Super Paper Mario

Super Paper Mario
Developer(s)	Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Ryota Kawade
Producer(s)	Ryouichi Kitanishi
Programmer(s)	Tadao Nakayama
Composer(s)	Chika Sekigawa Naoko Mitome
Platform(s)	Wii
Release	NA April 9, 2007 JPN April 19, 2007 EUR TBA AUS TBA
Genre(s)	Platformer/RPG
Mode(s)	Single player

Template:Nihongo title is a platform/role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems, a division of Nintendo. Originally developed for the Nintendo GameCube, it was released for the Wii on April 9, 2007 in North America and on April 19 2007 in Japan. There has been no confirmed release date for Europe or Australia yet.

It is a combination of the previous Paper Mario titles and Super Mario Bros. titles. Unlike the RPG-style gameplay of previous Paper Mario games, the game combines platforming gameplay and RPG elements.

Development

Super Paper Mario was created out of a desire to combine the familiar look of the Paper Mario series with a new style of gameplay. Chief director Ryota Kawade was on a train thinking about ways to adapt a subgame from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door in which the player controls a large Bowser in a short side-scrolling stage; he noticed that the other end of the train looked like a stage in a Mario game and envisioned switching between two and three dimensions. When producer Kensuke Tanabe was told about the idea, he decided to make the sequel an action-adventure game, but retained some role-playing elements to establish the game in the Paper Mario franchise. Kawade and Tanabe also felt that these elements, as well as the ability to switch between two and three dimensions, would make the game more accessible to players unaccustomed to action games. The team played side-scrolling Mario titles for inspiration, envisioning how the levels would look in 3D.

Super Paper Mario was announced by Nintendo on May 11 2006 at E3 for the Nintendo GameCube. On May 30 2006, Nintendo set a release date of October 9 2006. That summer, the game was "quietly moved" to the Wii.

Storyline

File:Superpapermariowedding.jpg

Count Bleck overlooks the wedding of Princess Peach and Bowser during the intro

The story begins at the home of the Mario Brothers. Luigi gets bored of the recent lack of excitement and suggests that he and Mario go to visit Princess Peach, as they have not seen her in a while; but as they depart, Toad suddenly appears, and announces that the Princess has been kidnapped again. The brothers suspect that Bowser is behind it, and quickly set off to Bowser's Castle. But as they arrive, they find that Bowser is not aware of the Princess's kidnapping; indeed, he was preparing to go and kidnap her himself. A mysterious figure then appears, announces itself as Count Bleck, and kidnaps Bowser, Luigi and all of Bowser's soldiers; he leaves Mario behind.

Princess Peach wakes up to find herself in a wedding dress, standing at an altar with Bowser. Count Bleck and his toady Nastasia have kidnapped both her and Bowser to marry them; a book called the "Dark Prognosticus" predicts that the marriage of these two will create the Chaos Heart, which will destroy all of existence. Bowser goes along with it, but Peach resists; Nastasia is forced to hypnotize Peach into saying "I do", which creates a dimensional rift in front of the altar. Luigi, who was nearby, wakes up and realizes what's happening; he rushes at Count Bleck in an attempt to stop him, but both he and Nastasia disappear with the Chaos Heart which causes a huge explosion at the wedding.

Meanwhile, back at Bowser's Castle, Mario wakes up to find an unfamiliar creature. A butterfly-like organism transports him to the town of Flipside, a town between dimensions. The butterfly, who goes by the name of Tippi, takes Mario to an old wizard named Merlon. Merlon informs Mario of the situation, but presents the "Light Prognosticus", which contains a method of destroying the Chaos Heart. Mario matches the description of the hero in the book, so Merlon entrusts him with an object called the Pure Heart; this, along with seven others, has the power to defeat Count Bleck.

While the events of the game take place, the back story is slowly revealed through the text-based dialogue of two mysterious lovers named Timpani and Blumiere. Timpani was a human woman and Blumiere was the prince of the Tribe of Darkness. Blumiere's father does not approve of his son's romance, and somehow makes Timpani disappear. In his sorrow, Blumiere takes up the Dark Prognosticus, which was kept by the Tribe of Darkness for generations, and destroys his own world. Towards the game's end, Timpani and Blumiere are revealed to be Tippi and Count Bleck.

When Mario and his teammates reach Castle Bleck, Bowser, Peach, and Luigi are presumed lost in several battles, leaving Mario to face Bleck alone. When the battle begins, it seems Mario cannot harm Bleck, due to a shield surrounding him. Suddenly, Mario's friends rejoin him and the Pure Hearts surround Bleck, destroying his shield. After Count Bleck is defeated, Dimentio, one of Count Bleck's minions, appears and informs everyone present that he will now command the Chaos Heart and destroy all worlds thus revealing himself to be the primary antagonsist. With this, he sends Tippi, Count Bleck, and his minions to Dimension D.

