Start with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door if you want the traditional Paper Mario role-playing game: turn-based battles, recruitable partners and an adventure built around RPG progression. Choose Super Paper Mario first if you would rather jump, explore platforming stages, solve perspective puzzles and fight through an action game built around switching between 2D and 3D. You do not need to play one to understand the other, so your preferred mechanics—and the Nintendo hardware you own—should decide the order.
The short answer
For most newcomers, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is the better first game. It most closely matches what the name “Paper Mario” traditionally suggests: a turn-based RPG adventure in which Mario pursues the Crystal Stars, travels with partners and wins battles through a menu-driven system. The Nintendo Switch version is a remake released on May 23, 2024, with revamped graphics, an updated soundtrack, updated quick-travel pipes and a Partner Ring for switching characters.
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Super Paper Mario is the right first choice for a different kind of player. It blends platforming and RPG elements, lets you flip between a 2D view and a 3D view to reveal routes and secrets, and gives Luigi, Peach and Bowser playable roles alongside Mario. Its battles are action-based rather than turn-based. That is not a smaller version of the earlier formula; it is the central design decision that defines the game.
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Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
The Thousand-Year Door is structured as a role-playing adventure. Nintendo’s Switch description frames Mario’s journey around finding the Crystal Stars, while the game’s combat retains the original turn-based structure. You select actions, consider the situation and use Mario’s partners as part of your battle plan. Exploration, story progression and combat all serve an RPG-shaped campaign rather than a sequence of purely reflex-driven stages.
#1 Best Overall
![Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Standard - Nintendo Switch [Digital Code]](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/51lI4uPHk9L._SL160_.jpg)
- Join Mario on a timeless paper-adventure to uncover the mystery of the Thousand-Year Door. Master badges and timing-based attacks to impress the audience in a theatrical twist on turn-based RPG combat. Customize your approach to deep and rewarding RPG challenges with swappable partners and badges. 4. Experience an engaging story full of hijinks and witty dialogue
- Meet a cast of charming and often hilarious characters—and recruit some of them to join your party. Play as Peach and Bowser in interludes between chapters of the main story. Updated graphics and a suite of additional changes make the game easier than ever to enjoy.
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The Switch edition is explicitly a remake, not merely a straight software re-release. Nintendo lists refreshed visuals, a revised soundtrack, quicker travel options through updated pipes and a Partner Ring that makes changing companions more convenient. Those additions affect presentation and comfort, but they do not change the basic reason to choose the game: it is the classic Paper Mario role-playing format in a modern Switch release.
Super Paper Mario
Super Paper Mario is the series’ third game and was originally released for Wii in Europe on September 14, 2007, according to Nintendo UK. Nintendo describes it as a mixture of platforming and RPG elements. Mario normally moves through a two-dimensional stage, but he can flip the viewpoint into three dimensions. That change exposes alternate routes, hidden spaces and ways around obstacles or enemies that are not apparent from the original perspective.
Mario is not the only playable hero. Luigi, Peach and Bowser join the adventure, while Pixls provide additional abilities. These characters and abilities are integrated into platform stages and dimension-based puzzles rather than into a traditional turn-based battle menu. The game still has an RPG-like story, but its moment-to-moment play is closer to an action platformer.
The decisive difference: turn-based RPG combat or action platforming?
| What you want to spend most of your time doing | Better first choice | Reason |
|---|---|---|
| Planning turns, choosing attacks and using partners in battles | The Thousand-Year Door | It preserves the earlier games’ turn-based RPG structure. |
| Jumping, moving through stages and reacting in real time | Super Paper Mario | Its design combines platforming with action-oriented encounters. |
| Solving routes by changing your viewpoint | Super Paper Mario | The 2D/3D flip is the game’s defining mechanic. |
| Playing the most recognizable Paper Mario format | The Thousand-Year Door | It is the direct fit for a turn-based, partner-focused RPG expectation. |
The distinction is deliberate. In Nintendo’s August 30, 2007 interview about Super Paper Mario, producer Kensuke Tanabe explained that the team wanted an RPG-like storyline while avoiding the traditional RPG battle format. Chief director of game design and direction Ryota Kawade described the reasoning this way: “I felt that the more traditional Mario-style battles worked better in this game in order to effectively utilise this idea of dimension-swapping, which is why we opted for this style.” The spelling “utilise” is retained from Nintendo’s published interview.
That explanation matters when deciding what to play first. If you begin Super Paper Mario expecting the battle system from the first two Paper Mario games, you may think something is missing. If you begin it expecting a platform adventure that uses an RPG-style story and characters, the same design can feel like its main attraction.
Which game is easier to access?
