Summary
The Spanish version of thePaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remakeremoves a reference toSuper Smash Bros. Meleethat was in the original game.
One of the best things about the Mario RPG games is how they’re not afraid to get a little self-referential and have fun with the fact that they’re part of the widerNintendouniverse. We saw this inSuper Mario RPGandhow it randomly had Link and Samus show up during the adventure, and we see it in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Dooras well thanks to the fan-favourite Fire Emblem Toad.
Although the Fire Emblem Toad was lucky enough to make the jump to the Switch version of The Thousand-Year Door, the same can’t be said for another Nintendo game - Super Smash Bros. Melee. Over the years, some fans have surmised that Nintendo isn’t exactly happy with the staying power that Melee had over other Smash games, and that perception just got a little stronger.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Remake Removes An Iconic Melee Reference
According to the Super Mario Wiki, the original Spanish release of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door had a few unique jokes that were specific to that version of the game. One such joke could be found when you encounter Rawk Hawk (named Hawk Hogan in the Spanish translation), for the first time, which would cause him to say that anyone challenging him should stick to playing Super Smash Bros. Melee.
In the English version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Rawk Hawk simply said, “You weaklings might as well stick to video-game fighting, OK?”.
That was a very popular easter egg in the original game (even if many players never saw it for themselves), so fans hoped that it might end up showing up in all versions of the remake. Well, that’s not the case, as it actually still only shows up in the Spanish version of the game. Worse yet, it’s been weirdly changed around.
As pointed out by Twitter user AKoolKoopa, Hawk Hogan now simply references “Super Smash Bros.” as a whole instead of Melee, which seems like a weird cut to make. If you’re going to do that, then why not just say Super Smash Bros. Ultimate instead of specifically removing Melee from the equation.
You could argue that it’s to try and keep Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on Switch timely, but considering the English versions of the game keep the Fire Emblem Toad’s love of the Game Boy Advance, it doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s just a small easter egg at the end of the day, but it’s an interesting change nonetheless.
