After twenty years, Nintendo has finally corrected a translation that had omitted an essential aspect of a character in a Paper Mario game. The re-release of the famous title has revealed a notable change to the original U.S. localization, correcting a significant omission related to a character’s gender identity.
This refers to “Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door,” a game that recently received a well-deserved remake, proving its enduring relevance despite having been released two decades ago. Among the features that the community and critics have highlighted about the game are the quality of its writing, the characters’ witty dialogue, and an engaging storyline—elements that have sustained its popularity. However, one of Mario’s allies underwent a significant change during the localization of the original game for its 2004 release.
In the original Japanese script, it was revealed that Bibiana, one of the members of the Dark Trio, was actually a man despite her feminine appearance. Marjolène, her older sister, constantly referred to her gender in a derogatory manner during arguments. This nuance was deliberately censored in the U.S. and German versions, removing any reference to the character’s trans identity and opting for an exclusively feminine portrayal.
In these versions, gender-based insults were replaced with comments about her elegance, but with the game’s re-release on Nintendo Switch, the localization-specific dialogue has been corrected, restoring the character’s original portrayal. Bibiana (Vivian, in the English version) now takes the time to explain her distress to Mario, recounting how her sisters’ teasing got worse when she realized she was “their sister… and not their brother.”
This change is not only a correction to a previous translation, but it also highlights an evolution in representation and inclusion in video games, a medium that for many years has lacked diversity.
