Super Mario character confirmed as transgender in new game

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.

A remake of hit RPG Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door has confirmed one of its main villains is transgender.

The game first released on Nintendo Gamecube in 2004 and was the second instalment in the Paper Mario series.

On May 23, a remake of it was released on Nintendo Switch with upgraded graphics, animations and sound.

And the remake has confirmed that one of the main villains, called Vivian, is transgender.

A screenshot of Vivian's dialogue in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year DoorNintendo

Vivian initially tries to track down and beat Mario alongside her sisters but ends up joining forces with the hero because she keeps being bullied by them.

The Japanese version of the game is understood to make it clear that Vivian is a trans woman and this is why her sisters bullied her.

But the 2004 English language versions replaced this with her sisters calling her "ugly" instead - this has how been changed in the 2024 remake though.

Players find out Vivian's story when she travels with Mario, and there's a line of dialogue that says: "Truth is, it took me a while to realise I was their sister... Not their brother. Now their usual bullying feels heavier."

The 2004 Japanese scripts are reported to include that Vivian is consistently misgendered by one of her sisters and in the description of her character.

This bullying has been toned down in the remake and her bio now says: "Vivian was one of the 'Three Shadows' but has now chosen to leave her two sisters behind."

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