Paper Mario

"Unbelievably fun, but so, so easy..."

The Mario legacy is one of the greatest in all of video games. Mario is to video
games what Michael Jordan is to basketball, what Wayne Gretzky is to hockey, what Pelé
is to soccer, what the New York Yankee dynasty is to baseball,, what the Beatles are to
rock n' roll, what George Washington is to American history, what the Three Stooges are
to comedy, what... ah nevermind, I think you get the picture...

So does Paper Mario deserve to be spoken in the same breath as all of the former
glory that are the Mario games? Does it seize its place among the upper echelon of
gaming, as Mario has done so many times before? But more importantly, does it live up
to the greatness of Super Mario RPG on the SNES, one of the most addicting RPG's ever
made? Let us analyze...

Story: 6

As is the case with all Mario games, Paper Mario relies on gameplay rather than story. If
you have ever played a game starring Mario before, you should be able to make
a pretty decent guess at what the basic story is. (Just in case you still have no clue, here is
a ***spoiler free*** hint: An evil monster, whose name rhymes with ''Howser'', kidnaps the
damsel in distress, whose name rhymes with ''Mincess Reach''. Mario then embarks on his
epic journey to save the fair maiden, and restore peace to... uhhhhhh... ''Hushroom
Dingdom'', the land where Mario and everybody else in the world, both friend and foe,
reside). Don't worry, it's not as lame as it sounds. A lot of stuff comes together to form
somewhat of an actual story as you get deeper into the game, much like Super Mario
RPG. Nothing spectacular, but it gets the job done.

Gameplay: 8

In a word, FUN! This is truly one of the most fun games ever created. A good battle
system is important to making an RPG enjoyable, and as stated above, Paper Mario is a
very enjoyable game. That must mean... the battle system is good!?!?!?!?!? It does seem
like an ordinary turn-based system at first glance, but after an hour or two into the game,
you come to realize and appreciate the innovation of Paper Mario's battle system. The Hit
Point totals for Mario and his enemies are very low, and when you begin the game you hit
for one damage, but somehow they made it work. You may have a total of 8 different
allies join you on your journey, each with their own moves and talents, but only one of
them fights with you at a time. You can, however, swap buddies at any time during a
battle. It's very different from other RPG's, that much is certain(I'm not saying it's better,
but it's very unique, and is fun. A nice change of pace). Action commands(also known
as ''timed hits'') from Super Mario RPG have made a return, and play a very vital role in
your success. Also important are the dozens of ''badges'' found in the game, which when
equipped, give Mario or his allies helpful abilities, stat boosts, or a new combat move. It
would get a 10 for gameplay, but everything is just too easy. In fact, let's talk about the
difficulty now..

Challenge: 3

This game is very easy, if you are experienced in the art of playing RPG's. If not, then,
well, it is still pretty easy. The battles require a bit of thinking, but nothing that a novice
gamer couldn't handle. A few of the bosses provide a moderate challenge, but the puzzles
are not at all difficult to figure out. And on the rare occasion that you do get stuck, you
can visit a fortune telling wizard who gives you hints on your next task; or at the mere tap
of a button, one of your buddies will give you a description of the area, usually containing
a hint on what you should do. What brings the challenge rating up from a 1 is trying to
collect all the star pieces, badges, recipes, and all of the other hidden goodies. And
believe you me, there is definitely no shortage of mysteries. It's very easy to beat, but not
so easy(but still pretty easy) to master. But despite it's overly underwhelming difficulty,
something about it keeps luring me back... The game is just so fun to play, that I don't
even mind the complete and total lack of difficulty. Weird, I know.

Sound: 8

Not bad at all. A nice balance of classic Mario music and catchy new tunes, ranging
from the sinister sounds of Bowser's Castle to the tropical beats of Lavalava Island. I
often find myself bobbing my head along to the battle theme, and whistling the
background music no matter where in the game I may find myself. I thought the game
would contain only happy, upbeat music, but some of the songs are actually quite serious,
and wouldn't feel all to out of place in, say, a Resident Evil game. But Paper Mario has
no truly epic songs to it's soundtrack, no songs that give you chills because they are so
timeless, so perfectly orchestrated. Final Fantasy VIII has many epic, legendary songs,
Paper Mario has none. But all around, it's a very solid soundtrack.

Graphics: 9

Graphically, Paper Mario was a pleasant surprise. The game goes for the ''storybook''
look, and it pulls it off very nicely. The characters are literally made out of paper. When
they turn, it looks just like a piece of paper flipping over. The backgrounds are pretty,
and look like they're straight out of one of those pop-up books(It's kind of hard to explain.
But it looks quite nice). The animations when Mario goes down a pipe or slides into bed
bring a smile to my face every time I see them. Overall, nothing that makes your jaw
drop to the floor, but an all around unique, satisfying graphical experience. But after
playing many other games, and looking back upon Paper Mario, I am beginning to really
appreciate and grow quite fond of it's graphics.

Rent/Buy: Rent first.

Paper Mario is a very fun, albeit very easy game, and I don't regret buying it. However,
$50 is quite a hefty pricetag, so I suggest you rent first. You can probably beat this game
on a rental, if you play a lot(expect it to last around 25-30 hours, up to 35 if you go for all
the secrets). And you will most likely enjoy your time spent with it. I got so hooked on
the incredible fun-factor of the game, that I had to buy it. I will re-play it many, many
times in the years to come. If you can find it for a cheap price, possibly used, then I
suggest you pick it up.

Overall: 8/10

So there you have it. Paper Mario is a very fun RPG, and is definitely worth a play, no
matter who you are. It's total lack of challenge is made up for by it's unbelievable
fun-factor. It is a worthy successor to Super Mario RPG, and stacks up quite well against
many of the newer RPG's(Except in difficulty, of course). Mario games have never let us
down in the past, and Paper Mario is no exception. Truly, it makes the already legendary
Mario series even better. In fact... I'm going to say that if the difficulty had been pumped
up a notch(OK, many, many notches), this would be one of the greatest games ever made.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/20/01, Updated 06/16/01