Paper Mario

[The NZA]

 

Played a demo at Best Buy, seemed like fun. I know it looks kiddy, but i really loved Mario RPG on SNES (tho that was by square), and tho ive no $ for these things these days, im hopin to rent/borrow it some time. Crunk Games' review didnt hurt either...

 

 

By Ray Barnholt

11/11/04

 

The original Paper Mario was a mess. Not that it was a bad game, goodness no, but like many other N64 projects, it took forever to be released, and when it finally was, nobody was around to care. It's a shame since Paper Mario was one out of two N64 RPGs worth playing (of a total... what, four?). This time, without much warning, we have a sequel for GameCube when it couldn't be out at a better time.

 

Once again Princess Peach finds herself kidnapped when in pursuit of a legendary treasure. But Bowser doesn't have her ithis time, it's a strange race of alien beings known as the X-Nauts (no relation to the seedy Japanese publisher). But before that happened she managed to send off a letter to Mario inviting him to come to Rogueport, the harbor town that she traveled to. Leaving Luigi behind once more, Mario heads to Rogueport to meet the princess, but discovers she's gone missing. With a stable of new partners to meet and a boatload of clues to unravel, Mario sets off on another great adventure.

 

True to form, the story is a big part of this game. The localization, again handled by NOA's talented team, is flowing with snarky, groany, tongue-in-cheek dialogue to compliment the like-minded actions of the cutscenes. With Mario away from home, there's no way to read Luigi's fruity diary, but the green one will pop up after chapters to tell Mario the stories of his own adventure that he also happens to be on.His long-winded tales read like a parody of Mario's quest, but with Luigi a bit of a parody himself it works quite well. The goal to let each character have a full readable "voice" was also realized, which is the biggest part leading to all that snarky groanyness.

 

TTYD is a wonderful sequel, but it's not all that vastly different or improved over the original, especially in the battle system. Largely unchanged from the other Mario RPGs , the game still relies on timed button presses to enhance attacks to lessen damage. A new twist is the audience: with the "paper diorama" angle of the game heavier than ever, every battle fades into a stage, with a full audience for Mario to fight in front of.

 

An indicator at the bottom of the screen counts how many spectators there currently are, and how much you succeed or fail has a bearing on it. The better you do, the more will join the fun and the faster your special star power meter will fill to keep the special moves comin'. But the audience can also dissipate, even get disgruntled as they toss rocks and other objects onto the stage and possibly Mario's head (but nicer folks can also throw more useful items).

 

Sure, TTYD doesn't do much more than the original other than being bigger, brighter and higher-res, but it's not all bad. In fact, for Paper Mario newbies it won't make a bit of difference, and all-time fans get a new story and new locations to traverse. Still, it's a little disappointing that nothing's happened to the gameplay in 3 years.

 

But, at least, it's still damned fun. With the fans Nintendo gained following last year's Mario & Luigi, the new Paper Mario has even better timing. Somehow it manages to be even more funny, more charming and better realized than the GBA game and the N64 original too, of course. If only we could get a Mario RPG every year, then we could stop worrying about things like waiting and world hunger. Either way, it's definitely a keeper. •

 

Anyone else played?

[Silent Bob]

Own it. Everything they say is true. If you liked Paper Mario, Mario RPG or both, you should definitely give this one a try.

[The NZA]

That's cool to hear...hey, SB, i may be a bit outta line with this, but thoguht id try anyway...

 

thsi coming may, im finally gonna have some downtime, was hopin to spend it watchin anime & stuff, but again, compy's not doin so well, so...would you be down to send/have me borrow Paper Mario (assumin youve finished it)? Really'd be up for an RPG, and i could send you, uh, any GC game i have that im done with, Metroid, Zelda, X-Men Legends etc, could just send it back when youre done, since were not far...its your call, but id be personally responsible if it got scratched, lost etc of course. Anyway, i dont mind either way, but lemme know man.

[Silent Bob]

Sure, man, I'd be happy to...wanna borrow RE4, too? I can't see myself having enough time to get into either of 'em in the next few months.

[The NZA]

Holy shit! Jesus yes, i could save mad $ from rentals. If we do a episode III thing, or somethin similar, i got you covered.

yay, games to play, instead of dead computers!

 

Here's what i got, if you do have some time & wanna play somethon too:

 

X-Men Legends (you helped put me onto that one, so i doubt you havent played it...)

Wolverine's Revenge (not a bad fanboy game...)

Zelda: WW (know you got that one)

Zelda Collection (all the 8 & 64 bit ones)

Sonic Collection (Genesis madness)

Mario Party 4

Bomberman Generations

Super Smash Bros Melee

Metroid Prime

Resident Evil 1

(thought i had more, guess i traded em)

 

so lemme know, be more than happy to send a few youre way if you get some spare time. I'ma PM you my address now.

[The NZA]

.....aaaand it took like 6 months, sadly, but both games are now finished. This one was a lotta fun - never took itself too seriously, but kept me goin for 50+ hours, sidequests & all.

The humor was memorable (especially when you realize the villianous cult circles around an X-box parody), and though the mechanics themselves havent changed much since the classic Mario RPG (from Square), there's a lotta fun features added to it, like audiences who cheer you on & help out, or sometimes, act like haters and throw shit at you.

 

Fans of Mario cant miss out - this just has fun with every element of the Mushroom kingdom. For a lighthearted adventure, you cant ask for much more - thanks again, SB.