Quick Look: Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Go, New Dan!

Dream Team wasn't a bad game, but it sure did drag a lot. Super excited to see this game and glad to hear its much better than AlphaDream's previous effort. Shout out to Bowser's inside story - one of the best JRPG'S of the past 10 years

Rather enjoyed the first Mario & Luigi game, as well as Paper Mario and the Wii one. This looks like it could be a good jam

Do the paper jam!

Well these mini games have killed my desire to purchase this game completely

@joemotycki: To me, it is the worst of the Mario & Luigi series due to the fact it should have been about 10-15 hours shorter and would have been great but it just did drag trying to find the last pieces of the Ulitbed and the final dungeon. I know Partners in Time gets a lot of flak but it didn't outstay its welcome like Dream Team did.

Currently still playing this and probably about two-thirds to three-quarters of the way through it and I am enjoying it but still not as good as the series highlight ie Bowser's Inside Story.

What if Bowser's Inside Story was just some kind of fluke? I remember BIS being absolutely spot-on: the pacing was good; it was gimmicky, but not over the top; and there was some genuinely hilarious moments.

I saw him miss the toad the first time through that area and this quick look broke me physically and emotionally; shook me to my core.

This game seems alright, I think I am about half way through bowsers inside story, so if anything it has reminded me I really need to finish that game.

Can't stand brad coming into this with his mind made up being grumpy the entire time. :/

This may be my first 2016 game purchase

C'mon and slam, and play some Paper Jam.

I feel like Dan has given this game disservice by showing the Toad quests first - they are not a big part of the game, and are a nice change of pace from the usual Mario & Luigi gameplay.

This game has a few neat gameplay segments where it deviates, and is a wonderful experience from start to end.

I've clicked the video despite have nooooo interest in any of this.

Way to spend the first half of the video showing off mini-games instead of the core gameplay. I understand those segments are unavoidable story segments, but that would be like doing a QL of FF7 and starting at the snowboarding section. Didn't help having Brad doing his grumpy/doubting voice, and "hmm"-ing repeatedly.

Straight up. Those Toad segments all looked like the worst kind of game bullshit.

I think you could save anywhere in Dream Team as well.

Which I remember to be incredibly short and not really influencing the main game, so I don't understand why GiantBomb constantly bitches about that. I never thought I would see myself defending FF7, but yeah, bringing up the snowboarding just makes people sound foolish.

I didn't realize this was a crossover between the two RPGS. I enjoyed the first paper mario and the first mario and luigi, but an RPG with two playable characters does not appeal to me, or most of the audience that wants an RPG like the original Super Mario: RPG.

100% with you guys on Skyward Sword. I think it's secretly one of the best Zelda games, but it's buried behind literally 15-20 hours of completely insane handholding. And even then, it only gets relatively better. It never stops treating you like a 5 year old.

Wind Waker and Twilight Princess HD remakes are all well and good, but I think Skyward Sword is the game that really deserves some work and a rerelease. There's a killer Zelda game in there, behind a whole ton of garbage.

Is that true? Because he states that they are a large part of the game. To be fair, they don't look that bad to me. Dan failed that first one a few times like I probably would have, it only cost him a couple of minutes. Although I could see them getting tedious throughout a 20+ hour game depending on frequency.

Seams like the worst game ever!

Nintendo at it's innovative finest. You can save at any time and you can speed up dialogue. Wooooo!

Dan was hyping up that papercraft thing so much I thought I'd sit through the rest of the dull stuff. If that's the best thing about the game...jeez what a stinker!

GB either needs an N3DS with capture kit or the Amiibo puck accessory for the regular 3DS.

I'm still playing Dream Team, edging through that game for what feels like an eternity, god i hate that game but i swore i'd finish it... it's totally not worth the pain and suffering i endure.

I agree with Dan's decision to show something that annoys him first. GiantBomb's job isn't to give games free advertising. They're game critics.

This one looks pretty good (though that Paper Toad stuff does look like it goes on way too long), I might pick it up even though I skipped over Dream Team (maybe I'll even go back and get that one day). I think the original Mario & Luigi game is still my favorite, though that might in large part be due to it being the first one.

Partners in Time is the only one I actively disliked; far more of the jokes missed than hit with me and all of the battles dragged because everything had way too much health (especially the final fight, I think it literally took me somewhere around like 45 minutes).

After Dream Team I was scared about this... but the Mario and Luigi Rule holds true... the Odd Numbered Mario and Luigi games are better than the Even ones

@chara123: don't get that impression at all but ok

I'm glad this doesn't seem awful, which is the main thing I was worried about. TTYD is my favorite game of all time, and poor Paper Mario just hasn't been the same since SPM. If the review is 4-stars, I think I'll pick this up when the price drops a bit. I don't think I'd mind the Paper Toad meandering too much, so it's not a deal breaker for me.

