Customer Reviews

Super Paper Mario

5 star:		(97)
4 star:		(59)
3 star:		(42)
2 star:		(15)
1 star:		(29)

 

 

Super Paper Mario, like the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, was originally a Gamecube game that was moved on over to the Wii. Still, it's definitely a game we've been waiting for and definitely a game worth getting a hold of. Simply put, this is one of the games Wii owners ought to want.

The storyline in Super Paper Mario isn't really anything special, but it's certainly one to honor for its fine script and clever writing. An evil magician named Count Bleck plans on taking over the world, and as Mario you'll need to stop him by finding the pieces of the purity heart that'll allow you to do so. In truth, the storyline is actually really crazy, but I'd rather not give too much away. It's actually a really enjoyable story Mario fans will love in the long run.

The game is very dialogue heavy but at least its creative. Much of it is very humorous and will have you laughing quite a bit. But when I say dialog heavy, I'm not kidding. You'll be mashing on the 2 button a lot. It wouldn't be so bad if characters didn't go on to explain such things that were useless.

Super Paper Mario is truly something remarkable in terms of its gameplay. It mixes Platforming and RPG elements. There's still a need to level up and Mario has his set of HP but all the way, this is a platformer. It plays very similar to Super Mario Brothers on the NES. However, a slight problem with this kind of gameplay, is that those who were really addicted to side scrolling Mario games and were used to holding down a button to run will be surprised to learn there is no button to run! It's no big deal, but if you're feeling nostalgic (as you probably will playing this game) it's actually something long time Mario fans may have to get used to, especially because Mario doesn't move very fast.

During the game you can press the A button and flip the screen from the 2D world to the 3D world any time you want. Most of the time you'll be playing the game in the 2D realm, but there's plenty to be done in 3D too. It's a necessity to getting past some of the games puzzles. If you're ever stuck on puzzle just try flipping. It's also used to get past environmental objects. If a pipe is too tall for Mario to jump over, for example, then you can switch the game to the 3D view and simply walk around it. You can't stay in 3D forever. If you stay in 3D for too long Mario will take damage.

The problem with the gameplay is that the game is far too easy. Most enemies are easily dispatched and don't do much damage to you anyway. Even boss battles are of little challenge. The boss fights are fun, at least, requiring you to fight them in interesting ways, but they're still on the easy side. If you're an expert gamer, I don't predict you'll die anytime soon throughout your adventure.

Mario also isn't alone. He'll be joined by Peach, Luigi and Bowser throughout his travels, and each of them has an ability they can do. Peach can float, Luigi has a high jump and Bowser can spit fire. You can switch between them at any time, and there are moments when you'll actually need a certain character to do things. However, the game relies heavily on the mechanic of going from 2D to 3D and only Mario can actually do this. Despite that you've got other characters, you'll still play through most of the game as Mario.

Throughout your adventures you'll also collect Pixls. Little fairy like creatures that give Mario and company other abilities he can use. For example, early on in the game he meets a pixl that allows him to grab enemies and other objects and throw them. There are plenty of other powers. Needless to say, Super Paper Mario is filled with secrets.

The wii remote works well with this game. As noted you'll hold it like an NES controller and play the game in basically the same style you played the original Super Mario Brothers. The Wii controls, however, feel a little tacked on. You can point the remote to search for hidden doors or scan enemies. You can also shake when you jump off an enemy to get more points. The wii remote doesn't have a big impact on the gameplay, though.

Visually, of course, the game looks like a late generation Gamecube game. However, the games unique style alone warrants its beauty. The 2D landscape is far better looking than the 3D landscape, though. The 2D backgrounds are beautiful, and the background environments really shower a lot of detail. 3D doesn't look as good, though because it's just not as pretty and filled with life. Most of the level designs themselves are also pretty plain. As far as platforming goes, there's nothing too intuitively designed either. The levels also aren't filled to the brim with enemies. There's a lot of jumping, but not a lot of obstacles in your way.

The game also sounds really good. There's no voice acting to speak of, really. Which sucks for a game as text heavy as this, but most gamers who've been gaming for well over a decade probably won't care about this, anyway.

On the whole, Super Paper Mario is a must own title for the Wii. It's been ingeniously designed; it's full of humor and has been cleverly written. And to top it all off, it's just a lot of fun to play.

Pros:
+Well crafted dialogue
+VERY humorous game
+Strikingly original gameplay elements
+Simple easy gameplay to get a hold of
+Good music
+Plenty of things to do in the game
+Cleverly designed puzzles

Cons:
-The game is far too easy for experienced gamers
-Tacked on Wii Remote controls
-Very dialogue heavy; it's GOOD dialogue, but there are moments when you really just want to play the game

It's a shame that so few people have Wii's in North America. Otherwise, I would imagine that "Super Paper Mario" would have tons of reviews at this moment. This is an incredibly solid game.

