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The reports of the Nintendo Switch’s death are greatly exaggerated. 2024 brought even more great games to the platform, be them excellent remasters or truly fresh ideas. But which won Siliconera’s Switch Game of the Year 2024?

These awards represent the consensus of the Siliconera staff. Multiplatform games are considered on the platform for which they received the most staff . For more of the year’s award selections, check out our Game of the Year 2024 archive.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door 1r1949

This remake of the GameCube classic showed a new generation of players just how good the Paper Mario series was — and could be again — when allowed to sport fun characterization and mechanical depth. It’s one of the best role-playing games of all time, lovingly restored to play just as we it. It certainly earned our 10/10 score.

Unicorn Overlord 42183w

A spiritual successor to Ogre Battle, Vanillaware’s Unicorn Overlord has a nuanced world, engaging combat and that signature Vanillaware art we know and (usually) love. The developer generally hasn’t done sequels, but we’d really love to see what it could do if it built atop this work! Still, even if that doesn’t happen, it’s nice to see a game like this again.

Winner: The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom 2gw6n

A Zelda game starring Zelda herself — that is, one acknowledged by Nintendo — has been a long time coming for fans who have been clamoring for it for ages. It surely is its own thing, as Grezzo’s follow-up to the Link’s Awakening remake and not a sprawling 3D adventure, but it’s a great little toy box with tons of puzzles to solve and lots of pieces to try to solve them. Congratulations, Echoes of Wisdom!

What is your Switch Game of the Year 2024? Let us know in the comments!

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The release of Mario & Luigi: Brothership is finally upon us. The latest in this long-running spin-off RPG series sees the platforming bros take on a new adventure with turn-based RPG combat. There are now so many different RPG spin-offs of the Mario franchise. But what is the best Mario RPG of all time across the Super Mario RPG, Paper Mario, and Mario & Luigi series?

Here is what some of the Siliconera staff has to say on the matter.

Siliconera Speaks Up: Best Mario RPG 3r6n6x

While I have enjoyed all of the Mario RPGs to some extent, the one I liked the most by far was Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story. Bowser is such a fun character, especially when he’s playing the reluctant hero. Having one of the leads be, well, the opposite of a silent protagonist meant a lot more dialogue, and when the writing is as good as it is in the Mario & Luigi games, that’s a win. The balance between Bowser’s adventures on the outside and Mario and Luigi’s struggles inside his body made for a more varied adventure, and the ending was sweeter than a piece of Peach’s shortcake. -- Shaun

My personal favorite Mario RPG is the original Super Mario RPG. It was the first I tried of the RPG spin-offs and it still remains my favorite to this day. I love Squaresoft’s spin on the Mushroom Kingdom and the remake only made it even better to play. It feels so alive and full of fun characters, intriguing locations, and active enough turn-based combat. If I had to pick a runner-up, though, I am a sucker for a good GBA RPG. Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga is highly nostalgic for me and the vibrant visuals still hold up even now. It would be my close second place. Honestly, though, I really need to dig more into the Paper Mario games, as I feel like I should adore them. -- Cody

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is now available for Nintendo Switch.

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There are a lot of Paper Mario games out there, with varying degrees of quality. (We don’t talk about Sticker Star anymore.) With one of the strongest entries now on the Switch, we figured it’s a great time to talk about which Paper Mario game (or games) are best for people to play.

As someone who played Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door again fairly recently, I'm going to say that is the best Paper Mario game you should play. It's an absolutely fantastic RPG with tons of personality, memorable characters, great challenges, and a lovely aesthetic. There's no busywork. No bland character designs. Every part feels valuable. Plus, it's very easily accessible right now. — Jenni

With the caveat I’ve ironically played almost every Paper Mario game except The Thousand-Year Door (will change that soon with the Switch version), I would say the original Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64 is a classic and great place to start. The Wii U and 3DS games all have their share of issues, so there is nothing like the simplicity, charm, and surprisingly solid graphics in the original that hold up much better than other N64 titles. Plus, it is available through the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack. — Cody 

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In honor of the launch of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Nintendo announced a means for everyone to recreate the Plane Mode “curse” in the real world. It worked with John “The Paper Airplane Guy” Collins, who held the record for paper airplane flights between 2012 and 2022, to create a plane and share proper instructions for making and flying it.