Hardware can settle the question before genre preference does. Nintendo’s official listing identifies The Thousand-Year Door as a Nintendo Switch remake, released May 23, 2024. The official listing reviewed for Super Paper Mario identifies it as a Wii game and records a historical Wii U download version. It does not present Super Paper Mario as a current Switch release.
Nintendo says purchases on the Wii U and Nintendo 3DS eShops ended on March 27, 2023. Therefore, a player who owns only a Switch has a clearly documented modern option in The Thousand-Year Door, while playing Super Paper Mario requires access to compatible legacy hardware or a legitimate existing copy. Do not treat the Wii U listing as evidence of a new digital storefront option.
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| Game | Platform information documented by Nintendo | Dated release information |
|---|---|---|
| Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door | Nintendo Switch remake | May 23, 2024 |
| Super Paper Mario | Wii; historical Wii U download listing | September 14, 2007 in Europe |
The September 14 date is specifically Nintendo UK’s European Wii release date, not a claim about every territory. Likewise, the May 23, 2024 date applies to the Switch remake. Keeping those regional and edition qualifiers attached prevents the dates from being read as universal launch dates for every version.
Rank #2
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Choose The Thousand-Year Door first if you are an RPG player
You want the conventional Paper Mario loop
Choose The Thousand-Year Door when your ideal session alternates between exploring an area, meeting characters, preparing for the next encounter and making deliberate decisions in turn-based combat. Its partners are not decorative followers; the game’s identity includes using them as part of the RPG adventure. If “Paper Mario” makes you think of commands, companions and battles that pause while you choose an action, this is the safer introduction.
You are new to the series and want its traditional baseline
A first game establishes your expectations for everything that follows. Beginning with The Thousand-Year Door gives you the traditional RPG reference point before you encounter Super Paper Mario’s deliberate departure. You can then recognize that the later game is experimenting with format rather than assuming the series always worked as a platformer.
You have a Switch and want the straightforward modern option
The Switch remake removes the need to locate Wii hardware and gives you the edition Nintendo currently documents for that platform. Its visual update, revised music, faster travel pipes and Partner Ring are convenience and presentation changes, but they make it a practical starting point for a new player with a Switch.
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You prefer movement and puzzles to command menus
Super Paper Mario puts stage navigation at the center. You move, jump, switch viewpoints and use character or Pixl abilities to uncover a route. Encounters are not built around waiting for a turn and selecting from a battle menu. If you enjoy testing a level’s geometry and finding the path that was hidden by perspective, its central mechanic is a stronger reason to start here than series tradition is.
You want the 2D/3D flip to be the main attraction
The dimension switch is more than a visual effect. Nintendo’s descriptions present it as a way to expose paths, secrets and enemy weaknesses. A route that appears blocked in two dimensions may become readable when the view changes; an obstacle or opponent can be approached differently once the surrounding space is revealed. Players who value a distinctive mechanical hook may find this more compelling than a conventional RPG opening.
You like switching among several playable characters
Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser are playable in Super Paper Mario, and Pixls grant additional abilities. That variety supports a platforming game in which the solution to a problem may involve choosing the right character or ability rather than selecting a different command in a turn order.
Does the story require a specific order?
No. Based on Nintendo’s official descriptions, you do not need to finish The Thousand-Year Door to understand Super Paper Mario’s premise. The games share the Paper Mario identity and familiar characters, but the decision about which to play first is primarily mechanical and practical: RPG combat versus platform action, and Switch access versus legacy hardware access.
Playing The Thousand-Year Door first can still be useful if you want a reference for the series’ traditional structure. You will approach Super Paper Mario knowing that its action format is an intentional redesign. Starting with Super Paper Mario is equally valid when its dimension mechanic is what attracted you; there is no story-based requirement to reverse that choice.
Rank #3
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- Join Mario on a timeless paper-adventure to uncover the mystery of the Thousand-Year Door
- Master badges and timing-based attacks to impress the audience in a theatrical twist on turn-based RPG combat
- Customize your approach to deep and rewarding RPG challenges with swappable partners and badges
- Experience an engaging story full of hijinks and witty dialogue
How the two games feel in practice
| Category | The Thousand-Year Door | Super Paper Mario |
|---|---|---|
| Primary genre emphasis | Role-playing adventure | Platforming with RPG elements |
| Battle model | Turn-based | Action-oriented; it does not use the earlier games’ turn-based system |
| Main progression tools | Mario, partners and RPG-centered adventure progression | Playable characters, Pixl abilities and dimension switching |
| Signature idea | Classic Paper Mario RPG structure | Flipping between 2D and 3D to reveal routes, secrets and weaknesses |
| Modern platform documented in the supplied official listings | Nintendo Switch remake | Wii listing; historical Wii U download listing |
| Documented release date | May 23, 2024 for the Switch remake | September 14, 2007 in Europe for the Wii release |
The table is not a quality ranking. It describes where each game spends its design budget. The Thousand-Year Door asks you to engage with an RPG framework; Super Paper Mario asks you to understand space, movement and perspective. A player can reasonably prefer either approach.
