal trailer for over 200 times in the span of a month. It was one of my top 3 favorite games of all time, finally being brought back seemingly in the most faithful way possible.
And after finishing it 100% I can confirm that it was indeed brought back in the most faithful way possible. Even more so than the recent Super Mario RPG remake! It didn’t change a single character design, any gameplay element, any story beat, NOTHING! Everything was kept intact, just like it was in the original, even characters that had their designs altered in the years that followed. Not only did they keep everything intact, but they also managed the unthinkable feat of enhancing the charm of a game that already overflowed with charm, thanks to the improved presentation, with every single character (be it main or NPCs) having new animations when they speak and the cutscenes having a much more robust camerawork.
Speaking of presentation, the game looks stunningly gorgeous! The new dynamic lighting brings all the areas of the game to life in a way that’s a real treat to the eyes, be it the vibrant areas such as Petal Meadows or Glitzville, or the more moody locations, such as the predominantly pale Boggly Woods or the frigid Fahr Outpost. I always wondered how TTYD would look with the papercraft aesthetic of recent games in the series and, as expected, they’ve realized it flawlessly here. Some people complained about how every ground is overly shiny and reflective, but it doesn’t bother me at all.
As for the new quality of life changes, they remedied the biggest issue most people had with this game: the backtracking. While I myself never found it egregious, the changes they made surely make the game even more enjoyable, such as the new fast travel pipes in Rogueport to help with the side quests and the infamous General White hunt, and the pipe from Twilight Town to Creepy Steeple to alleviate the back and forth between both areas. There are other smaller tweaks scattered across the whole game that help to trim down the fat to improve the pace of the game even further.
The new UI looks CLEAN, too! It feels surreal to see a modernized version of the badge inventory in 2024, how I missed it so much... The badges are what truly make the battle system of the first two games so special, since you can make your own playstyle with them, offering huge variety for repeated playthroughs. And speaking of battles and UI, that’s one of the few complaints I have about this remake: navigating the menus during battles does feel a tad clunkier than in the original game. The battles themselves also play out slower, with more waiting time between each turn and changes like everything coming to a stop when the audience wants to throw something. I feel they also tweaked the stage hazards to disrupt the enemies much more often than Mario, which makes the game a bit easier.
That sluggish feeling is also present with the textboxes, since you can no longer speed through dialogue by mashing a button, unless it’s a dialogue you’ve read already, which, like, what’s the point then? That does impact a bit on the replayability of the game, but it’s such a minor blemish on a remake that I can say with 100% confidence makes the original nearly obsolete. It pains my heart to write that sentence given how TTYD is one of my favorite games ever, but that’s how phenomenal this remake is.
The other big new addition is the brand new soundtrack. While the recent Mario RPG remake opted to re-record its songs as faithfully as possible to the original game, the Paper Mario TTYD rearranged the entire soundtrack in the style of Origami King, with a bigger emphasis on live instruments and a more rock-oriented sound. Not only that, but they basically TRIPLED the length of the soundtrack, with a bunch of new songs added to each chapter to further enhance the impact of many scenes or areas, like variations of the main battle theme, new themes for bosses that used to share the same theme as another, each partner now having their own theme, new songs for several cutscenes in the game, etc.
Since the game’s release, the reception to that soundtrack has been sorta positive, but I’ve seen a bunch of mixed comments as well. As for me, I love it. Yeah, as someone who has played the original countless times there’s some songs I feel the OG versions are better, but there’s many that I feel are on par or even an improvement. They all feature additional sections at the point they’d originally loop, so it’s evident the arrangers put a lot of care and effort into injecting more life into all these songs. That can be said about the whole game, really: it’s a beautiful labor of love of the developers for this game that’s clearly as treasured by fans as it is by themselves.
My favorite new arrangement is the one for Fahr Outpost. The original song is this very experimental synth track, kinda alien, kinda erratic, but the new arrangement transforms that weirdness into this moody and atmospheric piece, almost foreboding in a way, with a new section added at 0:44 that gives me chills everytime I listen to it, which fits perfectly thematically with this small isolated village covered by snow for socially recluse Bob-ombs that want to bury their war past. Fahr Outpost was never a particularly memorable area from the game, but this new arrangement for its theme transformed it into one of my favorite areas. When I first got there in the remake I just stood motionless for some minutes, mesmerized by this song, contemplating it.
My only small complaints regarding the soundtrack are related to the new compositions they made for this remake. They’re all solid songs, but some can feel a bit out of place in the segments they play, and they mostly go for new melodies instead of taking inspiration from songs from the original game, so they give this “Origami King scrapped track” vibe. A big example would be the new theme they made for the Atomic Boo fight, which is a banger yeah, but it just feels like a Origami King boss battle track, without any TTYD-ness injected into it. This game is also chock-full of references to Paper Mario 64 and I gotta admit I was expecting some remixes from it after seeing the main title theme get a new arrangement, but no, that’s literally the only remix from that game in this remake.
