Super Paper Mario

excellent
key review info
  • Game: Super Paper Mario
  • Platform: Wii
  • Show system requirements
  • Gamepad support: N/a
  • Reviewed on:
Supersized Mario

Who hasn't played Mario? Let him be pointed out from the crowd and banished from the gaming community as he's not worthy of wearing the "gamer" tag. Mario is probably the most famous Italian product, second only to pizza, but the little critter will always deny his origins favoring his fathering company, Nintendo. That's why, as Mediteranean as he seems, Mario will always be a Japanese character, Nintendo's icon and a symbol that makes any media content "big in Japan". Super Paper Mario marks the descent of the Italian plumber on Nintendo's top-selling console, the Wii. Success is assured when a global phenomenon (plus moustache) meets the gaming device that wiped out the Xbox 360 and PS3 in sales figures.

You should know that Super Paper Mario first surfaced on the GameCube, being released on the Nintendo Wii afterwards. The title's been developed by Intelligent Systems, one of Nintendo's divisions and predictably enough it has sold about 1.74 million copies worldwide, 500.000 of them pertaining to Japanese fans. I guess that we're past the "is it worth a play?" question and we're now heading towards the real question mark: "is it worth a ten... out of ten?".

Story Stories always matter, no matter if you're playing NFS: ProStreet or FIFA 08. In case the game's lacking such a feature, you can either invent your own plot, or take various events from the title's action and sum them up, making your own storyline. Mario's never been deep and no, ladies and gentleman we haven't got a Hamlet on our hands, but the story's fun enough to make you giggle. You get acquainted with Luigi and Mario at the beginning of the game and watch them as they find out that princess Peach's been kidnapped by Bowser (for the zillionth time that is).

The Mario Bros head towards Bowser's castle and upon reaching it, they find out that the kidnapper of princess Peach is in fact Count Bleck, a diabolical and maniacal creature, that's very keen on repeating his own name. He goes something like "I've kidnapped princess Peach, me, Count Bleck, courtesy of Bleck and you'll have to face Count Bleck, or the univeres will be destroyed... by Count Bleck". This Mojo-Jojo-style character (Powerpuff Girls' nemesis in case you didn't know), not only kidnaps princess Peach, but also abducts Luigi, Bowser and the critter's army. It appears that Bleck wields the Dark Prognosticus, which is a dark prophecy book that foretells the end of the universe.

After the major kidnapping action, Mario's left for dead, but he wakes up and meets a Pixl, some sort of fairy named Tippi, who wants to help the Italian plumber to save his friends ... and foes. Tippi reveals the fact that Mario is the hero who will save the universe, as described in the Light Prognosticus. All he has to do is collect 8 pure hearts and stop Bleck's plan involving princess Peach and Bowser. Sounds fairly easy , doesn't it? Now where did I put those 8 pure hearts?

Concept & Gameplay Super Paper Mario is a platform RPG, a strange genre if you ask me, but one that will surely get you hooked on the experience. Platform games and Nintendo go together like butter and toast, so the company manages to once again use the successful recipe of Mario-based games and impress us. The control system is fairly good for a Wii title, as you'll have to hold the Wii remote sideways, but you'll get the chance to occasionally point it towards the screen in order to allow Tippi to reveal hidden objects and give you tips on what to do next.

Mario roams around Flipside Town, his "HQ" if you want, where he can talk to people, shop, rest and access doorways to various worlds, or the famous levels you're surely familiar with. He'll use special items, which pretty much is the reason for calling this title a half-platform half-RPG hybrid. Role play also comes into... play again, because you'll use a party to get around the game's universe. You can control Mario, princess Peach, Luigi and Bowser and create a party that will surely make Count Bleck tremble.

The basic attack for Mario and Co. remains the jump, but there's an interesting twist to it, since you can shake the controller for extra points after jumping on a enemy's head. Keep in mind that you'll take damage if the enemy hits you and you'll earn experience points as you progress, collect items and defeat all sorts of critters. These points are the same you see under the Score tag and there's also a nice hobby to take up during the game: collecting Catch cards. These seemingly useless items double the damage you deal to the enemies depicted on each card.

Mario and his party will use the helpful Pixls as helping creatures, although this system may sound familiar to the one which defines Pokemon combat. Each member of the Italian plumber's crew possesses unique abilities that will become useful at some point in the game. For example Peach can float over a large gap, while Bowser breathes fire, killing all the foes that face him. You'll also be able to do your Bomberman act, by placing bombs or throw koopa shells and recruit those Pixls I've mentioned earlier. There are 2 things you must know about Super Paper Mario: it's a 20 hour long adventure and second, it allows the player to pass through a 2-D or 3-D world.

