A Grand Retelling | Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door (Switch) Review
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- Опубликовано: 5 окт 2024
- Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was one of the best games on the Gamecube. 20 years later, was Intelligent Systems able to take this classic, update it, and make it one of the Switch's best games too?
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I've been playing this remake a lot recently as a graduation gift, and I honestly now feel and understand what most paper mario fans have felt for years
Which is why we’ve been so disappointed with the last 3 plus the Mario and Luigi series games.
Hey, coincidentally I also graduated recently and have bought it as a graduation gift!
I actually had already played the GameCube version, but emulated on the Wii, but it’s still been an amazing experience so far, and I’m glad you’re enjoying it as well!
@@xarim4769 Thank you man, congrats to you as well. I beat it recently and i plan on making a video on it and super paper mario
I've been binging your Mario RPG videos for a while and I just wanted to say that the way you went about describing Vivian's identity from the lens of how it serves and improves the story, rather than diving into this from the angle of this being a CONTROVERSY like so many people seem to do (even if they're being accepting at the end of the day), made me really happy
One aspect of Vivian I think often gets overlooked is how her arc plays into the overall story of Chapter 4. That entire chapter is about identity. Mario loses his, Doopliss falsely takes on someone else’s, and Vivian firmly establishes her own. Vivian’s original turn absolutely worked great as a general “stand up for yourself” tale, but it being about her identity perfectly ties it into everything else going on in the chapter
...And then they have her join back with Beldam to give her another chance in the epilogue even though she has no reason to after saying that she wants to continue traveling with Mario...
@@Loner098 If Vivian wants to give her family another chance, that is fully her choice. Goombella even states Beldam's changed. Whether or not you believe that is up to you, but seemingly Vivian believes it enough to try to rebuild that relationship. It's not regression, it's reconciliation.
@MetalLegacy34 Well, realistically speaking, I don't think this was the correct writing decision for Vivian's ending. I feel like what should've happened is that Vivian decides to socialize with many people around her, finding her own community (considering she's apparently a transgender female in this remake), and helping out those who feel like they don't belong in this world. Mario helped her out when she was feeling hopeless, so I feel this doesn't detract from her desire to help out others who are suffering while acknowledging that those who commit bad deeds will face consequences. Yes, it's cliché, but I think I would prefer it much more over what the game had to offer.
It doesn't really make sense to me as to why Beldam and Doopliss don't get any consequences for the things they've done that range from verbal abuse and turning people into pigs against to manipulating someone into summoning a demon to take over the world. Hooktail and Grubba had their comeuppance for their actions, so why do Beldam and Doopliss get off with a slap on the wrist?
...Okay, while some people *can* indeed change for the better, and if it is somehow done magically (offscreen), that doesn't automatically excuse them of the crimes they committed. Persona 5 Royal teaches this to the players, after all.
@@Loner098 I actually do quite like your idea, but just for the sake of discussion I'll defend the actual ending. Vivian has always wanted to be accepted by her family. Before joining Mario, she is regularly seeking validation and support from them. She decides to go with someone who actually shows her the compassion she's been seeking, but that doesn't inheriently mean she's "over" wanting to be with her family. Her ending back with them and them all being happy is a full circle ending for her. She finally got what she wanted for the entire first half of the game.
I will completely agree on the lack of consequences for the antagionists though, that's something that's always bothered me. Grodus absolutely should've died from the Shadow Queen. Him being just a head is funny, but the joke isn't worth it, he's such a nothing character he'd be the perfect body to face real consequences. Beldam I could argue faces consequences during the story. It's not the strongest argument but I’ll make one. She loses her sister directly because of her own actions (yes only temporairly but it's still something), this plan she spent 1000 years conducting gets thwarted at the very last moment (in part due to her sister defecting no less), and her entire life's purpose gets destroyed right in front of her. She doesn't really have a choice but to change, everything she's ever known and worked for gets destroyed. The personality change is conveyed to the player poorly as it's told via a third party and not shown at all, but given the context of a "where are they now" wrap up email I get why they did it that way.
