If you’re behind on holiday gaming and still catching some of the best games from 2004, make sure to check out Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for GameCube. Take the cartoon cell-shaded world of Animal Crossing, the character stats-building backbone of the role-playing game genre, replace the serious and sometimes boring dialogue from Final Fantasy and substitute in classic characters of the Mario legacy and you are staring at a great game.

Darkness has engulfed the land and Princess Peach has disappeared and Mario is the only one who can save her. Peach sends Mario a letter and treasure map just before she’s taken hostage. Mario is forced to find the magical treasure below the city of Rogueport by reclaiming the Crystal Stars and rescue Peach.

Hardly a traditional RPG, the game’s dialogue is rich with character and one is of its best attributes. The events and their dialogue are absurdly funny, but may go over the head of your younger brother. The turn-based battle sequences stand out as each attack and defense must be timed correctly by holding and releasing the joystick or other button sequences; the accuracy affects the amount of damage dealt. The added control during battles is a welcome change from the random missed attacks in other RPGs.

The Thousand-Year Door is very much a plot-driven game and should provide great entertainment for those interested in a great story. With a non-traditional approach to the genre and familiar characters from previous Mario games, The Thousand-Year Door will be right at home in any gamer’s collection, standing tall against most other vanilla RPGs and like any good book, you will always be eager to see what’s on the next page.

Grade: A