Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a well-beloved entry in the anthology of Mario RPGs, and with good reason. But for as strong as the game is, it falls short of the legendary status it has been given.
So what's the plot, overall? The X-Nauts are hunting for a legendary treasure, and Mario must stop them from acquiring it at any cost. The fact that this treasure is a demon that uses Princess Peach as a vessel to awaken adds another dynamic and is an actual plot-use for Peach, but overall, the story errs closer to not being a story one might associate with Mario. The gathering of seven star-shaped collectibles is very Mario, but the characters and world Mario is surrounded by takes a step away from both Mario's iconic designs and functions. In the thick of the action, the idea is that you stop thinking you're in a Mario game and start thinking you're in an RPG, and while that isn't necessarily a problem, that is something you have to play carefully with, because if the stuff you're left with isn't good, then the immersion will be worthless.
The plot is good, especially considering the undercurrent of Grodus always considering whether the plans he has are currently viable for dealing with Mario and adopting new ones as Mario crushes the old ones. However, the ending comes dangerously close to undermining the whole adventure. Beldam, the X-Nauts and TEC should not have come back, and the fact that they did so reveals a layer of uncertainty in the writers' room that weakens the stories being told. How are we supposed to read Vivian if "she goes back to Beldam" is considered her happy ending? TEC blew themselves up specifically to deny the X-Nauts use of the Fortress- how can we admire their courage when their efforts are actively rewound? It is possible that the miraculous and unexplained revivals and redemptions are intended as an extension of TTYD's parody elements, where the joke is exaggerating saccharine endings where everyone is happy by extending that montage well past the point that everyone should be happy. The problem with this suggestion is that it is bold to attempt when the rest of the story is otherwise on the earnest end of the scale, with the parody elements confined to mechanics and the structure of the story as opposed to the content.
As for the world itself, the main hub town being a place that doesn't belong in Mario is both a blessing and a curse. By being so novel, disconcerting and daring, the game quickly establishes its own identity, but the fact that it is inherently limited by not being allowed to go the full distance helps to defang that town. There is blood, but there cannot be a murder. There is a bar, but they must drink cola. The mafia rule the roost, but they're not allowed to put people in cement shoes. The majority of crimes that get shown are of the form "don't ask", which is the game putting forward its best effort to present the idea of this town while not actually being allowed to depict it. In addition, the other locales, with the nominal exception of the Glitz Pit, stray away from this "cutthroat lawless side of the kingdom" aesthetic and feel far safer to belong in- which means that Rogueport's dangers are limited only to NPC dialogue and the Don Pianta content. The X-Nauts being as oppressive as they are carries the tone further afield from Rogueport- that is, when they're not being comical oafs it's hard to be worried about except for the possibility they might hurt themselves. Crump has a lot to handle, being both comic relief and a vessel for drama and high stakes.
The chapters themselves, on an individual scale, do feel significantly improved over 64. That's a general undercurrent that pervades the whole game- directly compare two elements, and TTYD wins out over 64 in the vast majority of cases. Individual chapter stories have a full plot apiece, with a strong core conflict that Mario can insert himself into. Chapters in 64 were far more aimless in comparison- the town would have people in need of help, the dungeon would be inhabited by a monster guarding the Star Spirit Mario needs, and while the two are theoretically linked, the tissue doing so is nothing but sinew, with the exception of Chapter 3. Every Chapter in TTYD is a strong Town Story in its own right, with the exception of Chapter 7- which was always going to be an uphill battle anyway- and nailing this helps any problems with the overall narrative and tone. You have just enough of the X-Nauts through the TEC arc that you're still actively thinking about them, but they don't have to carry the whole story if the individual Chapter stories are picking up the slack- which is good, because the X-Nauts can't be as scary as they want to be in a game with Mario's tone and require hiding behind the black to keep up that impression.
Mechanically, TTYD's "improvements over 64" start to feel less decisive and more like sidegrades. The retooled Badge system allowing you to stack many types of power-increasing Badge, in addition to the new "ridiculously high" cap for BP means that the tight damage system fostered in 64 is quickly inflated. In practice, and also considering the easy accessibility of Power Lift and the nature of Superguards, the player doesn't necessarily know how much damage they are going to deal and take, bringing TTYD more in line with other RPGs in that you just use your most effective attacks and hope you take the enemy out. When you add the Stage on top of that, where any moment you can find loose props falling on your head to damage you, apply status conditions and in general cause chaos, fighting is overall more playful and loses the charm the low-numbers system adds. Since Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga has already come out, I have to wonder if that game had an influence on the mindset of the developers: Mario & Luigi's combat system incentivises fighting bosses without taking damage yourself, and because this is such a fun, Mario way of fighting, Mario & Luigi's core gameplay loop has remained the same throughout all five entries in spite of the changes to how it is played, something that Paper Mario cannot say the same. Even though TTYD is still using the beloved RPG formula that earned Paper Mario its accolades, the hesitance to continue doing so still tinges the corners of the setup even back here.
Overall, TTYD is a game I struggle to put a holistic label on. The story was better than I remembered it- although the 2004-era veneer of misogyny makes me uncomfortable at times- but the gameplay was much worse. It's a game that deserves much of its accolades and more, but it's also a game that isn't fun and any replay is tinged with the knowledge of all the backtracking that you're going to have to do. It's a game that's much better the first time than on the replays, which is once more in line with RPG tradition than it is with Mario. Admittedly, this particular issue also strikes the Mario & Luigi games- although instead of sluggish backtracking, Mario & Luigi suffers from extended tutorial sequences and a lack of a strong customisation system to form the backbone of the replayability. TTYD's Partners and Badges supplying the latter may be, in part, why TTYD has a stronger legacy than many of the individual Mario & Luigi games- it's easier to want to sit down and commit to a replay when you know what you want to focus on the next time. There's no one part to make you dread replaying the game- there's a hundred little moments that'll irritate you every step of the way.
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