Paper Mario Review

Summary:

An adventure that's anything but paper thin.

Pros:

+ Original art concept

+ Captures and expands the Mario world's atmosphere

+ Pacing flows pretty smoothly through most of the game

Cons:

- Graphics aren't always as smooth as they could be

- Rarely offers any true challenge

Review:

[Originally written for Zentendo in July of 2007.]

The Nintendo 64 was a device that promised plenty of quality games, but in the end, the majority seemed to be first party Nintendo efforts (a trend that many argue hasn't changed since). After the Playstation took off and blasted through the sales charts, the N64 fell behind. At the end of its life cycle, months before the Gamecube launched, Nintendo released a unique title to squeeze some more software sales out of the N64 before it disappeared: Paper Mario delivered one of the biggest adventures on the N64 and used a fresh art style to recreate the Mushroom Kingdom like never before. Unfortunately, many people missed out on this unique experience, but it has come back for revenge on the Virtual Console, and you owe it to yourselves to enjoy this original take on the Mario franchise.

The sequel in concept (though not in spirit) to Super Mario RPG for the SNES, Paper Mario continued to use the novel idea of putting our favorite plumber-gone-hero into an adventure complete with all of the traditions of RPGs while adding platforming elements into both battle and exploration. Super Mario RPG felt like the RPG genre with Mario mixed into it, but Paper Mario feels like a Mario game with the RPG genre mixed into it.

Peach has been kidnapped by Bowser, of course, and imprisoned in his new flying castle, but when Mario goes to rescue her, he gets his plumber butt handed to him. After Mario recovers from his long-awaited beating, our pudgy protagonist sets off on a journey to save seven imprisoned Star Spirits who will help him drain Bowser's new found power. The writing of the main plot isn't surprising, but some of the individual stories found in each chapter offer intriguing events and great localization and help to flesh out the Mario world in a way gamers hadn't seen before, including the notion that Goombas, Bob-Ombs, and Koopas could be good or bad, a concept that was new at the time. These components join forces with well-made, Mario-esque musical compositions and a joyful art style (though somewhat pixelated by today's standards) to bring Mario's universe to new life, crafting cartoon-like characters that are paper-thin into a 3D world.
While the narrative helped to evolve the Mushroom Kingdom, it was the deep yet simple gameplay that kept core gamers playing while inviting non-RPG fans to have some fun, as well. While exploring the 3D world, Mario encountered bouts of platforming, light puzzles, and more. When an enemy reared its ugly head, Mario could choose to avoid the foe or attack it to gain a head start in the battle. Once in a battle, the game shifted to a stage, and players chose which types of attacks to use, utilizing Mario's jumping and hammer abilities while calling upon allies to aid him. These allies were all classic Mario creatures and each offered something unique, from a Goomba who could read enemy stats to a Bob-Omb who could obliterate foes with an explosion. Battles demanded good reaction time and reflexes combined with strategy, taking the best from both platforming and RPGs while not being overly difficult (on the contrary, fairly easy if you can master the timing). Combine these with Paper Mario's unique level-up system, Badge component, and item combining, and you have a distinct RPG that welcomes both enthusiasts of the genre and Mario fans. The world created here takes the mythology hinted at in the Mario games of old and expands it into a living, breathing universe with RPG elements that are user-friendly and engaging.

Sometimes the title's art design falls a bit flat (ba-dum-psh!) due to the fact that the characters can sometimes look a little too pixelated and the environments are very plain and simple, but overall it holds up pretty well. There are a few fetch quests, too, which can be cumbersome, but not near as many as one could expect. Furthermore, the game may feel too easy to many. After one master's the timing, battles are a lot more manageable -- not any less fun, but rarely ever hard. There's only a couple of fights in the game which I would say are truly challenging, and even then, coming fully prepared reduces that challenge. Of course, this title wasn't designed to wallop players and force them to level-grind, and I'd rather have a title that flows better and is a bit easier, but some may be turned off by the relative lack of raw difficulty, something the sequel worked on more.

Normally, N64 games on the Virtual Console can be hard to choose because they're ten bucks a pop, but with Paper Mario, there is no question that your money will be well-spent. This is easily one of the biggest Virtual Console games to date, and will take gamers plenty of time to see and do everything. Ten dollars is a steal for how much content is here and it's well worth every penny.

Bottom Line:

RPG nuts and Mario fans alike will eat this title up, and anyone looking for a substantial Virtual Console release will be satisfied as well. People who missed out on this N64 classic shouldn't make the same mistake twice: any Nintendo fan who doesn't hate RPGs should give it a try, and gamers of all levels of experience will find something to love here due to the simplicity concealing the overlying depth. With so much to do in such a fun world, gamers of all kinds can discover the charm and fun that Paper Mario offers. It all looks good on paper (ba-dum-psh), and plays even better.