A decision guide for common player situations
“I have never played Paper Mario and want the game people mean by the name.”
Start with The Thousand-Year Door. It is the clearest introduction to the turn-based, partner-driven RPG identity that many players associate with the series. Once you understand that baseline, Super Paper Mario becomes an interesting contrast rather than a confusing first impression.
“I mainly play Mario platformers.”
Start with Super Paper Mario. Its movement, stage structure and 2D/3D perspective mechanic are closer to an action-platforming experience than to a conventional menu-based RPG. The RPG-like story does not require you to enjoy turn-based combat first.
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Start with The Thousand-Year Door. Its turn-based structure and partner use align with the expectations created by an RPG, while Super Paper Mario intentionally removes that battle format.
“I only have a Nintendo Switch.”
Start with The Thousand-Year Door, because Nintendo’s documented Switch release is the 2024 remake. The official material reviewed does not identify a Switch version of Super Paper Mario.
“I own a Wii or already have access to Super Paper Mario.”
Choose according to mechanics. Existing access makes Super Paper Mario a sensible first game for a platformer fan, but it does not change what the game is. If you want turn-based battles, access to the Wii version should not persuade you to pick it over The Thousand-Year Door.
“I want to see the series take a risk.”
Start with Super Paper Mario. Nintendo’s development interview makes the format change explicit: the team chose an action/adventure direction to support dimension switching while keeping an RPG-like story. It is the more experimental first impression.
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What to expect from each opening choice
If you begin with The Thousand-Year Door
- Expect battles to pause for turn selection rather than unfold as platforming encounters.
- Expect partners to be part of the adventure’s identity and tactical choices.
- Expect the Crystal Stars to provide the central journey frame.
- On Switch, expect the remake’s revised presentation, soundtrack, quick-travel pipes and Partner Ring.
Do not judge the remake by expecting it to become an action game. Its updates improve presentation and convenience while preserving the turn-based RPG structure that defines the recommendation.
Rank #4
- A new paper-crafted Mario adventure unfolds on Nintendo Switch.
- The kingdom has been ravaged by an origami menace. Join Mario and his new partner, Olivia, as they battle evil Folded Soldiers, repair the damaged landscape, and try to free Princess Peach’s castle from the clutches of King Olly in this comedy-filled adventure
- Master strategic, ring-based battles - line up scattered enemies and plan your attack to maximize damage with the new, ring-based battle system that requires both puzzle-solving skills and a quick wit
If you begin with Super Paper Mario
- Expect platform stages and movement to carry more of the moment-to-moment play.
- Expect to flip between 2D and 3D to find routes, secrets and solutions.
- Expect Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser to be playable, with Pixls adding abilities.
- Expect an RPG-like story without the earlier games’ turn-based battle system.
Do not treat the absence of turn-based combat as a technical omission. It was selected to make the dimension-switching concept work as an action/adventure system.
Common decision mistakes
Choosing by release date alone
Super Paper Mario is older, but age does not make it the “real” first game, and the 2024 remake does not make The Thousand-Year Door automatically right for every player. Genre preference is more useful than chronology.
Assuming every Paper Mario game is an RPG
Super Paper Mario is the important exception in this comparison. Its story can feel RPG-like while its battles and stage interactions follow an action-platforming model. Confirm that distinction before buying or setting up a play session.
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Nintendo’s statement that Wii U and 3DS eShop purchases ended March 27, 2023 means the historical listing should not be read as a current purchase route. Check the hardware and legal copy you actually have before making Super Paper Mario your planned first game.
Expecting a story prerequisite
The official descriptions do not establish a requirement to play The Thousand-Year Door first for Super Paper Mario to make sense. Choose in response to play style and platform access, not fear of missing a required chapter.
Final recommendation
Play Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door first unless you already know that platforming and perspective puzzles are more appealing to you than turn-based RPG combat. It is the strongest default recommendation for a newcomer, especially on Nintendo Switch, because it delivers the traditional Paper Mario structure in a current remake.
Make the exception confidently: choose Super Paper Mario first when its 2D/3D flip, action stages and playable-character variety are the features that interest you most. The games do not require a story order, and neither choice invalidates the other. The correct first game is the one whose core activity you want to repeat for the length of an adventure.
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