Now something new that was clearly inspired by the N64 game are the credits. In the original TTYD they were honestly kinda bland, being simply some screenshots accompanied by the silhouette of the characters walking around in the background. Not even the song stood out. I kinda wish they’d make a new credits sequence like the parade from Paper Mario 64, but knew it was unlikely... BUT! Turns out I was wrong! Because they did EXACTLY THAT! It was a treat to see a bunch of fun interactions between the lovely cast of this game, to the sound of a new medley inspired by the songs of each chapter. That got more than a few tears of happiness from my eyes, gotta admit :’)
There’s very little brand new content in the remake, but what is there is INCREDIBLE, such as the two new bosses. Both of them feel like the devs trying to explore new grounds with the combat system of the game, introducing fun and unique mechanics like attacks that drain your FP, having to alternate between jump and hammer attacks based on the stance of the enemy, using stage hazards to their advantage... It almost feels like a tease of what we can expect from a next game in the series that’ll finally bring it back to its roots, which has been a dream of mine for some years. And on that end...
Paper Mario TTYD being remade means much more than simply that, because the Paper Mario series became something completely different after the release of this game, with several interviews confirming that it wouldn’t return to the RPG format, how they couldn’t create unique characters or modify pre-existing ones anymore, and yet, here we are! The game that is the complete antithesis of everything the Mario brand stood for for over a decade now got a remake that didn’t sanitize a single thing about it, with an intense marketing campaign focusing on those aspects that make it such an unique game in the Mario canon and that were completely absent from recent games.
One could say “but it’s just because it’s a remake! that doesn’t mean the mandates are over!”, but you gotta remember even the Mario & Luigi remakes for the 3DS had some elements sanitized, even though they’re considerably less bolder than TTYD, so I do believe there has been a change of mindset inside Nintendo when it comes to allowing the Mario brand to be more creative once again. Mario Wonder and the Peach game are also proof of that, with both of them trying a bunch of new things, especially when it comes to character designs.
The credits of this remake even say “...AND YOU!” in the Special Thanks section, so they’re listening. They know what the fans have been yearning for all these years. The fact they chose this game to be the final announcement of a Nintendo Direct shows how much they’re aware how important this game is, not just to fans, but to the Mario franchise as a whole. And more than ever it fills me with hope to see a brand new Paper Mario game in the same vein as the first two, with the same marvelous combat system and no more restraints when it comes to creative characters, locales and dialogue.
I imagine if Paper Mario indeed follows that route, it won’t have the technical limitations of the first two games, such as the segmented areas with loading zones between each screen, it’ll probably be a more expansive world like in The Origami King, which is completely fine by me, since the exploration of that game is a blast. That will make this remake feel even more special, because we got to see the classic Paper Mario format modernized in 2024. Yes I know this is a weird tangent that might not even make sense for some people, but it is extremely fascinating to me.
With all that said, the Paper Mario TTYD remake is a dream come true that not even the most optimistic side of me could have ever dreamed of. I genuinely felt emotional many times playing this game, in awe that I was playing a modern version of one of the games that’s most dear to my heart. I know they thanked us in the credits of the game, but if there’s anyone who should say thank you it's me. Thank you SO MUCH for remaking a masterpiece into a new masterpiece, Intelligent Systems <3
Recently I was discussing with some friends what was the best remake ever made, and I genuinely struggled to think of an answer as to what would be my pick. However, that has now become the easiest question in the world for me: the best remake ever made is Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Nintendo Switch. It’s hard to understate how hyped I was for this game ever since its first announcement, having watched its reveal trailer for over 200 times in the span of a month. It was one of my top 3 favorite games of all time, finally being brought back seemingly in the most faithful way possible.
And after finishing it 100% I can confirm that it was indeed brought back in the most faithful way possible. Even more so than the recent Super Mario RPG remake! It didn’t change a single character design, any gameplay element, any story beat, NOTHING! Everything was kept intact, just like it was in the original, even characters that had their designs altered in the years that followed. Not only did they keep everything intact, but they also managed the unthinkable feat of enhancing the charm of a game that already overflowed with charm, thanks to the improved presentation, with every single character (be it main or NPCs) having new animations when they speak and the cutscenes having a much more robust camerawork.
Speaking of presentation, the game looks stunningly gorgeous! The new dynamic lighting brings all the areas of the game to life in a way that’s a real treat to the eyes, be it the vibrant areas such as Petal Meadows or Glitzville, or the more moody locations, such as the predominantly pale Boggly Woods or the frigid Fahr Outpost. I always wondered how TTYD would look with the papercraft aesthetic of recent games in the series and, as expected, they’ve realized it flawlessly here. Some people complained about how every ground is overly shiny and reflective, but it doesn’t bother me at all.
As for the new quality of life changes, they remedied the biggest issue most people had with this game: the backtracking. While I myself never found it egregious, the changes they made surely make the game even more enjoyable, such as the new fast travel pipes in Rogueport to help with the side quests and the infamous General White hunt, and the pipe from Twilight Town to Creepy Steeple to alleviate the back and forth between both areas. There are other smaller tweaks scattered across the whole game that help to trim down the fat to improve the pace of the game even further.
The new UI looks CLEAN, too! It feels surreal to see a modernized version of the badge inventory in 2024, how I missed it so much... The badges are what truly make the battle system of the first two games so special, since you can make your own playstyle with them, offering huge variety for repeated playthroughs. And speaking of battles and UI, that’s one of the few complaints I have about this remake: navigating the menus during battles does feel a tad clunkier than in the original game. The battles themselves also play out slower, with more waiting time between each turn and changes like everything coming to a stop when the audience wants to throw something. I feel they also tweaked the stage hazards to disrupt the enemies much more often than Mario, which makes the game a bit easier.
