Jump to content

Super Paper Mario

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by AXB-H (talk | contribs) at 02:17, 12 April 2007 (→‎Easter Eggs). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Super Paper Mario
Developer(s)Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)
  • Ryota Kawade Edit this on Wikidata
Producer(s)
  • Ryouichi Kitanishi Edit this on Wikidata
Programmer(s)
  • Tadao Nakayama Edit this on Wikidata
Composer(s)
  • Chika Sekigawa
  • Naoko Mitome Edit this on Wikidata
Platform(s)Wii
ReleaseNA April 9, 2007[1]
JPN April 19, 2007[2]
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. It will be released in Japan on April 19 2007, but there has been no confirmed release date for Australia or Europe 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.[3]

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.[4] 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.[5] When producer Kensuke Tanabe was told about the idea, he decided to make the sequel an action-adventure game,[4] but retained some role-playing elements to establish the game in the Paper Mario franchise.[6] 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.[7] The team played side-scrolling Mario titles for inspiration, envisioning how the levels would look in 3D.[6]

Super Paper Mario was announced by Nintendo on May 11 2006 at E3 for the Nintendo GameCube.[8] On May 30 2006, Nintendo set a release date of October 9 2006.[9] That summer, the game was "quietly moved" to the Wii.[10]

Storyline

Template:Spoiler

File:Superpapermariowedding.jpg
Count Bleck overlooks the wedding of Princess Peach and Bowser

One day, the Mario Bros. are at home drinking coffee, when Luigi tells Mario that they should go and visit Princess Peach, since they have not seen her in a while. Toad suddenly appears, announcing that Princess Peach has been kidnapped again. Mario and Luigi quickly set off to Bowser's Castle. However, when they arrive, they find that Bowser is only getting ready to kidnap her, not aware that she had already disappeared. Count Bleck then appears, knocking Mario out and taking away everyone else.

Princess Peach wakes up to find herself at a wedding altar with Bowser. Count Bleck and his toady Nastasia had been plotting to force Peach to marry Bowser; a book called the Dark Prognosticus predicts that the marriage will open a dimensional rift that will engulf the universe. Nastasia casts a spell to force Peach to say "I do". When this happens, the Chaos Heart appears. Luigi, who was nearby, wakes up and realizes what's happening. He tries to stop Count Bleck, but he escapes with the Chaos Heart.

Meanwhile, Tippi, the informative Pixl, appears and wakes Mario up, explaining that she was sent to find him. Then, Mario is transported to the town of Flipside, where he meets Merlon, who tells him that the Light Prognosticus states that a hero matching Mario's description can close the rift. To accomplish this, Mario must find the eight items called Pure Hearts; the first of which is given to him by Merlon. Mario must then place this into a "Heart Pillar" to open the gateway to Chapter 1.

Gameplay

Unlike previous Paper Mario games, there is no turn-based fighting in Super Paper Mario; the game is predominately a side-scrolling platformer. Some RPG elements have been added; for example, the traditional scoring system doubles as an experience point system.[11] After jumping on an enemy, the player can shake the controller for extra points. Characters are controlled by holding the Wii Remote sideways like a NES controller.[12] The game is also confirmed to have a Two Pits of 100 Trials (One in Flipside and One in Flopside), similar to the one found in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, but without the turn-based play.

File:SPM 3D.jpg
Mario can view levels from a third dimension, giving access to places otherwise unreachable

Power-ups

The E3 trailer showcased new abilities and power-ups, including a space helmet: Mario is seen floating in mid-air, shooting enemies with a ray gun, and running sideways down a wall. Alluding to Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros., one power up in the game causes the player to grow to epic proportions and resembles an 8-bit, sprite-like form from previous games. Newer videos and information reveal more items available in the game, some of which have appeared in preceding Paper Mario games. On the subject of Badges, it is now known that there will be none but badge-like items called Catch Cards are available. The player can collect up to 256 catch cards referring to the enemies in the game, which increase attack power toward the enemies in question. For example if the player has the Koopa Card, he will be able to double his damage on all Koopas in the game. There are also recipe cards, 96 in all. Also maps can be bought and treasures and be found throughout all the realms.[13]

Chapters

Super Paper Mario is divided into eight chapters. Each chapter contains four sub-chapters. Flipside (or Flopside) is the hub of the game, much like Toad Town in Paper Mario and Rogueport in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. The town consists on several elevators and a large tower. Chapters 1-7 can be accessed in Flipside Tower, while Chapter 8 is available only in Flopside Tower. At the start of the game, the player is given an escape pipe. They can use this to return to Flipside Tower (or Flopside in Chapter 8) at any time.

Main Characters

Light Prognosticus and Abilities

There are four playable characters and each of them have different traits and a character-specific ability.[14]

  • Mario: His ability allows the player to view the two-dimensional world from the side, along a third dimension. This allows Mario to bypass obstacles that appear impassable when viewed in two dimensions. Staying in this mode causes Mario to gradually lose power from his ability meter, and then eventually health, at the same time restoring his power gauge.[11]
  • Peach: Her ability is using a parasol to float long distances, and can also duck under her parasol for protection, somewhat similar to her gameplay in Super Princess Peach. The player can start using her in chapter 2.
  • Bowser: His ability is to breathe fire, dealing more damage than a normal attack. When he jumps on an enemy, it also does double damage. His gameplay is nearly identical to his gameplay during Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. The player can start using him in chapter 3.
  • Luigi: His ability is that he jumps the highest, allowing him to reach areas inaccessible to the other characters. The player can start using him in Chapter 7.[15]

Dark Prognosticus

There are five main bad characters that will fight the heroes several times inorder to win.

