Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: How to Unlock the Original GameCube Music

Here's how to get the GameCube music in the Nintendo Switch version.

By Marc Deschamps

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is now available on Nintendo Switch, but it was first released on the GameCube. The RPG makes a number of changes and improvements over the version from 2004, including an updated soundtrack. Of course, music can be a really personal thing, and some people might prefer to play the game with that original soundtrack intact. Thankfully, the Nintendo Switch version offers a way of listening to those original tunes, and it can be unlocked extremely early in the game. Even better, players can toggle back and forth between the two soundtracks very quickly. 

How to Get the Nostalgic Tunes Badge

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(Photo: Nintendo)

The GameCube music can be unlocked by obtaining a new Badge that was added to the Nintendo Switch version of The Thousand-Year Door. The Nostalgic Tunes Badge is found in a shop connected to the Inn located in Rogueport Square. The shop cannot be accessed until after Mario has been given his first Badge by Professor Frankly. Once the professor has gifted Mario the Power Smash Badge, the shop will open its doors. To get there, players must go inside the Inn and head up the stairs. Inside the room, there's a door on the left hand side that leads outside, where players will find a Badge Shop. 

There, the Nostalgic Tunes Badge can be purchased for a single coin. To switch to the music featured in the GameCube game, players must simply equip the Badge. While most Badges have an associated Badge Point cost, the Nostalgic Tunes one does not. This means players can equip it without it having any impact on other Badges they might want to use. 

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How Quickly Can the GameCube Music be Unlocked?

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(Photo: Nintendo)

If players try to access the Badge Shop before they've been given their first Badge, the door on the sign will say that the store does not open until 11 a.m. However, there is no day/night cycle in the game, so this is just a cheeky way for the developers to temporarily block access to the shop. If GameCube purists want to unlock the Badge as early as possible, it can be done in just under 30 minutes, provided the various tutorials are skipped along the way, and players dodge most enemy encounters. That will also depend on the player's familiarity with the original game, so most people shouldn't expect to obtain the Nostalgic Tunes Badge until 45 to 60 minutes into the game. 

Do you plan on playing with the GameCube music on? Are you happy this was included in the Switch version of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door? Share your thoughts with me directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp, on Bluesky at @Marcdachamp, or on Instagram at @Dachampgaming!

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