Cerise Magazine

Every plumber makes the same decision in life: unclog a drain, or become a hero of epic gaming proportions? Mario has saved the world in many ways, such as destroying fire-breathing dinosaurs and cleansing the world with a hose, and he is soon to be floating in the galaxy. The gaming community has a paper-type Mario to tide itself over with until that starry day comes, in Super Paper Mario.

As Mario, the legendary plumber hero, you are set to save the 2D world from certain destruction known as Count Bleck, a cartoonish villain with an obsession with his own name. The town of Flipside is the mustached man’s base of operations as he gains Pure Hearts from different worlds to stop Count Bleck’s plans from coming to fruition. The Pure Hearts will fend off the digital danger and thwart Count Bleck. With the great responsibility of being a hero comes great perks, stemming from small creatures called Pixls. Pixls allow Mario to find hidden doors, use hammers against enemies and blocks, ground stomp and several other useful abilities that come in handy whilst saving the 2D world. Three other heroes of the Mario world caliber - Luigi, Peach, and Bowser - with different abilities can aid Mario in his quest for Pure Hearts and saving the many worlds.

Mario comes with an arsenal of Pixls with handy abilities, yes, but Mario himself has a new trick up his blue denim sleeves, too. While the Paper world is all in 2D, Mario can turn his environment into 3D. With this power, Mario is able to cross pits by a strip of land he would have missed otherwise in the 2D spectrum. However, switching from 2D to 3D may be hazardous to our favorite plumber. A once-safe platform in the 2D realm might not exist in the 3D side, which means only a few seconds to jump over to a safe spot before Mario plummets. Along with dangerous drops, Mario also suffers penalties if he stays in the 3D side too long. A timer allows Mario to gauge how long he is able to stay 3D without losing any Heart Points.

Flipside has several attractions that fans of Paper Mario will recognize. There are inns, item shops, a fortuneteller and a cook inhabiting the small town. The inns and item shops help Mario and Company to heal up or purchase items to damage enemies. Forgot where or what Mr. Mario is supposed to go? Fortunetellers will point our mustached hero in the right direction again. Last but not least, the cook is able to combine different items to give a boost to otherwise drab items.

Super Paper Mario still holds on to the bizarreness that makes Paper Mario so colorful. Super Paper Mario’s road is paved with good intentions. However, good intentions don’t make a good game. While Mario has some funny lines circulating around facial hair and basement dwelling geeks, the story isn’t all that shocking as it unfolds. Mario is out to save the 2D universe and only he and four other destined Heroes can stop the impending doom. Honestly, the plot feels a little overused. In addition, it feels like it’s dragging on through eight levels. I found myself trying to move through it quickly as to get back to the game play.

From early on in the game, the player gets a clear sense of what’s going to happen and what’s going on. Granted, as a Mario game, story is not the strong selling point, but Mario with a somewhat serious, obvious sub-plot is a bit turn off. Doubled with a blah plot and boring dialog, it leaves something to be desired from the gameplay, which also is a letdown.

The controls for the game are simple. The player need only turn the Wiimote sideways to play. The Wiimote functions are used to point at the screen to point out hidden objects or random actions to use items picked up, and makes it easy to switch out characters and Pixls. To use a fire flower, quickly shake the Wiimote up and down for maximum damage. Although it does spice up the platforming experience, the extras feel incredibly tacked on at the last moment.

Super Paper Mario has some good ideas. The 2D-to-3D ability is unusual and addicting, but the Pixl powers are dull and common in the previous Mario games, Paper or otherwise. The game is Super Mario Bros. given a kick in the pants with new technology and hit points. For a game called Super Paper Mario, the game hardly feels paper at all other than the 2D and 3D feature. The last paper game, Thousand Year Door, where Mario thins himself and turns into paper airplanes, boats and tubes, leaves this game something to live up to, and Super Paper Mario flops. While the game is on the Wii, there is no push for better graphics; the graphics are the same as the previous game.

As a platformer, Super Paper Mario succeeds, but gamers looking for an RPG will be disappointed because this title is a platformer with levels and hit points. A gamer that excels at platformer games may be bored. Super Paper Mario is not a difficult game whatsoever. It is completely possible to have zero deaths throughout the whole game.

Super Paper Mario isn’t a bad game, but its not a partially good game either. Even after becoming disenchanted with the game halfway through, I finished it. Mario games are still fun to play through to completion. It’s a quick platformer game with a few new twists. A true role-playing game Super Paper Mario is not, but it is an easy game that most gamers will finish.

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Super Paper Mario

June 2007 Issue

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