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This thread has been linked to the game 'Super Paper Mario'.
You could argue till your blue in the face as to whether Nintendo is as effective at releasing its titles in Europe as it is in America or Japan. While some products like Mario Strikers Charged Football, Wii Play and the Wii itself have either beaten countries outside the EU or come very close to their release there are those games that have taken longer than appreciated to make it here like Trauma Centre Second Opinion and now Super Paper Mario. Originally released in the US in April it has taken five months for us to get our hands on it which doesn’t help the whole “Nintendo doesn’t care about Europe” opinions. But enough complaining, has the game been worth the wait?
The story for this Mario adventure is certainly odd to say the least. The red plumber his brother are lounging around their house when Toad drops by to tell you Peach has been kidnapped. Immediately assuming Bowser is behind this (who else could it be?!) the two spring into action and head to his castle. Upon arriving and learning it was in fact an evil fellow called Count Bleck everyone bar Mario is sucked into a vortex and upon regaining consciousness you meet a friendly pixel and it is here where you’re adventure begins. It may seem fairly standard but later throw in a marriage between Peach and Bowser, another love story and the quest for eight pure hearts and you have a pretty random and entertaining tale.
While the plot is entertaining the way it’s delivered can be where the game suffers. With so much text to read and get through, at points it can become a little tedious especially when some of it has no real impact on the storyline. Furthermore the characters themselves seem unimpressive and dull compared to ones found in Paper Mario and Thousand Year Old Door.
Super Paper Mario is difficult to place in a particular genre as it is part platformer and part RPG. While it definitely leans more toward being a platforming title the minor RPG elements keep it fresh and give Mario games a nice new twist. Travelling through a range of locations over the games thirty two chapters you usually run and jump your way from point A to point B stomping enemies along the way. Just when you think there isn’t anything left to offer Nintendo throws something new and exciting to the mix like low gravity planets and being able to walk on walls and ceilings. Of course all this is great in 2D but its Mario’s ability to flip the perspective into 3D that is something truly inspiring.
At the press of the “A” button the screen rotates 90 degrees and you can now navigate in the third dimension discovering holes or secret areas that were not once viewable from a 2D perspective. It’s a great and interesting way to pull off some fun puzzles requiring you to think as well as rely on your manoeuvring abilities. One great example is coming across four blocks. Hit them randomly in 2D and nothing happens, yet turn the view to 3D and you’ll see each block is numbered one through four showing the order in which they need to be hit.
Holding the remote on its side like a NES control you move with the D-pad and jump with the “2” button. Along the way Mario discovers new pixels that provide him with new abilities such as using bombs, a hammer and becoming tiny which are all controlled with the “1” button. It’s a fairly simple game with simple controls making it easy to pick up for most players. However it is a little too simple. Due to the lack of buttons on the remote you will need to constantly navigate menus to either change characters, pixels or use items which isn’t a big problem but just annoying to do over and over again.
While playing as Mario is great fun especially with the 2D to 3D flipping ability, along the way you will come across Peach, Bowser and Luigi each of which bring something new to the table. Peach for example can float with her umbrella, Boswer breath fire and Luigi jump really really high. While it is nice to have some variety to who you control, you never really need them as much as Mario and his flipping ability, becoming no more than extras rather than main roles.
The game is fairly linear with a main hub area in which you access the eight main levels from. You are usually told where to go so there’s not much random exploring to be done. Each level is a chapter of Super Paper Mario’s story split into four parts and these are where you will come across the games main battles and platforming. As I mentioned before this is very like the old Mario games where a simple run and jump is all you need to complete the levels. However certain RPG elements are thrown in to spice things up. For example your points tally will cause you to “level up” when a certain score is reached increasing health and power. You can use items and chat to residents for advice similar to that of an RPG too. But while the game starts off on a high note there are points where it tends to dip especially midway. Shooting enemies in space and the low gravity areas on planets are just too uneventful to be fun making for a pretty disappointing forth chapter that should have been great in such a marvellous environment.
