Limitations can, paradoxically, be a boon for artists. Such was the case with the original Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64. The system could handle only so many polygons, and it’s difficult to make a collection of polygons cute, so Nintendo opted to design a world around simple, flat planes. A paper RPG brought to life, the game had a design that was so iconic that it has stood the test of time. Surely, a modern high-definition remake would undermine that, right?
Well, perhaps not.
If it hadn’t been for the 2019 remake of 1993’s The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, it would’ve been easy to doubt that a graphical upgrade could improve an older classic. Generally, players—and the gaming industry broadly—tend to think increased graphical power is synonymous with “more realistic.” Link’s Awakening disproved that by using the Switch’s capabilities to give the game a toylike aesthetic that was vibrant and nostalgic, all while maintaining the feel of the original.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door presented a different challenge, though. The original game came out for the GameCube, the second generation of 3D-capable game consoles, and by the time it did, the aesthetic of flat, paper-crafted set pieces was already solidified. Any remake would have a much more vivid memory to live up to in the minds of fans. Which is why the new remake for Switch feels like such a marvel.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door’s Added Depth
From the moment I first fired up the new Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, I was struck by how much the world looked like, well, paper. “Isn’t this what it’s supposed to look like?” I thought. But looking back, the 2004 original really just looks … low poly. Don’t get me wrong, the design still gives the impression that you could make these levels out of paper cutouts. It’s just clear that most elements are made of the kind of infinitely-flat planes that only a computer can conjure.
In reality, even paper has depth, if only a little bit—especially the kind of sturdy paper you might expect to build a diorama out of. In this new remake, Nintendo has paid an exceptional amount of attention to this easily overlooked fact—a move that has made Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door the new game to beat when it comes to rebooted classics.