Video: How Does Paper Mario: TTYD On Switch Compare To The Original?

A fine line between remake and remaster.
Paper Mario the same way!

60 fps on GameCube looks like the game model should be played.
30 fps on Switch looks like secondary priority if you already have GameCube version.

Oh wow sometimes it's easy to forget how different they look. The remake is looking more like 'diorama' while the original was more of '2D characters in a 3D World'. This video comparison makes it very clear it's a remake (although it was already confirmed)

The new music/character sound files are great, nice to hear all the characters with new voices, will certainly make the game feel even more fresh.

The Switch will certainly be the best way to play this. Handheld/TV options, about half the price of the original, new graphics, some new content, new music, QoL features, etc.

Yuuuup, and there it is. This really does highlight why the Gamecube original outshines this remaster thanks to the FPS. I wouldn't have noticed so much if it wasn't for the direct comparison.

I won't say that the Switch Remaster doesn't LOOK and sound gorgeous on Switch though... but I don't think the trade off was worth it ultimately. Paper Mario has always been about the simplicity and charm of simple geometry & colour palettes, there was little need to go the extra mile at the expense, especially since this world is a lot more simple in design and less 'handcrafted' in appearance than say, The Origami King.

@PikminMarioKirby What new content?

It is funny because I am playing the original the other day and I would tap the button again to do stylish moves even though they were not there. ha ha

@Ruthchild Concept Art, Music Gallery, new NPCs, and some smaller changes. There is also a possibility of post-game content, however Nintendo wouldn't confirm or deny it when asked (from what I heard)

Remarkably polished. Wow, even the GameCube one looks good lol!

You get a good game when Tanabe isn't involved, so that's fine either way.

Do we need 60fps for a turn based RPG?

Looks like a frontrunner for getting an FPS boost on Switch 2

@Angelus3K I agree, you don’t need it. As with HD, 3D and portable play. But it’s better to have it!

@Angelus3K
I mean why not?
I have played 60 fps turn based RPG from Nexomon or Earthlock and it looked pretty and smooth.

Looks like a GameCube game! /s

Almost every environmental asset is new, this is definitely a full-on remake.

It looks to be a bit paper thin on the content side.

I dunno. I just prefer Super Paper Mario.

@Sonicka Isn't that pretty much the same thing as saying Skyward Sword HD looks better than Breath of the Wild? Sure, they are completely different games, but SSHD is 60fps and BOTW is 30. New TTYD remake obviously is graphically above original TTYD by a large margin, and the only downside is FPS. This is like BOTW and SSHD comparison. So if TTYD remake looks not as good as the original, than Breath of the Wild doesn't look as good as Skyward Sword HD.

@RadioShadow This is one of the most content filled Nintendo games. Way bigger than most of their new stuff. I'd say Super Paper Mario had less content.

Hmm nostalgia really muddled my memory. Interested in buying this now.

Really hope they redo Super Paper Mario now.

I don't wanna watch this because this is one of the few games I'd like to go completely blind into. However, from what I've heard, like 95% of the original game is untouched aside from the graphics, which hugely justifies this version. I'm sure a 60FPS patch will also be applied when the Switch 2 launches.

Both look great. I like how the remake makes the first location look shadier, than the original. And I think the remake looks more atmospheric.

I want to play.

People go on about the frame rate, but man, I can't tell the difference fps wise between the two. Maybe I'm just not hardcore enough 🤷‍♂️

Ooh shiny. I do like me some shiny. But man oh man man I hate, and I mean hate, the new sounds the characters make, like a 33 played on 45, it hurts my ears. 😝

Both look great. The GameCube footage is not 480p or YouTube is making it look muddy. Play this on a gamecube with component or hdmi to get 480p and the picture looks sharp and crisp like a modern game.

@Sonicka I think if they could have made it look more handcrafted in the original then they would have but the tech wasn’t there. You have Mario turning into a paper airplane etc. so the idea that the characters were actually made of paper was always there, it just wasn’t until recently where they could convincingly render everything as if it were actually made of craft materials etc.

@RadioShadow I really hope Super Paper Mario gets the remake treatment. I did enjoy it when I first played it & it was the ONLY Paper Mario game I've ever finished. Didn't do that for the original Paper Mario sadly...

@Anti-Matter yeah it’s weird when here we are 20 years later and the new release has half the frame rate. That’s a strange design choice in my head!

Much happier with the remake looking at them side by side. The original has everything looking like high quality PNGs. The remake makes everything have a physical space and I enjoy the "weight" it creates with that. I think I'll have an easier time with timing thanks to that.

Games like this feel like they were meant to run on Switch 2 but had to receive downgrades of some sort to fill the release schedule after that was delayed what seems like several times. No reason this shouldn't run at 60 FPS on, what, PS4 Pro-level specs?

For me, this comparison only confirms that memory bandwidth is the reason for the 30fps. The shadows, reflections and lighting effects on display here don't come for free.

Having said that, I can understand why someone would prefer the original's look, without all the visual pizzazz. In the ideal case there would have been an option for toggling between the old and new graphics.

