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Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is now releasing to retailers for the Nintendo Gamecube. The last Paper Mario game, as well as Mario & Luigi (for the GBA) were phenomenal games that I just couldn't put down. Enough can't be said about how seemlessly the Mario world melds with an RPG setting to make an addictive, long-playing story-heavy game. I've been looking forward to the new Paper Mario, but now my prayers have been answered: the game is fantastic. Gamespot gave it a 9.2, IGN gave it a 9.1 and PlanetGameCube gave it a 9.5.

Here's how IGN wrapped their review:

With Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga finished and stashed away, I was ready for another opportunity to venture into Mario's RPG realm. While there's plenty of room for better presentation (Paper Mario Revolution, anyone), this game is an absolute blast to play. Get past the slow-moving first chapter and some clunky NPC path finding routines in chapter 2 and you'll be hooked. The story is funny, the gameplay varied, and the world so charming, you'll want to explore every last corner of it. Add to that plenty of playable characters and sidekicks, some great cameos, a memorable score loaded with classic melodies, and a quest that runs a good 30 hours long, and you've got another winning offshoot in the mighty Mario franchise.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door improves on its predecessor in every way and takes the cake as the best Mario RPG yet. Highly recommended.

Shine Get!