To start, someone can visit the official site to get the template. This can then be printed out to make the plane. (Someone could also use their own paper to do so.) They can then head to YouTube to see the special video going through the creation process to make a Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door paper air plane. 

Here’s the full video:

Plane Mode is the very first “curse” form Mario acquires in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. When on a specific space with a plane design on it, players can press a button to make Mario fold himself into a paper airplane. You can then glide across gaps. This mechanic ends up being necessary to reach certain areas and progress throughout the course of the adventure, alongside the other "cursed" forms.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is available on the GameCube and Switch worldwide. 

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Whenever we get a remake or a remaster of a game, there’s always the question of if it will hold up. Is it only nostalgia that endears a title that is potentially actually a flawed work to us? Have modern innovations and quality of life changes across the industry left it behind? After spending over 30 hours playing Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door on the Switch, I can assure you that it remains a masterpiece and is now one of best RPGs on the Switch.

Princess Peach is stopped in the unsavory town of Rogueport when she happens upon a strange map showing the location of legendary Crystal Stars. She sends it off to Mario and asks her to meet him at the city. However, she’s gone by the time he gets there. His only way to reunite with her and solve the mystery of the town’s Thousand-Year Door is to use the map to collect the stars and open it.

While Paper Mario on the N64 helped build a foundation, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door finely tunes it to perfection. Following the introduction, during which Mario is the only lead, the narrative is split between the perspectives of Peach and Bowser as well. (But not Luigi, though you can catch up on his Waffle Kingdom escapades by talking with him in Rogueport.) Each chapter involves a new location and situation, though getting the Crystal Star from that area won’t involve the same protocol each time. The Petalburg region one involves traditional JRPG elements like going through a castle and facing a draconic boss. However, the Glitzville one turns Mario into an up-and-coming arena fighter to earn a belt with the Crystal Star while investigating mysteries at the arena. 

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door also builds on the lovely, turn-based battle system from Paper Mario that incorporates a little more action, while also not making level-grinding and fighting the focus. Mario levels up, but damage tends to remain consistent. Heart Points for health, the Flower Points tied to skills, and Badge Points for equipping influential badges are the only stats to worry about. His allies rank up once you collect Shine Sprites and talk to Merlon, who then increases their power and moveset. You see these fights on the map and, even if you’ve been avoiding battles, can tend to power through if you really want to try.

However, battles are genuinely fantastic. Mario and his active partner character appear on the field. Each turn, the two of them act. They can attack, which may or may not require FP, use items, and use tactics to appeal to the audience, swap the partner, charge up attack power, or defend. Mario can also use Specials. It’s also possible to swap which of the two characters acts first. 

Enemies tend to be broken up into ones that could only be hit by jumping or airborne attacks, ones that require hammer or hitting attacks, and ones that may need a special circumstance like an item or Yoshi’s Gulp maneuver. All attacks involve an additional input, once selected, to carry them out properly or deal extra damage. So even though it is a turn-based battle scheme, there’s more direct involvement. As everything is set up as though there is an audience watching the fight like a play, props or items could fall down when allies attack. Audience could throw helpful or harmful items. Appealing could result in the audience assisting. 

Speaking of partners, they and Mario’s “curses” are tied to light puzzles and platforming in the environments. One of Mario’s earliest overworld abilities involves turning into a paper airplane to cross specific gaps. Eventually, he’ll also learn how to do things like ground-pound or turn on his edge to go between gaps. Koops allows you to grab distant items or hit switches. When Mario rides on Yoshi, you can ride on him and flutter jump over gaps. Acquiring them grants greater access to Rogueport’s underground areas and sometimes even past places. 

But what it all comes down to is personality. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is from an age when the Paper Mario series wasn’t filled with lifeless, sometimes even generic or tedious, entries like Paper Mario: Sticker Star or Paper Mario: Color Splash. Every NPC looks and feels distinct with a personality, even if they are based on a typical Goomba or Koopa. Trooper. The situations are clever and humorous. It all feels so alive, funny, and happy. You want to talk to everyone. Explore every corner of cities. Savor the moment. 