Assuming backwards-compatibility, I'm sure it will render at 60fps on the next Switch.

I struggle to see the difference between 30 and 60 FPS ...... Probably my eyesight getting older 😎

Both look stunning regardless.

The Switch version has a lot of great visual enhancements that give it a really nice new coat of paint. Shame that the Switch version isn't 60 fps.

@Qwiff
does make me curious if some original switch games will get patches similar to what some 360 games got for when played on xbox one/series X etc (sonic unleashed being the one i mainly know of, i dont have a modern Xbox but hear its a big improvement)

i imagine games which had performance issues may run better similar to how they did on new3ds (iirc hyrule warriors on 3ds was one of them) though will be interesting to see if any games get "upgrade" patches similar to the xbox example.

There are aspects of the original's presentation I'm preferring - a big one is that I feel like the heavier lighting makes the Thousand-Year Door a lot less visually striking because it doesn't stand out as much compared to the area around it - but still, for the most part the remake looks great and I can't wait for it.

@PikminMarioKirby No? Like you say, both are different. One is a linear adventure game and the other is open world, BOTW vs Skyward Sword HD doesn’t make sense as comparison because they have very different art styles and design philosophies (I will tell you I prefer BOTW/TOTK all the way though).



Now Skyward Sword Vs Skyward Sword HD is an interesting compare because the painterly filter that masked the Wii’s graphical limitations was lush. But this style is lost in the HD translation, not to mention the controls not being quite as accurate on Switch. Sometimes it’s not always better for the Remaster. 



I think though, that maybe you’re misunderstanding what I’m saying. I’m not saying TTYD remaster looks bad (it doesn’t - it looks bloody incredible), but for a game that is as simply designed as Paper Mario TTYD (and that also ran better on GC) means my expectation is for the FPS to be translated across faithfully. It’s an element that shouldn’t be downgraded at the expense of a lick of paint and whatever else is going on under the bonnet. 



Again, look at Origami King - you have so much more going on here in comparison to what the Thousand Year door was doing back on GC (which makes sense). If they designed TTYD as a full on remake and expanded the world and level designs in a similar way to Origami King then I’d have understood the frames payoff some more. But we’re actually getting is a remastered game with visual and audio touchups (and some other doodahs) like Metroid Prime Remastered - which arguably blurred the remake line a little more closely AND achieved 60FPS, I don't understand how that title achieved it and this one couldn't. 



At the end of the day, 30FPS isn’t a be all or end all (most of my game collection runs in 30 FPS, so what do I care). What is a shame is that a GameCube title as simple and uniquely stylised as TTYD was downgraded in some way. The comparison (to me) makes it look a little bit rough on the technical side (even though yes - visually, it’s certainly more appealing).

@Sonicka Yes exactly, BOTW and SSHD are very different art styles, but so are TTYD. As I've said before, remake takes a diorama art style with everything looking very shiny, but the original is just a 3D place with 2D characters.

'ran better on GC' is wrong. The resolution is significantly better, along with having smoother animations/movements despite being less FPS. The lighting and reflections made some people think it could be a next console game.

Yeah, I looked at Origami King and I forgot how empty it was compared to TTYD. TTYD is so much bigger. The places are filled with characters, but Origami King feels kind of empty looking back. If TTYD was shaped after Origami King it'd lose stuff. A faithful remake was the better choice. Also the graphics are so much better in TTYD remake, Origami King is a lot choppier (style choice) and lighting/surroundings aren't nearly as good.

Honestly I find it sad that people put Metroid Prime Remastered on the same level or higher than TTYD. TTYD has been confirmed a Remake. You are way underselling it, 'audio touch-ups' (they literally completely remade the soundtrack with whole new vibes along with adding specific area fight songs, seemingly character/partner theme songs, and maybe specific house songs in Rogueport as seen in this comparison). Putting this on the same level of Metroid Prime is kind of silly, since there are no new songs or remixed songs, and it's new textures and stuff, not a full remake like TTYD.

Trust me I'd love 60fps but I think resolution/lighting/reflections are significantly more important, as long as it's still a good fps (which TTYD is)

At the end of the day, it doesn't matter. At bare minimum, being able to get TTYD for less than $100 is a feat on its own.

@Duncanballs You can't see the difference in this video this video is running at 30fps.

@Lizuka Honest question. Is the Switch game play on the right or the left?

If the Switch game play is on the right, then it does look darker at times than the GC version. Probably the lighting that you mentioned.

@PikminMarioKirby it’s cool. We’ll just have agree to disagree. I think we’re actually largely saying the same thing anyway despite coming down on different sides of the fence.

I got nothing more to say on Zelda though, I really don’t get this comparison being drawn..

Look - Ultimately, the new TTYD game looks sublime, the re-orchestrated soundtrack sounds incredible - the tweaks and prodding done to improve gameplay aspects are all welcome - I’m not disputing or downplaying the work put in here and the choices they made.