Again this is a weak argument, in fact a much weaker one, but Doopliss' "consequences" is having Beldam not respect his identity. He spent an entire chapter taking great joy in erasing the identity of others only to then throw a fit when his own identity gets disrespected. It is purely played for laughs and not anything real or long lasting, but I guess you could theoretically *infer* that him getting a taste of his own medicine made him see the error of his ways and that's why he changes and joins the play and everyone's alright with him. It's a stretch for sure, there's nothing in the game actually saying that happened, but it is plausible.
I can't comment on P5 as I haven't played it, but for TTYD yeah the lack of consequences is definitely a weak point. I do think there's a tiny tiny bit more than what you're giving the game credit for, but it's not much. I was really hoping they would improve on it in the remake, but alas they basically didn't make any substance changes to the story at all.
@@MetalLegacy34 I am aware the writers wished to give Vivian a happy ending, but I believe Vivian should've been showing a much more rebellious side to her by calling Beldam by her own rather than "Sis" and not once apologizing, because I personally don't think Beldam deserves an apology when all Beldam's lever done is berate her own two sisters - more leaning towards Vivian, by the way - and got someone else do her dirty work for her to take over the world in shadows.
Regarding Grodus, Shadow Queen, and the topic of death itself, I agree that Grodus should've died. Him being alive just kinda takes away a lot of the tension of the Shadow Queen. It would've been a stronger scene to see this game's major villain be wiped from existence permanently by an even greater power. Hooktail and Gloomtail were killed off for real, and it seemed likely that Grubba was, too, so how come Grodus getting the axe was too dark to make the cut? In fact, TEC being alive is just outright cheap. They did such a good job at making him a tragic character and then decided to bring him back with a very vague explanation that's just left to your own interpretation.
As for Beldam's "consequences during the story," I feel like those are just a bit too weak for said consequences. I'm talking about consequences by something like higher authority, but the problem with that is Rogueport doesn't really have an actual justice system... Actually, I just noticed something: Grodus didn't actually use the Crystal Stars to awaken the Shadow Queen because WE still had them. Hell, Beldam probably could’ve that as well, so why even have Grodus as a middleman? But if the writers really were so dead-set on having Beldam get a change of heart, then they should've done a better build-up to justify her becoming a nice person. After all, there's a common technique in RPGs known as "show, don't tell." It allows the player to think for themselves and have enough information that doesn't just feel cheapened.
As for Doopliss, I think he just sees Beldam's mistreatment as more of an annoyance that he just had to put up with, but that consequence kinda doesn't really feel any satisfying.
If you have not played Persona 5 Royal, I can recommend watching a walkthrough of the game on Hawlo's channel.
Overall, love the video! One note though, the reason stage hazards seemed to trigger so often in the battle you mentioned, the Crump Chapter 5 battle, was because you were heavily using Power Jump. Moves like Power Jump, Smash, Quake Hammer, Body Slam, Bomb etc, cause more stage hazards to happen, because they're "shaking the stage" and stuff. So while your point about the stage hazards being more in your favor in most likely true, I saw that plenty in my own playthrough, I don't think stage hazards trigger that much more or less than the original.
It seemed like way less for me vs my last Gamecube playthrough, but I think that's due to me rarely using Quake Hammer in this playthrough versus the last one. There may be an observable difference, but I don't think that battle alone is a good enough indication is all.
Oh yeah, I never used Quake Hammer or Power Jump at all, and I only ever got stage hazards a few times every chapter.
I think this is now the best version of TTYD. I wish they had made some more improvements over the original (badges, more enemies/bosses, make the blade trouble center quests more interesting) but what we got was pretty great anyway.
Now I just hope they go vack and do the same thing for Paper Mario 64.
bobberys music would fit right into windwaker or purple streamer
also you forgot to mention that you cant rewind text unlike the original (and havent been able to since sticker star)
Mario and Luigi is back and i am happy and I am excited for the review
If I have one gripe..ONE gripe.
