Review: Paper Mario (Mario Story) - 02/05/2008 by Andrew
RPG
Released in Japan on the 11th of August 2000 Paper Mario was a success for Nintendo even though it was released at the end of the N64's shelf life and having to compete against much newer Playstation 2 games. Paper Mario was a spiritual sequel to Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, which is also regarded as a fantastic game and if my memory serves me correctly, a game that never made it to Australia. Fingers crossed that a Wii Virtual Console edition comes out sometime soon.
Speaking of the Virtual Console, this is exactly how I first played Paper Mario. I knew that Super Paper Mario was going to be released on the Wii so I thought I would give the original a spin. Now for all you Mario platform and karting fans, this is a true RPG. There are puzzles, hit points, flower points (think Mana or Magic), items, quests, sub quests and dialog. Lots of dialog. Don't fall into the trap of thinking this will be a hack 'n slash RPG where the way to the end is repetition. You really do need to pay attention to the story line to have any idea what's going on. If you're a Mario fan but not a fan of RPG, then this title might not be your thing.
You should finish Paper Mario after putting in about 24 hours of play time. I'm sure you could stretch that out to 40 hours if you wanted to master every nook and cranny of the game, though I did get a bit sick of finding and delivering letters (one of the sub quests). The story line is an interesting tale, and I'll write the abridged version here: Party at Peach's Palace. Peach captured by Bowser who is using the stolen Star Rod, stolen off the Star Spirits. Star Spirits (and other characters) help Mario kick arse during over a long period with lengthy dialog between Mario and anything that moves. Mario beats Bowser using Star Power. Mario rescues Peach. Queue 70's porn music and roll credits.
Every Mario character imaginable makes an appearance (some in numerous forms) and the quests interesting and challenging. You definitely get the feeling that a lot of effort went into making this game. The levels are well designed and the turn based fight system is brilliant and simple to use, though requires tactics and skill to truly master.
This is not a game that you'll play much after you've completed gaining all the stars and rescuing Peach, unless you're a sucker for dialog, though it is a very enjoyable game the first time through.
One of the best N64 games ever made and well worth 1000 Wii Virtual Console points.
90/100