Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Super Paper Mario, like the Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess, was originally a Gamecube game that was moved on over to the Wii. Still, it's definitely a game we've been waiting for and definitely a game worth getting a hold of. Simply put, this is one of the games Wii owners ought to want. The storyline in Super Paper Mario isn't really anything special. An evil magician named Count Bleck plans on taking over the world, and as Mario you'll need to stop him by finding the pieces of the purity heart that'll allow you to do so. In truth, the storyline is actually really crazy, but I'd rather not give too much away. It's actually a really enjoyable story Mario fans will love in the long run. The game is very dialogue heavy but at least its creative. Much of it is very humorous and will have you laughing quite a bit, although a lot of it will get annoying. It isn't that the jokes fall flat so much as it is that some of the dialog is just really annoying at times. The dialog is incredibly heavy, sometimes necessarily. Super Paper Mario is truly something remarkable in terms of its gameplay. It mixes Platforming and RPG elements. There's still a need to level up and Mario has his set of HP but all the way, this is a platformer. It plays very similar to Super Mario Brothers on the NES. However, a slight problem with this kind of gameplay, is that those who were really addicted to side scrolling Mario games and were used to holding down a button to run will be surprised to learn there is no button to run! It's no big deal, but if you're feeling nostalgic (as you probably will playing this game) it's actually something long time Mario fans may have to get used to, especially because Mario doesn't move very fast. Another thing that might get annoying is that after a while... Super Paper Mario isn't consistently fun to play. Some areas will feel long. Not just because of an absurd amount of dialog but because aside from jumping there isn't really a lot of variety in your attacks. What saves the game is that some of the designs of the levels are creative to the point where you aren't relying so much on attacks as you are trying to figure out some of the puzzles to get through the game. During the game you can press the A button and flip the screen from the 2D world to the 3D world any time you want. Most of the time you'll be playing the game in the 2D realm, but there's plenty to be done in 3D too. It's a necessity to getting past some of the games puzzles. If you're ever stuck on puzzle just try flipping. It's also used to get past environmental objects. If a pipe is too tall for Mario to jump over, for example, then you can switch the game to the 3D view and simply walk around it. You can't stay in 3D forever. If you stay in 3D for too long Mario will take damage. Mario isn't alone. He'll be joined by Peach, Luigi and Bowser throughout his travels, and each of them has an ability they can do. Peach can float, Luigi has a high jump and Bowser can spit fire. You can switch between them at any time, and there are moments when you'll actually need a certain character to do things. However, the game relies heavily on the mechanic of going from 2D to 3D and only Mario can actually do this. You'll end up having to switch to Mario a lot. And, as much as I hate to say it, there will be times when switching from 2D to 3D will feel like a gimmick. Throughout your adventures you'll also collect Pixls. Little fairy like creatures that give Mario and company other abilities he can use. For example, early on in the game he meets a pixl that allows him to grab enemies and other objects and throw them. There are plenty of other powers. The wii remote works well with this game. As noted you'll hold it like an NES controller and play the game in basically the same style you played the original Super Mario Brothers. The Wii controls, however, feel tacked on. You can point the remote to search for hidden doors or scan enemies. You can also shake when you jump off an enemy to get more points. The wii remote doesn't have a big impact on the gameplay, though. It feels a lot like they felt they HAD to do something with these controls and so you're left with silly things like shaking the Wii remote to do stunts for points or pointing it at the screen to search for hidden doors. The game loses nothing by omitting these elements. Visually, of course, the game looks like a late generation Gamecube game. However, the games unique style alone warrants its beauty. The 2D landscape is far better looking than the 3D landscape, though. The 2D backgrounds are beautiful, and the background environments really shower a lot of detail. 3D doesn't look as good, though because it's just not as pretty and filled with life. Most of the level designs themselves are also pretty plain. As far as platforming goes, there's nothing too intuitively designed either. The levels also aren't filled to the brim with enemies. There's a lot of jumping, but not a lot of obstacles in your way. The game also sounds really good. There's no voice acting to speak of, really. Which sucks for a game as text heavy as this, but most gamers who've been gaming for well over a decade probably won't care about this, anyway. On the whole, Super Paper Mario is a must own title for the Wii. It's been ingeniously designed; it's full of humor and has been cleverly written. And to top it all off, it's just a lot of fun to play. Pros: +VERY humorous game +Strikingly original gameplay elements +Simple easy gameplay to get a hold of +Good music +Plenty of things to do in the game +Cleverly designed puzzles Cons: -The game is far too easy for experienced gamers -Tacked on Wii Remote controls -Very dialogue heavy