That sluggish feeling is also present with the textboxes, since you can no longer speed through dialogue by mashing a button, unless it’s a dialogue you’ve read already, which, like, what’s the point then? That does impact a bit on the replayability of the game, but it’s such a minor blemish on a remake that I can say with 100% confidence makes the original nearly obsolete. It pains my heart to write that sentence given how TTYD is one of my favorite games ever, but that’s how phenomenal this remake is.
The other big new addition is the brand new soundtrack. While the recent Mario RPG remake opted to re-record its songs as faithfully as possible to the original game, the Paper Mario TTYD rearranged the entire soundtrack in the style of Origami King, with a bigger emphasis on live instruments and a more rock-oriented sound. Not only that, but they basically TRIPLED the length of the soundtrack, with a bunch of new songs added to each chapter to further enhance the impact of many scenes or areas, like variations of the main battle theme, new themes for bosses that used to share the same theme as another, each partner now having their own theme, new songs for several cutscenes in the game, etc.
Since the game’s release, the reception to that soundtrack has been sorta positive, but I’ve seen a bunch of mixed comments as well. As for me, I love it. Yeah, as someone who has played the original countless times there’s some songs I feel the OG versions are better, but there’s many that I feel are on par or even an improvement. They all feature additional sections at the point they’d originally loop, so it’s evident the arrangers put a lot of care and effort into injecting more life into all these songs. That can be said about the whole game, really: it’s a beautiful labor of love of the developers for this game that’s clearly as treasured by fans as it is by themselves.
My favorite new arrangement is the one for Fahr Outpost. The original song is this very experimental synth track, kinda alien, kinda erratic, but the new arrangement transforms that weirdness into this moody and atmospheric piece, almost foreboding in a way, with a new section added at 0:44 that gives me chills everytime I listen to it, which fits perfectly thematically with this small isolated village covered by snow for socially recluse Bob-ombs that want to bury their war past. Fahr Outpost was never a particularly memorable area from the game, but this new arrangement for its theme transformed it into one of my favorite areas. When I first got there in the remake I just stood motionless for some minutes, mesmerized by this song, contemplating it.
My only small complaints regarding the soundtrack are related to the new compositions they made for this remake. They’re all solid songs, but some can feel a bit out of place in the segments they play, and they mostly go for new melodies instead of taking inspiration from songs from the original game, so they give this “Origami King scrapped track” vibe. A big example would be the new theme they made for the Atomic Boo fight, which is a banger yeah, but it just feels like a Origami King boss battle track, without any TTYD-ness injected into it. This game is also chock-full of references to Paper Mario 64 and I gotta admit I was expecting some remixes from it after seeing the main title theme get a new arrangement, but no, that’s literally the only remix from that game in this remake.
Now something new that was clearly inspired by the N64 game are the credits. In the original TTYD they were honestly kinda bland, being simply some screenshots accompanied by the silhouette of the characters walking around in the background. Not even the song stood out. I kinda wish they’d make a new credits sequence like the parade from Paper Mario 64, but knew it was unlikely... BUT! Turns out I was wrong! Because they did EXACTLY THAT! It was a treat to see a bunch of fun interactions between the lovely cast of this game, to the sound of a new medley inspired by the songs of each chapter. That got more than a few tears of happiness from my eyes, gotta admit :’)
There’s very little brand new content in the remake, but what is there is INCREDIBLE, such as the two new bosses. Both of them feel like the devs trying to explore new grounds with the combat system of the game, introducing fun and unique mechanics like attacks that drain your FP, having to alternate between jump and hammer attacks based on the stance of the enemy, using stage hazards to their advantage... It almost feels like a tease of what we can expect from a next game in the series that’ll finally bring it back to its roots, which has been a dream of mine for some years. And on that end...
Paper Mario TTYD being remade means much more than simply that, because the Paper Mario series became something completely different after the release of this game, with several interviews confirming that it wouldn’t return to the RPG format, how they couldn’t create unique characters or modify pre-existing ones anymore, and yet, here we are! The game that is the complete antithesis of everything the Mario brand stood for for over a decade now got a remake that didn’t sanitize a single thing about it, with an intense marketing campaign focusing on those aspects that make it such an unique game in the Mario canon and that were completely absent from recent games.
One could say “but it’s just because it’s a remake! that doesn’t mean the mandates are over!”, but you gotta remember even the Mario & Luigi remakes for the 3DS had some elements sanitized, even though they’re considerably less bolder than TTYD, so I do believe there has been a change of mindset inside Nintendo when it comes to allowing the Mario brand to be more creative once again. Mario Wonder and the Peach game are also proof of that, with both of them trying a bunch of new things, especially when it comes to character designs.
The credits of this remake even say “...AND YOU!” in the Special Thanks section, so they’re listening. They know what the fans have been yearning for all these years. The fact they chose this game to be the final announcement of a Nintendo Direct shows how much they’re aware how important this game is, not just to fans, but to the Mario franchise as a whole. And more than ever it fills me with hope to see a brand new Paper Mario game in the same vein as the first two, with the same marvelous combat system and no more restraints when it comes to creative characters, locales and dialogue.
