Super Paper Mario Review - Wii

The Paper Mario series has always been innovative, but Super Paper Mario turns classic concepts on their head with a triumphant panache all its own. This time around Mario’s efforts to prevent the evil Count Bleck from attaining his goal of the destruction of all universes leads him to encounter personalities, powers and environments of an astonishing variety. A star-crossed lover side story, a dose of nihilism, and an undeniably cheesy celebration of the power of hope all figure in to Mario’s inter-dimensional quest to collect 8 “pure hearts”.

Lost in Space

In a departure from previous titles in the series, Super Paper Mario abandons the turn-based battle system in favor of platform style gameplay. This change will of course be reviled by Paper Mario purists and RPG fanatics alike, but there’s no use denying that it makes gameplay pleasantly fast-paced, and in my mind more enjoyable.

A second important addition to the series is the ability to transform two-dimensional space into three dimensions on the fly. The 2D world plays like a standard Mario platformer while the 3D world contains hidden pathways, objects, and secrets of all kinds. This dimensional hopping is what makes Super Paper Mario astonishingly fun and unique – allowing you to transform pedestrian 2D environments into 3D worlds of surprising complexity, and breathing new life into platforming concepts that were beginning to show their age.

Identity Crisis Averted

Super Paper Mario delivers the best of both the RPG and Platform genres. It retains an RPG-like a home world strewn with shops and interactive characters, a storyline chock full of mythic heroes and prophecies, and the capacity to level-up and acquire new abilities. Mario is joined by three other classic characters with unique abilities – a floaty Peach, fiery Bowser and high jumping Luigi - as well as a host of loyal “pixls.” These fairies grant additional skills like ground pounding, shrinking and levitation. The fact that each pixl is named cleverly for it’s power (“Thoreau” enables Mario to toss objects) is a testament to the care and skill the writers devoted to even the smallest of details. Unfortunately switching between characters and pixls requires a few more button presses than comfort allows, and most players will stick with Mario as no other character has access to the real party in the 3rd dimension.

Super Paper Mario is played by holding the Wii Remote sideways, which is more comfortable than you might assume. The motion control elements are limited which is unsurprising, considering the game’s lowly Gamecube origins. Many power-ups’ full potential is unlocked by shaking, aiming, or tilting the controller and pointing at the screen activates a clever spotlight for selecting and discovering objects, but that’s where the motion control fun ends.

The level design is truly innovative, and not just because every environment functions uniquely well on both a 2D and 3D level. The game includes a diverse array of levels ranging from side scrolling space shooter action, to a mini dating sim and a good-old-fashioned text based RPG boss battle. Unfortunately it also has a maddening over-reliance on repetitive room mazes, but most of the puzzles are well designed and thoroughly rewarding to solve.

The bulk of Super Paper Mario plays out at a medium difficulty that falls comfortably in the realm of “fun.”  The last few levels, however, majorly ratchet up the challenge and provide some genuinely frustrating sequences. Also, lackluster, one-note boss battles fall short of the creative bar set by the rest of the game. Luckily those battles are only a small part of the 10+ hours that you’ll get out of the game, not to mention the hours of extra gameplay available by exploring or revisiting challenges even after the game is over.

A Tragic Tale of Love and Betrayal

In true RPG style, the game is very text heavy, so be sure to have your reading glasses nearby. Luckily the writing is as clever and laugh-out-loud funny as ever, full of the plays-on-words and self-referential flourishes the series is known for. A spot on send up of forum troll geekdom was a particular favorite (one character’s prized possessions included a “tanuki suit made with real tanuki fur” and “Android Love Patrol DVD vol.1, vol.1 collector’s edition, and vol.1 collector’s edition reissue”). Unfortunately, the storyline itself is too sincere to make a real impact. Mario games have never been known for their masculinity, but the conclusion of Super Paper Mario is so unbearably saccharine that even I felt insecure (hint: I’m female and I think unicorns are rad).

Super Paper Mario has a distinctive and very slick geometric art style that makes everything look like it were drawn with an etch-a-sketch. Of course the graphics won’t blow away polygon and shading geek, but they completely serve the world of the game. Best of all nostalgic elements abound and range from levels straight out of the first Super Mario game to power-ups that transform you into giant stampeding versions of the original sprites. There are no real cutscenes to speak of, and some environments feel a little bare-bones – they are flat after all – but the minimalism is mostly stylish.

Flipside

Super Paper Mario is undeniably fun, and funny. It invites you to think in an entirely novel way about classic worlds that once seemed immutable. Turning a Super Mario Bros.-era level topsy turvey elicits that unique mix of wonder and nostalgia that some may feel watching the “enchantment under the sea” dance sequence in Back to the Future 2. Best of all, the 3D world only scratches the surface of what makes the game special. Despite excessive text, uninspired boss battles and the lingering knowledge that it’s essentially another ported Gamecube game, Super Paper Mario’s incredible design, humor, and style make it an instant classic. Everyone should rejoice that the long suffering 2D platform genre has gotten a much needed makeover courtesy of the mustachioed man that helped create it in the first place.

Article by: Emily Mollenkopf