25 years ago today, 11th August, Mario jumped into a whole new dimension.
Today marks the anniversary of the N64 turn-based RPG, Paper Mario — which is a pretty big deal, because that means the entire series is also celebrating its quarter-century anniversary. Feeling old yet?
Originally planned to be developed by Square — who previously teamed up with Nintendo to make Super Mario RPG on the SNES — Intelligent Systems took the helm for what became the first of many papercraft adventures for Mario. And for many, the original (or Thousand-Year Door) are the high watermark for the series.
Taking a leaf from Mario's previous RPG outing, Paper Mario uses similar reaction timing-based combat but, instead of a party of three, Mario only has one other companion join him both in battle and in the overworld.
Throughout the story, Mario has various different companions join his team, each with different skill sets. Each companion represents a different type of enemy within the Mario universe — fan favourite Lady Bow is a Boo, for example, while Sushie is a Cheep Cheep.
Those skills aren't exclusive to combat, as every character has an ability that Mario can use to explore. Goombario's skill is that he can tell you all about the location you're in. Parakarry, the Paratroopa, allows you to cross large gaps, and Sushie gives Mario the ability to swim.
The game also introduced Badges, equipable items that give Mario boosts, effects, and sometimes new moves.
Plus, don't forget that amazing magazine ad from before the game's release:
Much of Paper Mario's spirit and skills would carry on in The Thousand-Year Door, the GameCube sequel that got a remake on Switch in 2024, but the series gradually moved away from traditional turn-based combat, experimenting with gameplay gimmicks beyond the standard RPG ones.
Still, the franchise wouldn't exist without the charming N64 original, which you can play on the N64 Nintendo Classics (formerly NSO) service if you have the Expansion Pack tier. The latest entry in the series is 2020's The Origami King, which is available on Switch - hopefully it'll get a Switch 2 upgrade at some point!
So, are you replaying Paper Mario right now? Desperate for a new game? vote in our polls below and celebrate this unfolding series in the comments.