@agoodbutthaver: Yo me too. Although I can't say I got that upset about it. I'm always sort of hoping for another "pick up the purse" moment

I really enjoyed the original Paper Mario and Thousand Year Door. I played the first Mario and Luigi RPG, which I think was Superstar Saga, and I was just completely turned off by the whole thing. I didn't like the pre-rendered 3D sprites, I didn't like the loss of the papercraft aesthetic, I didn't like how your only party members were Mario and Luigi, and I didn't like how they moved away from traditional Mario elements in order to introduce less interesting new settings and characters.

People do seem to like those games, though. Maybe I should give them another chance?

This looks pretty good.

I think all of the Mario & Luigi RPGs are overall enjoyable, but the developers keep adding minigames and fluff that dilute the most enjoyable parts of the games. I'm disappointed to hear that the Toad minigames previewed here might be a significant part of the game, but as soon as Dan started paying attention and strategizing, the minigames looked enjoyable. I like minigames to break up the regular combat, but not so much that they become a burden rather than a break.

Holding 'R' to speed up dialog seems new and definitely appreciated. I don't remember that being in Dream Team.

@moregrammarplz: Mario and Luigi is a great series but if you're only going to play one play Bowser's Inside Story

I still can't get past the fact that they made the team attacks consumables #superstarsaga4lyf

I thought this looked lame as shit until Mecha Peach showed up. Still though, ain't no Super Mario RPG. Pass.

Yep, just one of those QL not-paying-attention things :(

Yep, I don't expect or want the guys to like every game, but to at least approach things with an open mind.

Totally. These segments should have been included, but leading with them and having them take up such a disproportionate amount of the video sucks.

"Please be done. Please be done."

"Oh my god."

this is what you get for your amiibo collection dan

this is your karma

But they do show the actual gameplay. Dan decided to show some of the worst stuff in the game first to help people manage their expectations.

I've been going back to sticker star now and then for like the past 3 years and it is tedious, unoriginal, and does not have the same amount of character of the earlier paper mario games, I've put like 20 hours into it and still just get stuck at random points because it hides its stuff so weirdly. On the other hand, I started played Thousand Year Door about a week ago and I absolutely love it, the combat is smoother and more interesting than sticker star, the writing is amazing, and it doesn't have the same sort of tedium sticker star does. It's a shame they just abandoned that format.

edit: I'm glad mariachi shy guy is in there though he's the best part of sticker star.

@lurkero: 2 or 3 scattered throughout the game seem fair enough, but there seem to be so many that it becomes tedious.

Also I will never understand how people can say Super Mario RPG's still the best, it had cool ideas at the time but it doesn't really hold up

I just got home with my copy, and I'm not going to watch this until I've played it, but Dream Team was my first Mario & Luigi game and I absolutely loved it. It is very long, and the story is very silly, but the game frequently made me laugh out loud. I love all the variety in the battle system too, and I knew Paper Jam would be a day one purchase for me based on that. Can't wait to dive in!

Borrowed the first M&L on GBA from a friend back in the day and loved it unexpectedly (I had no idea what it was going to be going in). Partners in Time was the second DS game I purchased (first being Mario Kart in the bundle I got) and absolutely adored that game. I haven't played a M&L since, though. This one... looks not great. The core gameplay seems fine. The new special attacks seem pretty cool. But those Paper Toad minigames looked like a frustrating chore, and that papercraft battle... absolutely nothing about it looked appealing to me. Rhythm game to charge up your attacks, and you have to go back and do it multiple times before you finish the level? My god. I wish they'd just not bother with tacking on features and keep making stories around the core mechanics. Doesn't help that I have never played a Paper Mario game, so I have no attachment to that half. It sounds like I need to try Bowser's Inside Story.

I saw Dan miss that one Toad in the drilling game and man oh man that was not a fun bit to watch.

Also, that press R to speed through dialogue is crazy. That looks like it's straight out of an emulator.

Loved the first one and Inside Story, but the paper toad stuff looks terrible.

I had to look it up to be sure, and just as I thought, Yoko Shimomura did the soundtrack of this game. Some of the tracks feel like they came straight from kingdom hearts 1 and super mario rpg.

Having thoroughly enjoyed all the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi games, this is a definite buy for me.

New, Dan Rocks! New, Dan Rocks!

Dammnit I still need to play my copy of Bowser Inside Story!

Those Toad collecting sections that Dan hates so much seem a hell of a lot like Mario Party mini games if you ask me.

i wanted to like this game.... but seeing the Toad both Dan and Brad missed made me face palm.

I can't really get into the Mario RPG games mostly thanks to SE's Super Mario RPG back in the day setting that bar so high.