Another Christmas has come and gone, and brought with it a managerie of new games. Wait, games aren’t animals?! Phew, whatever. Anyway, one of these games was, of course, Super Paper Mario. But I didn’t get it. It just HAPPENED to be one of my five-year-old sister’s Christmas presents, who just HAPPENS to be a gamer. She lets me play it anyway, though, ha! Ironically, I usually get farther than her on it, and then she copies the file onto hers. Hey, has anyone ever heard of EXPERIENCING THE STORY FOR YOURSELF?!! Pfft, whatever. (To my chagrin) It’s her game.
So, let us begin. All RPGs have the matter of a good story. While this isn’t strictly an RPG (more on that later), it’s a Paper Mario game, and without its story, it would just be another fun, but not special, Mario game. Thankfully for it, it’s got an awesome story--one better than its predecessors. Ya see, there is this bad dude, Count Bleck, who needs to get Bowser and Princess Peach to marry in order to summon a Chaos Heart that will consume the world, as according to the Dark Prognosticus, a book of dark prophecies. When Mario and Luigi believe that it was Bowser who has captured Princess Peach, they leave for Bowser’s castle, only to see Count Bleck appear with Princess Peach and disappear with Bowser, his minions, and Luigi. Mario then meets a strange pixilated butterfly, called a Pixl, named Tippi, who takes him to Flipside, the town between dimensions. There, Mario learns from Merlon that four heroes (Mario, Peach, Bowser, and Luigi) are supposed to unite and collect the eight pieces of the Pure Heart in order to counteract the Chaos Heart, which has created The Void, and it is slowly, but surely, consuming all dimensions. Thus, Mario must set out on a hilarious adventure full of unforgettable characters such as Fleep, the French Pixl who has stayed in a bathroom for 100 years, waiting for someone to bring back something to wipe his big, fat butt with, and thus sends you on an epic quest for toilet paper in order to save a poor alien’s bladder, whose name is Squirps, the tiny alien who ends his sentences many times with “Squirp!” or “Squinkle!”, Count Bleck, the hilarious-looking bad guy that says “BLECK!” whenever he laughs and even refers to himself in third person sometimes, and Nastasia, his tiny assistant who seems not to have any emotions. Meanwhile, there’s a love story slowly unfolding in the background…
Yet, there is one bad point to the story. While the dialogue sections are usually so funny, you don’t even care how long they are (I love it when people mention buttons on the controller and Mario doesn’t understand, and they remark “someone watching us from another dimension may know,” or something like that), sometimes they get a bit annoying, even when they’re funny, when you want some action. This is mostly apparent at the beginning of the game, but doesn’t get in the way as much later on.
So, an awesome story, this game has. It’s Mario-esque, but great. But what of the gameplay? We heard that this would be a normal platformer rather than its role-playing predecessors. Was this portrayed correctly? Yes. In fact, the paper characters have a little niche here. While Paper Mario 1 and 2 were particularly awesome (I have started new files on both games approximately 2103494 times), a platformer was the best place for paper-based character sprites. When I heard of it, I knew it would be a good game, but I was a bit disappointed by the fact that it was a platformer rather than an RPG. I’m not as affected now, as it’s mostly the same (just without turn-based battles), but I think that the normal Paper Mario series should run alongside a Super Paper Mario series.
Well, enough of my jabbering. Let’s get down to business. So, yes, this game is a platformer, but I also said that this is mostly the same as the other games--just without turn-based battles. Well, you see, you’ll find NPCs (mostly in Flipside), and you can press up on the D-Pad to talk to them. So yeah, that’s one thing. Well, there is also EXP that you get by defeating enemies and getting powerups. Get enough, and your HP or attack power will level up. Party members also make a reprise…in a way. There are pixilated fairies (usually locked in treasure chests) called Pixls that give you a special ability. The first one you get is Tippi, a Pixl that lets you “scan” things, similar to Goombario and Goombella from previous games. Other Pixls follow, like a Pixl that lets you grab and throw objects and one that lets you blow stuff up. The most fun of these is Barry, the Pixl that lets you create a spiky barrier around yourself. Should you time it right, you can do some extra damage when jumping on an enemy, but otherwise, the spiked barrier only does 2 damage.
