Paper Mario: What Actually Is The Thousand-Year Door?

Quick Links

• The History Of Rogueport

• Princess Peach And The Treasure Map

• Opening The Door

Any Nintendo fan worth their salt knows about Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Widely hailed as one of the finest RPG adventures the little plumber ever embarked on, it's notable for its lush art style, memorable secondary cast, and surprisingly dark and complex story for the Mushroom Kingdom. Let's just say Princess Peach spends more time in the third act possessed by a demonic entity than... well, she's ever spent before.

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With the ground-up remake on the Switch, legions of new fans will be experiencing this cult classic for the first time. But: what exactly is the Thousand-Year Door itself? What waits beyond it, and why is everyone so interested in it? Let's discover its story.

Fair notice: there are some major spoilers afoot in this piece, so if you've any desire to go into the remake blind as a newcomer, this is the point at which you should bail!

The History Of Rogueport

What Happened 1,000 Years Ago?

Where the seedy town of Rogueport now stands, a verdant kingdom thrived ten centuries ago. The ancient civilization developed architectural marvels and intricate waterway systems, many of which can still be seen in Rogueport's sewers, themselves made up of the ruins of the old town.

The kingdom's people wanted nothing, and its society produced scholars and heroes unparalleled across the land. But naught could prepare them for the Shadow Queen's attack. An evil entity that had been lurking in the shadows, plotting for decades, she and her disciples, the Shadow Sirens, lay siege to the kingdom. In the span of a single night, the Queen had taken control.

What Became Of The Shadow Queen?

The Shadow Queen continued to suppress any opposition to her rule, until the sole survivors had no choice but to submit to her. She reigned unchallenged for a good while, and set about remolding the land in her own image. Constructing the 'Palace of Shadow' at the heart of the city - from whence she dictated with an iron fist - she dispatched the Shadow Sirens to every corner of the world, so as to begin expanding her domain.

And yet, there was hope. Four of the civilization's heroes - whose names have never been specified, but we know they were a Toad, a Koopa, a Boo, and a Goomba - devised a plot to take down the Queen, making use of the Crystal Stars she had created to channel her power.

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Acting quickly, they stormed the Palace of Shadow and turned the Stars against the Queen, sealing her in a crypt deep in the palace's catacombs. The grandiose door to the palace was magically locked tight, only accessible to whomever would gather the Crystal Stars once more – and there the door would sit for centuries, becoming known as 'The Thousand-Year Door.'

The four heroes didn't make it out unscathed, however, as the Queen cursed them into the form of ghastly chests. These chests, incidentally, are the ones Mario opens over the course of the game, receiving new paper powers from each. An extra bit of lore for you!

Princess Peach And The Treasure Map

What Happens In The Modern Day?

Over time, the tale of the Shadow Queen and the Thousand-Year Door fell into legend, and through hearsay, many misinterpreted the facts. Folks from all over the world came to believe a treasure or rare gem of some kind was hidden behind the door, and so they travelled to the ruined kingdom, establishing a new village populated with cutthroats and ne'er-do-wells: Rogueport.

It's here that the events of the game kick off. Princess Peach and Mario get pulled into a scheme set in motion by the Shadow Sirens (one of whom, Vivian, would later join Mario's cause) to resurrect their mistress. One Siren, Beldam, disguises herself as a merchant and sells Peach a treasure map to the Crystal Stars, in hopes that she and Mario would do the work of gathering them.

What Do Peach And Mario Do Next?

Unfortunately, Peach doesn't have time to begin the quest. As is essentially annual tradition, she's kidnapped; but not by Bowser this time. Instead, the culprit is Sir Grodus, leader of the X-Nauts, an alien race who similarly desire the Crystal Stars for their own gain. In truth, the Shadow Queen's spirit is manipulating Grodus to ensure her own rebirth, and indeed is quick to vaporize him once he's served his purpose.

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Aboard the X-Naut mothership, Peach befriends the sentient computer TEC, and sends vital intel to Mario over the course of the game as she conducts a series of stealthy investigations of her own. Mario, meanwhile, contends with such wacky setpieces as a wrestling tournament, a murder mystery on a train, and a trip to the moon in his hunt for the Crystal Stars.

Opening The Door

What Happens When Mario Has All The Crystal Stars?

Towards the end of the game, Mario and Peach become aware of the true nature of the Door – but their hands are tied. If they don't sort things out, the Crystal Stars will just fall into the wrong hands, and then the Queen will return either way. So, Mario gathers his entourage and places all seven Stars upon the Door's pedestal. With a shudder, it slowly opens.

Inside the Palace of Shadow, Mario faces a gigantic dragon, an armada of ghoulish Bullet Bills, and the Shadow Sirens themselves. Eventually, he comes upon the crypt where the Shadow Queen was sealed 1,000 years prior, only to find that Princess Peach has been brought there ahead of him. For a tremendously chilling purpose, at that.

How Is The Conflict Resolved?

It transpires that the only thing the Shadow Queen needed to fully revive was a suitable human host; and Peach, who's pure of heart, is the ideal candidate. The Queen possesses the princess, fries Grodus, and begins spreading her darkness across the world anew. Residents of every area Mario visited look up to the skies to see swirling purple clouds amassing.

All seems lost – until all the townsfolk Mario interacted with over the course of the adventure recall the Crystal Stars' capacity to make wishes reality. They all cheer on Mario from afar, and the strength of their collective desire is enough to rend the Shadow Queen from Peach's body. This form makes her vulnerable to Mario's attacks, and the plumber wastes no time drawing a line under this thousand-year tragedy, for good.

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