Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door remake announced at Nintendo Direct: Release date, gameplay, and more

After much clamoring, fans will finally get to revisit the Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door for Nintendo's GameCube. Announced at the recent September 2023 Nintendo Direct showcase, this title's remake is coming to the Nintendo Switch. This is big news for fans who had given hope of seeing the iconic classic return with a modern overhaul.

Let's take a look at the release date, gameplay details, and more information related to this upcoming title.

---

When does Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door release on Nintendo Switch?

Reserved for the finale of Nintendo's Direct, this remake is headed to Nintendo's latest console in 2024. It is a complete reconstruction of the 2004 Nintendo GameCube title. Boasting modern graphics and HD resolutions, it is clearly built atop the tech powering 2020's Paper Mario The Origami King — which was also for the Nintendo Switch.

As a faithful remake, it will feature the same gameplay as 2004's original. Players will control the incredibly popular Mario on a journey to find treasure and save Princess Peach, who has been kidnapped by aliens. This will take them to various striking locales, including the iconic hub area of Rogueport.

The same humor, writing, and characters that made the original great are accounted for as well — from the friendly Goombella to other allies who will aid Mario on his journey to find crystal stars needed to unlock the titular Thousand Year Door.

This title's combat will be intimately familiar to fans of the original too. This game will feature the original's exciting turn-based fighting action where Mario and friends will battle popular enemies on a stage-like diorama. The Thousand Year Door is considered to be the best entry in the Paper Mario spin-off series, so this title is unlikely to disappoint.

The Nintendo GameCube original was released almost two decades ago on Nintendo's 6th-gen home console. Since then, however, it has not been made available on other platforms. The Wii did allow backward compatibility with all Nintendo GameCube games, but that would require owning the game disc. Subsequent consoles never saw a re-release of the Thousand Year Door as the developers opted for new entries.

Modern entries such as Paper Mario Sticker Star and Color Splash have been considered fairly mediocre as well. However, all of that is changing now. So many players are keen on revisiting this nostalgic tale. Unfortunately, they will need to wait until 2024 to be able to play it.