When I first tried Paper Mario: The Millennial Door, I made some odious comparisons, particularly to its predecessor RPG Super Mario, and realized that it’s one of the few Gamecube classics that I don’t have on my shelf. Now that I’ve opened the Millennial Door and adventured, having spent more than 30 hours in the company of Paper Mario and his friendly friends and enemies, I can make an informed judgment.
On the one hand, I now understand that this is the most popular Paper Mario. On the other hand, it’s the same reason why this installment is so fondly remembered, which speaks to an experience that hasn’t aged well in certain aspects.
Let’s start with everything new and cool. The remaster of Paper Mario: The Millennial Door for Nintendo Switch (I dare not call it a remake) is very good. Don’t worry so much about 30fps as it was already the norm for the series on the Switch to make things more attractive and you’ll get Peach’s dance with perfect timing. The game looks very good on screen, surprisingly good in portable mode, and the added colors and effects are a success. The original was already beautiful, but Wonder Forest has never been seen like this, and even the ugliest things in Shadowville now do justice to the concept art. Improved reflexes, particles in combat, dozens of characters, close-ups… the truth is that I didn’t stop pressing the record button.
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On that note of remastering, remember what I said about cuts in music? Now I know when it happens and it’s not a permanent error. The background music as well as the SFX of some actions or the ability to take screenshots can only be choppy or laggy if you download another game in the background (in my case Endless Ocean Luminous back then and recently Hades). It seems that there isn’t much left in the memory of the old and beloved Switch, but at least it’s a circumstantial question. And what a great sound! Although the Villa Viciosa theme isn’t my favorite, it’s otherwise delicious tunes and the new arrangements are great. Furthermore, the 5.1 surround sound is quite strange as it assigns the effects to the rear channels, resulting in a peculiar result, especially considering that the entire adventure is presented as a game of paper and cardboard.
The advantages of the classic that I mentioned still apply today: its great charisma and the work with the objects and medals. The Old Door contains many lines of text, all exquisitely written and translated into Spanish. To give you an idea, I was going to deduct a point from the grade you see at the end of this review for the most boring or underused sections, but the script more than makes up for it. It’s a really entertaining game, especially because of these hilarious, clever and funny stories and dialogues. If you don’t take it too seriously as a pure role-playing game and see it more as a narrative product, you will be able to easily accept this strange distribution of the final value.
The other thing that is very good about this installment compared to other Paper Mario games or the original Super Mario RPG is the items and the way you use them. In the theatrical battles there are items, attacks and medals with very beautiful representations of the Marian universe and with very original and funny button combinations that have never reached this level again, and the same applies to the movements of the companions.
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So what’s the problem? My main issues with Paper Mario: The Millennial Door have to do with how indulgent, superficial, or repetitive it can be at times when it doesn’t have to be.
For example in the difficulty of the fight. I think I’ve registered two “ends of the game” in the entire Ditto, well into the 20 hours and for me having stopped preparing the inventory some time ago. The fact that most common enemies barely have 4-5 heart points and that everything is solved in a few rounds gets boring pretty quickly, and that the progression is hidden in a way that doesn’t complicate things is counterproductive. In Super Mario RPG, if you adjust the “stats” of each party member to achieve the best balance in battle, you will find a loophole here: there is no sense of “build”. Strength and defense points are invisible and untouchable, companions cannot be changed, and Mario himself is limited to increasing PC, FP and MP (heart, flower or magic and medals) when leveling up. All inherent to the classic, yes, but the references on Switch are RPG or perhaps The Origami King, which at least made an effort to change the field tactics.
The many medals that serve as passive modifiers or to add new actions are a very good idea and the only way to immerse yourself a bit in the customization. However, since the difficulty level is so low, you may end up not having to worry too much, or you might try it out of sheer curiosity.
The other problem is some really boring walks and repetitive or filling parts. I understand that this is 2004 and that it’s not that bad for the time, but there are some parts that are really boring. If it was a remake, it would have been serious not to touch them up. Processing the first ten long hours, climbing to the top of a certain leaderboard or solving the mystery of a certain journey becomes very complicated, and not because it is difficult, not to mention completing the game by finding some of the to complete the most hidden extras.
But I never wanted to stop playing. This charisma, this originality continues to work with every step and calls you to keep going. This story, one of Mario’s few to focus on love, also had surprisingly thoughtful undertones. That little atmosphere in the battle theater where you keep an eye on the decent guy and pirouette to please him. This level design that sometimes makes you think and use all the acquired skills with ingenuity. That visual grace, the feeling of reel as Mario uses his “curses” around the world…
Despite all this and the good remastering work, Paper Mario: The Millennial Door for Nintendo Switch leaves a remarkable taste in the end. If you decide to experience this adventure for the first time, you will never forget the members of your party or the stories of Peach, Bowser and some secondary characters. Your companions may have a rather descriptive role at a statistical level, but their actions in combat are as original as the use of the controller in this game. If your goal is to revive the classic, you should know that it is a very good remaster and that although it does not come with new features, it adds some and the audiovisual package is worth it.
