Super Paper Mario

The Paper Mario series by Intelligent Systems is a series of games dating back to the N64, Intelligent Systems took the reins of the Mario RPG series after Square made Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the games have always had colorful characters, interesting locations and worlds and witty writing. Super Paper Mario takes away the turn base format from previous titles for more of a plate former feel and action while still keeping the health and moves. While the new take on the series does feel fresh, the way the abilities and character switching completely wrenches the experience. To have to change from one character who can bomb to one that can hammer just gets annoying after a short time. At times it felt that the game was rushed, and rushed bad. The entire use of the mirror town of Flopside is completely under used and felt like a last second addition. In fact, this game lacks a lot of polish the previous games of the series had. Sure the other ones had a few slow chapters, but this one really gets to you. If you can trudge along then you'll enjoy it, if not then you'll be annoyed out of playing this game.

A Bold, Emotional, and Brilliant Departure From the Formula

Super Paper Mario didn't just break the mold-it flipped the entire paper-thin world on its side. Ditching the classic turn-based RPG style for real-time platforming action was a risk, but what emerged was something unforgettable: a game that delivered humor, heart, and one of the darkest, most meaningful stories ever told in a Mario title.

The Story: Way Deeper Than You'd Expect

At the center of Super Paper Mario is a surprisingly heavy tale about love, loss, and the end of all worlds. Count Bleck isn't just another cartoonish villain-he's tragic, layered, and emotionally compelling. The themes of hopelessness, destiny, and redemption hit harder than you'd ever expect from a Mario game. It's Shakespearean. And it works.

Gameplay: 2D Meets 3D

The gameplay flips-literally. Mario's ability to shift from 2D to 3D is more than a gimmick. It creates puzzles, secrets, and moments of awe as you explore every angle of the world. The real-time combat system keeps the pace brisk and dynamic, and while it's not as deep as earlier RPGs, the change suits the story's urgency.

The Cast: A True Ensemble Mario is his usual heroic self, but with emotional stakes that give him more depth than usual.

Peach, Bowser, and Luigi all get time to shine-and not just as comic relief or side characters. They have real arcs.

The Pixls may have replaced traditional partners, but each one brings charm and unique mechanics.

Count Bleck and Dimentio? Top-tier villains. Dimentio especially steals scenes with his unsettling energy.

Tone: Dark but Beautiful

This is a Mario game where entire dimensions die. Where love can literally end-or save-the world. But it's not just gloom: Super Paper Mario is filled with Nintendo's signature whimsy and humor. It balances laugh-out-loud absurdity with tear-worthy emotion like few games ever have.

Final Verdict - 10 out of 10

Super Paper Mario is not just a great Mario game-it's one of the boldest, most emotional entries in the franchise's entire history. A platformer with the heart of a novel, the soul of an RPG, and the mind of an artist. It dares to ask the big questions-and answers them with heart, humor, and unforgettable characters. Legendary.

This game was an okay game, not quite up to par with the previous paper mario game. The game is still a bit of an rpg, but not so much as Door was. The fighting is basically like the old Mario games with tougher enemies and for the most part it is a side scroller except for Mario's ability to flip to a 3d screen. This reveal items and hidden paths. You also get the ability to use Bowser, Peach and even Luigi. Bowser was my favorite as he was by far the strongest. The story, Peach and Bowser start the game at their wedding and this wild wedding causes a rip in space that will lead to the destruction of all worlds, the evil doer though is not Bowser, but instead a man named Lord Blech. Like the previous installment you are collecting an object, though instead of stars this time it is hearts. You have your basic world, a haunted type house world, a space world and various others. Though my favorite was the one with the nerdy chameleon. The game is fun for the most part, but I prefer the turned based battles to the real time action as it took more strategy, it was really no problem to destroy the final boss here. Also, this one features a main town hub, but unlike Rougeport this one is a bit of a pain to traverse and explore thanks to numerous elevators and such. The flipping part is also a bit of a pain as your always afraid you should flip cause you might miss something. So be prepared for a somewhat fun game that at times is a tad annoying, however it does have a rather good ending.

As much as I enjoyed Super Paper Mario, I just wasn't impressed by any part of it. It's a cute Mario game (as they all are) but I never felt like I was really playing an RPG and the endless dialogue bubbles really slow the game down.

The levels are colorful and bright and look absolutely gorgeous. The music is pleasant enough but the trademark Mario theme barely gets a mention. As for the gameplay, well...it's standard Mario platform stuff with the new addition of flipping to 3D and some unique abilities with the Wii controller. It's nothing to write home about.

For 20 hours I stuck with this game and by the bitter end I felt like I could have used that time to do something better. Honestly nothing in this game impresses and if I didn't have a photographic memory I'd be completely forgetting about it in a week. If that makes any sense.

So...very...very...slow. I don't like video games like this. If I wanted to read a book I'd read one. In the end, it's the endless dialogue that cripples SPM.

Pros:

Very nice graphics. Incredibly cute. Easy to control. Giant Mario from NSMB returns (though it's equally as brief and pointless)

Cons:

Cut-scenes take FOREVER! Way, way, waaaaaaay too much dialogue. Flipside missions are very boring. Gets tedious and repetitive about halfway through.

I grew up with a fair amount of exposure to Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, but I sadly never owned it. I did eventually decide to give the following game in the series a try, however, and Super Paper Mario remains one of my all time favorite games to this day.

Rather than being a traditional Paper Mario game, the addition of the word Super to the title tells you this one plays somewhere in between Super Mario and Paper Mario. The gameplay is a sore spot for fans of the previous entries, but I personally don't mind it. It's not groundbreaking, but it's not bad either. I find the charm of the series to be more heavily based on the stories, characters, music, and dialogue, all things Super Paper Mario excels in.

Yes, unlike most Mario titles, this game has a story. And it's a really good one. It's weird and zany at points, but it has moments of sadness, intensity, and surprise as well. The soundtrack is excellent, and the characters are unique and varied, which is a breath of fresh air in a series that often just reuses the same handful of faces. The dialogue and scenarios are riotously funny, and you never know quite what to expect next. It all adds up for a satisfying package overall, and if you are willing to give the different gameplay style a try, you might find a new favorite here. Highly recommended.