Paper Mario

"2.5-D Goodness: Nintendo scores with probably the last good game of its generation"

As Nintendo's system faded into darkness with the PS2 dawning and Project Dolphin was yielding the Nintendo Gamecube, one last game seemed to bring Nintendo's creativity and innovation out more than ever before. This game was none other than Paper Mario. Who had ever heard of 2.5-D graphics? And in an RPG??? What was Nintendo thinking? This sounded like a flop...But when people shook their heads at Nintendo, Nintendo responded and proved that they could create a great game without being so traditional, or without the flashiest graphics.

With Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door out and now Super Paper Mario released, it is important to remember where the Paper Mario series began.

Graphics-8.5
Some, I'm sure, will scoff at the score I gave this section, but it's true. Some of the graphics of attacks (might I suggest the effects of Monstar's only attack) weren't too bad to look at. And although the environment was, for the most part, simple, the undertaking it took to make paper thin characters move around in it must have been massive. They're definitely not flashy or overly impressive, but the innovation of it wins out.

Control-10
The control immediately caught my attention. There was little time where I found myself having trouble with controls. It is almost too basic. A is Jump, B is Hammer, Left C is Items, Right C is Party, Up C is to check status and Down C is Partner's Ability. Although the N64's controller was...different, the player should never really be in a rush to use any awkward C buttons unless you're using Sushie's Tidal Wave technique. Battle control is very responsive as well. Timing is everything, and it couldn't be more fun...except with Super Mario RPG...

Music and Sound-9.5
The only reason I knocked off that half point was because of the maddening time I had going to answer Chuck Quizmo's questions using the first three pipes in the Toad Town sewers, making me hear all the same music. The sound can be repetitive, but it all works, really. Fun additions are the Sound FX badges. There is a lacking in little voice clips (a sound from Bowser or from the Yoshis wouldn't hurt), but it makes up for it with the music. The boss battle music is the best of the game, save the classic Mario music in Boo's Mansion. The tunes are catchy, so you'll be humming them in no time. Several are based off old Mario tunes, the most notable of which is in the Toad Town Tunnels.

Gameplay-10
There is just so much to do in this game. The main quest takes up a good chunk of time in itself. Bowser stole the Star Rod from Star Haven and banished the seven Star Spirits, and it's Mario's job to find them all. Of course, he'll have help from Princess Peach, who is still trapped in her castle after Bowser made it float in the sky. She'll pass information to her friend Twink who will inform you of where to go. Mario will also meet eight companions, including a friendly Goomba, a letter-carrying Paratroopa, a sassy Boo, and a Lakitu with an attitude, all of which have special abilities of their own. Super Blocks help you upgrade your partners's abilities, and later, you will be able to Ultra Rank them to make them their most powerful.

As Mario, Badges help you use his powers to their limit. Although they use up your Flower Points (the Mario equivalent to Magic Points of other RPGs), you'll have no trouble getting them...you just have to level up. Fight often and you'll go far. Many badges help in battle. Power Jump, the most invaluable badge and the first one of the game, does extra damage on a jump attack. Other hammer badges increase your hammer power, like Power Smash or Mega Smash. D-Down Pound helps cut down enemies' defense rating, too. Other badges assist in battles, too, like the Close Call badge or Zap Tap, which electrifies Mario. Double Dip allows you to use two items in battle, and Power Bounce lets you perform consecutive jump attacks on enemies by using well-timed action commands. Some badges help outside of battle, such as I Spy (which helps find hidden Star Pieces) and Speedy Spin. You'll need to utilize them all.

After you beat chapters in the game, you will be able to use Star Spirit powers. Most of these are kind of unnecessary, but one or two can really help, most notably Star Storm and Smooch. Star Storm is like the Shooting Star item, but it does 7 damage to each enemy instead of 6. Smooch can recover 20 HP, but it uses up 3 star energy bars, so use of it should be in emergencies or boss fights only.

Leveling up is based on a 100 point system. Defeating different enemies earns you different amounts of points, and boss fights earn you a myriad of points. Leveling up is simplified in this way, making it easy to keep track of. Instead of having all your stats increased upon leveling up, you must choose what particular stat to raise: HP, FP, or BP. Health and Flower Points upgrade by five while Badge Points upgrade by three.

Sidequests include finding all 160 Star Pieces, or finding the 80 badges throughout the game. Answer Chuck Quizmo's 64 trivia questions, or raise Li'l Oinks to get items. A deep cooking engine with Tayce T.'s recipes will perplex you and aid you with useful items. There are just hours of different activities after the main quest is complete, or during the main quest.

There are many extra goodies as well, including letters to Mario's gang, postcards to Mario from different people, Luigi's Diary, the record player in Boo's Mansion, as well as jumping in the jar to relive the glory days. Showing off your Dojo status (Degrees) to certain characters is also light fun, but very limited.

The length of the game isn't up there in comparison to many RPGs (Final Fantasy, Tales of…), but the goofy dialogue and hilarity that ensues throughout the game (a “chilling” murder mystery, any time you meet Kolorado) keep the pace of the game up, and it feels like you're spending a lot more time than you really are. An average gamer could complete the game with all the sidequests in 20-30 hours, broadly put.

Difficulty-6
The game definitely is an RPG primer. It's not very hard at all, and it is pretty much a beginner's game as far as RPGs go. There is some difficulty in boss fights, and in fighting the Master in the Dojo, but if you have plenty of badges, it shouldn't be that big of a deal. Nintendo could have made this somewhat harder with more enemies with higher HP totals outside of boss fights.

One thing that makes it difficult (and at times, frustrating) is that you can only carry ten items at a time. Although you'll want to stock up on both Mushrooms and attack items like Thunder Rage or Shooting Star, more often than naught you'll be forced to ditch an item that you really want to keep. There is a way to store items, but you can only do it in town shops, and you must retrieve them there, too.

Overall-9
It definitely isn't the greatest game ever, but it sure is a whole lot of fun, even for seasoned gamers. This is, after all, an RPG primer, but as far as games go, this one scores. Thanks Nintendo, for this excellent game that came out just too late. If you haven't played this game, get it either for your old N64 or for the Wii's VC. It will be well worth the ten dollars.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 07/16/07