Super Paper Mario

"Where did all the good RPG Elements go?"

Paper Mario is one of the most successful Mario spin off franchises. It brought new life into the idea of a Mario RPG. Now Paper Mario has returned on the Wii in Super Paper Mario, and a LOT has changed since the Thousand Year Door on the Gamecube.

STORY
Paper Mario games always have a story that has a basic plot, but the journey getting there makes it worth while. In Super Paper Mario, a new villain named Count Bleck is going to engulf the universe in an alternate dimension by using the Chaos Heart. In order to use the chaos heart, he arranges a marriage between Peach and Bowser to unbalance the universe. Now, Mario sets out to gather the Pure Hearts so he can find his friends, and save the world of Flipside from Count Bleck and the Dark Prognisticus. The story is a little more complex than usual, which may leave younger players scratching their heads at some points. It does make up for this in a way, because the game has much more humorous little jokes and moments to keep things fun. Regardless, players won't need much of a motivation to set out on another adventure as their paper plumber hero.

GAME PLAY
This is where things begin to fall apart. The game isn't a full RPG with turn-based battles as it should be. Instead, it's a side-scrolling platformer that is reminiscent to the classics. While it does provide plenty of nostalgia, the game steers completely away from what the series is known for. While it does have some RPG elements such as buying items and upgrading your party, this is the same recycled material that has been repeated in most RPGs, including the previous games, so it doesn't add much to make up for the sudden game play change. If you were hoping for another great Mario RPG that was as good as the last game, this is not it.

If you are open for a new experience, this may be interesting for you. The game plays out a lot like previous Mario side scrollers. You run, jump over gaps, and enemies, and smash blocks so you can get from point A to point B. The newest twist is that you can switch the perspective from 2-D to 3-D. You'll be doing this quite often as it reveals new paths, allows you to move past obstacles, and reveals other hidden secrets. It's an interesting new twist and it works. You no longer die if you run into an enemy or fall into a gap. Instead, you only lose HP (Heart Points) if you lose all your HP, it's game over. FP (Flower Points), BP (Badge Points), and items all return and allow you to use special attacks and abilities.

Mario is not alone on this adventure. Luigi, Peach, and even Bowser all join Mario and you can switch between them to use their unique abilities. For example, Mario is the only one who can flip the world to 3-D. Luigi can fold himself up to super jump, Peach can use her parasol to glide through the air, and Bowser can use his fire breath and great weight to deal more damage. It gets annoying to constantly have to use the menus to switch between characters. Having it assigned to one button would've been much easier. Partners are gone in favor of small creatures known as Pixels. Pixels have all the same abilities that have been used in the series. The only problem is that while the developers tried their best at giving each pixel a personality, they feel unoriginal and stiff, compared to the partners in the previous games. They don't talk much, and when they do, you'll have little interest in what they're saying.

The game is divided into eight chapters. Each chapter has 4 levels and a boss at the end. This helps the progression in the game feel a little more organized, but the levels are so quick and easy that the game speeds by way too fast. Any veteran Mario player will complete the game in an afternoon or two.

Overall, the game play is not at all the Paper Mario experience we know and love. The side scrolling levels are nostalgic and fun, but far too short.

CONTROLS
You control the characters by holding the Wii Remote sideways in NES style. The D-Pad is the replacement analog stick while 2 is your main action button such as jumping and interacting. 1 button allows you to use Pixels, and A button lets you switch to 3-D (When using Mario). The plus button pauses the game and brings up the menu. The controls are good and responsive, but angling your jump to land in the correct spot is extremely awkward. The controls become much more difficult to jump and run when in 3-D. When you use Tippi (a magical butterfly partner) you can point the Wii Remote at the screen like a flash light and uncover hidden secrets, or reveal hidden information to let you know what you're supposed to be doing. The controls are decent for the most part, but having a nunchuk as the run control and A button as jump would've been better.

MUSIC
The music in Super Paper Mario is suiting for the situation, but it's nothing memorable. The tunes are quirky and 100% Mario, but at the same time they're nothing that really stands out compared to other Mario games.

SOUND
The sound in Super Paper Mario is pretty good. Mario, Peach, Bowser, and Luigi all have their goofy grunts, groans and gasps, but that's all the voice acting you'll get. In Paper Mario tradition, all characters in the game speak in text bubbles. It's an RPG series so as usual, there' s plenty of reading. The classic sound effects of kicking a koopa shell, stomping a goomba, and collecting a mushroom are all missing here which does take away slightly from the nostalgia factor, and several sound effects from Paper Mario 2 are recycled.

REPLAYABLITY
Super Paper Mario has no multiplayer mode, minigames with friends, or anything to make up for the game's short playthrough. This hurts more here since players are undoubtedly sick of completing their recipe book and even the card collection offers little reward for motivation. This is one of those games that you'll play until you beat it, then you'll never play it again.

DESIGN
Super Paper Mario isn't very impressive in design. Sure the art direction is good but it's obvious the game took a more simplistic design, to compliment the simple game play. The Mario characters hardly look any different from the last game and while some of the new characters are amusing to look at, the majority is dull and boring. The overall design is nice, but not ground-breaking. It's not even doing much to push the hardware's capabilities, which seems a little lazy.

OVERALL
Super Paper Mario was a huge disappointment for me and if you too were expecting the third installment of the RPG classic, you will be disappointed too. For casual players, fans of Mario side-scrollers, and fans wanting a change in the series, you should consider this game. The game play is fun and different with a few new touches here and there. The controls get the job done but with the story being a little confusing at times, dull design and music, and little replay value, some people may feel Intelligent Systems missed the mark a bit with this one. We'll just have to wait for the next Nintendo console, for the true Paper Mario 3.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/26/09

Game Release: Super Paper Mario (US, 04/09/07)