I imagine if Paper Mario indeed follows that route, it won’t have the technical limitations of the first two games, such as the segmented areas with loading zones between each screen, it’ll probably be a more expansive world like in The Origami King, which is completely fine by me, since the exploration of that game is a blast. That will make this remake feel even more special, because we got to see the classic Paper Mario format modernized in 2024. Yes I know this is a weird tangent that might not even make sense for some people, but it is extremely fascinating to me.
With all that said, the Paper Mario TTYD remake is a dream come true that not even the most optimistic side of me could have ever dreamed of. I genuinely felt emotional many times playing this game, in awe that I was playing a modern version of one of the games that’s most dear to my heart. I know they thanked us in the credits of the game, but if there’s anyone who should say thank you it's me. Thank you SO MUCH for remaking a masterpiece into a new masterpiece, Intelligent Systems <3
Metroid Prime Remastered was exactly what I expected. They took a classic masterpiece and made it beautiful, added a lot of detail, and gave major quality of life improvements (mainly the dual stick controls) and made a masterpiece even better.
Talon IV is more beautiful but the atmosphere is still very much the same. An obviously dying yet beautiful planet filled with mystery. Metroid is the greatest franchise of all time when it comes to atmosphere and the graphical improvements did not hurt the charm and wonder of the originals feel but it did manage to even improve upon it.
I would definitely play this game on the normal setting and not casual. I always play games on normal or harder but since I had already played this and mainly just wanted to experience the world in its new paint I chose casual mode which basically made Samus indestructible. Enemies do very little damage which led to no challenge at all. So even if you are like me and just re exploring this wonderful game keep the difficulty where it should be.
I hope with this game selling well, Nintendo pumping up fusion on the switch, and Dread doing so well that Nintendo will begin giving Metroid the respect that quite frankly it deserves.
Talon IV is more beautiful but the atmosphere is still very much the same. An obviously dying yet beautiful planet filled with mystery. Metroid is the greatest franchise of all time when it comes to atmosphere and the graphical improvements did not hurt the charm and wonder of the originals feel but it did manage to even improve upon it.
I would definitely play this game on the normal setting and not casual. I always play games on normal or harder but since I had already played this and mainly just wanted to experience the world in its new paint I chose casual mode which basically made Samus indestructible. Enemies do very little damage which led to no challenge at all. So even if you are like me and just re exploring this wonderful game keep the difficulty where it should be.
I hope with this game selling well, Nintendo pumping up fusion on the switch, and Dread doing so well that Nintendo will begin giving Metroid the respect that quite frankly it deserves.
Heartbreaking: The Most Agitating and Insistent Circlejerk You've Ever Seen Was Entirely Justified
I genuinely cant imagine a better remake for ttyd, from the tiniest of QOL changes like the partner wheel to all the knew graphics, character faces, and remastered sound track. i still have my orginal ttyd disc from when i was a kid, and i feel like a kid again. I know the game is a bit slower, but to be honest unless your a brain rotted ipad kid who cant sit still for 5 seconds it really doesn't matter. Hopefully the (so far) amazing reviews and feedback will keep paper mario afloat for future games, and praying we just go back to normal turned based combat (looking at you origami king)
booting up this remake for the first time felt like being a little kid during christmas again. paper mario the thousand year door is a game i have a very long history with. it was one of 3 console games that were in a set of the first home console games i ever owned alongside super mario sunshine and luigi's mansion which i got for my 4th birthday. afterwards, the thousand year door was my favorite game of all time for my whole life up until my late teens. in that time, i've played this game front to back upwards of 20 times with a few 100% runs sprinkled in there as well.
needless to say, i have a lot of history with this game and it's very special to me, so a remake like this is something i was going to keep my eye on, even as someone who's usually disappointed when a remake actually comes out. this time is different though. it feels like it harkens back to the super nintendo and playstation 1 days of when remakes actually cared about the art direction and intent of the originals, with the art direction finding a beautiful middle ground between the originals texture and sprite work and the papercraft aesthetics that were only hinted before on the gamecube but brought to life on the wii u and switch, and with that middle ground sitting very firmly closer to the original gamecube side. npcs are actually expressive this time around as well, making the world feel just a bit more vibrant and alive and i couldn't be happier. other than some indoor locations not having the best lighting and some screen rotations that were seamless in the original going to black screens instead i have absolutely no complaints about this game visually, especially when there's already 60 fps patches. audio wise might be a different story, though.
the music in this remake is redone, given a more "origami king" esque jazz band flare to it which i don't feel fits the game well at all. the soundtrack definitely leans into the more "boingy" sounding ost ttyd and super had and the redone ost is definitely better than the poor showings we got in trailers, but i still prefer the original soundtrack. there is a badge that restores the original soundtrack, but i've yet to test to see how it reacts to the new songs added for the remake and to be honest i'd really like to hear them this time around so someone else will have to let me know about that eventually lol.
even with its few minor flaws ttyd for the switch is a truly a masterful remake of a classic, and i can't wait to reexperience this cornerstone of my history with video games with this loving remake going forward. the new localization that makes things more accurate to the original while keeping much of the 2004 localization in tact alone makes me prefer this version until someone inevitably patches it back in to the original, but even beyond that they took a world near and dear to my heart and miraculously brought it back to life again more vibrant than ever and that is always going to be deeply special to me. this game is still a very entry level jrpg and the remake doesn't change that so i definitely can't recommend it to everybody, but to anyone who loves the mario series at all or wants to get into rpgs with baby steps this game, and especially this new version, is a must.