The OG Music Badge does not apply to title screen, nor does it change “night night Mario” to its original slower version. It genuinely made me ache to learn.
Edit: Smaller 2nd gripe, can’t see playtime in-game which I enjoyed for tracking.
Still 10/10
23:40 rebuttal: the freezing and showing the potential hecklers is a good change because it makes the game more accessible for visually impaired players. It was very hard to see in the original for many visually impaired folks.
This would have made a great accessibility option, but ultimately making it always-on detracts from the experience IMO.
@28:15 But Fahr Out post's citizens still have a Slavic speech pattern. I haven't compared it to the original so it's POSSIBLE they toned it down, but it was absolutely still noticeable.
Paper Mario: The 20-Year Comeback!
Love all your videos on this series (and others). Keep up the great work!
2:06 that hit harder than I expected
I love the remake and have played the orginal every summer since 2009. And now ill be playing the remake going forward and occasionally going back to the gamecube
As someone who's only played the remake, I love it! The main things I'm jealous of from the GameCube version is the faster text and battle speed. I'm the kind of person who will play games like this over and over with different builds and restrictions, so speeding up the dialogue and combat would have been really appreciated.
there were a few things that were added from what I’ve seen before but Paper mario changed a bunch over time. I do hope that a newer Paper mario would come out with the same feel as TTYD/64 and a similar story to that of SPM but more understandable too. either way I do hope Paper mario as well as Brotherhood has that same charm and feel to their predecessors.
brothership not brotherhood
@@questionmarkquestionmarkques I’m dumb and kinda slipped my mind lol, but hey least we’re still getting a new M&L game anyways
The Switch version was the first time I played this game and maaaaan it is really that good. I loved the story and the characters, the visuals, the music, the final Boss is menacing wich was a surprise for me and of course the battle system is soo deep and interesting. There is no wrong playstyle you can make it harder or easier if you want. The TTYD remake is sooo good I think it will be my Game of the Year.
Everyone should play it one way or the other, The Remake or the original GameCube version (on console or on PC using Dolphin).
I feel like once the Switch successor comes out, this game will hopefully be updated to be the ideal version of TTYD. As much as I acclimated to it, the 30fps downgrade is a bit of a bummer, and the slower text speed kills me too. If they increase it to 60fps again and allow players to speed through text again, it'll be better than the OG in 99% of instances IMO.
My favorite music track is the battle theme on the moon. It sounds like a eruobeat song straight out of Initial D
TTYD is my favorite game of all time, and I greatly prefer the remake, the graphics are a perfect blend of TTYD charm and modern Paper esque graphics, there's only 2 remixes I don't like: Glitzville and Rawk Hawk, I hardly have anything to complain about this remake, the atmosphere feels the same to me, and the atmosphere has been greatly enhanced in some areas imo, for example in the remake, Boggly Woods, Twilight Town, Pirate's Grotto, Sunset Station, Fahr Outpost, The Moon, X Naut Fortress and my favorite mario location, the Palace of Shadow all have enhanced atmosphere! The characters has so much more charm to them, and I never minded the some of the slowness. This remake is perfect to me. 10/10
Personally I find the Wii in general to be too much of a pain in the the butt for me to set up these days, and I'm not willing to buy an out-of-date console from an era where you needed a memory card independent of the system to save your progress, so this version is my go-to forever. I can get why some others wouldn't think so though, I guess.
I remember when I first saw the trailers for the remake, and I thought to myself “Oh that’s so cool. Maybe I’ll pick it up if I ever want to.”, since I had a Dolphin emulator and had already played the game a couple years ago. But then one trailer showed me that Hooktail’s Castle had a different battle theme, and I was HOOKED. I learned about the different character sprites and portraits, I heard that they made backtracking easier, and I needed to see what they did.
