LogFAQs > #950435911

25. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GameCube, 2004)

The first Paper Mario sequel, before Nintendo decided to tank the series by going out of their way to systematically remove everything that everyone liked about the games. This game, though, takes everything that people liked about the original and brings it back, and ups it to 11. The game length is more than doubled, there's a whole host of extra collectibles, a ton of extra sidequests and NPCs, and a beefy 100-floor dungeon challenge that you can totally ignore, but why would you?
This game has what I think is the absolute best RPG combat system I've ever played. It takes the core of Paper Mario 1's mechanics: turn-based battles where your attacks (and defending opponents' attacks) have a timing element to them, allowing you to do (or prevent) more damage via a good button press, or a spin of the control stick, or whatever little challenge the game has presented to you. In addition, TTYD adds an extra set of hidden timing inputs, called Stylish commands, that you can use to add some flair to your attacks (it earns extra star power for your special meter) and feels so good to pull off. There's also a "live audience" that throws items (yay!) or hammers (boo!) at you, and you have to react to avoid damage; and a roulette mechanic that can earn you big bonuses if you match 3 symbols in row. (Just don't get the Poison Mushrooms.)
Layered atop all of that is the game's badge system, which returns from Paper Mario 1 and is beefier as well. Badges offer unique attacks, or special powers, or simple power bonuses, that can be equipped for a fixed number of points. Like health and flower points (akin to magic power), you can get more badge points upon leveling up, and unlike Paper Mario 1, there's no maximum and it's almost always worth it to go crazy to do insane shenanigans with badges. You can get infinite amounts of many of the basic badge types, so with the right amount of BP and the proper setup, you can apply some insane strategies. (and they're very worth it for the aforementioned 100-floor dungeon slog.) It feels so customizable, so replayable, and yet like the first game, so simple to play and satisfying to move along. Battles flow really smoothly, and there's no lengthy tutorial sequence here - you're given action commands and can start doing crazy stuff pretty much right out of the gate.
Where I rate TTYD much less than its predecessor is the story and pace of the game. TTYD is far more ambitious, and in some cases, it pays off in spades. Chapter 3 is centered entirely around becoming a fighter in a colosseum-style series of battles, ranking up on a ladder to reach the top and attain the Championship belt; it's one of the standout portions of the game. Chapter 5, meanwhile, is a meandering wild narrative trainwreck (in a good way), starring a tragic widowed Bob-omb, two eloping Piantas from the game's Pianta Mafia, an obnoxious smug sea captain, and a talking pirate skull. There are also portions of the game where the length feels stretched - Chapter 2, 4, 6, and 7 all have notable parts (MSG mentioned some of these) where the game feels padded with unnecessary backtracking. There's also plenty of sections where puzzle solutions feel like a repeat from the first Paper Mario game. That's not specifically counting things that feel like direct references, just several areas where ideas seemed to run out and they just pulled something back from the first game again.
TTYD is such a strong package that despite its flaws I still tossed it into the Top 25 without much thought. It's a game I could pick up and run through for 20-30 hours easily at any time; its battle system is so addicting and satisfying, and also so variable, that it's just a blast to go through. I think there's not really any mystery with the way I've worded any of this that Paper Mario 1 is also gonna show up on the countdown later, and I can dig into more of why these two games are such a blast there, and what unique charms really bump that one ahead of this. But TTYD is still great and more than holds its own. And sadly, as I mentioned at the start, the series really never would come close to these heights again, despite the obvious strengths of these two beloved games.

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