Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Reviews

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is ranked in the 98th percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
Will Greenwald
Top Critic
May 21, 2024

The Nintendo Switch remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a fantastic Mario RPG that's every bit as good now as it was on the GameCube.

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Gameblog
KiKiToes
Top Critic
8 / 10
May 21, 2024

It is sure to delight fans of the license and will greatly please the old hands who have already played the original game 20 years ago on Gamecube.

Review in French | Read full review

Atomix
Top Critic
90 / 100
May 21, 2024

If you have never tried the Gamecube one in your life, it is my obligation to inform you that you must purchase it no matter what from its first day of release, because you are going to enjoy every second of this endearing story. On the other hand, if you are old school like me, I can only tell you that buying it again is something that is totally worth it, that magic from two decades ago remains intact, even improved.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

May 21, 2024

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a fantastic and faithful remake of the beloved GameCube gem with enhanced visuals, reworked music and quality-of-life improvements elevating this classic to the same standard as modern Switch games. Whether you’ve never played it before or you want a dose of nostalgia, The Thousand-Year Door is an essential purchase for Mario fans.

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4 / 5.0
May 21, 2024

While I wasn’t there for the original, I now completely get just why Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is so revered among Mario fans, and why demands for a remaster were practically ceaseless. It’s the absolute pinnacle of Mario RPGs, and if it was a bit more focused as an overall narrative experience, in the discussion as one of the plumber’s best-ever games.

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Jun 7, 2024

Paper Mario The Thousand-Year Door is everything you wanted it to be on Nintendo Switch and more. Numerous quality-of-life improvements and additions help make the game both more fun and accessible to gamers of all generations.

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RPG Fan
Top Critic
89%
Jun 8, 2024

While its seams keep it from perfection, Mario’s lauded papercraft adventure lives up to its legacy.

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RPG Site
Top Critic
9 / 10
May 21, 2024

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a good re-release of a good game, and adjustments made only improve upon it in small but substantial ways. It's an easy recommendation for general audiences and RPG fans. Now, where's my Luigi in Waffle Kingdom RPG?

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9.5 / 10.0
May 21, 2024

Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door is a masterful remake that improves on the original in practically every way while keeping everything that made it a mainstay in the Nintendo canon. While its timelessness is reflected in the strength of its humour, wit and story, a major visual overhaul and much needed quality of life improvements make The Thousand-Year Door an adventure that can't be skipped.

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Ben Salter
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
May 21, 2024

The Thousand-Year Door remake is a triumphant return for Paper Mario. It turns back to an earlier chapter in the series that knows exactly what it’s trying to achieve and does it masterfully.

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8.5 / 10.0
Jun 16, 2024

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door lives up to the hype as a "page-turning adventure." It's also a long adventure, so be sure to pencil in the time, especially if you're a completionist. With memorable bosses, much to find, and plenty of extras, this game will keep Switch players busy.

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9 / 10.0
May 21, 2024

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is an excellent remake of an excellent game with enough modern additions to make it feel fresh and new.

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8.2 / 10.0
May 21, 2024

The Switch version of Paper Mario and the Thousand-year door is a rare delight, just like the GameCube one before it: it's a funny and clever mix between a turn based RPG and a platform game, full of jokes and memorable characters. The price might be a little bit steep and the frame rate is halved if compared to the original, but it's still worth to dip your toes into it even twenty years later.

Review in Italian | Read full review

7 / 10.0
Jun 6, 2024

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door looks great on Switch, making it exciting to move from one location to the next, each interesting in its own way. Its writing is brilliant, too, with some genuinely funny jokes that will have you grinning as you play. It's just a shame that its turn-based combat gets old quite fast, and is devoid of challenge.

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9 / 10.0
Jun 4, 2024

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is everything it needs to be. The original game was such a delightful entry that it has overshadowed every Paper Mario game since, and the remake captures all of that charm without losing an iota of what made the original great. It's easily the definitive version of the game, and it's a fantastic experience for newcomers and nostalgic fans alike. It's a strong contender for the best Mario RPG of all time, and if you're looking for a fun adventure, it's one of the best experiences on the Switch.

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9.5 / 10.0
Jun 14, 2024

Sometimes I get excited and say "this is not only the best Paper Mario game, but the best Mario game" for The Thousand-Year Door. I don't think I'm wrong.

Review in Turkish | Read full review

May 21, 2024

That is probably a big part of the reason that Thousand-Year Door doesn’t feel like a “retro” game to play, despite being 20 years old and this “remake” being barely touched from the original. It’s rare for a game to be quite this timeless, and thank goodness it hasn’t been lost to the GameCube platform and now people can discover or rediscover it on modern hardware.

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Az Elias
Top Critic
9 / 10
May 26, 2024

Everything that Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door entails is everything that is desired in this series - turn-based timed button battles, completely original characters in familiar and new species, witty dialogue, and an emphasis on story and greater lore. This is a unique adventure full of fun and clever gameplay ideas, offering a medium-length RPG that will satisfy Mario fans eager to see more than stomping on koopas and - in the case of the more recent Paper Mario titles - repetitive battle systems and generic characters. If all goes well, fingers crossed that the success of this game can pave the way for a brand-new entry in the same vein as this one - ideally without a paper joke in sight.

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Nintendo News
Top Critic
9 / 10.0
May 21, 2024

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Nintendo Switch improves upon the GameCube classic in almost every way; not just with its impressive graphical overhaul, but with plenty of quality-of-life changes and additional content too. As long as you can handle some occasional backtracking and a reduced frame-rate of 30fps, this is undoubtedly the ultimate Paper Mario RPG experience. Mario games usually put the narrative to the wayside to focus on having fun and engaging gameplay, but The Thousand-Year Door manages to do both and succeeds at it in such a way that still hasn’t been topped 20 years later.

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8.5 / 10.0
May 21, 2024

It is not a full-blown remake with overhauled graphics or new episodes. But deep within lies truly one of the best parts of the series to be enjoyed even 20 years later with excellent gameplay, sharp-wit writing and funny dialogues for long evenings or short bursts.

Review in Slovak | Read full review