You will find very little in the way of Wii remote use but it doesn’t really matter when the idea of the game is to remain true to the older Mario titles. When using items you may need to shake the remote, tilt it or simply point at the screen. They feel tacked on at last minute but do bear in mind this was originally a Gamecube title.
Super Paper Mario is littered with bright and colourful looking worlds to explore. From grassy banks and sandy deserts to dank castles and futuristic space stations. Everything is bold and there is a certain style to it that differentiates it from the competition. But there are a few hiccups. Characters look fairly basic and consist of simple lines more than anything. At points it can look very unimaginative especially during the switch to 3D where suddenly everything that appeared bright and beautiful looks very barren and deserted. The overall style is nice but with some boring 3D design at points and some awful looking characters you’ll think it could have been much more.
The game is pretty lengthy at around fifteen hours once through. After that there is the option to collect all the character and recipe cards and also battle your way through one hundred levels of baddie bashing which is no cakewalk. As far as side quests go there aren’t really any which is a shame as once you’ve finished the game there’s little to keep you coming back.
Super Paper Mario is great fun but not the ground-breaking adventure we were all expecting. With some pretty boring areas, unimaginative characters and very very large amounts of tedious dialogue it simply weighs the title down preventing it from reaching classic status. However it still shines with that Mario magic we’ve all come to expect. It just needs a little shimmy before you see it.
82%
The story for this Mario adventure is certainly odd to say the least. The red plumber his brother are lounging around their house when Toad drops by to tell you Peach has been kidnapped. Immediately assuming Bowser is behind this (who else could it be?!) the two spring into action and head to his castle. Upon arriving and learning it was in fact an evil fellow called Count Bleck everyone bar Mario is sucked into a vortex and upon regaining consciousness you meet a friendly pixel and it is here where you’re adventure begins. It may seem fairly standard but later throw in a marriage between Peach and Bowser, another love story and the quest for eight pure hearts and you have a pretty random and entertaining tale.
While the plot is entertaining the way it’s delivered can be where the game suffers. With so much text to read and get through, at points it can become a little tedious especially when some of it has no real impact on the storyline. Furthermore the characters themselves seem unimpressive and dull compared to ones found in Paper Mario and Thousand Year Old Door.
Super Paper Mario is difficult to place in a particular genre as it is part platformer and part RPG. While it definitely leans more toward being a platforming title the minor RPG elements keep it fresh and give Mario games a nice new twist. Travelling through a range of locations over the games thirty two chapters you usually run and jump your way from point A to point B stomping enemies along the way. Just when you think there isn’t anything left to offer Nintendo throws something new and exciting to the mix like low gravity planets and being able to walk on walls and ceilings. Of course all this is great in 2D but its Mario’s ability to flip the perspective into 3D that is something truly inspiring.
At the press of the “A” button the screen rotates 90 degrees and you can now navigate in the third dimension discovering holes or secret areas that were not once viewable from a 2D perspective. It’s a great and interesting way to pull off some fun puzzles requiring you to think as well as rely on your manoeuvring abilities. One great example is coming across four blocks. Hit them randomly in 2D and nothing happens, yet turn the view to 3D and you’ll see each block is numbered one through four showing the order in which they need to be hit.
Holding the remote on its side like a NES control you move with the D-pad and jump with the “2” button. Along the way Mario discovers new pixels that provide him with new abilities such as using bombs, a hammer and becoming tiny which are all controlled with the “1” button. It’s a fairly simple game with simple controls making it easy to pick up for most players. However it is a little too simple. Due to the lack of buttons on the remote you will need to constantly navigate menus to either change characters, pixels or use items which isn’t a big problem but just annoying to do over and over again.
While playing as Mario is great fun especially with the 2D to 3D flipping ability, along the way you will come across Peach, Bowser and Luigi each of which bring something new to the table. Peach for example can float with her umbrella, Boswer breath fire and Luigi jump really really high. While it is nice to have some variety to who you control, you never really need them as much as Mario and his flipping ability, becoming no more than extras rather than main roles.