I will say that, for the most part, this is a fairly straightforward remake of the original Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the Switch. There are some new elements included. The majority of these are quality of life or unification features. For example, it is easier to swap between allies in the field, as you do so with the press of a button. There’s a tutorial character who pops up in most major towns, so you can practice moves and timing. A certain badge now makes Mario’s hammer attacks sound like a frog worldwide. A few other surprises do come up, which I think folks will appreciate, but I don’t want to spoil anything for anyone. I suppose a part of me did wish Luigi had his own story segments like Bowser and Peach’s, but in a way it’s much better to relegate his adventures to stories to continue the running joke.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is both the best Paper Mario entry and a Switch game everyone should own and play. The story is wonderful. The characters are fantastic. The gameplay is never tedious, and the situations often involve delightful surprises or twists. Nintendo, for whatever reason, literally does not make Paper Mario games like this anymore, as evidenced by entries like Paper Mario: The Origami King, and that is a criminal act. But at least we have this wonderful game for more people to play again. Who knows, maybe if it sells well enough, Nintendo will get Intelligent Systems to work on a fresh entry that is more like the N64 original and this gem.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door will come to the Nintendo Switch on May 23, 2024. 

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GameStop Canada revealed that its Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Switch pre-order bonus offer offers people a chance to see the original GameCube box art and cover design again. There will be a slip cover that restores the original design.

The official social media post shared a glimpse at how the slipcover will look. In addition to the original Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door GameCube art with Mario surrounded by Peach, Goombella, Koops, Yoshi, and Hooktail, it also features the original GameCube logo and accents at the top. GameStop Canada didn’t note if this will just be a paper slipcover or if it will be made of a more durable material. It did note that it will given to buyers when they pick up their copies of the game.

Here's a better look at the Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door pre-order bonus:

In addition to this pre-order bonus, Nintendo also offered a better look at Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on the Switch. A new overview trailer spent five minutes covering the game. It started by explaining the story. After that, it showed general gameplay. Among the insights included looks at new additions and quality of life features brought in for the new release.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door will launch on May 23, 2024 for the Nintendo Switch. The original game launched on the GameCube back in 2004. 

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Nintendo made new Mario-related announcements on the 2024 MAR10 Day. The main highlight of the video was the announcement of a new Mario animated movie that will be available in theaters in April 2026. Nintendo also shared release dates for a number of new and classic Mario games coming to Nintendo Switch in the first half of 2024.

Shigeru Miyamoto opened the presentation video by announcing the new Mario animated movie. Illumination, which previously worked on The Super Mario Bros. Movie that launched in April 2023, will also produce the new film. The studio's head Chris Meledandri also appeared in the video. He revealed that his team is working on "storyboarding scenes and developing set designs for new environments." The animation processes will begin "soon."

The new Mario animation film will appear on April 3, 2026, in the US. Meledandri also added that a number of other select territories will also get to see the new movie within April 2026.

At the end of the 2024 MAR10 Day video, Nintendo showed the release dates for some of its Mario game releases, all of which will be available on Nintendo Switch. The lineup also included three games from the Game Boy and Game Boy Color that will be available via the Nintendo Switch Online subscription.

• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - May 23, 2024
• Luigi's Mansion 2 HD - June 27, 2024
• Dr. Mario - March 12, 2024 (Game Boy version getting added via Nintendo Switch Online)
• Mario Golf - March 12, 2024 (Game Boy Color version getting added via Nintendo Switch Online)
• Mario Tennis - March 12, 2024 (Game Boy Color version getting added via Nintendo Switch Online)

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Nintendo confirmed a Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Switch port during the September 2023 Nintendo Direct. It will show up in 2024. This will be a remaster. Nintendo confirmed there will be graphical updates for this release.

Here's the first trailer for the rerelease:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ume5pSIcKE&ab_channel=NintendoofAmerica

As a reminder, this is the second Paper Mario game. The majority of the adventure focuses on Mario, who heads to Rogueport after being requested by Peach to head there to investigate the legend and secrets of the Thousand-Year Door after she finds a map tied to it. However, after Grodus and the X-Nauts kidnap her. Players end up controlling Mario on the adventure, Peach in captivity, and also Bowser as he figures out what’s going on and decides to get the treasures for himself.

