It’s hard to believe that it’s taken Nintendo this long to return to one of its most beloved GameCube titles, but perhaps it knew that Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door would be the banger it needed to fill out some of the remaining months of one of its most successful consoles.
This Nintendo Switch re-release/remaster/remake of easily the most legendary entry in the eclectic Paper Mario series lands today, and in case you missed reviews dropping earlier in the week – it’s almost exactly what you’d hope for. Gorgeous new visuals, light touches to gameplay to smooth over some of the quirks of the original, new content and quality-of-life features and a wonderfully-remixed soundtrack all come together to make it essential playing for newcomers or those who treasure the original.
We gave the game a huge 9.5/10 in our review, with James saying, “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.”
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door – The Cheapest Australian Deals
You can grab the game for as little as $68 on Amazon, or head here for the best launch day prices around Australia.
Other Aussie outlets were similarly in praise of The Thousand-Year Door, with GamesHub’s Leah Williams scoring it a massive 5/5 stars and writing, “Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Nintendo Switch does an excellent job of letting the quirks of the original game shine, in a refreshed release that feels perfect for newcomers and Paper Mario veterans alike.”
Checkpoint’s Edie WK scored it a 9.5/10, saying, “Nostalgia goggles haven’t failed us: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is still a masterpiece. With vastly improved graphics, a great rearranged soundtrack, and a few tasteful gameplay touchups, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Nintendo Switch is now the best version of this fan-favourite classic. The only thing missing is extra content for those who have already played it, but for everyone else, there’s no reason not to pick this one up.”
And with a sterling “A” grade, Paul James of Player2 praised this touching-up of a classic, writing, “Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door was a masterpiece in its day, and remains so in 2024. It’s a bit of a shame that a full remake wasn’t on the cards so that the game could get a modern facelift, however, the game’s touched-up 2004 aesthetic, paired with its 2004 charms and 2004 endearing characters and immerse gameplay, still hold up well all these years on. There is no better time to dive into one of the greatest JRPGs of all time than now. Nintendo, this is the Paper Mario game we all want, more of this please!”