The game is fairly linear with a main hub area in which you access the eight main levels from. You are usually told where to go so there’s not much random exploring to be done. Each level is a chapter of Super Paper Mario’s story split into four parts and these are where you will come across the games main battles and platforming. As I mentioned before this is very like the old Mario games where a simple run and jump is all you need to complete the levels. However certain RPG elements are thrown in to spice things up. For example your points tally will cause you to “level up” when a certain score is reached increasing health and power. You can use items and chat to residents for advice similar to that of an RPG too. But while the game starts off on a high note there are points where it tends to dip especially midway. Shooting enemies in space and the low gravity areas on planets are just too uneventful to be fun making for a pretty disappointing forth chapter that should have been great in such a marvellous environment.
You will find very little in the way of Wii remote use but it doesn’t really matter when the idea of the game is to remain true to the older Mario titles. When using items you may need to shake the remote, tilt it or simply point at the screen. They feel tacked on at last minute but do bear in mind this was originally a Gamecube title.
Super Paper Mario is littered with bright and colourful looking worlds to explore. From grassy banks and sandy deserts to dank castles and futuristic space stations. Everything is bold and there is a certain style to it that differentiates it from the competition. But there are a few hiccups. Characters look fairly basic and consist of simple lines more than anything. At points it can look very unimaginative especially during the switch to 3D where suddenly everything that appeared bright and beautiful looks very barren and deserted. The overall style is nice but with some boring 3D design at points and some awful looking characters you’ll think it could have been much more.
The game is pretty lengthy at around fifteen hours once through. After that there is the option to collect all the character and recipe cards and also battle your way through one hundred levels of baddie bashing which is no cakewalk. As far as side quests go there aren’t really any which is a shame as once you’ve finished the game there’s little to keep you coming back.
Super Paper Mario is great fun but not the ground-breaking adventure we were all expecting. With some pretty boring areas, unimaginative characters and very very large amounts of tedious dialogue it simply weighs the title down preventing it from reaching classic status. However it still shines with that Mario magic we’ve all come to expect. It just needs a little shimmy before you see it.
82%
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You could argue till your blue in the face as to whether Nintendo is as effective at releasing its titles in Europe as it is in America or Japan. While some products like Mario Strikers Charged Football, Wii Play and the Wii itself have either beaten countries outside the EU or come very close to their release there are those games that have taken longer than appreciated to make it here like Trauma Centre Second Opinion and now Super Paper Mario. Originally released in the US in April it has taken five months for us to get our hands on it which doesn’t help the whole “Nintendo doesn’t care about Europe” opinions. But enough complaining, has the game been worth the wait?
The story for this Mario adventure is certainly odd to say the least. The red plumber his brother are lounging around their house when Toad drops by to tell you Peach has been kidnapped. Immediately assuming Bowser is behind this (who else could it be?!) the two spring into action and head to his castle. Upon arriving and learning it was in fact an evil fellow called Count Bleck everyone bar Mario is sucked into a vortex and upon regaining consciousness you meet a friendly pixel and it is here where you’re adventure begins. It may seem fairly standard but later throw in a marriage between Peach and Bowser, another love story and the quest for eight pure hearts and you have a pretty random and entertaining tale.
While the plot is entertaining the way it’s delivered can be where the game suffers. With so much text to read and get through, at points it can become a little tedious especially when some of it has no real impact on the storyline. Furthermore the characters themselves seem unimpressive and dull compared to ones found in Paper Mario and Thousand Year Old Door.
Super Paper Mario is difficult to place in a particular genre as it is part platformer and part RPG. While it definitely leans more toward being a platforming title the minor RPG elements keep it fresh and give Mario games a nice new twist. Travelling through a range of locations over the games thirty two chapters you usually run and jump your way from point A to point B stomping enemies along the way. Just when you think there isn’t anything left to offer Nintendo throws something new and exciting to the mix like low gravity planets and being able to walk on walls and ceilings. Of course all this is great in 2D but its Mario’s ability to flip the perspective into 3D that is something truly inspiring.
