Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door - The 3 Act Story

            In stories and tales told throughout all times there is a common theme used in storytelling, that being a 3 Act structure. It follows the simple path of Introduction, Progression and Build Up, and Conclusion. The first Act introduces us to the main characters and its world, the second builds on that to explore these characters and settings, as well as explore new characters and parts of the world, building the story up even more. And then the third part is the conclusion itself, which brings an ending and final hurrah to everything. As I played through The Thousand Year Door, I noticed that there were many signs in this game that pointed to this 3 Act structure being used. With that in mind, let me lay out my theory for this structure, and what in this game draws the point home. 

No more attention grabbing sentences now, let’s dive right in and see what the theory I propsed is and go over why I made it the way it is:

Act I: Prologue – Chapter 3
Act II: Chapter 4 – Chapter 6
Act III: Chapter 7 – Chapter 8

                The first Act is the introduction. In the Prologue of The Thousand Year Door, we first meet Mario and Rougeport, and learn much about the world and its citizens. This theme is continued in Chapter 1, where we meet more characters and learn about the world more. Chapter 2 is when we have another introduction; the villains.

                Chapter 2 is not simply when Mario encounters the X-nauts (the game’s main antagonists) for the first time, but also when we encounters the Shadow Sirens for the first time. In the chapter we learn who they are and what they’re like, seeing them first hand when the 3 Sirens talk with each other, and seeing the way Crump and the X-nauts work in their plans to find the Crystal Stars, and the damage they are all capable of. We're introduced to the villains, and we also learn more about them and their personalities.

                Chapter 3 is also an introduction chapter, but an introduction to the Crystal Stars, the powerful items you collect over the course of the story. For you see, Chapter 3 is the only chapter in the game in which the villain of the chapter is using the Crystal Star’s power. In chapter 4 or 5 it could have easily been said that the boss’s powers came from the Crystal Star. But they didn’t, the only villain in which the game made a point to say his power came from the Crystal Star, was Grubba, the boss of Chapter 3. This is because Chapter 3 was a chapter of introduction too, or rather to introduce us to the Crystal Stars, and the sheer power they hold, and how badly their power can be used if placed in the wrong hands.

                Act II then is a progression and continuation of Act I with little introduction. Chapters 4 through 6 are the chapters of which no new main villains are introduced, and we also see no concluding or final battles against the main antagonists. They also do not tell us more about the Crystal Stars, because we already learned how sacred they were in Chapter 2, and how powerful they are in 3. Chapters 4 through 6 ride on the knowledge we gained from Chapters 1 through 3 to provide for some fun chapters in some nice settings. We see the enemies from chapters 1 through 3 returning, and battle them again, and also get to explore Rougeport more. It bridges the gaps between the starting and ending chapters, by providing some filler, if you will, to build the world up more and show our main characters and their interactions more.

                But it doesn’t just have adventures to connect the beginning and end, it also ramps up the feel and tension. Chapter 4 is when we first learn of the great evil, the Demon behind the Thousand Year Door, which greatly ups the feel in terms of tension. Chapter 6 also features the (supposed) death of TEC, at the hand of Grodus. This is done to show off Grodus’ great cruel power, but also to continue to up the ant and scale of the entire game. These chapters serve to get us more into the story, and to start taking it more seriously than we did at the start, and prepare us for the epic conclusion.

                Which then brings us to Act III, chapters 7 and 8. Representing the conclusion, chapters 7 and 8 feature Mario’s final clashes with the game’s main antagonists. Lord Cump and the Shadow Sirens, which were introduced as major villains in Chapter 2, have their final showdowns in Chapters 7 and 8, and we also finally explore the darkest corridors of Rougeport in these chapters; the X-naut’s base, as well as the Palace of Shadow where the great Demon resides. They serve to finish and tie up all the loose ends the game had created, and provide some nice closure to all of the main characters.

                I noticed this 3 Act structure of storytelling was very present in The Thousand Year Door, when comparing it with all the other Paper Marios and their stories, and I thought it was interesting that it was like that, and enjoyed pondering the questions that came with it. I wonder, do you see this format in any of the stories you love? Do you like it?