I've left the game's best feature at the end, since it's probably the crucial and defining element of Super Paper Mario. At any point during the game, you get to switch from a 2-D view to a 3-D one by pressing the A Button. This reveals new blocks to jump on, new pipes and items that you can collect. In other words "when in doubt change view". By switching from one angle to the other you'll be able to solve most of the game's puzzles, find new portals/doors and even avoid some pesky enemies. However, there's a price to pay for being 3-D Mario, as this "kryptonite"-style mode slowly but surely drains your life meter.

Super Paper Mario boasts 8 chapters, each divided into 4 sections and you'll recognize many of them if you've finished most of the Super Mario games, plus other titles featuring Nintendo's icon. You shouldn't worry about the AI, since it's not a major challenge, but still things are going to get tough in latter levels. Boss fights are really nice and Bleck's minions are formidable foes and some of the funniest enemies ever. Mario's ultimate goal is collecting a pure heart, but he'll also be collecting the occasional mushroom for extra abilities, plus a star that makes him huge and allows the plumber to trample everything of the screen (mainly blocks and critters) and many, many other items.

You'll pass from one level to the other by unlocking doors and achieving Pure Hearts. Never forget that the game uses a save point system and you'll have to hit the Save blocks every now and then to make sure that you won't have to do a mission all over again. Press the Up D-pad button to enter doors, examine chests or just talk to the people around. They'll give you valuable info on what to do next and they'll even send you to run errands, which grant you cool rewards.

Video Mario's all paper in this brand new adventure, as the environments usually get "drawn" when you reach new levels. It's nice to see some fresh "paint" on the screen drawing the bridge you're about to cross or the rocks you'll jump over. The characters have kept the old-school look and Mario's pretty funny, specially because he remains in 2-D mode, like a piece of paper, while everything around him changes to the 3-D view. All the levels you'll go through are brightly colored and the foes are varied and colored as well.

Count Bleck and his minions will show their emotions thanks to extremely funny animations, but let's not forget about Mario and Luigi and their constant running around. Passing from a 2-D view to 3-D happens with not lag whatsoever, so there's no pixes lost, but you gain a brand new piece of environment to explore, instead. Super Paper Mario takes every visual aspect that's been appreciated by fans of its predecessors and adds a fresh coat of paint over it plus a 3-D view.

Sound The dialogs from Super Paper Mario are brilliant to say the least and you'll be tempted to giggle or even laugh at times, although the characters' lines may seem stupid at first. It all comes down to your state of mind while playing the game... If you're open for simple chit-chat and funny references to previous Mario titles, you'll have a sip out of this gaming experience and never leave it alone till you reach the last level. The background music is something that you'd expect to hear in a Mario title, Nintendo's usual piece of work, an audio score that helps you stay focused and not get lost in its beats per minute. The Italian plumber will make a fun sound every now and then, but it's all part of the scene or cutscene he was involved in.

Conclusion Super Paper Mario is every bit of Mario you've played till now, delivered in a new package, that shines and impresses both the platform game fan and the Halo 3 addict. I couldn't imagine a better console for this title (except for the DS) and this is probably the only Wii title that doesn't include control system bugs and issues. What I loved most about Super Paper Mario is the fact that, even if I'm using items to regenerate health or hurt enemies, I still feel like I'm playing Mario and not some fancy RPG. Also, having a party opens up new possibilities to explore and handle various in-game situations. Some of you will maybe grow fond of Bowser or Princess Peach and use them constantly, so you might as well consider that you're playing an entirely different title, if you want a break from the constant "Mario"-ing around.

Want to find out a little secret? This is the second Mario title that has managed to get me hooked, as the rest of them seemed either too similar to the original or just dull and copying the same levels all over again. You'll surely smile when you'll hear that the first Mario game I've digged was Super Mario Bros, the first one on the original GameBoy handheld, a real hit more than 10 years ago. It seems that Nintendo manages to answer my demand for an "encore", since Super Paper Mario is the almost perfect title most of you gamers have been dreaming of.

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story 8
gameplay 10
concept 10
graphics 9
audio 9
multiplayer 0
final rating 9.5
Editor's review
excellent
 
NEXT REVIEW: The Great Tree

Photo Gallery (5 Images)

Supersized MarioMario and TippiEach door leads to a new worldPrincess Peach, in action