At the press of the “A” button the screen rotates 90 degrees and you can now navigate in the third dimension discovering holes or secret areas that were not once viewable from a 2D perspective. It’s a great and interesting way to pull off some fun puzzles requiring you to think as well as rely on your manoeuvring abilities. One great example is coming across four blocks. Hit them randomly in 2D and nothing happens, yet turn the view to 3D and you’ll see each block is numbered one through four showing the order in which they need to be hit.
Holding the remote on its side like a NES control you move with the D-pad and jump with the “2” button. Along the way Mario discovers new pixels that provide him with new abilities such as using bombs, a hammer and becoming tiny which are all controlled with the “1” button. It’s a fairly simple game with simple controls making it easy to pick up for most players. However it is a little too simple. Due to the lack of buttons on the remote you will need to constantly navigate menus to either change characters, pixels or use items which isn’t a big problem but just annoying to do over and over again.
While playing as Mario is great fun especially with the 2D to 3D flipping ability, along the way you will come across Peach, Bowser and Luigi each of which bring something new to the table. Peach for example can float with her umbrella, Boswer breath fire and Luigi jump really really high. While it is nice to have some variety to who you control, you never really need them as much as Mario and his flipping ability, becoming no more than extras rather than main roles.
The game is fairly linear with a main hub area in which you access the eight main levels from. You are usually told where to go so there’s not much random exploring to be done. Each level is a chapter of Super Paper Mario’s story split into four parts and these are where you will come across the games main battles and platforming. As I mentioned before this is very like the old Mario games where a simple run and jump is all you need to complete the levels. However certain RPG elements are thrown in to spice things up. For example your points tally will cause you to “level up” when a certain score is reached increasing health and power. You can use items and chat to residents for advice similar to that of an RPG too. But while the game starts off on a high note there are points where it tends to dip especially midway. Shooting enemies in space and the low gravity areas on planets are just too uneventful to be fun making for a pretty disappointing forth chapter that should have been great in such a marvellous environment.
You will find very little in the way of Wii remote use but it doesn’t really matter when the idea of the game is to remain true to the older Mario titles. When using items you may need to shake the remote, tilt it or simply point at the screen. They feel tacked on at last minute but do bear in mind this was originally a Gamecube title.
Super Paper Mario is littered with bright and colourful looking worlds to explore. From grassy banks and sandy deserts to dank castles and futuristic space stations. Everything is bold and there is a certain style to it that differentiates it from the competition. But there are a few hiccups. Characters look fairly basic and consist of simple lines more than anything. At points it can look very unimaginative especially during the switch to 3D where suddenly everything that appeared bright and beautiful looks very barren and deserted. The overall style is nice but with some boring 3D design at points and some awful looking characters you’ll think it could have been much more.
The game is pretty lengthy at around fifteen hours once through. After that there is the option to collect all the character and recipe cards and also battle your way through one hundred levels of baddie bashing which is no cakewalk. As far as side quests go there aren’t really any which is a shame as once you’ve finished the game there’s little to keep you coming back.
Super Paper Mario is great fun but not the ground-breaking adventure we were all expecting. With some pretty boring areas, unimaginative characters and very very large amounts of tedious dialogue it simply weighs the title down preventing it from reaching classic status. However it still shines with that Mario magic we’ve all come to expect. It just needs a little shimmy before you see it.
82%
The story for this Mario adventure is certainly odd to say the least. The red plumber his brother are lounging around their house when Toad drops by to tell you Peach has been kidnapped. Immediately assuming Bowser is behind this (who else could it be?!) the two spring into action and head to his castle. Upon arriving and learning it was in fact an evil fellow called Count Bleck everyone bar Mario is sucked into a vortex and upon regaining consciousness you meet a friendly pixel and it is here where you’re adventure begins. It may seem fairly standard but later throw in a marriage between Peach and Bowser, another love story and the quest for eight pure hearts and you have a pretty random and entertaining tale.
