Paper Mario: what parents of kids 4–7 should know

• –Official rating above age 7
  ESRB: E (PEGI 7)
• –Contact with other players or strangers
  ESRB: No Interactive Elements
• –Purchases with real money
  ESRB: No Interactive Elements
• –Paid random items
  None listed
• ✓Violence or scary content in rating descriptors
  ESRB: Mild Fantasy Violence; PEGI: Violence, Fear
• –Government lawsuits, fines, or safety warnings
  None found

Each flag is a yes-or-no fact from the sources on this page. The number is a count of flags, not a safety score. How we count.

Checked October 2026. Ratings and settings change; check the official source before you decide. What do these ratings mean?

Facts for parents, not medical or legal advice. If you're worried about your child, talk to your pediatrician.

What is Paper Mario?

Short answer: A Nintendo role-playing adventure series in which Mario and his world look like paper cutouts.

Players explore, solve puzzles, read a lot of dialogue, and fight enemies in turn-based battles. The newest game is Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for Switch (May 23, 2024), a remake of the 2004 GameCube game. Before it came Paper Mario: The Origami King (July 17, 2020). Each costs $59.99 on Nintendo's US store, and both are single-player.

Paper Mario: what's in it

Short answer: Every Paper Mario game is ESRB E; the two Switch games are PEGI 7.

• The Thousand-Year Door (ESRB): E, Mild Fantasy Violence, Mild Suggestive Themes. The ESRB mentions brief flirtatious dialogue and characters with exaggerated proportions.
• The Origami King (ESRB): E, Mild Cartoon Violence, including a turret scene with cartoony bombs.
• PEGI: 7, violence and fear. PEGI says bosses have scary introductions that may frighten young children.
• Common Sense Media: 8+ for both.

Purchases and online play

Short answer: None. The ESRB lists "No Interactive Elements" for both Switch games, meaning no in-game purchases, chat, or shared location. Nintendo's store pages list them as single-player games. We found no government action naming Paper Mario as of October 2026.

The habit kids may copy: tapping through the talk

Much of the story is told in text boxes, and it's easy to press the button before the words are read.

Try tonight: when a puzzle won't budge

Watch your child try a puzzle or a tricky level. When they get stuck, say: "That way didn't work. What's another way?" Let them name one new idea before they try again. In our program, this is the lesson "Plan B": if one way doesn't work, try another.

What is Paper Mario rated?

Every Paper Mario game is rated E (everyone) by the ESRB. PEGI rates the two Switch games 7 for violence and fear.

What age is Paper Mario for?

There's no age limit at E. Common Sense Media lists The Thousand-Year Door and The Origami King for ages 8 and up.

Does Paper Mario have in-game purchases?

No. The ESRB lists "No Interactive Elements" for both Switch games.

Is Super Paper Mario E10+?

No. The ESRB rates Super Paper Mario (Wii) E, for comic mischief and mild cartoon violence.

More from “Is it good for kids?”