Less "Paper Mario" than "Super Mario", the game returns Mario to his 2-D roots. Gone are turn-based battles, and in their place, good 'ole hoppin' and boppin' fun, like in the old days, but with one clever twist. When your character is faced with, say, an impossible jump, you can simply "flip" yourself into three dimensions, the result of which is often the opening of a new path, or the emergence of a hidden pipe, etc. It's a clever twist on the 2-D goodness of the old "SMB" games of the Nintendo and Super Nintendo.

If I had one complaint with the game, it's that it's a bit too easy. With the ability to level ones character, the challenging aspects of the original "SMB" games gets a bit lost (in particular, the character will NOT die from falling in a hole, and can sustain multiple hits before running out of heart points, which can be replenished by items, or even hidden mushrooms). But make no mistake - while the game is never particularly challenging, it is always fun. The dialogue is snappy (the "dating sim" send-up is incredibly humorous, e.g.), the controls are good and responsove (I would have liked to see the nunchuk controller used a bit, particularly for the 3-D sections, but this is a mild complaint), the graphics are pretty...interesting, and the whole experience is trippy, in a "Katamari" sort of way.

All in all, a solid Wii outing - this is one of those games that makes you happy to own the system.

I am a 26 year old recent Wii purchaser (that was an ordeal) and have been out looking for games. I now have:

Wii Sports
Wii Play
Excite Truck
Rayman Raving Rabbids (the reason I bought the system, my wife was flipping over this when she saw it)
Resident Evil 4
WarioWare Smooth Moves
and now
Super Paper Mario

I used to play Mario as a kid both on my NES in the late 80's and Super Nintendo back in the early 90's, along with F-Zero and some other games I had. I had a 3DO after that for a while, but then have not gamed for over a decade.

The Wii has marked a triumphantly FUN return to gaming: as above, I am 26 and my wife is 21 and we are both having lots of fun. As for Mario, I must say that Super Paper Mario, for a former-Super-Mario-World player is just a TOP NOTCH experience.

Getting through the "RPG-style" story in the beginning (a style of gaming which I remember seeing friends play on their gameboys) was initially a concern of mine (because I think that stuff is boring), but the sarcasm and self-awareness of what they do is quite amusing and sucked me into the game.

The gameplay is very amusing, especially flipping back and forth between 2D and 3D...a new hilarious take on old Mario side-scrolling convention.

This is my personal favorite Wii game of the list above, because I like fun and it is just sheer fun. All others are awesome (Wii Sports is timeless, Resident Evil is epic and haunting, Excite Truck is EXCITING!, Wario is hilarious, etc.), but this is a big, enjoyable and clearly long-lasting game, since we don't play "hard," just casually.

Well, after two hours of game play I gotta say that this is one FUN game.
My sister bought it with her B-day money and I wasn't so sure she'd like it at first. Well, I was wrong. xD Both my sisters love it (10&6) and so do I!

The grafics are just like Paper Mario, TTYD. So thats cool! The characters are all lovable. Bowser is funny (My fave charrie) And its just a cute, funny, FUN game. Its really awesome going from 2D to 3D to! Everything looks like paper, Its really neat. The pixles are so cool to! I like the butterfly. :P

I was surprised at this, but the controlls are very easy! You hold the Wii remote sideways, and that works very well.

I've been a fan of Paper Mario64, Then Paper Mario TTYD(The thousand year door) and now this! All three are super fun. This is now one of my favorite games, I'd give it more stars if I could!

Overall, I'm very happy with this game, and my sisters like it to! :)

~Jackie

This was the first game I purchased for Wii. It was fun, but at times it was so frustrating!!!! I spent 80% of the game clicking through word bubbles, which cant be avoided. At times I was so annoyed that I wouldnt touch the game for days. Aside from the lame story and word bubbles, it was neat. This game requires using your mind, it's not your basic "get-to-the-end-of-the-level" game. Sometimes you have to go back and forth through a level to ask people questions etc. I repeat...this game requires intelligence and critical thinking skills, if you dont have those things, DONT buy this game!!!

Super Paper Mario for the Wii brings a fantastic new dimension to the 2D fun of paper mario. You can now switch - on the fly - between a 2D and 3D view of your world.

This brings a whole new twist to the idea of puzzle solving. You run along your 2D path and think you've hit the end. But when you take a look at the 3D view, you might find a tunnel hidden behind a rock, or a whole new path pointing out at a 90 degree angle.

There's a fun storyline, full of cute dialogue, but really in games like this you aren't worrying about deep plots or soap opera style intricacies. You play to jump on mushrooms, hit blocks, and search for those secret locations.

The game is clearly pointed towards a young audience, but it's a credit to its design that even adults have a lot of fun hopping along towards the goals. For some reason you can't run here - which can be frustrating sometimes - but in general you get the same mario fun from previous games. You learn new skills as you go, can throw items, change characters, locate new helpers, and level up.

The game is nicely broken up into short segments, again perfect for its target audience. If a kid has only 1/2 hr of "video game" time available in a given day, they can still make progress and feel like they've achieved something. The puzzles are never so tricky that they drive you completely insane. A careful perusal of the spot you're in will usually provide the answer.

