Game Review: Super Paper Mario (Wii)
Super Paper Mario is the latest (and hotly anticipated) title in Intelligent Systems' Paper Mario series, this time departing from the quirky RPG formula in favor of a quirky platformer with RPG elements. This isn't to say it's a bad thing, but it's also not a great thing. The Super Mario RPG series (even starting way back when with Square's SNES title) has always been a game for the fans. Filled with in-jokes, fun puzzles, secrets galore and great action, it has a little bit of everything for real Nintendo lovers.
The plot actually departs from the typical Mario setup (though not the typical Paper Mario setup, sadly). [Villain who is not Bowser] kidnaps [something] and has an [insert devious plot here]. [Villain] is bumbling and slightly silly but has a [secret past]. Mario must set out and save [town name] from [villain].
Sure the plot is a bit tired, but does the crazy cool paper art style and clever dialog make up for it? Does the merging of RPG and platformer work well, or is it like the N-Gage, trying to be two things at once, and not doing either very well? Hit the jump for the full review.
Shininess: Super Paper Mario is a very shiny title, based solely on the fact that it uses an actual art style instead of just trying to make everything look naturalistic. The Mario characters are all paper cutouts and act appropriately, and the environments and NPCs in the game are all strange vector designs. The backgrounds in different areas range from cool pixellated clouds to strange floating mathematical equations, and each area is painstakingly drawn to please. Even when you flip to 3d you can see additional detail in the environments, which is excellent. That's what Nintendo is known for in their first party titles: polish. There are some cool effects in the game, actually using the art style for gameplay, such as flipping the world to 3d or turning on your side to become invisible (essentially). Enemies that are visible looking straight-on will be invisible when you flip, and so forth.
There is a hefty dose of 8-bit graphics as well. The first time you become invincible is a huge smile-inducing experience as Mario becomes a GIANT version of himself straight out of Super Mario Bros. Clever.
I especially enjoy the animations. There is a lot of clever little looks and movements that the characters and NPCs have. Bowser has a great idle animation, where he sort of breathes in, sighs and lets it out. As he lets out his sigh his arms come to a rest and the hair on the back of his head flops a bit. It's that little bit of detail that I appreciate greatly.
Sound effects are appropriate with borrowed 8-bit blips and bleeps when needed, but the music is largely forgettable. Sure you may be humming the Flipside town theme for days, but probably only because that's the only town and the song loops constantly. The referential 8-bit sound effects are great, I wish they would have used more of that in the music.
Funness: This game is made for the hardcore Nintendo fans. It is packed to the brim with inside jokes and fun references, even in the gameplay. But when it comes down to it it feels like Nintendo forgot to amp up the difficulty to match. They cater to us adult Nintendo fans with all the jokes, why keep the gameplay so incredibly easy? Not only did I not die once in the game, but I was never in danger of it. Items are prolific (and often completely useless) and just end up taking up space. Coins seem pretty needless and are only used to either unlock secret passages between sections of town or to buy (useless) items or (equally useless) trading cards.
The dialog can be quite hilarious. The localization is pretty excellent and for the most part characters have entertaining things to say. But near the end of the game I just started skipping it. Everyone is almost too clever, and the jokes become really predictable, or fall completely short. The dating sim interface for a conversation Peach has with the nerdy chameleon character is brilliant, but then what is with him saying "hi-technicaaaaaaaal" all the time. Was that the funniest line you could come up with? Serious? At the very least you could have just chosen for him to say "l33t" all the time and I would have giggled.
Then there are the game device jokes. You know how old games would make you wade through menus or do meaningless tasks to advance? Well Super Paper Mario does it and thinks it's funny. We waited months for a good game to come out, and then we have to sit through 5 minutes of spinning a hamster wheel? It's funny and clever the first time. The second and third time it just gets tired as you think to yourself: "this is all I get until the end of the year when Metroid comes out". That just doesn't cut it.
The RPG elements are a great addition, though I would have rather just had another Mario RPG. Platforming is fun and all, but no where near challenging. It feels like a half hearted attempt at a game sometimes. There will just be a random block with a coin in it that does nothing but give you a coin... and you have been trained to look everywhere by flipping and searching for secrets... but nothing. It was refreshing to have a decent Mario platformer after the horrible gross-looking and boring travesty that was New Super Mario Bros. but for the most part the gameplay just falls flat. The pacing is excellent, but every once in a while there will be the world's most obtuse puzzle and you get discouraged by it.
The abilities you gain throughout the game come at a steady pace, but I find myself frequently frustrated that I have to go into a menu every time I want to ground-pound or use a hammer. The Wii remote just doesn't have many buttons and I realize this is a necessity, but it is a source of frustration.
Worthiness: Super Paper Mario is a really fun game, don't get me wrong. I smiled a ton when I was playing through, mainly at the familiar gameplay and the inside jokes. Is it a Wii system seller? No. Will it bring non-Nintendo fans or grandma into the Wii camp? Definitely no. The game is perfect for kids around the age of 15 or so, who are just getting into Nintendo's back catalog of NES games. For adults who grew up on Nintendo? Rent it first and see if you like the lack of difficulty and lack of funny. I enjoyed it because I sold my soul to Miyamoto long ago, but will you? My definite answer is maybe.
Score: 3/5 Rent it!