So, what does this game have that’s new? Well, for one thing you gain the ability to flip into 3-D. This is very useful if you’re stuck. It lets you uncover hidden items, get around objects you can’t jump over in 2-D, among other uses. But there is a bad point to this. There is a gauge that will make you take damage if it runs out, which I feel is pointless and stupid and bad. There are also interchangeable characters. You’ll come across people like Peach, Bowser, and Luigi throughout your quest who will join you, and you can switch with them. None of them can flip into 3-D, but they have their own special abilities. For instance, Peach can float and guard against attacks with her parasol, Bowser can breathe fire and is stronger than Mario, and Luigi…I don’t know what he does yet. But I’ll find out!
Graphically, it’s 2-D, so there isn’t much to expect. However, as far as 2-D games go, the game is beautiful, with a great artstyle and detailed characters. When you flip into 3-D, though, it looks more like you’re playing the first Paper Mario on N64. But, these games don’t put very much emphasis on the graphical department, so anything goes.
So, in the end, Super Paper Mario is a cool game that combines 2-D classic gameplay with new graphics, RPG elements, and other things that not only make it a worthy entry into the Paper Mario series, but make it fit into the Mario series as a whole.
I plan to review more of my Christmas games, so stay tuned to my site! I want to review The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass next, but it seems like a game that you need to beat before you review thus far.
------------------Summary-----------------
Story: Awesome! The best the series has seen yet.
Gameplay: Awesome! It’s 2-D Mario gameplay with a hint of RPG and other things.
Graphics: Pretty Good. 2-D is great, but 3-D is Nintendo 64-esque.
Overall: Awesome! It’s a great game, but I still want another RPG.
So, let us begin. All RPGs have the matter of a good story. While this isn’t strictly an RPG (more on that later), it’s a Paper Mario game, and without its story, it would just be another fun, but not special, Mario game. Thankfully for it, it’s got an awesome story--one better than its predecessors. Ya see, there is this bad dude, Count Bleck, who needs to get Bowser and Princess Peach to marry in order to summon a Chaos Heart that will consume the world, as according to the Dark Prognosticus, a book of dark prophecies. When Mario and Luigi believe that it was Bowser who has captured Princess Peach, they leave for Bowser’s castle, only to see Count Bleck appear with Princess Peach and disappear with Bowser, his minions, and Luigi. Mario then meets a strange pixilated butterfly, called a Pixl, named Tippi, who takes him to Flipside, the town between dimensions. There, Mario learns from Merlon that four heroes (Mario, Peach, Bowser, and Luigi) are supposed to unite and collect the eight pieces of the Pure Heart in order to counteract the Chaos Heart, which has created The Void, and it is slowly, but surely, consuming all dimensions. Thus, Mario must set out on a hilarious adventure full of unforgettable characters such as Fleep, the French Pixl who has stayed in a bathroom for 100 years, waiting for someone to bring back something to wipe his big, fat butt with, and thus sends you on an epic quest for toilet paper in order to save a poor alien’s bladder, whose name is Squirps, the tiny alien who ends his sentences many times with “Squirp!” or “Squinkle!”, Count Bleck, the hilarious-looking bad guy that says “BLECK!” whenever he laughs and even refers to himself in third person sometimes, and Nastasia, his tiny assistant who seems not to have any emotions. Meanwhile, there’s a love story slowly unfolding in the background…
Yet, there is one bad point to the story. While the dialogue sections are usually so funny, you don’t even care how long they are (I love it when people mention buttons on the controller and Mario doesn’t understand, and they remark “someone watching us from another dimension may know,” or something like that), sometimes they get a bit annoying, even when they’re funny, when you want some action. This is mostly apparent at the beginning of the game, but doesn’t get in the way as much later on.
