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201 of 216 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Flippin' Awesome!, April 10, 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
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
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63 of 67 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Solid Fun, April 12, 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
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.
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20 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
SUPER MARIO FUN!!, July 2, 2007
Fun:5.0 out of 5 stars
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.
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