Summary
In terms of voice actors, the roles they play, and the impact they have, many fans would be in agreement that Charles Martinet is an iconic figure as the voice of Mario, Luigi, Wario, Waluigi, and even the baby version of the most iconic brothers in platforming history. While Martinet wasn’t entirely known for full-length conversations as the characters outside of public appearances, he provided small voice clips inPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Doorin 2004 that can be heard during battle and in several select moments in the story. These small little voice clips return in the remake ofPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Doorfor Switch.
Compared to Charles Martinet’s work on other titles like thealso recently rereleasedMario Vs Donkey Kong, the sounds used inThe Thousand-Year Doormay not be the most impressive, but they’re incredibly memorable. Like many of the titles the plumber stars in, thePaper Marioseries sees him as a silent protagonist. Using questions that result in answers that are funnier than the last, players can talk as Mario through the game’s illusion of choice, and in the Switch version, Martinet’s Mario is heard almost twice — if not more — than what was in the original game.
How Charles Martinet is Immortalized in One of the Best Mario Games of All Time
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Lets Some Things Change, But Lets Others Get Even Better
Last year, it was revealed that Charles Martinet would be stepping back as Mario’s voice actor and becoming a “Mario Ambassador,” allowing Kevin Afghani to become thenew voice of Nintendo’s mascot as ofSuper Mario Wonder. Despite this, Charles Martinet is the only credit for Mario’s voice in the Switch version ofPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. It makes sense for Intelligent Systems to reuse his original voice clips from the GameCube release, but the developers didn’t settle for simply leaving things as they are.
The new Switch remake is truly a dream come true for the fans who wanted it for so long, being filled to the brim with adjustments and changes thatmake the newPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Doorexperiencebigger, better, yet entirely familiar. Along with small details like giving the Glitz Pit’s GBA its start-up sound, updated designs and shortcuts for the menus and Goombella’s Tattle Log, and more, Mario’s voice is more present than ever before.
Mario’s Voice is One of the Many Charming Things in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
While Mario made sounds throughout theoriginal GameCube game, the amount in the remake makes it apparent that Martinet has certainly left his mark; he’s heard when Mario ends up needing to express himself in new scenes of dialogue, with some being added behind old scenes as well more often than not. Some of the small sounds have even been replaced with different ones, likely old takes from the original recordings or possibly Mario games dating from afterTTYD’s release. Mario’s new voice actor could have been brought in to help with this, but he wasn’t.
AsPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Doormakes what was old new again, it’s rather sweet to see that when Nintendo had a chance to update how Mario sounds, they chose to keep Martinet’s iconic voice lines. A snippet of one of Martinet’s performances is even used in Chapter 4, specifically as a soundbite to match the ones that all the NPCs and partners have. It’s great tohave the Mario Ambassadorstill remain in this game in particular, as it serves as one of the most fondly rememberedMariogames. The sounds used in this particular adventure were short but special, and now his part in the game is immortalized in it forever.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2024)
WHERE TO PLAY
Join Mario and friends on an epic paper adventure: A classic story unfolds on the Nintendo Switch system.Collect the Crystal Stars before the bad guys do: The X-Nauts are after the treasure behind the Thousand-Year Door! With a map from Princess Peach—and the help of a few locals—Mario must journey through a colorful world made of paper to find it first.Surprises abound in this deep and engaging tale, where everyone’s got something to say and it’s often not what you’d expect! Here are just a few of the colorful characters you’ll encounter along the way.Master your badges and timing-based attacks to impress the audience in a theatrical twist on turn-based RPG combat. Make use of all the abilities that come with being cursed—er, conveniently made of paper—like folding into a plane to cross big gaps or turning sideways to slip through narrow openings.
