Screenshots :.
Paper Mario 2: Thousand-Year Door
GameCube
Matt
30-04-2007
"Profanity filter: On"
"Look at that really scary house, in the middle of nowhere, there could be anything inside....want to go in?"
"Nothing like a bit of plant whacking, eh?"
"Fetch?"
I’ll level with you folks; the original Paper Mario game completely slipped my radar when it was released back in October 2001. As a fresh-faced youth my main priorities had already shifted from Nintendo’s aging curvy black box to Sony’s new, more angular black box more out of only having the finances to support one console than me making some kind of statement. It’s only now, having played the original game’s sequel on the GameCube that I realise just how much I probably missed out on.
Paper Mario 2: The Thousand-Year Door is an utterly fantastic game. No need for me to hold that in until the end, as you have probably guessed it yourselves already. Developed by the same Intelligent Systems team who had looked after the Nintendo 64 original, the game blends adventuring, platforming and RPG action much the same way that AlphaDream’s Mario and Luigi games on the Game Boy and the DS do. Offering a range of familiar characters from the Mushroom Kingdom and introducing a whole host of charming, well-designed new characters along the way, Thousand-Year Door crams Nintendo charm into a cannon and fires it straight out of the GameCube disc tray onto your television.
Things start off with a familiar theme. Having gone on holiday, Princess Peach sends Mario and his brother Luigi a treasure map, insisting that our favourite pair of plumbers join her on the holiday island of Rogueport to launch a treasure hunt. Having arrived on the island of Rogueport expecting to meet up with his perennially kidnapped beau, Mario discovers that she’s been nabbed yet again and so once more it falls upon his squat shoulders to travel around, locate and ultimately save her.
Exploration and travel fills the majority of the game and sees the pair meeting with a wide array of characters that help and hinder them to some degree. Locations are wide-ranging and full of character, be they deserted tropical islands, haunted forests or towering castles. Each location is a joy to explore and discover, being vividly colourful and packed full of secrets and surprises to reward people who go that extra yard to complete everything they can.
Whilst adventuring, Mario and company learn some techniques to help them, all of which brilliantly play on the game’s 2D mixed with pseudo 3D world. An example of this is the ability that sees Mario fold himself into a paper aeroplane allowing him to float over long distances. Whereas the paper part of Paper Mario merely hinted at the original game’s visual style, it stands for a lot more in the sequel and will see you having Mario roll himself into a tube and twist himself into a spring amongst other abilities you’ll gain to aid your quest.
Battles take place on a stage in Thousand-Year Door and are turn-based. Watching your action will be a crowd of various background characters from the game, who will cheer and boo your actions. Do something to please them and more will turn up, which proves immensely helpful. Powerful attacks in the game are dealt by filling stars at the top of the screen, and the way which you do this is appealing to the audience for their adulation. Hence, bigger crowds mean quicker-filling stars and improved chances of you succeeding in your scrap.
As the game progresses you will meet characters who will join you as a sidekick (Luigi being off doing his own – hilarious – non-playable side adventure) and offer you different skills which you can then put to use during both adventuring and battling. A personal favourite of mine is a small pink Yoshi who allows you to hop on his back to jump big distances, whilst also providing you with the option of shooting Yoshi eggs at your opponents in battle amongst other things. Introducing a tactical element to the battles, selecting which partner is ideal for certain enemies ends up becoming quite a fine art during certain stages of the game.
The story which threads through the game is certainly no epic, but it does the job and is sprinkled with some lovely doses of humour which will have you giggling like a schoolgirl almost every time. Running gags such as Luigi having his own bumbling adventure which he excitedly informs Mario about at certain stages throughout the game, or individual moments like Bowser telling a guard ‘you’d better get some exercise, fatty!’ aren’t exactly Bill Bailey levels of comedy, but they put a smile on your face throughout your time playing.