Dimentio, Luigi, and the Chaos Heart form a creature named Super Dimentio. At first, it cannot be harmed. Meanwhile, Tippi convinces Count Bleck that it is not too late to make up for all the bad things he's done. Count Bleck's minions agree to follow him no matter what he decides. Eight new Pure Hearts are formed from the emotions which Count Bleck feels and they make Super Dimentio vulnerable. Mario and company destroy Super Dimentio and Luigi is saved. However, the worlds are still at risk as the rift has increased so tremendously. Tippi and Count Bleck sacrifice themselves to save all worlds and Mario and his party are flung to Flipside.

The last image seen in the game is a picture of two silhouettes, a man in a large hat and a woman in a dress, looking over a hill in peaceful world before slowly descending into the background.

Much of the story includes in-jokes to previous Mario and Nintendo games.

Gameplay

The player controls the characters by holding the Wii Remote sideways like an NES controller. With the Tippi Pixl, the player can also point to the screen with the remote to identify features on the screen as well as hidden objects.

Super Paper Mario, like other Paper Mario games, borrows both RPG and platforming elements in its gameplay. A main hub city called "Flipside" provides a location for Mario and his party to talk to residents, shop, and rest, as well as to open doorways to other worlds. There also exists a mirror version of Flipside called "Flopside" that becomes available in the last half of the game with improved items and shops. Unlike previous Paper Mario games, there is no turn-based fighting; instead the player faces foes directly on screen as in a usual Mario platforming game, and through experience gains and special items, the amount of damage dealt can be increased; the player also must watch the party's health taken as damage from foes, though this can be restored with special health items. The traditional scoring system used in most platforming games doubles as an experience point system. After jumping on an enemy, the player can shake the controller for extra points. The player can also collect "catch cards" for all the major characters and enemies; possessing an enemy card will double damage dealt for that enemy.

File:SPM 3D.jpg

This beta version of an underground area from Chapter 3-1 is a flashback reference to a prior Mario game and is shown in 2-D and 3-D

While the concept of a "paper" Mario (existing in only two dimensions) still continues through the game, a frequently used power obtained early in the game allows the player to "flip" Mario into the third dimension at nearly any point in the game. When this occurs, the current 2D level is rotated to become 3D in a third-person view; obstacles that may have blocked progress in 2D can simply be walked around in 3D, or hidden blocks or enemies may become visible. There are also numerous secrets to the 3D version of the level, however, Mario can only spend a short amount of time in this form before taking damage.

Mario and his party also gains powers through creatures called "Pixls" within the game. These give the current character an additional ability such as turning sideways to slip through cracks, hammering down large blocks, or planting bombs to defeat foes. In addition to Mario, the player will eventually control three other characters: Princess Peach, Luigi, and Bowser. Both the current character and Pixl can be switched out at any time during the game.

There are total of 8 chapters in the game, most split into 4 sections, with the final level culminating in a boss fight. For all but the last chapter, the goal is to collect a "Pure Heart" which is then used somewhere in Flipside to unlock the door to the next chapter. Save points are located strategically throughout Flipside and through and between sections; if the character's hit points drop to 0, the player must restart at the last save point, though the player can escape to Flipside at any time, at the cost of having to restart the unfinished chapter when they return. Players can, however, return to any section of a finished chapter.

Additional side quests also can be performed once the player can access these areas through the use of the Pixls and new characters.

Main characters

Main article: List of characters in Super Paper Mario

The player eventually controls four main characters, Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser, each with their own special abilities. Additionally, the player has special Pixls, creatures that provide the character with a special power, who also must be located to be added to the player's party.

Reception

These are the current reviews for Super Paper Mario.

• Edge: 7/10
• Electronic Gaming Monthly: 9/10, 9/10, 8/10
• Game Informer: 9.5/10
• GameSpot: 8.8/10
• IGN: 8.9/10
• Nintendo Power: 9.5 out of 10
• Nintendo World Report: 9/10

Generally, the reviews of Super Paper Mario have been highly positive, ranging from 8 to 10 on a scale of 10. The primary recurring complaints are the lack of a dash button by default which detracts from the "old-school" platforming feel, the blandness of the 3D backgrounds, the excessive amount of dialogue between characters (particularly at the beginning of the game), and the game's relatively low difficulty.

References

• Thomason, Steve (April 2007), "A Matter of Perspective", Nintendo Power, vol. 214, pp. 44–48, ISSN: 1041-9551
• Williams, Drew (May 2007), "Super Paper Mario: The Interview", Nintendo Power, vol. 215, pp. 76–78, ISSN: 1041-9551

External links

• Official Site (USA)
• Official Site (Japan)
• GameSpot page
• IGN page
• 1up page
• GameTrailers GDC 2007 Story and Controls Interview
• Super Paper Mario wiki guide at StrategyWiki (previously hosted by Wikibooks)