needless to say, i have a lot of history with this game and it's very special to me, so a remake like this is something i was going to keep my eye on, even as someone who's usually disappointed when a remake actually comes out. this time is different though. it feels like it harkens back to the super nintendo and playstation 1 days of when remakes actually cared about the art direction and intent of the originals, with the art direction finding a beautiful middle ground between the originals texture and sprite work and the papercraft aesthetics that were only hinted before on the gamecube but brought to life on the wii u and switch, and with that middle ground sitting very firmly closer to the original gamecube side. npcs are actually expressive this time around as well, making the world feel just a bit more vibrant and alive and i couldn't be happier. other than some indoor locations not having the best lighting and some screen rotations that were seamless in the original going to black screens instead i have absolutely no complaints about this game visually, especially when there's already 60 fps patches. audio wise might be a different story, though.
the music in this remake is redone, given a more "origami king" esque jazz band flare to it which i don't feel fits the game well at all. the soundtrack definitely leans into the more "boingy" sounding ost ttyd and super had and the redone ost is definitely better than the poor showings we got in trailers, but i still prefer the original soundtrack. there is a badge that restores the original soundtrack, but i've yet to test to see how it reacts to the new songs added for the remake and to be honest i'd really like to hear them this time around so someone else will have to let me know about that eventually lol.
even with its few minor flaws ttyd for the switch is a truly a masterful remake of a classic, and i can't wait to reexperience this cornerstone of my history with video games with this loving remake going forward. the new localization that makes things more accurate to the original while keeping much of the 2004 localization in tact alone makes me prefer this version until someone inevitably patches it back in to the original, but even beyond that they took a world near and dear to my heart and miraculously brought it back to life again more vibrant than ever and that is always going to be deeply special to me. this game is still a very entry level jrpg and the remake doesn't change that so i definitely can't recommend it to everybody, but to anyone who loves the mario series at all or wants to get into rpgs with baby steps this game, and especially this new version, is a must.
[Average Reading Time: 9 Minutes]
I don't deserve to eat this well.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is one of those games that I was fortunate enough to grow up with back when it was out on the GameCube. It wouldn't be for some number of years down the road that I would actually beat it (kid me didn't really know how to strategize and couldn't beat the final boss), and since then I had always had an itch to return to it.
When this remake was announced late last year, my jaw hit the floor. I froze. Couldn't move for 40 minutes. Here it was, my #11 favorite game of all time getting a beautiful remake, and I would get to play it! For years, Paper Mario fans have been dying for this game to escape the GameCube, and I believe that with this remake, it escaped elegantly!
The first thing I want to mention are the visuals. This remake goes above and beyond with how characters are presented to you. Not only do they look stunning in HD, but they're so much more lively now! There are new animations for everyone, allowing for them to further express emotions and let their personalities shine through.
It's not just the main cast, either! Almost every NPC has new poses that they enter as they speak, giving a lot more life to their interactions. It was always a joy talking to NPC's I've interacted with in the original and seeing them bursting with life as they tell me about things like how they're crushing on their coworker or how them and their sisters are travelling the world. Absolute eye candy with the characters here!
Of course, the world itself got a major visual overhaul, as well. They strived to aim for the more paper craft inspired style of the newer Paper Mario games here. Personally, I always enjoyed the visual direction of the newer games, despite their varying levels of quality as games as a whole. Seeing The Thousand-Year Door adopt these visuals was a welcome treat for me.
If I had one minor nitpick about it, though, it would be just how reflective surfaces are. Most floors in the game are super shiny, like someone just waxed them before Mario and co. came in and started running around. For some areas it's fine, but it's a little jarring in others. For example, the first chapter starts in a grassy field. Despite this, Mario has a reflection in the grass as he runs through it. Once again, it's nothing deal-breaking by any means. It's just weird.
Along with the visuals, the music and sounds also got some reworks! All of the songs from the original game have been recomposed and are fully orchestrated. As someone who enjoys revisiting older titles using modifications to replace the original soundtracks with orchestral rearrangements (read more about those here if you're interested!), hearing these new takes on older tracks was a treat! Of course, music is subjective, and some tracks may sound better to you than others, but personally I had no real complaints about the new score here. They also add in completely new tracks to spice up cutscenes, which I enjoyed greatly.
It also helps that they went above and beyond with the music by giving each chapter its own remixes of various themes heard throughout the game! As soon as I realized this was happening, I just said to myself "Oh man, they're so smart this is SO GOOD!" This includes battle music as well as music used in specific cutscenes. It made visiting each chapter even more exciting for me, since it meant I would be hearing more new arrangements of these songs I knew so well growing up!
It's also worth noting that if you miss the original score, there is a badge you can acquire early in the game very easily that will allow you to listen to the original soundtrack as you play. Personally, I didn't use it, but it is there for those of you that would rather hear the original soundtrack. Thankfully, you'll be able to hear the new tracks made specifically for this remake with this badge equipped, so you won't have to worry about missing out on any of the new content with it on!
When it comes to the sound effects, a lot has changed here. A number of sounds from the original have been replaced, and while I'll miss them, I'm not going to lose sleep over them being gone. They did retain the sounds Charles Martinet recorded for the original release, which is welcome. Speaking of character voices, every NPC has one now! It basically amounts to being Banjo-Kazooie style grunts as text pops up, but I think it's a fun addition. Some of the sounds are a little weird, but for the most part I think it did a great job making the characters you meet feel more alive, allowing for me to get a better idea of how they sound when speaking in my head (Grubba will always be Foghorn Leghorn to me, though).
