Review - Super Paper Mario
Super Paper Mario is a mixture of the old NES Mario titles and the Paper Mario titles. There are many RPG elements, but all of the gameplay is action based. It seems as though such a combination is a little odd, and not likely to make a good game, but Super Paper Mario is a huge hit. Super Paper Mario has a high compilation score 85% from Game Rankings. Furthermore, it is the 8th highest rated Wii game made to date. But enough with the numbers, what makes Super Paper Mario so interesting?
Like other Paper Mario games, the idea is that Mario and friends are in a ‘paper’, 2D world. This accounts for why everything is flat. The graphics are cute, and help push the impression of paper even further. But, as the story continues, Mario learns a method of flipping from the 2D world to a 3D world. Each 2D area has a 3D counterpart that Mario can ‘flip’ into for a short amount of time. The relationship between the area in 2D and in 3D is clever, and often you’ll see that things had more space in between them in 3D then it seemed like they had in 2D. Getting though the game consists of using this change between 2D and 3D as a sort of puzzle element. Some things can’t be done in 2D, and other can’t be done in 3D. To add to this puzzle element, to have several characters you can switch between, each with their own abilities, and on top of that, you have several floating companions called Pixls, which each have thier own unique powers that must be used to get through various area. All in all the shear amount of stuff you can do make the game very interesting and fun.
Bun then there is the story. At first, the story seemed cheesy and flat, and in seemed like it was done on purpose in some sort of parody. A new villain called Count Bleck kidnaps and forces Princess Peach to marry Bowser. Apparently a book of doom, the Dark Prognosticus, fortold that this marrage would bring forth the Chaos Heart, a power that would destroy the world, and Count Bleck for some reason wants to destroy the world, of corse.
I didn’t pay much attention to the story at first, since it was clearly just an excuse to have us stomping on goombas. But as the game continued, the story got deeper, and people motivations (like Count Bleck) were explained. This was both surprising, and very pleasant. The story turned out to be deep, rich and interesting. While it isn’t going to be deeply analyzed and talked about for year to come, the way FFVII is, it was still a good enough story to earn my respect. The most interesting part is how the story suddenly pops into being, when you thought there wasn’t anything there.
All in all, Super Paper Mario was the most enjoyable game I’ve played on the Wii. It isn’t a hardcore RPG, nor is it a hardcore action game. It isn’t that difficult, but it is rich in secrets and content. The experience was really fun, and the feel, the atmosphere, was top notch. I give Super Paper Mario a perfect 10 out of 10. Keep it up Nintendo, you are the only company that knows how to make games like this.
Tags: legend of zelda, metroid prime 3, xbox, super mario galaxy, mario kart
