Summary

• Fans eagerly anticipate the 2024 release of the Paper Mario: TTYD remake, breathing new life into the beloved Paper Mario franchise.
• A fake trailer for a Nintendo 3DS port of Paper Mario: TTYD tricked many fans in 2015.
• The announcement of the TTYD remake on the Switch is a timely and fitting addition to the 2024 release lineup.

With the remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door coming soon, ion for the franchise has been reignited. The remake will be the 8th installment in the series, and it looks set to breathe new life into what is arguably the best Paper Mario title in the series. When The Thousand-Year Door initially released on the Nintendo’s GameCube console in 2004, it was met with acclaim from both critics and players. Given its unique animation style and compelling combat, Paper Mario has become a Nintendo staple. Twenty years later, the remake of TTYD is one of 2024's most anticipated games.

Yet, like any franchise, the Paper Mario series has seen its own highs and lows. While Paper Mario: TTYD is widely considered the best in the franchise, not all of its installments have been met with similar affection. Paper Mario: Sticker Star came to the Nintendo 3DS in November 2012, and it was met with a generally mixed response. A few years later, in 2015, fans were elated to see a "leaked" trailer that allegedly showed an unannounced port of Paper Mario: TTYD that was coming to the 3DS - complete with 3D effects. However, the trailer was only a fake.

A Paper Mario: TTYD Remake Would Have Been A Better Sequel Than Sticker Star Or Paper Jam

Wishful Thinking By Mario Fans

While not a single game in the Paper Mario series should be considered a “bad game,” Sticker Star did leave many longing for the superior story and mechanics of TTYD. Not wanting Sticker Star to feel like more of the same, Nintendo introduced stickers into the gameplay that would be used in the turn-based battles as power-ups, and for solving puzzles through the game’s world. Many felt the reliance on the sticker system deprived the game of its depth of combat featured in previous Paper Mario titles. This appetite for earlier Paper Mario made the conditions right for what was coming.

In 2015, buzz began to surround a supposedly leaked trailer for a 3DS port of Paper Mario: TTYD. Many would believe the veracity of the trailer, hopeful that the GameCube classic they loved would soon be coming to what was then modern hardware. Many were suspicious of the footage; however, as there was no mention from Nintendo that such a project was even being considered. The original poster of the content eventually conceded that the leak was actually a fake. While 2015 did see the release of a pseudo-Paper Mario sequel with Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, it was still not TTYD.

The argument for many is that Sticker Star wasn’t so much a bad game, but that its effect on the Paper Mario games that followed it was a detriment to the series. For many, much of what came out of Sticker Star and Paper Mario: Color Splash felt gimmicky, as opposed to an innovation in gameplay. Likewise, TTYD was the best the series had seen, making those that followed feel lackluster. With a legitimate remake of TTYD nearly here, it's easy to wonder if it was best to wait until now to reintroduce the classic.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake

Better Late Than Never

It's good that TTYD is being remade now, as opposed to never at all, but it's also understandable why fans in 2015 were let down to find that the leak was actually fan-made. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is an enjoyable game, but the fake leak spoiled some of the hype surrounding its release at the time, and understandably so. While a TTYD remake on 3DS would have surely done well, timeless games will thrive on nearly any hardware they are on. Given the Switch's technical prowess over past Nintendo consoles, fans can be assured it will be done well.

The hype around the release of TTYD is palpable, and it makes a fitting addition to the aging Switch’s 2024 release lineup. If a next-gen Switch console is truly coming next year, now is the perfect time to revisit this 20-year-old classic. Sure, most would have preferred a remake of TTYD on the 3DS, compared to what came with Sticker Star and Paper Jam, but timing is also very important. For celebrated games like TTYD, it's always the right time. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has been beloved for two decades, and it will be loved for decades more.