While the plot is entertaining the way it’s delivered can be where the game suffers. With so much text to read and get through, at points it can become a little tedious especially when some of it has no real impact on the storyline. Furthermore the characters themselves seem unimpressive and dull compared to ones found in Paper Mario and Thousand Year Old Door.
Super Paper Mario is difficult to place in a particular genre as it is part platformer and part RPG. While it definitely leans more toward being a platforming title the minor RPG elements keep it fresh and give Mario games a nice new twist. Travelling through a range of locations over the games thirty two chapters you usually run and jump your way from point A to point B stomping enemies along the way. Just when you think there isn’t anything left to offer Nintendo throws something new and exciting to the mix like low gravity planets and being able to walk on walls and ceilings. Of course all this is great in 2D but its Mario’s ability to flip the perspective into 3D that is something truly inspiring.
At the press of the “A” button the screen rotates 90 degrees and you can now navigate in the third dimension discovering holes or secret areas that were not once viewable from a 2D perspective. It’s a great and interesting way to pull off some fun puzzles requiring you to think as well as rely on your manoeuvring abilities. One great example is coming across four blocks. Hit them randomly in 2D and nothing happens, yet turn the view to 3D and you’ll see each block is numbered one through four showing the order in which they need to be hit.
Holding the remote on its side like a NES control you move with the D-pad and jump with the “2” button. Along the way Mario discovers new pixels that provide him with new abilities such as using bombs, a hammer and becoming tiny which are all controlled with the “1” button. It’s a fairly simple game with simple controls making it easy to pick up for most players. However it is a little too simple. Due to the lack of buttons on the remote you will need to constantly navigate menus to either change characters, pixels or use items which isn’t a big problem but just annoying to do over and over again.
While playing as Mario is great fun especially with the 2D to 3D flipping ability, along the way you will come across Peach, Bowser and Luigi each of which bring something new to the table. Peach for example can float with her umbrella, Boswer breath fire and Luigi jump really really high. While it is nice to have some variety to who you control, you never really need them as much as Mario and his flipping ability, becoming no more than extras rather than main roles.
The game is fairly linear with a main hub area in which you access the eight main levels from. You are usually told where to go so there’s not much random exploring to be done. Each level is a chapter of Super Paper Mario’s story split into four parts and these are where you will come across the games main battles and platforming. As I mentioned before this is very like the old Mario games where a simple run and jump is all you need to complete the levels. However certain RPG elements are thrown in to spice things up. For example your points tally will cause you to “level up” when a certain score is reached increasing health and power. You can use items and chat to residents for advice similar to that of an RPG too. But while the game starts off on a high note there are points where it tends to dip especially midway. Shooting enemies in space and the low gravity areas on planets are just too uneventful to be fun making for a pretty disappointing forth chapter that should have been great in such a marvellous environment.
You will find very little in the way of Wii remote use but it doesn’t really matter when the idea of the game is to remain true to the older Mario titles. When using items you may need to shake the remote, tilt it or simply point at the screen. They feel tacked on at last minute but do bear in mind this was originally a Gamecube title.
Super Paper Mario is littered with bright and colourful looking worlds to explore. From grassy banks and sandy deserts to dank castles and futuristic space stations. Everything is bold and there is a certain style to it that differentiates it from the competition. But there are a few hiccups. Characters look fairly basic and consist of simple lines more than anything. At points it can look very unimaginative especially during the switch to 3D where suddenly everything that appeared bright and beautiful looks very barren and deserted. The overall style is nice but with some boring 3D design at points and some awful looking characters you’ll think it could have been much more.
The game is pretty lengthy at around fifteen hours once through. After that there is the option to collect all the character and recipe cards and also battle your way through one hundred levels of baddie bashing which is no cakewalk. As far as side quests go there aren’t really any which is a shame as once you’ve finished the game there’s little to keep you coming back.
Super Paper Mario is great fun but not the ground-breaking adventure we were all expecting. With some pretty boring areas, unimaginative characters and very very large amounts of tedious dialogue it simply weighs the title down preventing it from reaching classic status. However it still shines with that Mario magic we’ve all come to expect. It just needs a little shimmy before you see it.
82%