Remember how the loading times in Resident Evil were masked, badly, by really slow animations of doors opening? Yeah, those doors have got nothin’ on Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Nintendo really ought to consider investing in some danged WD-40.
I remember Game Informer ripping this game a new one, and after playing through it, I could never figure out why. It’s a great game, if a bit longer than the typical Paper Mario fare.
It looks like they’re going back to this style for the 3DS incarnation, as opposed to that of Super Paper Mario. I really couldn’t be happier, although SPM was awesome as well.
I believe GI’s justification was “We like it but we were grading it according to our estimation of what readers will think,” a defense which honestly is a lot worse than just saying, “We think it is a stupid baby game.”
The day I read that review was the day I realized that 10 years subscribed to GI was long enough. Let my subscription run out that year and haven’t looked back. Every new issue I happen to see or hear about justifies that decision.
I’m sorry, I meant to say the day I read *that justification* of their review.
Wow. That makes it much worse. Yeesh. Thanks for that tidbit.
I’ve always felt from the first day I played this game it was one of the best RPGs I’ve ever played. The mechanics are just sublime, the huge emphasis on timing and other little mini-games keeps combat constantly engaging and the math is simple which makes it easy to interpret. The music in the 3 Paper Mario games is fantastic and the humor is greatly appreciated. What I really dig about this game is the constant acknowledgment that it’s a game, and there’s nothing wrong with that. Like the crowd that either cheers you on or boos based on your performance in battles, the tongue-in-cheek video game culture references and spoofs, and perhaps my second all-time favorite moment in a Nintendo game, the game show trivia spoofs with the twomp acting as the host. Just golden stuff. Guess what my first favorite Nintendo game moment is. Here’s a hint, Japanese dating sim and Peach in this game’s sequel/spin off, just typing that makes me giggle.
One of the greatest things about this game is how unique and fresh each of the chapters felt. In one chapter, you’re fighting in a wrestling ring, taking on tough dudes and rising through the ranks, and in the next you’re a detective aboard a train, snooping for clues and getting killed for reading a ghost’s diary.
The game is great. Go play it.
The best word I can think of to describes this game is – delightful!
The Paper Mario series is one I always look forward to a new game from. Hearing there was going to be one for the 3DS makes me very happy.
Having played all the Mario & Luigi games and loving them (1 & 3 especially), I’ve always been curious about the Paper Mario series.Reading about it as an outsider, I’m surprised that the Mario series was able to establish 2 seperate RPG series with Light hearted story, a drizzle of self parodying and some simple platforming.
I would love to see someone write a comprehensive comparison between the 2 series. In the mean time, I should start playing the Paper Mario series myself and maybe get to write that article myself.
I am generally not an RPG player, not of the menu-based variety. That said, this is one of my favorite games. Ever.