For years, fans begged to see Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door released on Nintendo Switch. Those wishes will finally be fulfilled on May 23rd, but fans are already showing Nintendo their eagerness to revisit the RPG. Pre-orders for the game not only topped the Amazon best-seller list, they’ve already sold out, more than two months ahead of launch. That’s surprising to say the least, and it’s likely Amazon will have more as we get closer to launch. That said, it’s definitely a testament to the excitement surrounding the game’s arrival!ย
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Why are so Many People Pre-Ordering Paper Mario?
While this would be notable for any game, it’s all the more surprising given the fact that The Thousand-Year Doorย was originally released 20 years ago. However, this is a game that Nintendo has only ever released on one system, and it happens to have debuted on one of the company’s worst-selling consoles. While Mario games usually get a steady stream of releases, anyone that has wanted to play The Thousand-Year Door for the last two decades has been forced to rely on original copies (which fetch a lot of money), or emulators. Now the game is finally getting a new release, and Nintendo has even teased that it will include additional features. Unfortunately, we don’t know what those are just yet, but we should learn more in the coming weeks.ย
The Thousand-Year Door is the second game in the Paper Mario series. The original Paper Mario started life as a sequel to Super Mario RPG, and was tentatively titled “Super Mario RPG 2,” before the paper aspects were revealed. Following the release of The Thousand-Year Door, the series began to move away from the RPG elements, and many fans have felt the series dropped off in quality as a result.ย
The GameCube Era
Nintendo Switch has been one of the most successful video game systems of all-time, but the same can’t be said for the GameCube. The system sold less than 22 million units during its time on the market, falling way short of the PS2 and the original Xbox. Despite low sales, the system played host to a number of truly great games. Those games have gained the system a much greater appreciation over the years, and many GameCube favorites have made their way to Switch, includingย Metroid Prime and Pikmin.ย
While Paper Mario‘s release on Switch is a very big deal, there are still plenty of great GameCube games that have never been offered elsewhere. One of the biggest examples is Eternal Darkness: Sanity’s Requiem. The M-rated horror title was a low-selling game on a low-selling system, but a remaster could help it find a bigger audience. And there’s even a developer interested in handling the remaster!ย
Have you pre-ordered Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door? Did you play the game on GameCube? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter atย @Marcdachampย or on Instagram atย @Dachampgaming!
