Arlo, a blue puppet with an irresistibly pragmatic attitude towards the gaming industry, is petitioning Nintendo to remaster “Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door”. Using the hashtag: #RemasterTheThousandYearDoor. Arlo delivered an impassioned speech on his YouTube channel detailing the necessity to have TTYD remastered for the Switch. A series shamefully neglected and mishandled by Nintendo for far too long in my opinion. Originally released 15 years ago on the GameCube, an utterly confounding time frame considering it was nearly half my life time ago, TTYD concerns Mario retrieving seven crystal stars, located in various stylised locations and scenarios, to rescue Princess Peach from “not” Bowser. It was such a distinctive aberration to the Mario series that it’s regrettable that the sequels were so, pardon the pun, “flat” in comparison.
Prefacing his concise request for a remaster with a message, Arlo details that he can’t confidently consider himself a fan of the Paper Mario series, comparing it’s inconsistencies to that of “The Simpsons” regressive quality over the years, which is a analogy I can personally relate too. And it’s an interesting assessment. If we can’t get a sequel worthy of TTYD’s venerable standard, then why not remind ourselves of just how good this series could be. Especially after a 15 year absence. I’ve been a persistent advocate for this remaster since the Switch was released, but possessing neither the influence nor popularity that Arlo commands to help bring this dream to fruition. Will a little help from all of us of course.
Starting a conversation can at the very least illicit some recognition from Nintendo that “The Thousand Year Door” is worth salvaging from the bygone GameCube era. As well as a profitable endeavour for the company. If Rage Against The Machine can get a Christmas number one and Donald Trump can be elected President of something outside his own fan club, then surely there’s no reason for Nintendo to ignore a project that can quite easily, not to mention quickly be converted to the Switch.
Arlo, for what it’s worth, I’m with you. Let’s make Paper Mario great again!
#RemasterTheThousandYearDoor
Game, Complain, Repeat 