Super Paper Mario
April 18,2007 - Usually, most developers dip into the action genre to spruce up their RPGs, but when you’re well-known for having one of the biggest platforming series in the entire industry, you’ve got a good reason to stray from the norm. The Paper Mario series makes its debut on the Wii, but it’s not what you may think it would be. What’s so “Super” about this game is that it mixes in the platforming mechanics from the Super Mario Bros. series to provide for an experience that’s quite literally unlike anything you ever seen before.

Super Paper Mario starts off much like many Mario games do. Things are peaceful in Mushroom Kingdom when Princess Peach is kidnapped once again. However, Bowser is not behind this one; instead a strange man named Count Bleck reveals himself as the culprit, who abruptly sends Luigi, Bowser, and his minions to another dimension before anybody knows what happens. Mario then sets off to find his friends and foil Count Bleck’s plan.

The writing in Super Paper Mario happens to be very well done, infusing humor that is rarely ever seen in most games today. Plenty of jokes are references to common Mario clichés and stereotypes that inhabit the entire culture of gaming, livening up the overly epic and predictable main story. With the quicker pace of the game’s platforming influences, it’s a shame that the story is so heavy-handed at times that it just grinds the game to halt just as things are moving so smoothly.

The gameplay of Super Paper Mario is easily the biggest feature of the game, as there are numerous things happening all at once. The quick pace and simplicity of the Mario platforming gameplay offsets the tedious nature of the Paper Mario series’ RPG gameplay quite nicely. Instead of feeling like an RPG with lots of jumping, it’s more like a platformer with more depth, variety, and an inventory. The game is divided into worlds and stages, like Super Mario Bros., numbered from stage 1-1 to 8-4 that take place in various settings, which takes around twenty hours or so to complete the game. The first few worlds play mostly like the classic Mario games, but that quickly changes to offer a nice variety in both gameplay and worlds.

Super Paper Mario features controls that are quite simple, as you hold the Wii Remote sideways, using the 2 button to jump and the 1 button to use a Pixl’s power. The A button is used by Mario for flipping between 2D and 3D, and the “+” button brings up the menu to switch between Pixls, party members, and use items. Being a GameCube game originally, Super Paper Mario doesn’t make full use of the Wii Remote, which isn’t a big deal for this platforming RPG. Pointing at the screen allows you find to get additional info on characters or items on screen or find hidden items around the level. Motion controls are used sparingly enough that it’s like they’re not really even there.

The four main heroes (Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Bowser) all play differently enough, each with their own weaknesses and strengths, though Mario will be the most useful for the majority of the game with his ability to flip between 2D and 3D being a major part of the game. The 2D/3D flipping is a crucial part of the game, as obstacles in 2D are just minor inconveniences in 3D. Unfortunately, the actual flip from 2D to 3D may leave you hovering over thin air in 3D as that block is now offset, but luckily you’re given a chance to quickly jump to a safe spot. Thankfully, you’re not going to be in 3D for long stretches of time, as you have a timer that dictates the time you can spend in 3D before losing a hit point.

As the game progresses, you’ll come across new Pixls that offer unique abilities to help you navigate each level. When your party expands and your Pixl collection grows, you’ll be switching quite frequently, which is a shame that there’s no ultra simple way to do it without resorting to opening the menu over and over again. Another annoyance comes from Super Paper Mario’s RPG half, as backtracking becomes a bigger presence past the halfway point of the game, making the latter levels feel more tedious than they really should be. This also occurs in Flipside, the hub/town that connects all of the worlds you visit, as every time you complete a world, you have to search around town with your various abilities to unlock the next world, which halts the nice pace that you experience as you finish each world. Puzzles can also be a bit of a hassle at times, as a few puzzles are stupefying unless you examine every inch of the level to find the clue that helps you solve the puzzle.

Visually, Super Paper Mario is a very unique and pretty game to look at. The 2D visuals are taken to the extreme to offer very colorful and imaginative worlds and characters that liven up the game greatly. While that first jump to 3D will absolutely blow your perception of dimensional boundaries, these 3D landscapes aren’t going to win any awards as they’re a little plainer than their 2D counterparts. Your sense of depth in the 3D world is lacking, so don’t expect to be proficient in 3D platforming here as you may be in 2D. It does offer a nice way to avoid 2D confrontations, as most of your 2D enemies can only stay in one dimension, so this offers a nice strategic advantage to be used at your disposal.

Super Paper Mario is definitely proud of its platforming heritage, as it features several tracks from games like Super Mario Bros. and Super Mario World that have been remixed for this new adventure. Sound effects are also very reminiscent of the sounds you remember from Mario games of past, which just adds to the retro vibe that the game has early on. Besides a few small noises, this game sticks to using text for speech and storytelling with an annoying little sound that plays as the text appears. It’s a minor annoyance, but the amount of text in Super Paper Mario doesn’t help its cause.

Super Paper Mario is definitely the biggest Wii game of the spring, combining platforming and RPG elements along with dimension-busting gameplay to bring an experience to gamers that is unlike anything else out there. It’s unfortunate that the game ruins the nice sense of pacing in the gameplay with an overemphasis on story that makes you want to skip it, despite knowing that it’s not wise to do so. Luckily, the game is fun and creative enough to overlook these issues and it’s easy to get drawn into the game for hours at a time. It’s not a perfect game by any means, but there’s very little reason to avoid Super Paper Mario if you have a Wii and you’re looking for a new game to enjoy.

Games, News, Reviews, Media and More