If you’ve ever heard the phrase “Death by a Thousand Cuts”, then this remake for me was “Remade with a Thousand Healings”. They took a game with an already outstanding story and gameplay, and added/fixed so many little things that it just became so much more enjoyable then I thought it could be. Nostalgia Tunes badge for me basically solidifies that, unless you REEEEEALLY love the OG or modding that much, there’s no real reason to go back to it.
I've definitely been waiting for this review 😊
I don't think this translation really shows Beldam as bullying Vivian out of transphobia. None of her insults target Vivian's gender or appearance in this one, and Vivian only describes the bullying as "feeling heavier" after coming out.
It's almost like they wanted to canonize Vivian as trans, but specifically didn't want to paint Beldam as transphobic. I'm guessing it's because Vivian does go back to her sisters in the end, and they didn't want Beldam to seem too unforgivable.
It is more realistic. Most people who you could describe as transphobic aren't Matt Walsh or J. K. Rowling. Beldam is, like most people, fairly inconsistent. She refuses to call Vivian a sister, but still uses her correct pronouns, likely not even thinking about it. That's what most real-world bigotry looks like, borne of lack of understanding rather than hatred.
It's funny, I actually beat the remake in a week, the following Friday the game came out haha
I WASNT SUBSCRIBED ALREADY?!
Keep up the good work! Love the vids
Sounds like someone didn't fight any enemies in Riverside Station, otherwise the banger of a theme that is chapter 6's rendition of the battle theme would've been mentioned.
I personally enjoyed this remake and rank it slightly above the original. Most of the stuff they added was good (a lot of them you did mention), while a few aren't. Rawk Hawk's 'new' theme being a total downgrade and the two new bosses being completely not fun to fight against, to name some.
Overall though it's a good game and remake... I still like the original Paper Mario a lot more however. The remake didn't change my opionion on that.
I haven't really noticed any lag in the battle menus, but that might just be because I play in handheld mode most of the time? Maybe? I don't know if that's how that works. I also haven't played the original in a hot minute so I'm just going based off of memory.
This review convinced me to buy it. 👍
Us super paper mario fans are now the starving ones
Meanwhile Paper Mario 1 fans paying $50 a year to play a buggy version of their game.
@@KyletheReflectionist my apologies..
@@Asurvivoroftheapp Aw, haha. I was really just joking, don't worry about it. While I'd love Paper Mario 64 or Super to get a proper remake too, I'm personally happy with what we got.
This remake is amazing, I wish they didn't kill most of the sfx, didn't fix the trouble center or add new troubles at all and make the dialogue so much slower and impossible to skip unlike the original but otherwise it's pretty much everything I wanted. At most I kinda wish there was a few new bosses, troubles or a boss rush mode but it's really good regardless.
If you read the text right, Vivian literally says the bullying was there even before the transition, and it just felt heavier after, which further implies being trans had nothing to do with the bullying, she just felt worse about the bullying
I actually got only hit by the stage cannons in the final boss fight. My whole playthrough they only fired at my enemies to the point I thought, the game is bugged
Literally forgot that it was supposed to be 60 fps. They adjusted the gameplay to fit the new frame rate, and it played amazingly.
It blows my mind that people were/are complaining about such a trivial thing 🤦🏽♂️
Great review!
Explicitly Trans Vivian is one of the best changes; and from what I've heard of how the original script handles things, it's been better handled now too! c:
I was initially excited for this remake but once I found out it’s only 30 FPS compared to the original’s 60, I just couldn’t bring myself to spend $60 on it. I’m over the Switch and it’s weak hardware at this point. If it can’t run a GameCube game properly then why should I bother supporting it
Idk if anyone has ever told you this but you kinda sound like AntDude
This was the first game I ever preordered.
Even without the proper translation, the story with Vivian hit my closeted trans-teen self hard in the emotions.
The entire chapter is all about losing and finding your identity paired with cutting off abusive family for a chosen family that celebrates and supports you.
This game has been close to me heart.
