Super Paper Mario

8.8
Good

Gameplay	9.0	"This ain't no rental, folks."
Graphics	8.5
Sound	8.5
Value	9.0

By Mayur Gandhi

Since The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess the Wii game collection has been ominously vacant of epic games. Instead Wii owners have been subjected to one collection of mini-games after another. So it'll come as good news when we say that Super Paper Mario is the one that can put that complaint to rest.

Super Paper Mario's design is like no other, however; it's an amalgam of many, drawing from their strengths and infusing them together as one. Super Paper Mario is part RPG, part side-scroller, part adventure, all fun.

Some would say that if you've heard one Mario story you've heard them all. That certainly isn't the case here. Super Paper Mario has our titular hero making nice with familiar enemies, all in the name of bringing down the new supervillian, Count Bleck. Bleck is one twisted individual; after forcing Bowser and Peach to wed he then throws Mushroom Kingdom into a whirling chaos. Twists and turns in the game's plot are plentiful and highly unexpected, and it's because of this that the game is so engaging.

As great a game as this is, it's not for everyone. No, I daresay this is a game which'll appeal to many, but appease only a few. This is because of the way the story is told - there are no breathtaking cinematics and highly stylised shots; instead, there is text. Lots of text.

If you enjoy reading, you'll enjoy Paper Mario. If you don't, you won't. The game relies quite heavily on its non-verbalised script. Though this script is wonderfully written and very clever it does possess the ability to hamper the enjoyment one can take away from the game. Long-time Nintendo fans will benefit the most from the game's writing as there a lot of pop-culture references themed around Nintendo history.

This does lead one to wonder when exactly Mario will get a voice beyond the few iconic lines we've heard over the past decade, and it does feel like a cheap way out for Nintendo. However, the text does fit the paper theme, and is of a high enough quality to not score it too much lower because of it.

Super Paper Mario plays quite similarly to the Mario games of old - the game is seperated by chapters where at the end you must defeat a boss, thereby giving you a Heart, which in turn grants you access to the next chapter. This worked 20 years ago and it still works now with no signs of ageing.

The game can be finished in an admirable twenty or so hours, but if you're so inclined, you easily push that 20 hours out to 40 to find all the game's hidden areas and goodies. This is still great value even when taking into consideration that there are no mini-game collections nor any multiplayer modes to be seen, just a massive full-on fun single-player campaign.

If you're familiar with Super Paper Mario you'll know the game has traditionally been a 2D fiasco laced together by turn-based combat with a few timed button presses throughout. The times have changed, and so has Mario. Super Paper Mario makes way for a more user-friendly and commercially viable combat system, whereby combat is of a more traditional 2D style in real-time.

With less emphasis on combat strategy Super Paper Mario has a deluge of puzzles to wade through. From the outset of many missions, you'll be given a task, and this usually results in a lot of backtracking. Fortunately, stages aren't overly large so worries about intimidating landscapes to navigate can be left to those new to the Metroid series.

Puns aside, it's true that Super Paper Mario gives us a new view on how sidescrollers can be played. In order to search out every nook and cranny you're going to have to flip the perpective from 2D to 3D constantly. The inherent flaw in this wonderful feature is that Mario is the only one capable of making this transition, and having to jump into the menu to swap your character can prove to be quite chore-some at the best of times. However, this feature is stapled so neatly into the game's design it makes you wish the feature could be adopted by other 2D franchises.

Sometimes, though, switching to 3D will turn what looks beautiful in 2D to something quite barren. The feature isn't tacked on either - it must be used in order to progress through the game's puzzles and obstacles and sometimes it'll be the only way to see special items and characters.

As with any Wii game the first question which comes to mind is how the controller is used. Shaking the controller during special combat moves can give you style points, and again shaking the controller can help remove status effects. Beyond that, there's not much else to it.

If you can get past the fact that you must do a lot of reading, you'll find a game which is highly original, incredibly fun and will stay in your memory for many 'next-generations' to come. Super Paper Mario is the second truly epic game for the Wii and will keep you entertained long enough until the next one hits in October (Metroid Prime 3). This isn't a rental folks; this is a quality purchase.

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