Paper Mario remake confirms companion is trans after references removed from original 2004 translation
Thousand-Year Door out on Switch this week.
Nintendo's Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake has added lines confirming villain-turned-companion character Vivian is transgender after references relating to her gender identity were removed in the original 2004 English translation.
In The Thousand-Year Door's original Japanese release, Vivian - one of three villainous Shadow Sisters - is deliberately misgendered by various characters, including her sister Marilyn.
When the GameCube title was translated for its worldwide release, some territories retained references to Vivian's trans identity - Italy, for instance, had the character respond defiantly to Marilyn instead of apologising after one instance of misgendering, saying, "But I am a woman too now, and I'm proud to have turned into a woman!" - while others, including the English and German translations, jettisoned the references entirely.
But 20 years later, Vivian is officially trans once more. As highlighted by MyNintendoNews, the Thousand-Year Door remake's English translation now explicitly acknowledges Vivian's trans identity, featuring a conversation in which she tells Mario, "Truth is, it took me a while to realise I was their sister... not their brother. Now their usual bullying feels heavier."
You can see the moment around the 5:30 mark in NintendoLife's Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake review. The game itself is set to release for Switch this Thursday, 23rd May.