Hannan Mundia 
The Paper Mario TTYD remaster for the Nintendo Switch has received an ESRB rating, indicating that its release date might be coming up soon.
The September 2023 Nintendo Direct brought tons of announcements. Arguably the biggest one was the announcement that the beloved 2004 Gamecube title Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door would get an upgraded re-release for the Nintendo Switch. While Nintendo stated that the game would be released sometime in 2024, there are indications that its release date could be coming in relatively short order.
This belief of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door getting a release date soon stems from the fact that it has received an ESRB rating. The timing of ESRB ratings can give an idea of when a game will be released, with Dragon’s Dogma 2 being a recent example.
Paper Mario TTYD Door release date
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door will be released sometime in 2024 exclusively for the Nintendo Switch, though there isn’t an exact release date yet.
The ESRB rating for the game narrows things down, however. The rating coming through in late December hints at a Q1 2024 or early Q2 2024 release. In the case of Dragon’s Dogma, the game was rated by the ESRB in November and had a release date officially revealed for approximately four months later.
Getting a rating isn’t a guarantee of a release window, however. A remaster of Beyond Good and Evil was leaked by the ESRB in August 2023 and hasn’t yet been released, but is scheduled for early 2024. This still strongly suggests that the game will come out in the first half of 2024, rather than being dragged out beyond the summer.
Is the Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Switch version a remake or remaster?
The upcoming Switch version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a remaster of the original 2004 version.
The lines between remake and remaster can be blurry, but the upcoming Switch version of Paper Mario: TTYD seems to be a remaster with some enhancements and changes. Unlike the Super Mario RPG remake which featured a complete graphical overhaul and a new game engine, the only promise Nintendo is making in official materials is that the Switch version will have “enhanced graphics.”
The game isn’t strictly an “HD remaster” with sharpened visuals and a 16:9 aspect ratio, however. The trailer showed some changes to the localization and new sprites can be seen for some of the characters. Though a “remake” label surely would’ve been splashy, many hold up Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door as the best Mario RPG of all time. Fans will likely be in for a fun romp, even without any significant bells and whistles being added.
