Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

"Mario's world may be flat, but his game sure isn't!"

INTRO

Paper Mario came out on the Nintendo 64 and was probably not as popular as it deserved. It involved Mario and his friends in paper form. 2-D, you could call it. The sequel is now out, on a newer console so expect some changes.

STORY

You play Mario (obviously). You start off in your house, living happily with your dear brother Luigi, until a letter arrives. It's from Peach. She says she has found a treasure map that she thinks leads to real treasure. It may seem like a usual follow the map to find the treasure and you'll win the game. It technically is but with a few changes. You travel off to the town Rougeport, where the Princess says she will be waiting. But she is nowhere to be seen (now who didn't see that coming?). You meet a female Goomba called Goombella, who befriends you and helps you find your treasure and, hopefully, Princess Peach. The treasure you are after is called the Crystal Stars. There are seven of them and they open the legendary Thousand-Year Door mentioned in the game title. Behind the Thousand-Year Door...no one knows. The storyline is so simple, it hurts to think that this game is so good with such a simple story line as that. But that's the magic of Mario games. On the way, you find out what happens to Peach and even what Bowser gets up to.

GAMEPLAY

The game is quite easy to get to grips with. The 'A' button is the usual Mario-jump that has made Mario famous. The 'B' button activates Mario's hammer. Both Mario's jumps and hammers can be used in battle, out of battle and can be upgraded and powered-up. The 'X' button uses your partner's ability. The 'R' button and the 'Y' button activates some of Mario's own special abilities. Goombella gives information about the area you are in and about the people you are standing near while other characters can, for example, use moves such as exploding, blowing a powerful gale and more. In total you gain 6 new partners. The game is split into chapters. The prologue at the start, one for each of the Crystal Stars and the Final Chapter. You gain a new partner for each of the first few chapters. For anyone that's played a Zelda game, then you'll know about the items you get. In a dungeon, you find an item and that item is needed to progress through the dungeon. The same thing happens here, except instead of items, it's partners. You partner's abilities are needed to get through the game, so don't think of them as useless.

Now for fighting. Anyone that's played the Pokemon games on the Game Boy, Game Boy Advance or the Nintendo DS will recognize the turn-based fighting here. You attack, your partner attacks, your enemy (or enemies) attack, and repeat. All enemies have weaknesses, and strengths. If the enemy has a spike on it's head, then jumping on it will hurt you. If the enemy is flying, then hammers won't reach it. Use what you know to help you. Before a fight, enemies will be walking around the stage. When they notice you, they will run up to you. If you attack them before the fight starts then you will get a First Strike in. This is an extra attack that can help. In battle, you can use items as well. Items range from familiar things such as mushrooms and lightning bolts to new things. Items can either damage your opponent or help you and/or your partner. Items can be bought in shops littered around the place, found on the ground or found by defeating enemies. Beating enemies also earns you Star Points. Get 100 Star Points to go up a level. When you gain a level you can choose to upgrade either your HP, FP or BP.

HP is your Health Points, FP is your Flower Points and BP is your Badge Points. If Mario runs out of health, game over. Flower Points allow you to use special moves. Badge Points allows you to wear badges. Badges, which also featured in the original Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64, can either give you more abilities for use in battle, do things such as give you more power or just be joke badges that changes your clothes or something. Your partners don't gain levels. Instead, you can upgrade them at a wizard's house for 3 shine sprites each.

I mentioned earlier in the review about your partner's abiliites. Mario also gains his own abilities in the game, such as turning into a paper aeroplane or a paper boat. These abilities keep the game fresh and interesting, with many new areas being opened.

At the end of each chapter, you control Peach and Bowser as they continue through their own stories. Peach is coping with being held kidnap, while Bowser runs around in search of Mario. In Peach stages, you wander around her captors area, waiting for help, while in the Bowser stages, you play as him in one of the old Super Mario Bros. stages. These stages are a nice change from Mario's escapades.

Each of the stages are unique. The first involves a little countryside village with a castle, others include an island, a creepy town and there is even one on an express train journey to a posh town populated by celebrities. The characters blend in wonderfully well to the different stages, for example, the countryside village residents are easy-going, cheerful people, the creepy townsfolk are dark and gloomy and the train travellers are posh and well-mannered.

SOUND

The sound is nice and Mario-ish. As it should be. The music in each of the areas matches perfectly as do the usual character music. But it's the battles that this department really shines. The usual enemy fights are OK but the boss fight music is brilliant. In the final boss battle, the music is perfect. Some of the music during a certain cutscene during the final boss fight is really emotional and tear-jerking, if you liked the Titanic theme. Another good example of the wonderful music is in one of the chapters. The music is actually a re-mixed version of the Super Mario Bros. theme. A nice little addition.

GRAPHICS

The graphics are cute and colourful. The character designs are great, as are the stages. Everything looks as it should be in a world of paper, although some parts are in 3-D. The game makes full advantage of the 2-D graphics, using them to make characters seem invisible when they turn ith their side facing you, and whatnot.

DIFFICULTY

The game was designed for young-ish gamers, so it's what you'd expect. The controls are easy to deal with and the dialogue makes the game easier to understand. Easy at some points, with the puzzles not too much to worry about, unless you are rubbish with puzzle games. All in all, pretty easy.

LIFESPAN

The game is pretty longlasting, with around 30 hours of the main game. It'll last a lot longer if you try to get everything, such as all the badges, recipies, complete all the mini-quests and beat the Pit of 100 Trials. The Pit of 100 Trials is simply a mini-quest that rewards quite well. It is a series of 100 levels, each with enemies and a reward on every 10 floors. Leave the Pit and you will have to start at the beginning again. At the 100th level, you will meet the most powerful enemy in the game. Kill him to recieve your prize. A nice, if not hard, little distraction that will account for almost half of the extra time added after you complete the main game. The mini-quests include a Trouble Centre where people post their troubles and ask for someone to help them. Do so to earn rewards. The rewards can be good or bad, depending on the people you helped. At first the Trouble Centre will be closed but it will open after the first chapter and as you progress through the game, more troubles will become unlocked.

Also, along your travels, after each chapter Luigi will appear in Rogueport with tales of his own adventure which sounds incredibly similar to your own adventure. He talks of saving Princess Eclair of Doughnut Land, or something. Once you complete the game, his epic tale will be on sale in shops. The story of his adventure will be split into volumes, each one available shortly after you purchase the one before it. They come at a hefty price, so why not just talk to Luigi himself to fill you in on the details? A nice little extra that tries to make Luigi seem like as big as a hero as Mario, but we all know that's impossible. Luigi was just lucky in Luigi's Mansion. No one can compare to the might of Mario.

PROS

+Nice Graphics
+Easy Controls
+Very Funny
+Pretty long-lasting
+Big Areas Encourage Exploring
+Lots of Hidden Extras

CONS

Why would a 10/10 game have cons?

CONCLUSION

A very good game and a worthy addition to your Gamecube collection. Buy, buy, buy! A perfect 10/10.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/18/06