Paper-thin Mario doesn't fail to impress.
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door has a very intriguing storyline. The Princess, Peach Toadstool, comes into posession of a map that may lead to finding one of the greatest treasures. The thousand-year door rests under the town of Rogueport in which the treasure may be found. Many characters will join you in this journey, and many enemies will encounter you for the Crystal Stars that you need to collect to open the door and unveil the treasure shown by the map.
The gameplay is quite simple. Much like older Mario games, you will need to jump around platform to platform to reach items or areas of the stage or land you are in. You are also given a hammer and paper abilities such as folding into a paper airplane or rolling up into a paper cylinder. The controls in the gameplay are kept simple as well. The required buttons are accurate depending on the position you hold your controller. (Let us hope you're not holding it upside down, for that matter.)
Since this game follows an RPG feel to its genre, the fighting sequences are carried out in another scenery. Encountering an enemy will bring you to a stage in which the audience watching you will help during your battles, or fall against you by tossing certain objects that may damage you or your partner. The fighting is a basic turn-based style seen in many RPG's. Your party and your oponent take turns one side at a time attacking one another. In the game, this plays out perfectly.
The music in this game is excellent. Similar to the tunes of other Mario games, the music is delicate, fast, loud, etc. depending on the mood of the event or scene. The great use of instruments gives you the feeling that the music really blends in with the style of the art and game itself, as well as the story.
Characters are a big part of many RPG games. In this case, the character designs and their own personality traits were well done. Each character acts differently and has their own reason for teaming up with you or helping you on your adventure. Each have their own skill on the field, as well. For example, one character can allow you to reach a platform you normally couldn't reach, another explains the situation of your place, the other activates switches or grabs items from a long distance, etc. Strategy is made useful through the characters in your party.
Mario games never fail to make an excellent appeal on the larger crowd. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is great for anyone who shows interest in the way the game plays out. Even if you haven't played the first Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64, this game is still highly enjoyable. The humor, plot, characters, events, and delivered fun in the game has you sitting in front of the TV for hours on end. Highly recommended for sure!