I wrote this earlier today in a fit of boredom, and figured I might as well post it as an update given the site’s current lack of content. Feel free to hate it.

From the onset, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door does little to differentiate itself from its competition. In fact, it stands as the very definition of run-of-the-mill. Within the first thirty minutes players discover that Princess Peach has been kidnapped yet again, that an ancient evil lies buried beneath the world, and that the planet’s only hope for salvation lies in the seven crystal stars, conveniently scattered equidistantly across the globe. As ever, it’s up to Mario and company to save the day.

But though the game does little to set itself apart from the rest of the RPG-pack in terms of narrative, the gameplay itself is uniquely smart and refreshing. Rather than mindlessly input the same attack command ad nauseum, wading through seemingly endless randomly-spawned hordes of evil, The Thousand Year Door, as with all games in the Mario RPG series, requires a far more active level of interaction from the player. In order to execute attacks and special abilities, players need to input the correct button sequence, perform the right joystick motions, or time button presses with split-second accuracy. This style of combat makes each battle (non-random, of course) far more active and enjoyable than the traditional fare.

Additionally, all of Paper Mario 2’s battles take place on a stage before a live audience, both of which grow over the course of the game. By appealing to the crowd, performing stylish moves, or chaining together successful attacks, players are able to gain the audience’s favor and fill their star points – allowing them to use increasingly powerful special moves against increasingly powerful enemies.

Thankfully, Mario won’t have to go it alone, taking on screen-filling bosses by himself. He’ll have a surprisingly large cast of party members at his disposal, though only one is usable at a time. Ranging from a sorority girl goomba to a salty bob-omb of the sea, each of Mario’s partners has a unique style of attack useful against different kinds of enemies, ensuring all of them see relatively equal use. Also, each character has a special ability which can be activated only outside of battle.

Though Mario spends a great deal of time battling the (adorably cute) minions of evil, he spends just as much time interacting with the environment around him. Unlike many role-playing games, The Thousand Year door is littered with Zelda-style dungeons and puzzles of a distinctively adventurey persuasion. As the title suggests, Mario himself is made of paper, allowing him to fold himself into a paper airplane or boat or to squeeze between thin, paper-sized openings. Combined with his partners’ unique abilities, players are left with a wide assortment of tools to use in solving the game’s many clever, if rarely particularly challenging, puzzles.

Obviously, Paper Mario 2 doesn’t just play great. Though the 3D backgrounds are generally sparse and sport low polygon counts, the game makes up for it with its beautiful 2D sprites and is never afraid to throw a hundred of them on screen at a time. The soundtrack is equally impressive, boasting plenty of new music that stands strong against old favorites from Mario’s past. And though the storyline itself never strays far from the beaten path, it keeps things interesting by matching the bright, vivid visuals with equally upbeat writing.

After players have a completed the game, a task which should take around 30 hours, The Thousand Year Door holds an impressive amount of extra content on its tiny disk. Unfortunately, none of it stands up to the quality of the main quest, instead devolving to fetch quests, grind-a-thons, and full-on repeats of events from earlier in the game. Still, there’s plenty of content waiting for players looking for it.

Paper Mario 2 is the sort of game that demands players give it that initial investment. At first it may seem like a rehash of the sort of games we’ve seen produced within the RPG genre since its conception, but it eventually blooms into something much more interactive and fulfilling than the generally distant role-playing gameplay. Paper Mario: The Thousand Year door is smart, fresh fun that does what any great game should: never wears out its welcome and leaves you wanting more.