The Mouthpiece (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} the_m0uthpiece) wrote,@ 2008-05-01 14:35:00 |
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| Current music: | Pinball Wizard - Elton John |
| Entry tags: | game reviews, nintendo, wii |
Super Paper Mario
Super Mario Brothers was my first gaming love. I had an old-school Super Nintendo, and my cousins and I would have the great console debate of the time; Sega vs. Nintendo. Whether it was a great debate then or not, we still fought over it. I knew Super Mario Brothers 3 inside out. Cheats, costumes, Easter eggs, the whole nine yards.
I think that’s a lot of the reason that I like Paper Mario so much. Nostalgia. The graphics are candy-cute, a far cry from Next-Gen. The game-play is simple to the point of being difficult. You also get the added bonus of an actual storyline.
I wasn’t too crazy about “Thousand Year Door” for the Gamecube. I got bored and shelved it again about half way through the second dungeon, and have been trying to talk myself into taking another crack at it for almost a year now. Negotiations are not proceeding well. Then, when I got Caboose (my Wii), I found “Super Paper Mario”.
This Paper Mario game is the story of the Pure Hearts. Count Bleck is out to destroy all worlds with the power of the mythic Chaos Heart. In the process of summoning the Chaos Heart, Luigi, Peach and Bowser are all lost to Count Bleck’s minions, and Mario wakes up in the town of Flipside. It’s up to him to travel between worlds, collect the Pure Hearts and save all worlds.
Assisting you in your mission is Tippi, a Pixl butterfly. Throughout the game you can pick up as many as 20 different Pixls, including three hidden, bonus ones. Each one has a special power. Boomer is a reusable bomb, and Thoreau works as a long-distance throw-n-grab, for example.
Pixls are sort of like little fairies that tag along with you throughout the game. They are one of the coolest things about the new Paper Mario game. With a full flock of Pixls at your disposal you are near-prepared for anything the game will throw at you. However, you can NOT use Pixls in tandem. You can only have one Pixl equipped at a time (in addition to Tippi, who doesn’t do much of anything). Once you switch Pixls, the effect of the previous one ends immediately.
The other necessity of preparation is, like in “Thousand Year Door”, rotating playable characters. As you play through the game and rescue them, you will also be able to play as Peach, Bowser and Luigi. While we’re on the subject, Bowser is a phenomenal power-house character. He’s a walking flame-thrower that will deal astronomical damage, along with double-damage jumps. Unfortunately, as well as doing twice the damage, he moves at half the speed of your other character options, and can’t climb ladders. You win some, you lose some.
Another Wii-exclusive feature in Super Paper Mario is Stylish Moves. While you’re out slaying hoards of Goombas or Squigs, double-jump to give yourself some more height, and wiggle the remote to execute some cool moves mid-air. Depending on just how stylish your moves are, you can get up to five times as many points for a single baddie, just by using this feature.
I will be the first to admit, this game loses points for a lack of challenge and quick-play. You could sit down at the beginning of the day with this game and probably beat it by the late afternoon. Fortunately, the game doesn’t end when the storyline does. Flipside and the world’s you’ve explored will still be at your disposal, with a ton of non-storyline quests to do. A great game for fans, for beginning gamers, or for younger gamers. If you’re hardcore, look elsewhere. Then again, if you’re a hardcore gamer, why are you even listening to my advice?
Super Paper Mario – C+
I think that’s a lot of the reason that I like Paper Mario so much. Nostalgia. The graphics are candy-cute, a far cry from Next-Gen. The game-play is simple to the point of being difficult. You also get the added bonus of an actual storyline.
I wasn’t too crazy about “Thousand Year Door” for the Gamecube. I got bored and shelved it again about half way through the second dungeon, and have been trying to talk myself into taking another crack at it for almost a year now. Negotiations are not proceeding well. Then, when I got Caboose (my Wii), I found “Super Paper Mario”.
This Paper Mario game is the story of the Pure Hearts. Count Bleck is out to destroy all worlds with the power of the mythic Chaos Heart. In the process of summoning the Chaos Heart, Luigi, Peach and Bowser are all lost to Count Bleck’s minions, and Mario wakes up in the town of Flipside. It’s up to him to travel between worlds, collect the Pure Hearts and save all worlds.
Assisting you in your mission is Tippi, a Pixl butterfly. Throughout the game you can pick up as many as 20 different Pixls, including three hidden, bonus ones. Each one has a special power. Boomer is a reusable bomb, and Thoreau works as a long-distance throw-n-grab, for example.
Pixls are sort of like little fairies that tag along with you throughout the game. They are one of the coolest things about the new Paper Mario game. With a full flock of Pixls at your disposal you are near-prepared for anything the game will throw at you. However, you can NOT use Pixls in tandem. You can only have one Pixl equipped at a time (in addition to Tippi, who doesn’t do much of anything). Once you switch Pixls, the effect of the previous one ends immediately.
The other necessity of preparation is, like in “Thousand Year Door”, rotating playable characters. As you play through the game and rescue them, you will also be able to play as Peach, Bowser and Luigi. While we’re on the subject, Bowser is a phenomenal power-house character. He’s a walking flame-thrower that will deal astronomical damage, along with double-damage jumps. Unfortunately, as well as doing twice the damage, he moves at half the speed of your other character options, and can’t climb ladders. You win some, you lose some.
Another Wii-exclusive feature in Super Paper Mario is Stylish Moves. While you’re out slaying hoards of Goombas or Squigs, double-jump to give yourself some more height, and wiggle the remote to execute some cool moves mid-air. Depending on just how stylish your moves are, you can get up to five times as many points for a single baddie, just by using this feature.
I will be the first to admit, this game loses points for a lack of challenge and quick-play. You could sit down at the beginning of the day with this game and probably beat it by the late afternoon. Fortunately, the game doesn’t end when the storyline does. Flipside and the world’s you’ve explored will still be at your disposal, with a ton of non-storyline quests to do. A great game for fans, for beginning gamers, or for younger gamers. If you’re hardcore, look elsewhere. Then again, if you’re a hardcore gamer, why are you even listening to my advice?
Super Paper Mario – C+