So, an awesome story, this game has. It’s Mario-esque, but great. But what of the gameplay? We heard that this would be a normal platformer rather than its role-playing predecessors. Was this portrayed correctly? Yes. In fact, the paper characters have a little niche here. While Paper Mario 1 and 2 were particularly awesome (I have started new files on both games approximately 2103494 times), a platformer was the best place for paper-based character sprites. When I heard of it, I knew it would be a good game, but I was a bit disappointed by the fact that it was a platformer rather than an RPG. I’m not as affected now, as it’s mostly the same (just without turn-based battles), but I think that the normal Paper Mario series should run alongside a Super Paper Mario series.
Well, enough of my jabbering. Let’s get down to business. So, yes, this game is a platformer, but I also said that this is mostly the same as the other games--just without turn-based battles. Well, you see, you’ll find NPCs (mostly in Flipside), and you can press up on the D-Pad to talk to them. So yeah, that’s one thing. Well, there is also EXP that you get by defeating enemies and getting powerups. Get enough, and your HP or attack power will level up. Party members also make a reprise…in a way. There are pixilated fairies (usually locked in treasure chests) called Pixls that give you a special ability. The first one you get is Tippi, a Pixl that lets you “scan” things, similar to Goombario and Goombella from previous games. Other Pixls follow, like a Pixl that lets you grab and throw objects and one that lets you blow stuff up. The most fun of these is Barry, the Pixl that lets you create a spiky barrier around yourself. Should you time it right, you can do some extra damage when jumping on an enemy, but otherwise, the spiked barrier only does 2 damage.
So, what does this game have that’s new? Well, for one thing you gain the ability to flip into 3-D. This is very useful if you’re stuck. It lets you uncover hidden items, get around objects you can’t jump over in 2-D, among other uses. But there is a bad point to this. There is a gauge that will make you take damage if it runs out, which I feel is pointless and stupid and bad. There are also interchangeable characters. You’ll come across people like Peach, Bowser, and Luigi throughout your quest who will join you, and you can switch with them. None of them can flip into 3-D, but they have their own special abilities. For instance, Peach can float and guard against attacks with her parasol, Bowser can breathe fire and is stronger than Mario, and Luigi…I don’t know what he does yet. But I’ll find out!
Graphically, it’s 2-D, so there isn’t much to expect. However, as far as 2-D games go, the game is beautiful, with a great artstyle and detailed characters. When you flip into 3-D, though, it looks more like you’re playing the first Paper Mario on N64. But, these games don’t put very much emphasis on the graphical department, so anything goes.
So, in the end, Super Paper Mario is a cool game that combines 2-D classic gameplay with new graphics, RPG elements, and other things that not only make it a worthy entry into the Paper Mario series, but make it fit into the Mario series as a whole.
I plan to review more of my Christmas games, so stay tuned to my site! I want to review The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass next, but it seems like a game that you need to beat before you review thus far.
------------------Summary-----------------
Story: Awesome! The best the series has seen yet.
Gameplay: Awesome! It’s 2-D Mario gameplay with a hint of RPG and other things.
Graphics: Pretty Good. 2-D is great, but 3-D is Nintendo 64-esque.
Overall: Awesome! It’s a great game, but I still want another RPG.
About me
- I'm T-Man
- ...Yeah, that's me.
- My profile
Previous posts
- Guitar Hero 4 and/or Guitar Hero 3 Downloadable So...
- From One Galaxy to the Next, It's Obvious Super Ma...
- May the Brick Be With You
- We're the Chipmunks, C-H-I-P-M-U-N-K!
- T-Man's CD Player: Life Wasted (Pearl Jam) Review
- T-Man's CD Player: Big Girls Don't Cry (Fergie) Re...
- My Poseable Master Chief Action Figure Whose Gun I...
- Wii Play. Do you?
- T-Man's CD Player: Minutes to Midnight (Linkin Par...
- IM TEH UBER 1337 BLOGZ OR!1!1!1!1
0 Responses to “SUPER Papel de Greatness”
Leave a Reply