Along with cosmetic changes, a number of things were done to improve the quality of the gameplay experience as a whole. First off, you can collect up to 9,999 coins instead of 999 now, which is a massive game-changer since you won't be worrying as much about making sure you aren't sitting on too many coins at any time, especially when you invest in somebody's business venture.
They also added a dedicated party member wheel button. Players of the original will remember having to hit a d-pad button to bring up the party screen and then having to scroll over to the party member they want out on the field. It was simple, but far from snappy. What they added here is basically a party member quick select menu that's super easy to use. This simple addition improves the pacing a lot, especially when you enter later areas that have you swapping out party members often to solve puzzles.
Next, I want to bring up the changes they made to chapter shortcut pipes. In the original, you weren't able to access any chapter shortcuts until clearing chapter 3 at the earliest, and by the time you're at the endgame, you'll only have shortcuts to 4 out of the 7 major chapter locations in the game. All of this has changed in the remake. In the remake, you can access chapter shortcuts as early as after finishing chapter 1! Not only that, but there is now a shortcut to every major chapter location in the game. One pipe for each chapter up to chapter 7. This means no more having to run over to the blimp and taking that to access chapter 3's location, for example.
Also, all of these pipes are in one room and are properly labelled. This isn't even the best part. The best part is that now, you can access this room from a pipe that connects directly to the center square of Rogueport! Using shortcuts has never been simpler than it is here. This also helps immensely with a specific scenario in chapter 7 that now turns from a tedious nightmare into a simple task thanks to the addition of these pipes!
There is one last major quality of life change I want to mention. We need to talk about chapter 4's structure.
Chapter 4 of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is very infamous for the absurd amount of backtracking it asks of the player. You're constantly going from one end of the chapter to the other, over and over to progress the plot. Chapter 4's structure is easily one of the most complained about parts of that game, and it is a strong deterrent from those who think of replaying the game.
I am glad to say that they fixed chapter 4. At one point during the chapter, you gain access to a pipe that connects between both ends of the area. The way they did it makes perfect sense, too, as you unlock it at a point where there would be no major difference to how you approach the trip gameplay wise. My jaw dropped when I realized what they did, and I could not be happier about their decision here. One of the biggest issues with the original game is now completely gone, and now I can revisit this title without groaning about certain parts of it.
There are also some extra goodies hidden in here for explorative players. By finding all of the Shine Sprites (items that upgrade party members) in any given chapter, you unlock the ability to listen to the music from that chapter from the pause menu! You also get rewards for collecting all of the Star Pieces (items that can be traded for badges) in any chapter in the form of concept art! Playing this remake was the first time I went out of my way to collect all of the Star Pieces, and I am happy I did as the artwork you unlock is stunning, to say the least!
With all of these changes and additions out of the way, it's time to ask the real question: how does it play? When I realized this game would be running at half the framerate of the original back when we were getting more trailers, I was a little worried that it would have a strong negative effect on my muscle memory when it came to pulling off stylish moves and super guards.
Once the game started proper, I got into my first battle. My muscle memory kicked in. My super guards and stylish moves all went off perfectly. I was back.
Needless to say, my worries about the framerate were immediately put to rest. The game feels great to play as it is now! Of course, if this game gets an FPS boost on the Switch 2, that would be very welcome, but as it is now, it's more than playable, so if you were worried about the framerate, I can assure you that it's not a major issue that will hold you back!
As for how my playthrough went, I can say it went great! For this playthrough, I did something I never truly did before: I opted for a danger-focused build. I got a small taste of it back when I played Paper Mario: TTYD 64, a Paper Mario hack that you can read more about here. Since then, I wanted to see how well it would go if I focused a build solely around that, and boy, did it serve me well!
For those unaware, in the Paper Mario games, when Mario is at 5 HP, he enters a state that shows that he is in danger, prompting the player to consider healing him. However, there are badges that take advantage of this "danger" state. There's one that reduces the amount of damage you take while in this state, for example. There's also one that raises your evasion, causing enemies to miss their attacks more often.
There is one badge, however, that shines above the rest, known as Power Rush. This badge raises Mario's attack stat by 2 when he is in danger. Sounds pretty small on paper, right? Only 2 damage? Why is it a big deal? Well, there are two things about this badge that make it stand out. One is that it is relatively cheap to equip, only requiring one badge point. The other thing is that there is no limit on how many of this badge you can equip.
Let's do some math. There is a badge in this game that raises your attack stat by 1 at the cost of 6 badge points. If you instead equipped 6 Power Rush badges for the same point cost, you'd raise Mario's attack by 12! This is an absolute game changer, and a popular build for a reason. It's also helped by the fact that there's a character in the game that can reduce your max HP to be 5, allowing you to remain in a danger state permanently.
Doing this was an absolute thrill for me. I was facing some of the toughest enemies in the game and erasing them from existence with ease. This is easily the most powerful I have ever felt in any video game. I was able to do something I have never done before when playing this game, which is clear the Pit of 100 Trials, which is an optional dungeon with enemies tougher than anything you'll fight in the main game. I went in there with this build and emerged with barely a scratch on me. I felt so strong, and I loved it.
