Paper Mario

"An excellent adventrue for the N64"

Super Mario RPG 2, now known as Paper Mario, has finally arrived, and Mario fans have rejoiced. The game is a great adventure for the Nintendo 64, and combines action and RPG elements very successfully, and adds a touch of extras as well. The original Super Mario RPG was an incredible game, so Paper Mario had to live up to its predecessor, but it has done well, considering the circumstances. Although the team developing Paper Mario is different than the one that made SMRPG, Paper Mario still comes out as a winner. It plays very differently from SMRPG, and lacks some of the humor and gameplay of the original, but overall, it is a worthy successor.

Graphics: 7.2/10
This game has a unique and refreshing look to it. The characters themselves are 2-D sprites, which is fairly rare for a N64 game. However, the game takes place in a 3-D world, which means that Mario can move in any direction. Although the look at first seems very different, it’s actually somewhat similar to the graphics of the original Mario RPG. Unfortunately, Paper Mario lacks some detail in several places like backgrounds, the characters, and the areas. For example, it would be nicer if Mario looked a little better, and it would be even cooler if areas of one “mountain area,” didn’t look the same the whole way through. But these grievances are forgivable because games aren’t all about graphics, and by putting in less graphical detail, the developers could make the game larger. So, overall, the graphics look unique and excellent, but are flawed in a few areas.

Play Control: 8.0/10
It’s smooth and easy moving Mario around on his adventure. Maybe the only problem is that the spin move (use the Z button to activate it), although it makes you go faster, forces Mario to pause after the spin is finished. That is annoying when you’re trying to get through an area quickly, or even more annoying when an enemy attacks you because you couldn’t dodge quickly enough. Otherwise, the controls are classic Mario and easy to use. Press START to open up a menu which gives you various options. Use A to jump, C RIGHT to change your party, and C DOWN to use a party member’s special move.

During battles, you’ll have an easy time fighting your enemies. If you jump on the enemy on the screen or hit it with a hammer, you’ll get a “first attack”, which gives you the advantage of striking first before the battle begins. After that, a menu will come up and you can use jump moves, hammer moves, and later, Star Spirit moves. Select your attack and the enemy. When you are able to use timed hits (later in the game), a description of how to use it will appear, which is extremely helpful. For instance, for a normal jump, the game tells you to push A before you land. This will increase the damage you deal. You can also block enemy attacks if you push A at the correct time when they attack you. Again, the controls are simple and easy to master, and helpful as well.

Sound/Music: 7.5/10
The sounds are pretty cool in this game. They are varied, unlike some games, and there’s even a badge that changes your sound effects when you attack. (More on badges later in the Gameplay section.). And the music is good too, and there are enough different tunes to keep the music interesting. Unfortunately, the battle music isn’t really up to par, and gets repetitive quickly. Otherwise, there are no major quibbles about the sound/music of Paper Mario.

Gameplay: 8.3/10
In Paper Mario, you are Mario and you have to save Princess Toadstool from Bowser who has kidnapped her. Sound familiar? Well, you also must save star spirits and stop Bowser from using the mystical Star Wand, which grants wishes. Otherwise, this is not the most original plot in the world. It seems like a platformer at first, as you can run, jump, and hammer stuff, but when you encounter an enemy, you’ll be taken to a turn-based battle screen. By the way, there are no random encounters in Paper Mario, and you can usually avoid battles unless you are caught off guard. This is definitely a plus for any game.

The battle system is surprisingly simple compared to other games. If an enemy has the attack power of 1, it will damage you 1. That is, it will take 1 HP off of your total (when you run out, you die). You originally, also hit 1. And when you fight enemies, you gain Star Points. When you get 100 star points, you gain a level and you can pick whether to upgrade your HP (recommended for the beginning of the game), your FP, which allows you to do special attacks, or your BP, which increases the amount of badges you can wear.

The badge system is one cool addition to this game, and is customizable. If you collect a badge, you can go to the menu by pressing START, and equip it to Mario. It will give you a special move, upgrade your statistics, or possibly be just for fun. You use up BP when you equip a badge, so choose the ones you want to equip wisely. Badges will help you immensely in battle, but to use the special moves, it will almost always cost you some FP. After a battle, the enemy will drop coins, and possibly a Heart (restores 1HP), and/or a Flower (restores 1 FP). You can use badges to increase the things the enemies drop, however.

The game itself is fairly lengthy, but when I reached the end, I was kind of disappointed there wasn’t more. The worlds, however, are cool and fun to play through. There are also many neat extras in this game, like a Fighting Dojo, and a few minigames, but you’ll wish there were more of them. Also, another gripe is that you can only battle using two characters, Mario and a friend. The friends include Goombario, Kooper, and Bombette, among five others. They’ll lend Mario a hand, and give him some much-needed extra firepower in battle, but you’ll wish that you could use more than one of them at a time. Outside of battle, they have different techniques that can help you explore the world. Kooper can be kicked and can retrieve a hard to reach item. Bombette can blow up walls with cracks, allowing access to new areas. Other abilities include carrying Mario over cliffs, lighting up dark areas, among several others. This is a good and smart way to add exploration to a game. Although it can be tedious when you switch back and forth between characters.

The battles themselves are fun to play through, and exploring the world is great, and made easier because there are no random battles. The game has solid replay value and is more challenging than you might think. Although the battle system was overly simplistic, fighting enemies is still fun. The boss battles are very cool, and fairly challenging, and it’s extremely fun to beat them up. Overall, this is a very fun game to play through, but some problems are its length, the ability to only use two characters at one time in battle, and the simplistic battle system. Don’t overlook it because you think that it’s too “kiddy.”

Replay Value: Medium
This is a good game to play through again and pick up all of the secrets. You can also try to find all of the badges and all of the star pieces (which pay for badges). Exploring the world of Paper Mario is worth a second look for everyone, but after that, the replay value gets somewhat shaky.

Challenge: Medium
Finding answers to some of the puzzles can be quite difficult. Some of the boss battles may require more than one attempt, and even some of the regular enemies can be challenging. But if you know what you’re doing, Paper Mario won’t challenge you too much. Luckily, this game does a good job of not being too easy, but not being too difficult for the target audience. The challenge is good for all ages.

Good Points:
Nice, unique graphics.
Exploring and battling is fun.
Play control is excellent.
No random battles!
A fun game overall.

Bad Points:
Overly simplistic battle system.
Replay value and challenge aren’t that high.
Only can use two characters at once.

Overall: 8.1/10
Paper Mario is, above all, a fun RPG/adventure for the Nintendo 64. Although it may be lacking in a few areas, it is definitely worth a look. In fact, it’s not smart to overlook this game, just because you may think that you’re too old for it. This is a great game for all ages to play. It would be a smart idea to rent or buy it now! It would be a shame to miss this fun Mario adventure, and a crime not to play it.

Rounded to fit GameFaqs score: 8/10

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 03/28/01, Updated 03/28/01