The Paper Mario series has always managed to put a very unique and interesting spin on a franchise that usually shows little gameplay diversity in its major releases, and is abused by its spin-offs.
Paper Mario on the N64 took a cue from Super Mario RPG, bringing the heroic plumber into the quasi-3D realm and representing character growth in concrete terms. The GameCube sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, took the unique visual style further, adding immensely to the depth of gameplay and storytelling, expanding upon both of its predecessors.
When the time came for Intelligent Systems to add a new installment to the series, a simple incremental update would not suffice. The result of the team's brainstorming is an innovative action RPG known as Super Paper Mario, which blends traditional Super Mario Bros platforming with Paper Mario RPG content. It is an excellent fit in the series, while still offering something fresh.
The game tells the story of new antagonist Count Bleck's plans to destroy all existence. This can be accomplished with a chaos heart, which he plans to acquire by joining the kidnapped Princess Peach and Bowser in unholy matrimony. Luigi, who was also grabbed by Bleck, tries to save the day, but ends up, well, failing. Mario, who had been left behind then embarks on a journey to set things right again. After a novel's worth of text, Mario is directed by a "pixl" named Tippi to the town of Flipside, where the adventure begins.
As stated earlier, the game is a blend of styles found in past Mario games, all rolled into one. At first glance, it appears to be a cookie-cutter sequel to 2004's Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, but the gameplay proves otherwise. While still holding on to RPG elements such as hit points, attack and defense power, level-ups, exploration, and puzzle-solving, the mechanics of the game are more akin to Super Mario Bros.
There is no separation between exploration and battle - everything takes place from the same perspective and in real-time. Combat is as simple as jumping on the heads of your foes, or by throwing shells, blocks, and the like at them. Reminiscent of Super Mario Bros 2, the player can even toss enemies at each other. The baddies each have a defined hit point value that is depleted with each strike, and the amount of damage inflicted depends on Mario's attack power. Likewise, enemies hurt Mario simply by making contact with him, as in the platforming Mario games, but this time around Mario's HP must be reduced to zero in order to stop him. Again, the final damage is dependent on RPG element, "defense."
In addition, Mario can use a variety of offensive, defensive, and curative items at any time. These are just like the ones from The Thousand-Year Door, and are purchased at shops or picked up from fallen adversaries. Unlike the previous Paper Mario games, level-ups are handled automatically. Mario's attributes improve as he collects points, which is achieved by defeating enemies. It is seamless and effective, and cuts down on the usual management time found in RPGs. The game is really more of a platformer, anyway.
The "big" gameplay innovation in Super Paper Mario is the first skill that Mario - "the hero of light" - discovers. With a quick tap of the A button, the entire world shifts 90 degrees, going from a flat, 2D perspective to a 3D version of the same terrain. This allows Mario (and ONLY Mario) to access places that would otherwise be impossible, heading behind various objects and even into the background at times. It is a very cool effect early on, although by the game's end, the novelty wears off a bit.
Incidentally, this "flipping" dynamic is the most common way to solve the game's simplistic puzzles, which is somewhat of a shame because only Mario is capable of doing so. The other characters remain mostly unused, except in very specific circumstances. It reminds me of the way I would only use Toad in SMB2 because he had the fastest dig and throw. In SPM, however, I can switch characters on-the-fly, and still don't.
What ARE quite useful, on the other hand, are each of the pixls. These are small, rainbow-colored, floating designs that each have a particular function, and a clever name describing that function.. Thoreau is a hand that grabs items and enemies, Boomer is a bomb that can be used as either a tool or a weapon, and Fleep is a square that completely flips around a small section of the screen. There are 12 pixls (3 optional) in all, and Mario can keep one at the ready at all times. That is not including Tippi, who is always available to reveal hidden things and serve as a help button of sorts. The other pixls are discovered as the adventure progresses.
There are 8 chapters in the game, each divided into 4 stages. It's much like SMB, except the flags are replaced by stars, and the useless Toadstools are replaced by Pure Hearts. These are the key to defeating Bleck, and the whole reason for playing. Certain chapters feel drawn out as one plays, sometimes sending the player back and forth all too often. It's almost as if the designers were confused as to what type of game they were making. The battle system and streamlined RPG elements lean toward a faster-paced platformer, but the lengthy texts and back-and-forth design lend themselves better to the longer RPG form. For the gamer, this means that you may FEEL as though you are playing a platformer, but then your momentum is stunted by some trivial, playtime-lengthening plot device or other roadblock that ultimately seems somewhat out of place.
The game's visuals are always very nice, which is important, because one of the main selling points of the game is its artistic merit . The vibrant colors fit the Mario universe very well, and the paper theme is used during scene transitions and various character animations to good end. Load times are made nearly non-existent as a result of some well-implemented foldings and crumplings. Flipping the world on its side is another pleasure to witness, even though some of the 3D sections seem devoid of "stuff." While the terrain turns into a solid collection of blocks and platforms, characters all retain their two-dimensional paperiness. Using the 2D-to-3D strategy to avoid assault is strangely satisfying, watching razor-thin enemies and their tiny shadows as they walk ignorantly on an entirely separate plane of existence.
As for aural pleasures, SPM is a bit mediocre. The sound effects are good, with whimsical blips and bleeps and whams and creaks, etc., but the music, while unoffensive, is also forgettable. A few tracks stand out as very good, and on the whole there are few complaints to be made, but a symphony this game is not. It is retro and new age at the same time, and that strange combination ends up working well for the game's content.
Super Paper Mario is a game unlike any other, and for that fact alone is worth a try. On top of that, it's fun, interesting, and funny, with a good graphical presentation and solid gameplay. It struggles to find its own identity at times, but that's just because it's the videogame equivalent of a drag queen or cross-dresser, stuck between two very different genres, and two very different perspectives. The reading and backtracking are a bit much, but again, that's only because the player is led to expect a faster pace. At the end of the day, Super Paper Mario is one of the best games the Wii has to offer, and most gamers should have a good experience with it.
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