Excited to one day give the new version a playthrough.
lmao
Music is a mixed bag for me. Some tracks outpace their original counterparts in terms of the amount of ambience they bring by a significant amount (Rogueport Sewers, Twilight Town), while other tracks drown out the original melody with a barrage of noise (Macho Grubba theme) or completely alter the atmosphere crafted by the original version (Glitzville theme).
My biggest overall complaint with the new soundtrack is the tendency for songs to fill quieter or emptier portions of the original score with more instrumentation. The OG soundtrack was often reflective, ambient, and helped sell the immersion into the game's world. The new soundtrack is so much louder by comparison, disrupting moments where the player is meant to relax, take in the vibe, or reflect on a character moment/story beat and tossing a shit ton of noise at you. I just wish the new soundtrack took more time to breathe instead of packing every single second with a loud instrument or intense solo, because that's NOT the kind of game TTYD is.
As a trans woman who also had to leave an unaccepting family, Vivian's story always resonated with me, and it means so much to me that Nintendo made it explicit in this translation!
I personally don’t like accents being included in games that require you to read text. That always required me to give something another read through to understand what the character said.
So the remake omitting accents is a boon for me personally.
Extremely glad they added a toggle for the old music in this game. Some of the new tracks in this game just do not do it for me. Particularly Petalburg and Rogueport
I wish there was an actual toggle like smash Bros, where you can pick which version of which track you want to play when
I get I’m in the minority here, but I liked the first paper Mario more than this sequel.
I still feel empty since 100% it
I love your thoughts on the game I'm about to get it soon
Psssstt... BTW I Subscribed to your channel your are welcome
Gonna wait until they at least fix the battle menus before playing.
I can't handle constant irritation of waiting for animations that are slightly too long.
Are you AntDude's father?
I'm only two years older than him 😭
@@ScionVyse !!! Well you sound exactly alike. Brothers?
Nope, never even met him. It's interesting that people think we sound so alike though, as I don't really hear it myself.
@@ScionVysethe beggining of BIS is almost indentical
as a trans woman named vivian i was so happy to see the localization finally showed that aspect of her character
HOW DID THEY FUCK UP THE TEXT SPEED???!??!!!!
It really hurt what enjoyment I did get out of Oragami King.
Why would anybody watch reviews for this game, we all know what people are gonna say "it's a masterpiece, it has no flaws, i hope Nintendo goes back to the OG format, the new ones are bullsh*t" why watch reviews for this game if you have Twitter
I just wish it had 60fps, feels weird as hell to see the original be way smoother than the new one
I'm glad that they restored Vivian's trans identity, but I think they could've been more clear in explaining that Beldam increased the bullying after Vivian transitioned.
The only thing Vivian actually says is "now their usual bullying feels heavier".
That doesn't sound like the bullying got worse. Instead, it sounds like it's Vivian who is taking it to heart more. (Which has other unfortunate implications, but that's a different conversation.) It's not clear that Beldam's behavior has changed, especially when Vivian describes it as "their usual bullying".
I think the line should've been: "It took me a long time to realize I was their sister, not their brother. Beldam wasn't exactly nice to me before, but ever since then, she's become unbearable."
Something along those lines.
In the original japanese script, Beldam was actively being transphobic by rubbing Vivian's biological sex in her face in front of everyone. That was changed in the first english localization to her just calling Vivian ugly, but now it was changed again to her just calling her sappy.
So ironically, Beldam is never actually being transphobic when she bullies Vivian in the remake. She's just being awful in a bunch of other ways.
So for all we know, Beldam doesn't actually mind Vivian's identity.
It's like they tried to erase depictions of transphobia... in a story whose moral is that transphobia is cruel... which doesn't really work.
If they had changed that one line to be more clear, you'd have all the implications you need, without it being overly explicit.
It’s a freaking Mario game not a gender studies class
That moment you think the entire game is about Vivian because it's a trans character. Wow.
@@zablami No one said that.
The Nintendo Switch has the issue of too many games being a remake or port of an earlier game, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door included. That makes it less interesting of a library.