Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door review roundup: 'a masterful remake'
Nintendo has revived another classic game from its library, and critics are impressed
😁 Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has a Metacritic score of 89 after 59 critic reviews
👍 It means the game has received generally favorable scores
🆕 Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a remake of the GameCube title from 20 years ago
📆 The game is out on May 23 exclusively for Nintendo Switch
Nintendo continues to spoil Switch owners with fantastic games, even though the console is over seven years old. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a remake of the 20-year-old GameCube title that many regard as the best in the series. Thankfully, it seems like Nintendo has done a fantastic job in bringing the game back for modern audiences.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is currently sitting on a Metacritic score of 89 after 59 reviews. That’s a couple of points more than the original achieved, which sits on a score of 87.
VGC gave Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door a perfect score, saying: “20 years after its original release, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remains a treasure. With a refreshingly un-Mario-like script, a memorable and lovable cast, engaging turn-based gameplay, and more variety than your average Taylor Swift concert, the GameCube title is regarded by many as a classic entry in the plumber’s RPG lineage.”
God is a Geek also loved Nintendo’s remake, and said: “Whether you’re replaying for the new visuals, or a very lucky first-time player, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is one of the best RPGs ever to come out of Nintendo.”
GameSpot was also a fan of the Paper Mario remake, saying: “The Switch version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is the definitive way to play the best turn-based RPG starring Mario. More of an enhanced HD remaster than a full-fledged remake, The Thousand-Year Door has small yet meaningful quality-of-life features that ease some of the bloat from the original GameCube version. The catchy remixed soundtrack wonderfully complements the thoroughly entertaining and dynamic turn-based battle system. Throw in a stellar cast of characters and consistently playful writing, and The Thousand-Year Door has all the ingredients of an incredible turn-based RPG. Well, it always had them, but now they are blended a bit better.”
The vast majority of critics’ reviews are positive but not everyone was as enamored with the GameCube remake. Wccftech said, “While the new Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door preserves the gonzo charm that made the original game a cult classic, not a lot has been done to deal with its padding and other design quirks. If you’re a hardcore Thousand-Year Door fan, worry not, you’re going to love this spiffy new version. If you’re new to the game or weren’t entirely sold the first time around, you’re still likely to find plenty to enjoy here, but you may also notice a few tattered edges.”
Still, there’s no doubt that Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is another critical darling for Nintendo, and will wind up in many players’ best Switch games list.
With the Nintendo Switch 2 promising to be backward compatible with physical and digital copies of existing Switch games, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is yet another title that is worth picking up to play now or in the future.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.