Makes you laugh and smile in ways you'll never forget.
Positive: - great RPG elements - excellent graphics and sound - just makes you smile - pretty lengthy adventure - fun to play -
Negative: nothing worth noting
Paper Mario is an amazing game. It was among the last games to come out on the Nintendo 64, and it's almost a shame it didn't get pushed back a bit and put on GameCube so the visuals could have been a bit better. Playing Paper Mario will be one of the most unforgettable gaming experiences you'll ever have. The creative paper world is great, the Mushroom Kingdom is huge, there's a lot to do, and, most importantly, it makes you feel pretty good inside when you play it. It just has that feel of great fun to it, and you'll find yourself smiling more than you usually do than while playing other RPGs.
The story in Paper Mario is pretty good. Bowser is, once again, trying to take over the Mushroom Kingdom. Only this time, he stole the Star Rod from the Star Haven to help him do it. The Star Rod can grant him anything he wants. The game begins with Mario going to the castle (as usual) but this time, Bowser lifts the castle up into space with HIS castle, which was right under Peach's! Bowser then fights Mario and knocks him silly with some help from the Star Rod, and Mario, after recovering from his huge fall from outer space, begins his adventure to get Peach and the castle back on the ground, restore order to the Mushroom Kingdom, and, most importantly, defeat Bowser. He discovers, however, that he must find the seven Star Spirits, which Bowser has hidden throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, to restore their power, thereby utilizing the only weapon that can damage an invincible Bowser. Mario's adventure takes him to many places never before seen in previous Mario games, such as Shy Guy's Toybox and Tubba Blubba's Castle. He gains the help of many sidekicks along the way who help him in battle, many of which are great, memorable characters, such as Bow (a Boo) who slaps enemies and the overly-intelligent Mario fanatic Goombario (a Goomba).
Paper Mario is an RPG, and one of the best RPGs ever made. The combat system is great. You and your sidekick get a chance to attack and then the enemies attack, and so on. Mario attacks with a jump or his hammer, both of which upgrade throughout the game, and your sidekicks attack with whatever moves they use. Special moves are used with Flower Points (FP), and these special moves are very useful. The use of badges can do many things to aid Mario in battle, such as boost his attack power or HP or make enemies miss sometimes. Every time you level up, you get to choose whether to boost Mario's HP, FP, or BP (badge points, these allow Mario to wear more badges), allowing for character customization that you can use to fit your taste. The Mushroom Kingdom is bigger than it had ever been before with great new areas to explore and lots of extra stuff to do. The game is divided into chapters, each of which include a 'dungeon' and a boss battle, and at the end of each chapter, you free another Star Spirit whose power becomes available to use. The Star Spirits do a variety of things, such as attack enemies, recover your HP or FP, or put enemies to sleep. Each ability used uses up a certain amount of star power, which increases every time you find another Star Spirit.
Paper Mario is pretty good from a technical standpoint as well. The graphics are great for the N64 and the world made of paper is great, although the papery qualities of everything aren't really taken advantage of like in Thousand-Year Door. Since it was one of the last games for N64, it definitely wouldn't have hurt to push this back and put it on GameCube for better visuals and stuff. The sound is also great and the different sound effects for everything from jumping to hitting something with your hammer are very nice. The music is awesome as well and all the tracks fit the setting perfectly, only making you more immersed into the game's beautiful world.
If you haven't played Paper Mario before, you're missing out on something really great. Playing this game brought many smiles to my face due to the great dialogue (including good humor) and just everything else about the game. If you're looking for a game that's fun and makes you feel good inside, then get Paper Mario! And now that it's available on Wii's Virtual Console for only $10, it's even easier to get and all the more worthwhile! This is definitely one of the best games I've ever played.
Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 10
Sound: 10
Value: 10
Negative: nothing worth noting
Paper Mario is an amazing game. It was among the last games to come out on the Nintendo 64, and it's almost a shame it didn't get pushed back a bit and put on GameCube so the visuals could have been a bit better. Playing Paper Mario will be one of the most unforgettable gaming experiences you'll ever have. The creative paper world is great, the Mushroom Kingdom is huge, there's a lot to do, and, most importantly, it makes you feel pretty good inside when you play it. It just has that feel of great fun to it, and you'll find yourself smiling more than you usually do than while playing other RPGs.
The story in Paper Mario is pretty good. Bowser is, once again, trying to take over the Mushroom Kingdom. Only this time, he stole the Star Rod from the Star Haven to help him do it. The Star Rod can grant him anything he wants. The game begins with Mario going to the castle (as usual) but this time, Bowser lifts the castle up into space with HIS castle, which was right under Peach's! Bowser then fights Mario and knocks him silly with some help from the Star Rod, and Mario, after recovering from his huge fall from outer space, begins his adventure to get Peach and the castle back on the ground, restore order to the Mushroom Kingdom, and, most importantly, defeat Bowser. He discovers, however, that he must find the seven Star Spirits, which Bowser has hidden throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, to restore their power, thereby utilizing the only weapon that can damage an invincible Bowser. Mario's adventure takes him to many places never before seen in previous Mario games, such as Shy Guy's Toybox and Tubba Blubba's Castle. He gains the help of many sidekicks along the way who help him in battle, many of which are great, memorable characters, such as Bow (a Boo) who slaps enemies and the overly-intelligent Mario fanatic Goombario (a Goomba).
Paper Mario is an RPG, and one of the best RPGs ever made. The combat system is great. You and your sidekick get a chance to attack and then the enemies attack, and so on. Mario attacks with a jump or his hammer, both of which upgrade throughout the game, and your sidekicks attack with whatever moves they use. Special moves are used with Flower Points (FP), and these special moves are very useful. The use of badges can do many things to aid Mario in battle, such as boost his attack power or HP or make enemies miss sometimes. Every time you level up, you get to choose whether to boost Mario's HP, FP, or BP (badge points, these allow Mario to wear more badges), allowing for character customization that you can use to fit your taste. The Mushroom Kingdom is bigger than it had ever been before with great new areas to explore and lots of extra stuff to do. The game is divided into chapters, each of which include a 'dungeon' and a boss battle, and at the end of each chapter, you free another Star Spirit whose power becomes available to use. The Star Spirits do a variety of things, such as attack enemies, recover your HP or FP, or put enemies to sleep. Each ability used uses up a certain amount of star power, which increases every time you find another Star Spirit.
Paper Mario is pretty good from a technical standpoint as well. The graphics are great for the N64 and the world made of paper is great, although the papery qualities of everything aren't really taken advantage of like in Thousand-Year Door. Since it was one of the last games for N64, it definitely wouldn't have hurt to push this back and put it on GameCube for better visuals and stuff. The sound is also great and the different sound effects for everything from jumping to hitting something with your hammer are very nice. The music is awesome as well and all the tracks fit the setting perfectly, only making you more immersed into the game's beautiful world.
If you haven't played Paper Mario before, you're missing out on something really great. Playing this game brought many smiles to my face due to the great dialogue (including good humor) and just everything else about the game. If you're looking for a game that's fun and makes you feel good inside, then get Paper Mario! And now that it's available on Wii's Virtual Console for only $10, it's even easier to get and all the more worthwhile! This is definitely one of the best games I've ever played.
Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 10
Sound: 10
Value: 10