Now, as much as I love this build, I highly implore those who have not played this game before to not think about such things as they play. Enjoy the game casually and do what feels right to you. Tune your build your own way and save the special builds like this one for later runs. As powerful as they are, the game kind of becomes a joke if you do it, so you lose out on a ton of the impact that certain boss fights can have on you when they appear before you.
Overall, I loved my time with this remake. It was everything I imagined it would be and more. Personally, I feel that this remake completely replaces the original for me, thanks mostly to all of the quality of life features they've added to make the game snappier. I cannot recommend this game enough. Whether you're new to Paper Mario or a series veteran, you'll find plenty to love in this game!
I don't deserve to eat this well.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is one of those games that I was fortunate enough to grow up with back when it was out on the GameCube. It wouldn't be for some number of years down the road that I would actually beat it (kid me didn't really know how to strategize and couldn't beat the final boss), and since then I had always had an itch to return to it.
When this remake was announced late last year, my jaw hit the floor. I froze. Couldn't move for 40 minutes. Here it was, my #11 favorite game of all time getting a beautiful remake, and I would get to play it! For years, Paper Mario fans have been dying for this game to escape the GameCube, and I believe that with this remake, it escaped elegantly!
The first thing I want to mention are the visuals. This remake goes above and beyond with how characters are presented to you. Not only do they look stunning in HD, but they're so much more lively now! There are new animations for everyone, allowing for them to further express emotions and let their personalities shine through.
It's not just the main cast, either! Almost every NPC has new poses that they enter as they speak, giving a lot more life to their interactions. It was always a joy talking to NPC's I've interacted with in the original and seeing them bursting with life as they tell me about things like how they're crushing on their coworker or how them and their sisters are travelling the world. Absolute eye candy with the characters here!
Of course, the world itself got a major visual overhaul, as well. They strived to aim for the more paper craft inspired style of the newer Paper Mario games here. Personally, I always enjoyed the visual direction of the newer games, despite their varying levels of quality as games as a whole. Seeing The Thousand-Year Door adopt these visuals was a welcome treat for me.
If I had one minor nitpick about it, though, it would be just how reflective surfaces are. Most floors in the game are super shiny, like someone just waxed them before Mario and co. came in and started running around. For some areas it's fine, but it's a little jarring in others. For example, the first chapter starts in a grassy field. Despite this, Mario has a reflection in the grass as he runs through it. Once again, it's nothing deal-breaking by any means. It's just weird.
Along with the visuals, the music and sounds also got some reworks! All of the songs from the original game have been recomposed and are fully orchestrated. As someone who enjoys revisiting older titles using modifications to replace the original soundtracks with orchestral rearrangements (read more about those here if you're interested!), hearing these new takes on older tracks was a treat! Of course, music is subjective, and some tracks may sound better to you than others, but personally I had no real complaints about the new score here. They also add in completely new tracks to spice up cutscenes, which I enjoyed greatly.
It also helps that they went above and beyond with the music by giving each chapter its own remixes of various themes heard throughout the game! As soon as I realized this was happening, I just said to myself "Oh man, they're so smart this is SO GOOD!" This includes battle music as well as music used in specific cutscenes. It made visiting each chapter even more exciting for me, since it meant I would be hearing more new arrangements of these songs I knew so well growing up!
It's also worth noting that if you miss the original score, there is a badge you can acquire early in the game very easily that will allow you to listen to the original soundtrack as you play. Personally, I didn't use it, but it is there for those of you that would rather hear the original soundtrack. Thankfully, you'll be able to hear the new tracks made specifically for this remake with this badge equipped, so you won't have to worry about missing out on any of the new content with it on!
When it comes to the sound effects, a lot has changed here. A number of sounds from the original have been replaced, and while I'll miss them, I'm not going to lose sleep over them being gone. They did retain the sounds Charles Martinet recorded for the original release, which is welcome. Speaking of character voices, every NPC has one now! It basically amounts to being Banjo-Kazooie style grunts as text pops up, but I think it's a fun addition. Some of the sounds are a little weird, but for the most part I think it did a great job making the characters you meet feel more alive, allowing for me to get a better idea of how they sound when speaking in my head (Grubba will always be Foghorn Leghorn to me, though).
Along with cosmetic changes, a number of things were done to improve the quality of the gameplay experience as a whole. First off, you can collect up to 9,999 coins instead of 999 now, which is a massive game-changer since you won't be worrying as much about making sure you aren't sitting on too many coins at any time, especially when you invest in somebody's business venture.
They also added a dedicated party member wheel button. Players of the original will remember having to hit a d-pad button to bring up the party screen and then having to scroll over to the party member they want out on the field. It was simple, but far from snappy. What they added here is basically a party member quick select menu that's super easy to use. This simple addition improves the pacing a lot, especially when you enter later areas that have you swapping out party members often to solve puzzles.
Next, I want to bring up the changes they made to chapter shortcut pipes. In the original, you weren't able to access any chapter shortcuts until clearing chapter 3 at the earliest, and by the time you're at the endgame, you'll only have shortcuts to 4 out of the 7 major chapter locations in the game. All of this has changed in the remake. In the remake, you can access chapter shortcuts as early as after finishing chapter 1! Not only that, but there is now a shortcut to every major chapter location in the game. One pipe for each chapter up to chapter 7. This means no more having to run over to the blimp and taking that to access chapter 3's location, for example.
