Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door gets a release date

During the Mario Day celebration on March 10, Nintendo took the opportunity to announce a new Super Mario Bros movie by Illumination, along with the release date for Luigi's Mansion 2 and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, now scheduled for May 23.

The turn-based RPG was first released for the GameCube on July 22, 2004, in Japan, followed by October 11, 2004, in the USA. The Switch version features revamped graphics and additional changes that make the game easier to enjoy. Last year, Nintendo released the remake of Super Mario RPG, a Super Nintendo game now with a revamped look, new mechanics, and, best of all, preserving a title that had long been out of the spotlight.

In Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the evil organization X-Nauts is after the treasure hidden behind the Thousand-Year Door. To prevent the villains from getting the treasure first, Mario uses a map from Princess Peach and sets off with allies to a new world. The RPG features the iconic timed-input attacks of the series and elements like leveling up and learning new skills. Exclusive to this game, each gameplay segment is done alongside an audience, which the player must please if they want to earn SP to continue unleashing powerful Crystal Star moves.

Super Mario RPG was Mario's initial foray into the RPG universe. Produced by SquareSoft at the time, the creator of Final Fantasy, the game paved the way for Nintendo to continue investing in RPGs featuring the world's favorite plumber. This led to the Paper Mario series on the Nintendo 64 and the Mario & Luigi franchise on handheld consoles. However, it seems that the Japanese developer wanted to skip the first title in the series and went straight to Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door from GameCube. The most recent game in the franchise is Paper Mario: The Origami King, released in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch.

Fans speculate why Nintendo chose Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door over others. If considering a sales angle, a remaster of Super Paper Mario from the Wii might have made more sense, as it sold over 4 million units then. The game, however, is not a strictly turn-based RPG like the others and is more focused on action RPG elements. 

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door arrives on the Nintendo Switch on May 23, 2024. Fans of classic turn-based RPGs or those just wanting to embark on another Mario and his party journey, keep an eye on our comparator for the best deals on Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and get ready to experience a paper world filled with many adventures.