What I am saying is that I would have liked them to prioritise matching the GC performance and output over heavily upgrading the visuals. But that’s my personal preference (with this individual game) it wasn’t wrong of them to do what they did, and it’s great if it doesn’t phase you. More power to you!

Whilst I think the line is pretty blurry to me on this being a Remake / Remaster, ultimately it doesn’t really matter. The terms are used so haphazardly this generation anyway. The reason why the Metroid Prime: Remastered comparison is incredibly relevant to the conversation is because both that and TTYD herald from the Gamecube and have been redone for Switch. The team that worked on the MP Remaster did a job so ridiculously impressive that it set a new bar of quality for ports/remasters/remakes in proving that higher quality visuals and performance can be achieved on switch in tandem (and this was an action game - it’s not slow and methodical like TTYD). Thats why I’m additionally surprised and disappointed that it didn’t meet the same technical hurdles at Metroid does (but I’m not downplaying what it is accomplishing).

The comparison video to me just highlights what is missing in the Switch version. I’m sure it will still be equally brilliant anyway. A stable 30FPS still makes a quality game. I don’t dispute that.

@Sonicka Yeah I actually realized that. I mean either way it's still TTYD so it's gonna be great

SSHD and BOTW was the only thing I could think of with the fps, just wanted to show a point that 60fps doesn't necessarily make a game look better than another (all 4 mentioned games look really nice though!)

To be fair TTYD remake has some technical accomplishments that MPR didn't have, although both games look outstandingly good for a Switch game.

Yeah as long as the framerate doesn't have frequent major dips I'm good. If it was 60 it likely would have some unstable FPS which would make the game look inconsistent in framerate. Stable 30fps is better than unstable 60fps in my opinion.

Day 1 buy. I always regretted not getting around to buying the original. More remakes/remasters, please Nintendo! ❤🥹

@TheBigK @Duncanballs @Ruthchild Make sure you manually set the video to "720p60" or higher. When it's on Auto, I find it often says it's using 1080p60, but it's clearly displaying in low quality (480 or lower). I then have to set it manually to make it work.

@Ryu_Niiyama These older games don't hold up too well on a modern screen. The reason you remember them looking better is probably because they did!

If we compared 1080p emulator footage to the Switch version, they'd be a lot more comparable (in clarity, that is, not in lighting or reflections)!

@Sonicka You are absolutely downplaying the work put in here by calling it a remaster repeatedly.

@smoreon I am remembering the game on the same LCD that I have owned for the past 15 years and have hooked up next to my OLED. My original comment still stands. I misremembered how good the original game looks next to the remake which caused me to initially dismiss the remake. The brain is designed to be fuzzy by nature. People remember the best (or worst) and forget/smudge the mediocre. Luckily I have every game I have owned (minus the 12 I sold in my lifetime) plus the systems spanning the past 36 years of my life. So I can make an informed statement such as my original comment.

@TheBigK same. I can’t really tell the difference unless there is a big FPS drop in games and I have had people on NL argue me down like I don’t know how my perception works. I perfectly understand that other people can tell/feel the difference but some folks do not accept the other way round. It’s weird actually. I couldn’t imagine going off on a colorblind person for instance about what they can and cannot see.

It'll most likely run at 60 on Switch 2 in a year or so. I've always been fine with 30 so long as it runs mostly consistently.

@Ryu_Niiyama My mistake- that was a faulty assumption on my part!
I often see older games' graphics sold short because of different display tech, when they literally did look better back in the day.

I've also kept my old games, and it has proven helpful when I want to go back and verify stuff like this (e.g., graphics and performance)- not to mention that they're still fun to play, of course!

@Sonicka

Spot on.

@Sonicka You're comparing apples and oranges here.The "game A runs at 60fps, so game B should do as well" argument does not take into account the different types of rendering and their impact on memory bandwidth. The Metroid Prime comparison is irrelevant. If you're curious about the subject, see my recent comment history for a more detailed explanation. Specifically, this comment. https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2024/04/paper-mario-the-thousand-year-door-switch-frame-rate-revealed#comment8093180

@BTB20 I mean, I’m not at all really if you read what I’ve written.

I’m expressing a view on something I’m specifically disappointed about - call it narrow minded, that’s ok, but on this game in particular there have been clear design and technical decisions made that I am not a fan of for this title.

I’m not downplaying the actual work put in. The game looks incredible. I just personally don’t think the payoff was worth it is all. That’s just my opinion on the matter.

@Quiff well of course, I appreciate this isn’t a simple “port job” as such. But to a regular player like me that can only see the end product, it comes across as a (slight) downgrade.

I’m sure there are technical hurdles and individual issues each developer has to overcome. But the Metroid Prime comparison is completely relevant IMO because of the choices made during production to get the game to where it is.

Hmm this shows how well the visuals have held up in the original...why is everything shiny? I thought it was a dirty port but the floors and walls have reflections which is weird...also the game does look much better with 60fps

@smoreon It’s cool. I try not to speak in hyperbole in general unless I am being obviously sarcastic. I am not gonna be one of those folks that will go “it looks like a PS2 game!” . Anyway no harm, no foul.