Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door review: a worthy new version of a must-play classic

Remaking a classic is always tricky. Video game development is like alchemy; that anyone happens upon the exact right combination of elements to make a true classic title is practically a miracle. Even saying that is a slight disservice, though – as the process is undoubtedly less scientific than that. All this is to say: it’s very easy to upset the cart ever so slightly with a remake or even remaster, and bam – just like that, it’s a classic no more.

But when the process works, it’s a joy. Twenty years on from its GameCube release, Paper Mario: THe Thousand Year Door is back – and it’s as brilliant as it ever was. That makes it one of Mario’s best spin-off outings, by the way.

The Thousand Year Door stands apart from the Paper Mario titles since with a simple, vital fact: it is a role-playing game. A proper one. That to me is the template that the Paper Mario series should follow, especially given its status as a de-facto follow-up to Super Mario RPG, which also enjoyed a Nintendo Switch remake.