An adult might complain that because of this, if you actually have control of the TV and a full weekend of gaming laid out, you could easily beat the entire game before the weekend was up. While this is true, you can always go back through after that and challenge yourself to find even more points on each level.

And for those with youngsters around, it really is great fun to play together. The game is very 'friendly' - if you step in sludge or fall off a cliff, which most games would kill you for, here it usually is just a minor setback.

In a world of zombie games, kill-everyone games and horror games, it's nice to find something that you can play with all ages and have fun with. It doesn't require a ton of dexterity or a complex understanding of role playing setup. You just run, jump, and puzzle-solve.

Highly recommended!

Andrew says:
I have seen absolutely no reason to mark this game down. The graphics work well with the story, the gameplay is intuitive and fun, it draws you in without trapping you, and the story is really cool.

I say:
This is the most interesting game since--probably Ocarina of Time. Not that there haven't been other great games, but those two seem to push the boundaries of gaming itself into new zones. With Ocarina of Time, the concept of controlling the world around with music was extremely powerful and accomplished in a way that was the perfect blend of skill and memory. It also pushed itself graphically, using motion capture for Link's animation and attempting new cinematic effects the likes of which have perhaps not been seen since. Super Paper Mario is a trip through the light fantastic, to be sure, and its flipping capabilities and puzzles mess with your perception through the entire game. Honestly, these people MUST be crazy--and geniuses--to have come up with such entertaining and fascinating visual play. A seemingly solid wall you were standing on is actually a thin pathway with twists and turns. A seemingly solid obstacle can simply be walked around! Crazy.

I agree with other posters that there is a lot to read in this game; however, it's an excellent game and getting through the reading material is fun and has an intriguing storyline. If you're looking for something that reminds you of the old console but adds a new, innovative twist; then this is the game for you.

Since the Nintendo Wii came out last year, many die hard gamers have been marveled with excitement over the way gamers can now play video games with the remote controller. There have been a lot of great games for it like The Legend Of Zelda: Twilight Princess, and Excite Truck. Sadly, many gamers have been anxiously waiting the new Super Mario Galaxy, and hoping Mario would deliver again. Unfortunately, gamers will have to wait. However, a different Mario game has arrived from the die hard Paper Mario franchise from the gamecube and Nintendo 64 eras. There also is something that makes this paper seem better than flat, but will it satisfy Mario fans for now?

Super Paper Mario for the Nintendo Wii, brings nack what made the Paper Mario games deliver in true role play. This time around, the game really does think out of the box, as Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser try to tackle the vicious Count Bleck and his minions Mr. L, Dimentio and others, as they tackle a fierce and wild world that seperates from the flipside and flopside. Each character has to unlock pixels, which help you through achievements from finding hidden doors, to lifting bosses. There are over 30 different levels in the game that bring back the classic 2-D side-scrolling action from the original Super Mario Brothers, with a different twist. Each character you play has a special ability. Peach and Luigi have a high jump, Bowser has the traditional fire-blazes, but Mario has the best ability. He can flip his world from a 2-D, to 3-D, to find hidden items and unlock hidden areas. The graphics in the game are absolutely beautiful, and really bring the classic gameplay into a whole new perspective, while the control is really on target most of the time. You do get a bit frustrated finding the unlocked doors, but everything else works like a charm. The story line also is fun and entertaining in each world of the game, while the story is cute but enjoyable for all the worlds.

All in all, Super Paper Mario is a well-rendered game for the Wii, and should entice new Mario fans, as well as those waiting Super Mario Galaxy. I really like this game because it is fun and exciting, for all ages and Nintendo junkies. This is one of the best games for the Wii, and any owner will love this game a lot.

Graphics: B+

Sound: B

Control: B 1/2-

Fun & Enjoyment: B+

Overall: B 1/2+

I have never played a paper Mario game before, and I was extremely impressed. While the remote is not utilized, the controls are actually very good. The storyline is very funny at times, but the writing can be lengthy. Here is what I think about SPM.

Graphics-8/10-They aren't supposed to look like Madden on the 360, and the art designers did a great job with the way the graphics are done, but the 3D backgrounds are very poor.

Controls-10/10-Despite not using motion sensing, very sturdy controls.

Gameplay-9/10-Not perfect, but very fun and simple-Unless you're trying to figure out a tricky puzzle. That's hard (but fun!!!!!)

Story/Writing-8/10-Very funny lines in some parts and a creative story, but some of the text is too long.

Challenge-7/10-The actual gameplay has little challenge, but the puzzles can be very difficult. It isn't like playing Madden on rookie, though.

Overall-9/10-The best the Wii has to offer with Zelda, so be prepared for some fun!

The things I disliked were:
-LONG text in spots
-Bland 3D backgrounds
-A little too easy
-Uses the remote's motion sensing almost never (though I personally was fine with the controls).

Everything else is great! Enjoy!