I’ll admit that I never had Paper Mario for the N64 (2002), and never jumped on the Gamecube bandwagon, therefore missed out on Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004). Yet, once I saw this demo’d back at GDC with the awesome 2D to 3D flipping gameplay I was instantly hyped for this game.
I picked it up on launch day, but regretfully haven’t had a chance to sit down and give it any attention due to having some relatives and friends in Los Angeles to visit and stay with us (aka hoarding the tele *shakes fist*). Which means the majority of my gaming since their arrival has been via my shiny new Onyx (black) DS lite and New Super Mario Bros. (I had to get my Mario on somehow!).
So finally, late last night (around midnight), pushed the blow up mattress (filled with relatives) that has turned my gaming space into an impromptu guest bedroom, aside and powered on the Wii.
First impressions: Fun, creative, funny, smart, colorful, fun, endearing, fun, oh and fun.
I was anxious to get into the game quickly to try out the 2D to 3D flipping gameplay, but the game had other plans as a 15 minute background-story of the premise of the game was set forth.
I’m all about the story, but at the moment really just wanted to get my hands on some gameplay, regardless you have to at least go through all the text-speak so you might as well enjoy the witty and well written story.
Once finished, you get a mini-tutorial on how things work, and then go into the first chapter. Its not till you enter the first house in the first level that you get the ability to flip from 2D and 3D and once you do its non-stop from there on out.
I’ve only played through the first two chapters thus far and am having a great time. The thing I love about Nintendo games, and especially Mario games, is that they are Video Games. They’re what I remembered growing up as GAMES. They’re fun, creative, unique, and addicting.
The creative ways they use the two perspectives is great. Sometimes they’ll hide items behind what seemingly is an ordinary 2D bush, or a 2nd pipe behind what appears to be just one pipe from a 2D perspective.
Puzzle Solving:
The puzzle solving is great. For instance at one point I came upon a huge gap, previously I could switch to 3D and use the hill in the background, as a walkway across. This time, there was no hill, so I jumped into the nearest pipe, and I popped up really small in the distant background. Using that to enter a house that looked like just background art at first, to discover the bridge keeper who let the bridge down.
Thwomps aren’t so intimidating in 3D when they’re paper thin and you can just walk behind them to avoid their crushing Thwomp. Same goes for seemingly impossible barriers, when you can flip the view, and walk behind / in front of them. I know its been said time and time again in reviews for this game, but it REALLY DOES change the way you look at the world in-game. You’re always looking for what could be hidden from view in a 3D / 2D world.
Power Ups:
Of course in any Mario games we have to have power-ups with Mushrooms and Stars being par for the course, Super Paper Mario throws in all kinds of fun power-ups that add a lot of life to the game. Similar to the Giant Mushroom in New Super Mario Brothers, theres a power up in Super Paper Mario that turns you into a giant 8-bit Mario which plows through the level taking out any bricks, pipes, and enemies in your path.
Theres also Pal Pills which surround you with a handful of tiny 8-bit Marios which attack any enemy that nears you. You jump, they jump, all in sync with the classic jump Sound FX from our 8-bit days. Be careful though, their jump is a little delayed from yours, and if you’re waiting till the last moment to jump a gap, you’ll be sending your little friends down the hole to their deaths.
Their not the smartest of little helpers, but their fun to watch and helpful against attacking enemies. Thats about all the power-ups I’ve come across thus far in the first few chapters, I’ve got some hidden items I’ve found here and there but haven’t used any yet.
Conclusion:
All in all, another amazing Mario game (as if thats a surprise). If you have a Wii, go pick this game up. Its fun, its creative, its fun, and its fun. Plain and simple.
