Paper Mario

Nostalgic Classic: Paper Mario

Rating: E

Early 2001 Score: 9.5/10              Current Score: 9/10

                There was one notable game that wasn’t mentioned at all in last week’s favourite games list: Paper Mario. Paper Mario was truly a geniusly simple yet uncontrollably addictive RPG released nearly a decade ago that was golden on the Nintendo 64. It was also re-released on the Virtual Console for the Nintendo Wii six years after its original release. From its catchy themes to simple controls and gameplay, this game was really a generally amazing game for all ages and types of gamers.

What’s this, though, another new series? Well, potentially. Similar to Nostalgic Reviews, Nostalgic Classic will deal with amazing games that were amazing once before and compare them to today’s standards and qualities. It, of course, won’t be judged too much on graphics and audio, since they were on weaker systems that can’t handle such qualities. Instead, it’s judged on pure gameplay, if it was fun back then, is it still fun now, is the story now really clichéd in today’s times, etc..., criteria like that. First up for this series is Paper Mario, one of greatest RPGs out there; is it still?

                Even on Nintendo 64, this game wasn’t technically advanced. As the title hints, everything is made of paper.  Mario is made of paper, the enemies and allies are made of paper, the buildings are made of paper, everything. This adds an interesting concept that works well. It’s not used in puzzles nearly as much as in its sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, but it lays a solid foundation.

                The story begins as the Mario Bros. are invited to Princess Peach’s Castle for a ball. Mario and Luigi head out, and Mario finds Peach on the second floor alone. Before the game turns into a weird storyboard soap opera, Bowser (Mario’s long time rival) interrupts the duo by busting through the window.  Bowser begins to fight Mario, but armed with the all-powerful Star Rod, Bowser proves too strong for Mario to defeat, and Mario gets thrown out the window. He is found unconscious by a small family, and now Mario must find power strong enough to match the Star Rod and save the princess once again. The introduction with the letter invitation from the princess pays obvious homage to the Super Mario 64 opening, where she does the same thing. Well, she also did the same thing again in Super Mario Galaxy. I think that’s where it stops being homage and starts being the easy solution for a story.

On his adventure, Mario finds multiple allies that can help in and out of battles. In battle, they provide powerful special moves to help Mario out. Out of battle, they can use their specials to unlock secrets and solve puzzles. One example would be Bombette. She can blow up multiple enemies for massive damage (at the cost of FP, which I’ll discuss later), or ram into them quickly. Out of battle, she can blow up weaken walls to reveal secrets.

Mario has three main attributes that he can upgrade every level up. These are HP (Heart Points, his health), FP (Flower Points, what he needs to use special powerful attack), and BP (Badge Points, how he gets new special attacks). All three are important, but which ones you pick each level up is up to you.

                The battling is a straight-forward turn-based RPG: You attack, opponent attacks, repeat. In Paper Mario though, you can increase how much damage you do by doing a specific (but simple) button combination (Ex: Press A after a jump to jump on the enemy twice, for twice the damage). You can also press A at the right time to guard against an opponent’s attack. Unless you have a badge stating otherwise, the attack will do one less damage to Mario if you successfully guard. It may not seem like much, but it adds up, and helps a lot.

                The music is classic, catchy, and memorable. You’ll still know most of the themes years after playing it simply because they’re so catchy and unforgettable. They capture the feel of the battles they represent nicely too, be they silly, chilly, or deadly.

                The game has two major problems: It’s too easy and it’s much too text-heavy. Non-gamers may find it challenging, but hardcore gamers will breeze through it. Like all RPGs though, you can challenge yourself in different ways for different amounts of challenge (i.e. use no badges, use no items, etc...). For the most part, it’s way easier than it should be. Some puzzles are puzzling, but the battling is a breeze to anyone who uses strategies. As for text-heaviness, that’s annoying more than game-breaking. You won’t find yourself talking to people with a novel worth of text, but you will definitely be reading more than battling (unless you’re having difficulty and battles are taking a while). It’s a good thing the text is enjoyable to read, sometimes even humorous.

                Gamers will breeze through this game without a single battle being very lengthy, only stopping briefly for puzzles. Non-gamers will be relieved at the simple, easy to learn style of gameplay while enjoying the great music, interesting puzzles, and reasonable difficulty. It’s a great place to start for non-gamers to get into RPGs through the original Nintendo 64 or Virtual Console. It’s a little bit lacking by today’s standards of games but is still a unique blend of interesting and addicting play nonetheless.

                Remember, all my reviews are posted on my site: http://sites.google.com/site/gamerscorneronline