People can also play the original entry on the Nintendo Switch. Back in 2021, Nintendo added the game to the Nintendo Switch Online Expansion Pack service. If someone paid for that higher hip tier, they can find the RPG in the N64 game library app and play it with save states.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door will come to the Nintendo Switch in 2024. It originally appeared on the GameCube.

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It is March 10, 2020, which means Mar10 day has rolled around again. Basically, it is an excuse for Nintendo to try and draw attention to its most iconic character: Mario. We decided that it’s a great time to call attention to some of our favorite games that happen to have the plumber as a featured character in them. (While also learning about which Super Mario and Super Mario-adjacent games you enjoy too!) Especially since, well, we’re still waiting for that first Nintendo Direct of 2020.

Is picking Fortune Street, an Itadaki Street installment made by Square Enix, a bit of a cop-out on Mar10 day? I don’t think so! I mean, it pits characters from the Super Mario series against Dragon Quest icons as everyone attempts to accumulate as much cash and property. Becoming a mogul is so much fun with all of these familiar faces, and it is a lot of fun if you can get enough friends together to play. (Especially since the computer definitely likes to cheat!) - Jenni

While some Mario sub-franchises are just so phenomenally consistent that it’s hard to be amazed by any initial entry (as fun as platformers like Odyssey and racers like Mario Kart 8 DX can be), there’s one series that’s seen such highs and lows that its pinnacle is undeniably sweet. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door proved to be one of the best RPGs ever by delivering sharp writing and localization and streamlining combat and progression to make every decision count. The charming writing remained in later entries, but the less engaging battles and less memorable casts just don’t deliver in the same way. – Graham

Without hesitation, my favorite Super Mario game of all time is Super Mario RPG for the SNES. Other Mario games, like Mario 64 or Super Mario World might be more in line with what we think of when we think of Mario, but it was Super Mario RPG and Final Fantasy VI (then known as Final Fantasy III) that helped kindle my love of role-playing games, complex systems, and all the things I would've shied away from in earlier days. I honestly don't know what my tastes in gaming would turn out to be had I not spent an idle summer plowing through it and beating the super-secret mega-boss. - Josh

This is not a fair question to ask me, as I have developed unhealthy obsessions with Super Mario World, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Mario RPG, and Super Mario Sunshine. Still, nothing has dragged me in and made me forget all existence outside of it like Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. The things it does with timing-based RPG combat made every battle engaging, and it has this outrageous sense of humor that genuinely had me cackling at the game. Or chortling? Probably chortling. Fawful is the best villain. Sorry Bowser. - Joel

What can I say? A mainline Super Mario 3D exploration game only comes out once every so often, but when they do, it's full of the quality you expect from Nintendo's big flagship franchise. I wasn't much of a Mario person in my childhood, apart from playing the Mario & Luigi series of RPGs, but Super Mario Galaxy captivated me. The higher stakes provided a great platform to begin an adventure with scope, and yet the game never forgets what makes Mario fun - the platforming, goofy atmosphere that was truly fleshed out via the different galaxies. I loved learning about Rosalina, which is why she remains one of my favorite characters in the series, and the game closed off with an optimistic, poignant ending. It was the capstone on a great Mario adventure. - Alistair

My mind said to go with Super Mario Land 2: Yoshi's Island. That's the obvious play. But my heart told me Mario Hoops 3-on-3. But when I was searching for a screenshot, I ed Super Mario Strikers, and my mind and heart ed forces for truth and justice. Super Mario Strikers was such a dope game I played it even when I didn't have people around for multiplayer. The Mario sports formula is perfect for soccer, a game that is loud and godless even with a referee on the field. But when you remove the pretense, shrink the pitch, and add banana peels and dinosaurs, you get what soccer is all about: screaming violence and astro turf. Also everyone is angry for no reason, and that's hilarious. - Lucas

I really had to think about this, but honestly, I'm still a big fan of Super Mario Galaxy. I still when the game came out. It was so, so colorful, and the space setting really charmed me. Very quickly, Rosalina became one of my favorite characters, and the Luma kept me smiling until the very end. It was also so fascinating being able to go to new worlds and zip from rock to rock and planet to planet, all while using gravity to your advantage. Plus, the graphics are still really nice to look at. And, as a bonus, we got the best Mario ever: Bee Mario! - Mercedez

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