Which is what Paper Mario 2 is all about. We have a good story, some lovely artistic design and a world jammed full of nooks and crannies for the player to search. It all adds up to being a game that makes you remember why you love playing games in the first place. Whilst not throwing up any particular quality that you could single out as being the main strength of the title, the overall class and obvious care and attention which has been lavished on Thousand-Year Door makes it a more than capable contender for being the best game the GameCube has to offer.
Paper Mario 2: The Thousand-Year Door is an utterly fantastic game. No need for me to hold that in until the end, as you have probably guessed it yourselves already. Developed by the same Intelligent Systems team who had looked after the Nintendo 64 original, the game blends adventuring, platforming and RPG action much the same way that AlphaDream’s Mario and Luigi games on the Game Boy and the DS do. Offering a range of familiar characters from the Mushroom Kingdom and introducing a whole host of charming, well-designed new characters along the way, Thousand-Year Door crams Nintendo charm into a cannon and fires it straight out of the GameCube disc tray onto your television.
Things start off with a familiar theme. Having gone on holiday, Princess Peach sends Mario and his brother Luigi a treasure map, insisting that our favourite pair of plumbers join her on the holiday island of Rogueport to launch a treasure hunt. Having arrived on the island of Rogueport expecting to meet up with his perennially kidnapped beau, Mario discovers that she’s been nabbed yet again and so once more it falls upon his squat shoulders to travel around, locate and ultimately save her.
Exploration and travel fills the majority of the game and sees the pair meeting with a wide array of characters that help and hinder them to some degree. Locations are wide-ranging and full of character, be they deserted tropical islands, haunted forests or towering castles. Each location is a joy to explore and discover, being vividly colourful and packed full of secrets and surprises to reward people who go that extra yard to complete everything they can.
Whilst adventuring, Mario and company learn some techniques to help them, all of which brilliantly play on the game’s 2D mixed with pseudo 3D world. An example of this is the ability that sees Mario fold himself into a paper aeroplane allowing him to float over long distances. Whereas the paper part of Paper Mario merely hinted at the original game’s visual style, it stands for a lot more in the sequel and will see you having Mario roll himself into a tube and twist himself into a spring amongst other abilities you’ll gain to aid your quest.
Battles take place on a stage in Thousand-Year Door and are turn-based. Watching your action will be a crowd of various background characters from the game, who will cheer and boo your actions. Do something to please them and more will turn up, which proves immensely helpful. Powerful attacks in the game are dealt by filling stars at the top of the screen, and the way which you do this is appealing to the audience for their adulation. Hence, bigger crowds mean quicker-filling stars and improved chances of you succeeding in your scrap.
As the game progresses you will meet characters who will join you as a sidekick (Luigi being off doing his own – hilarious – non-playable side adventure) and offer you different skills which you can then put to use during both adventuring and battling. A personal favourite of mine is a small pink Yoshi who allows you to hop on his back to jump big distances, whilst also providing you with the option of shooting Yoshi eggs at your opponents in battle amongst other things. Introducing a tactical element to the battles, selecting which partner is ideal for certain enemies ends up becoming quite a fine art during certain stages of the game.
The story which threads through the game is certainly no epic, but it does the job and is sprinkled with some lovely doses of humour which will have you giggling like a schoolgirl almost every time. Running gags such as Luigi having his own bumbling adventure which he excitedly informs Mario about at certain stages throughout the game, or individual moments like Bowser telling a guard ‘you’d better get some exercise, fatty!’ aren’t exactly Bill Bailey levels of comedy, but they put a smile on your face throughout your time playing.
Which is what Paper Mario 2 is all about. We have a good story, some lovely artistic design and a world jammed full of nooks and crannies for the player to search. It all adds up to being a game that makes you remember why you love playing games in the first place. Whilst not throwing up any particular quality that you could single out as being the main strength of the title, the overall class and obvious care and attention which has been lavished on Thousand-Year Door makes it a more than capable contender for being the best game the GameCube has to offer.
9/10