IGN SAYS

The newest chapter of the Paper Mario story isn’t just out of this world … it’s out of this dimension. What at first glance appears to be a 2-D sidescroller ripped straight from the pages of the Paper Mario universe soon turns into a 3-D action-adventure that defies all video game logic. Fusing 2-D and 3-D perspectives, not to mention RPG and platformer elements, the game slips back and forth between dimensions. The action sprawls across eight worlds filled with traps, puzzles, bizarre mysteries and items that often draw themselves out of thin air. Oh, and just because Mario’s in the title doesn’t mean he’s the only star — players also get to play as Peach and Bowser.

Published by: Nintendo
Developed by: Intelligent Systems
Release Date: April 9, 2007
Genre: Action
ESRB Rating: E for Comic Mischief, Mild Cartoon Violence
Also Available On: GameCube
MSRP: $49.99

STORY 7/10

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 (how original), 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. I watched a VERY short clip on youtube about the ending (as I had only played like first first couple hours of the game to get a taste), and I saw something which REALLY got me confused and curious! but I’d rather not give too much away. It looks like there is a highly unexpected twist at the end.

GRAPHICS 9/10
We’re all used to the side view Super Mario Adventures. Super Paper Mario takes this to an interesting new ‘dimension’ where you’re suddenly put from 2D to 3D in a flip (literally)

Graphics are colourful and smooth!


MUSIC 7/10
It’s like when you buy the NEW album of your favorite band. You hear something new, but you can still tell it’s them!

Super paper mario still provides new/original sounds and music with all your favorites and some new stuff. Plugged into a good sounding stereo will give you a great experience!

GAME PLAY 8.5/10
best described by (wiki)
And AMAZON
At the beginning of the game, the player controls Mario directly, and later obtains Princess Peach, Bowser, and Luigi as playable party members. The player controls the characters by holding the Wii Remote sideways like a NES controller.[6] While the 2 button causes the character to jump, akin to the A button in Super Mario Bros. games for NES, the 1 button controls Pixls, kindred spirits that perform special actions. Mario and his party must use these new abilities, such as turning sideways to slip through cracks, hammering down large blocks, or planting bombs to defeat foes, to advance. One of these allows Mario to run, making the 1 button on the Wii Remote analogous to the B button on an NES controller, though Mario’s other standard B-button abilities, such as grabbing, require different Pixls. With the Pixl Tippi or Tiptron, the player can also point to the screen with the Wii Remote to find out their next objective, identify features on the screen such as hidden objects and find out information about an enemy or character. Both the current character and Pixl can be switched out at any time during the game, though characters and Pixls are occasionally separated from the main party, rendering them unplayable for a time.

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.

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.