The reviews are in for the Nintendo Switch remake of the beloved GameCube classic Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, but the astoundingly high scores aren’t the only things catching attention. Vivian, a ghost companion, has had her identity as a trans woman restored after being omitted from the original English translation over 20 years ago.
Vivian is a trans woman in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
While most reviews gush over the fresh, vibrant graphics or the return to a familiar yet exciting environment, Nintendo Life highlighted the justice granted to one character in particular. Vivian, a ghostly gal Mario meets later in The Thousand-Year Door, was originally a trans character. However, due to whatever reasons, key dialogue that confirmed this about her was changed or removed from the English script in 2002. However, these bits of dialogue could be found in the original Japanese version, as well as several other translations.
Now, over 20 years later, these lines of dialogue were restored, giving English players a fresh perspective of Vivian. Nintendo Life reviewer Alana Hagues highlights dialogue where Vivian “accepts her true identity.”
In the video review, we see Vivian talking to Mario about her “problems.” She goes on to confess it took her a while to “realize she was their sister, not their brother.” She also claims that this revelation has made her siblings’ bullying feel heavier, undoubtedly a factor for why she chose to leave her sisters and join Mario.
There’s also something to be said for her identity, seeing as she is determined to help Mario get his name and body back.
This is a huge win for not only the transgender community but marginalized communities as a whole. It’s not every day that Nintendo adds an inclusive character to one of its first-party IPs, let alone correct a mistake from the past. Hopefully, Vivian is a step forward for Nintendo, and we will see more inclusive characters take the stage.