Also, all of these pipes are in one room and are properly labelled. This isn't even the best part. The best part is that now, you can access this room from a pipe that connects directly to the center square of Rogueport! Using shortcuts has never been simpler than it is here. This also helps immensely with a specific scenario in chapter 7 that now turns from a tedious nightmare into a simple task thanks to the addition of these pipes!
There is one last major quality of life change I want to mention. We need to talk about chapter 4's structure.
Chapter 4 of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is very infamous for the absurd amount of backtracking it asks of the player. You're constantly going from one end of the chapter to the other, over and over to progress the plot. Chapter 4's structure is easily one of the most complained about parts of that game, and it is a strong deterrent from those who think of replaying the game.
I am glad to say that they fixed chapter 4. At one point during the chapter, you gain access to a pipe that connects between both ends of the area. The way they did it makes perfect sense, too, as you unlock it at a point where there would be no major difference to how you approach the trip gameplay wise. My jaw dropped when I realized what they did, and I could not be happier about their decision here. One of the biggest issues with the original game is now completely gone, and now I can revisit this title without groaning about certain parts of it.
There are also some extra goodies hidden in here for explorative players. By finding all of the Shine Sprites (items that upgrade party members) in any given chapter, you unlock the ability to listen to the music from that chapter from the pause menu! You also get rewards for collecting all of the Star Pieces (items that can be traded for badges) in any chapter in the form of concept art! Playing this remake was the first time I went out of my way to collect all of the Star Pieces, and I am happy I did as the artwork you unlock is stunning, to say the least!
With all of these changes and additions out of the way, it's time to ask the real question: how does it play? When I realized this game would be running at half the framerate of the original back when we were getting more trailers, I was a little worried that it would have a strong negative effect on my muscle memory when it came to pulling off stylish moves and super guards.
Once the game started proper, I got into my first battle. My muscle memory kicked in. My super guards and stylish moves all went off perfectly. I was back.
Needless to say, my worries about the framerate were immediately put to rest. The game feels great to play as it is now! Of course, if this game gets an FPS boost on the Switch 2, that would be very welcome, but as it is now, it's more than playable, so if you were worried about the framerate, I can assure you that it's not a major issue that will hold you back!
As for how my playthrough went, I can say it went great! For this playthrough, I did something I never truly did before: I opted for a danger-focused build. I got a small taste of it back when I played Paper Mario: TTYD 64, a Paper Mario hack that you can read more about here. Since then, I wanted to see how well it would go if I focused a build solely around that, and boy, did it serve me well!
For those unaware, in the Paper Mario games, when Mario is at 5 HP, he enters a state that shows that he is in danger, prompting the player to consider healing him. However, there are badges that take advantage of this "danger" state. There's one that reduces the amount of damage you take while in this state, for example. There's also one that raises your evasion, causing enemies to miss their attacks more often.
There is one badge, however, that shines above the rest, known as Power Rush. This badge raises Mario's attack stat by 2 when he is in danger. Sounds pretty small on paper, right? Only 2 damage? Why is it a big deal? Well, there are two things about this badge that make it stand out. One is that it is relatively cheap to equip, only requiring one badge point. The other thing is that there is no limit on how many of this badge you can equip.
Let's do some math. There is a badge in this game that raises your attack stat by 1 at the cost of 6 badge points. If you instead equipped 6 Power Rush badges for the same point cost, you'd raise Mario's attack by 12! This is an absolute game changer, and a popular build for a reason. It's also helped by the fact that there's a character in the game that can reduce your max HP to be 5, allowing you to remain in a danger state permanently.
Doing this was an absolute thrill for me. I was facing some of the toughest enemies in the game and erasing them from existence with ease. This is easily the most powerful I have ever felt in any video game. I was able to do something I have never done before when playing this game, which is clear the Pit of 100 Trials, which is an optional dungeon with enemies tougher than anything you'll fight in the main game. I went in there with this build and emerged with barely a scratch on me. I felt so strong, and I loved it.
Now, as much as I love this build, I highly implore those who have not played this game before to not think about such things as they play. Enjoy the game casually and do what feels right to you. Tune your build your own way and save the special builds like this one for later runs. As powerful as they are, the game kind of becomes a joke if you do it, so you lose out on a ton of the impact that certain boss fights can have on you when they appear before you.
Overall, I loved my time with this remake. It was everything I imagined it would be and more. Personally, I feel that this remake completely replaces the original for me, thanks mostly to all of the quality of life features they've added to make the game snappier. I cannot recommend this game enough. Whether you're new to Paper Mario or a series veteran, you'll find plenty to love in this game!
The half frame rate is noticible and I won't lie: it doesn't feel as snappy as hell because of it. Dialogue speed isn't an issue since I can be a real slow reader at the times, but for fast reader it can be slightly tedious.
Beside that: this is a mr. remake alright in every way you can see it and hear it: graphics and soundtracks are completely new for the occasion, don't listen to those idiots that treat this like it's a 60 dollars cash-grab low-effort remaster, because that's bullshit.
Beside that: this is a mr. remake alright in every way you can see it and hear it: graphics and soundtracks are completely new for the occasion, don't listen to those idiots that treat this like it's a 60 dollars cash-grab low-effort remaster, because that's bullshit.