"Typically Mario, Typically RPG, Typically Good."

There's a fallen tree blocking your path. You know the way is forward, and you've tried jumping it, hitting it with your hammer, going around it, and pushing it. But nothing works. Then it hits you. Hold R, and start rotating the control stick. You roll up, and now you can fit under the tree.

This is the world of Paper Mario. It defies gaming logic, and takes the "Paper" part to the limits. The storybook world is more than just a gimmick. Intelligent Systems have let their imagination loose with The Thousand Year Door, and it shows. They've taken the best bits from the N64 original, and improved on it.

The game starts in Rogueport, where Princess Peach has found a treasure map. Rogueport is like the hub of the game. After every chapter (the game is split into 8 chapters), you return here. Peach has asked Mario to meet her there. Of course, she goes and gets herself kidnapped. Typical Peach. The map shows the location of seven Crystal Stars. When you find one, the map points to the next. And Peach's kidnappers have the last one, so it points to them at the end. Typical RPG.

But, instead of trying to cover the fact that it's the same story as other Mario games, and other RPGs, it promotes it. In one scene, Peach is upset that she has gone and gotten herself kidnapped again, leaving Mario to go to rescue her again. Also, in Rogueport, you'll find Luigi, who is on an adventure of his own. He has to recover the seven compass pieces to rescue Princess Eclair. The last compass piece is on her crown, so when he finds the rest, his map will point to her location. Sound familiar?

If you get tired of being Mario all the time, you'll like the moments in between chapters where you get to control other characters. You are Peach as she is being held captive in the X-Nauts station. The super computer controlling the station is intrigued by her. He has feelings that he can't understand. Peach is freaked out by the idea that the computer is in love with her, but it might help her escape. Meanwhile, Bowser is on the rampage after learning that someone else has kidnapped the princess. If you are a long-time Mario fan, then you'll like these little touches. Bowser runs along in a side-scrolling level identical to the first level of the original Super Mario Brothers. Enemies run out of your way as you get bigger, collecting pieces of meat rather than mushrooms.

You're not in it alone though. You get many partners along the way, each who have different moves. The first one you'll meet is Goombella. She has the move, Tattle, which gives you information on an area, or the enemy you are fighting. Then you meet Koops, a Koopa. His shell can be kicked to hit or grab items from a distance. Flurrie can blow huge gusts of wind, and Yoshi can jump longer distances than Mario, and run faster. There are more partners, but you can only have one fighting with you at any one time. You can switch between them in battle, as the cost of using up your turn, or you can switch them outside of battle.

Which brings us to battles. It's turn-based, like most RPGs, but a lot more interactive. You don't just select an attack and wait until it's your go again. If you have good timing, you can deal more damage. There are four ways you can attack - jumping, using your hammer, using items, or special moves. Special moves require star power. You get this from the audience watching you. Perfect timing, and performing "stylish" moves get you more star power. You get a new special move every time you get a crystal star. If you time your jumps and hammering right, you can do more damage. Press A at the right time just before you hit. The same applies where you are defending. If you get your button presses timed right, you can reduce the damage you take. If you get perfect (and I mean perfect) timing when pressing B, not only can you prevent damage, but do damage to your attacker.

Then there are badges. You collect these from all around, and each has a different effect, mostly for battle. Some increase your attack or defence, or gradually restore your Hit Points (HP). If your HP goes down to 0, you lose. You also have Badge Points (BP), which limits the number of badges you can equip. The better the badge is, the more BP it will use. Flower Points (FP) are used when performing advanced jumping or hammer moves. You can get these moves by equipping badges. They do more damage, but take away from your FP. And then there are Star Points. You get a number of these after defeating an enemy. Get 100, and you Level goes up. You get to upgrade your HP, FP or BP, making you more powerful. There's a lot more to battles, but I won't go into it here, but it's more involved than might have though.

It's not all battling and collecting, mind you. A lot of the NPCs in Rogueport have stories that develop throughout the course of the game. Zess T has lost her contact lenses, and you accidentally (sure...) step on them. She won't let you past until you replace the, but after that, she'll cook anything you want. In the back alleys, you find the crooks, like Larson the Bandit. The Troubles Centre in the east of Rogueport is where you can help people. If you solve their trouble, you'll get some sort of reward - coins or something else. Coins can be used to buy anything from mushrooms to badges, or even fortune telling. Not forgetting the RPG tradition - an inn.

But, with Paper Mario, the best part is the powers you have. You get "cursed" on your journey with "horrible" abilities. So says the ghost in the chest that put the curse on you, anyway. It's just convenient that you'll be needing these curses when you go into the next room. Mario can turn into a paper plane and fly, turn sideways, and fit through tiny cracks in the wall, and roll up to fit under small gaps. There are more of these moves, but there are also other ways in which the paper is used. Hitting a switch will turn the page of the book, and the stairs you needed to get up have turned around to the other side. Or use Flurrie's gust ability to blow off loose bit of paper on a wall, to reveal a secret entrance. The whole thing brings a nice perspective to the game, with many secrets to be found.

The graphics in Paper Mario are lush. It's hard to explain, really, you have to see it in motion to understand. But, they're probably not to everyone's tastes. People who want super-photo-realistic 3D graphics with bump mapping, complex textures, and an overdose of polygons will find the style a bit much. It's a very unique style that's hard to class. It's not exactly cel-shaded (which I'll admit, I don't like), or really 3D, but at the same time, it's a colourful world with a 3D feel, but doesn't feel "kiddie".

The characters have a black outline, which reinforces the whole "paper world" angle. There are no framerate issues that I have seen. Even with about 200 enemies on the screen at once, there wasn't a sign of it slowing down. The towns and dungeons are well designed, and the 3D backgrounds really make a difference. Every character has been well designed, although the main characters could have done with a bit more animation. But, the graphics are like eye-candy if you like something original.

The music is very reminiscent of the old Mario games, with some remixes thrown in. Some of the music can get a bit annoying, with the same beat repeating and over and over (and over again). But, if you like the music from previous Mario games, then this should be right up your alley music-wise. If you didn't like it, you'd never know, you might like this, but probably not. The sound effects are good, though some are kind of strange. You can get badges that change the SFX. Then your hammer starts to sound like a spring. A nice touch, but it can get on your nerves. It also supports Dolby Pro Logic II if you want surround sound.

The controls are generally easy to use. A is, like most games, used to jump or interact. B uses your hammer, and X uses your partner's ability. Start pauses it and brings up the menu. The D-Pad has shortcuts to menu items, though. Y and R let you use Mario's abilities. Z shows your statistics without pausing the game.

You should get used to the controls pretty fast, it's not that hard. You'll have more difficulty trying to master stylish moves, and perfect timing, but it's what makes the battles stand out from typical RPGs. It lets you become involved, to know you're doing something, instead of just waiting for their attack to be over.

The game will take you at the very least 20 hours to finish, most likely over 30. You might go back if you really want to get everything, but it's not likely that you'll go back if you're not a hardcore RPG fan. But with such a long game, you wouldn't be replaying it too many times anyway.

I never owned the original due to its rarity here in Europe, but I did get to play it. The sequel seems to be the same idea, with improved graphics and battle. It still retains the humour that made the original, with plenty of nuggets for Mario fans.

Score: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 12/28/04