System: Wii
Dev: Intelligent Systems
Pub: Nintendo
Release: April 9, 2007
Players: 1
ESRB Rating: Everyone
Review by Maria Montoro

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Review Rating Legend
1.0 - 1.9 = Avoid
2.0 - 2.4 = Poor
2.5 - 2.9 = Average
3.0 - 3.4 = Fair
3.5 - 3.9 = Good
4.0 - 4.4 = Great
4.5 - 4.9 = Must Buy
5.0 = The Best

The graphics are very artsy, colorful and vibrant. Cool elements were drawn all over the screen such as trees, homes, bridges, intricate cast-iron gates and fences, etc. Geometrical figures abound. The citizens of each town are just simple two-dimensional figures with square heads and triangle-shaped bodies. The enemies are a bit more complex but equally cute and color-vibrant: you'll almost want to let them live! There are many, many different characters that you will encounter throughout the game; there sure wasn't lack of imagination!

The 3D environments are not quite as polished but they still did a good job representing each of the areas in this game with a third dimension; no matter where you are, you'll be able to flip into 3D, as long as you're playing with Mario, which you can select at any time. Mario and friends have that Paper-Mario look that you saw in the previous installment, which is just great.

By re-composing and tweaking some of the classic melodies found in all Mario games to date, they produced a brand new soundtrack that is just perfect for the title. Sometimes memories will just knock on your door as you hear, for example, the tune that sounds when you play the castle levels (fourth stage in classic Super Mario Bros.). All sound effects in the game are "Nintendoish" and fit well into the scene: the sound of the coins, going into the pipes, breaking bricks, etc. are all evocative of classic Mario. The only thing I didn't like is the sound that plays while you read the text on the screen: it's almost like a bunch of castanets going crazy. It made me lower the volume more than one time; it's not something everybody can take for a long time. The voice-over work is very limited, but we know Nintendo likes to keep things that way, only giving us a taste of what Mario and friends sound like. You'll hear the typical "yeah!," "no,no," "it's-a-me…!" which sounds utterly cute; now we know Mario and Luigi didn't lose their charming Italian accent!

All in all, Super Paper Mario is a great game for all ages, full of all those great things that Nintendo knows how to do but that they hadn't delivered in a while before last years' successful DS title. Super Paper Mario is probably the perfect game for those that enjoyed New Super Mario Bros. and don't mind reading a bit too much as it has an actual story and cutscenes. Those who enjoyed Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, or Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time should also have a great time with this one, as long as they don't expect a bunch of RPG-style battles; this one is more complex than that and lighter when it comes to fighting. I can't think of many reasons why someone wouldn't like this game, but just make sure you're not somebody that just wants to play Call of Duty all night or hates reading during video game cutscenes; unless that's your case, go ahead and give Super Paper Mario a try. This game is so engaging that you won't quit without finishing the game and finding out what happens at the end. Will things go back to normal in the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond or is this the beginning of the end, thanks to Count Bleck?

By Maria Montoro
CCC Co-Site Director

Features:

More information about Super Paper Mario!
by Amanda L. Kondolojy

March 12, 2007

This past week, a number of new facts and details emerged about the hyper-anticipated Nintendo title Super Paper Mario. Things like game mechanics, controls, and of course, graphics have been shown off in a demo that Nintendo was generous enough to share at the Game Developers Conference last week. And of course, now the anticipation for this game has now been amped up ten-fold. Thanks, Nintendo.

So what's new in Super Paper Mario? Pretty much everything save for the fact that Mario is still made of paper. First of all, we know quite a bit more about the mechanics and format of the game. Although the previous Paper Mario games have played like an RPG with platformer elements, this one will be the exact opposite: a platforming-type game with RPG elements. You run around jumping on your enemies (in true Mario style) and fight bosses in real-time, instead of the turn-based fighting featured in earlier Paper Mario games. But you'll still be commanding a party, earning experience points, and having control of several other elements that are RPG-esque.

Another very cool thing that will be different in Super Paper Mario will be that Paper Mario will be able to jump to the third dimension. Now of course, he will still be two-dimensional, but you'll have the option of using your Wii-mote to change the view of the level from 2-D to 3-D. So imagine you're facing an obstacle. You can't find a way around it. You flip to the third dimension, and find out you can simply walk around the obstacle. How cool is that? But the third dimension is not something you can move into permanently. Paper Mario has a time limit in the third dimension, and if he exceeds that, he'll start to loose (lose) hit points.

Controls will have you turning your Wii-mote sideways and holding it like you would when playing a NES game on the Virtual Console. You'll use your directional pad to move about, and you'll use the 2 button to jump and perform special moves. You can also use the Wii's motion sensitivity to perform additional special attacks. The A button is also used to shift Mario from 2-D to 3-D, and vice versa.

There's also a new power-up system that utilizes little characters called "pixls". These little guys will help you out by giving you extra abilities like the ability to use bombs or give you extra skinniness to help you get through some tight spots. One pixl even gives you the power to become a giant 8-bit Mario (like in The New Super Mario Bros., but pixilated in 8-bit style).

Graphics look superb in both 3-D and 2-D. This game is one of the first for the Wii to include progressive scan, which allows the game to run in a sharper widescreen format. Paper Mario walks around in a smooth and beautifully detailed environment in the third dimension, and in the 2-D mode, the graphics are reminiscent of every old Mario game you ever loved.

Super Paper Mario still looks like a great game, and it looks even better now that we know even more about it. It releases next month, so we'll all see soon enough if Super Paper Mario is worth the hype that early looks seem to be generating.

By Amanda L. Kondolojy
CCC Freelance Writer

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