  • Count Bleck: Main villain of the game. He appears to have the power to snuff out all known worlds and leave barren wastelands in his wake. He is the main enemy who forcibly (tries to) wed Bowser and Peach. Refers to himself in the third-person.
  • Nastasia: Bleck's assistant seems more officious than evil, but her managerial style helps keep the apocalypse on schedule.
  • Mimi: She impersonates someone else so she can attack the player when they least expect it.
  • Dimentio: The court jester of Bleck with dimensional powers.
  • O'Chunks: A monster with brawn but small brains. [16]

Pixls

Pixls give the player new abilities, reminiscent of helpers in other Paper Mario games.

  • Tippi is the first Pixl in the game. Her role is similar to that of Goombario and Goombella from the previous Paper Mario games. Tippi allows the player to point the Wii Remote at the screen like a spotlight. This spotlight can give more information about enemies, allies, items, and surroundings, and reveal hidden objects.[17] Unlike the other Pixls, Tippi does not need to "switch out", rather, she is always present alongside the current party member and another Pixl.
  • Thoreau gives the power to pick up and throw enemies and can be interchanged with other Pixls.
  • Boomer can be placed like a bomb that leaves behind pixelated fire and dust. He blows up everything in his path.
  • Slim allows the character to turn sideways and become paper thin, making it possible to slip between bars or other narrow places. Also if the player stands still they turn invisible.
  • Thudley enables a powerful ground-pound, which is useful for activating certain triggers.[18]
  • Carrie acts as a floating platform that can carry the player across certain hazards.[17]
  • Fleep exacts a frame around objects caught in another dimension and flips them into the correct one.
  • Cudge allows the character to use a hammer similar to the past Paper Mario games.[19]
  • Dottie shrinks the character to a smaller size.[20]
  • Barry is an optional Pixl. He protects the character using a shield and attacks enemies that touch it.[21]
  • Piccolo can play music from any of the realms. She is optional, but will help the player take down a certain boss. She is also used to dissolve certain blocks in order to gain Mario a special or rare item.
  • Dashell is the third optional Pixl. He will make Mario run a little over twice his normal speed.
File:Spmgiantmario.jpg
Super Paper Mario alludes to Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. by giving each character a giant, 8-bit, sprite-like form
  • Tiptron is the fourth and final optional Pixl. He can be obtained at the after the game. He is a butterfly like Tippi and can be bought from Francis for 999 coins.

Easter Eggs

Super Paper Mario contains numerous Nintendo in-jokes, including the following:

  • Just before fighting the boss of Chapter 1, Fracktail, his eye "searches his databanks" and turns into the Wii Shop Channel "loading" icon.
  • When going berserk, Fracktail says "I AM ERROR", a reference to a line from Zelda II: The Adventure of Link for the NES. He also says several references to standard computer phrases, such as "please insert disc" and "CTRL ALT DEL", among others.
  • The super nerd chameleon, Francis, frequently talks about a TV show involving Grodus and the X-Nauts from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
  • In the castle of Francis, in the room with the code 2828, the player can find "action figures" for the Yoshi in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, the color in the game was random so Francis collected the whole set of colors. There is also a poster of Bow from the original Paper Mario, and a poster of one of the Punies from The Thousand-Year Door.
  • A section of one of the levels is very similar to World 1-2 from the original Super Mario Bros., including the music and placement of items, and even the hidden exit pipes at the end.
  • Rubees as currency may be a reference to the currency Rupees from Zelda games. [citation needed]
  • To talk to Peach, Francis goes into a dating sim parody.*The Crystal Stars make a cameo appearance when Mario strikes the marker at the end of a chapter, circling him, signalling the end of the level.

Template:Endspoiler

Reception

A few magazines and websites have rated this game so far.

Generally, the reviews of Super Paper Mario have been highly positive, ranging from 8 to 10. The primary recurring complaints are the lack of a run button which detracts from the "old-school" platforming feel and the excessive amount of dialog between characters, especially at the beginning introduction of the game.

References

  1. ^ "Super Paper Mario". Nintendo of America.
  2. ^ Patrick Klepek (February 21, 2007). "Nintendo Japan Outlines 2007 DS, Wii Schedule". 1UP.
  3. ^ "Super Paper Mario release notes". Joystiq. Retrieved 2006-05-19.
  4. ^ a b Williams, p. 76.
  5. ^ Williams, p. 78.
  6. ^ a b Williams, p. 77.
  7. ^ Williams, pp. 76-77.
  8. ^ JKR (2006-05-11). "E3 2006: Super Paper Mario". IGN. Retrieved 2007-03-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ Harris, Craig (2006-05-30). "Nintendo's Latest Line-up". IGN. Retrieved 2007-03-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ Hatfield, Daemon (2007-01-22). "Paper Mario Unfolding in April?". IGN. Retrieved 2007-03-07. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ a b Thomason, p. 46.
  12. ^ Thomason, p. 45.
  13. ^ Cite error: The named reference Chapter 1 preview was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  14. ^ "E3 Preview: Super Paper Mario Impressions". N-sider. Retrieved 2006-05-20.
  15. ^ Elston, Brett (2007-03-29). "A near-perfect blend of old, new and RPG chattiness". Games Radar. Retrieved 2007-03-29. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  16. ^ Super Paper Mario, p. 4.
  17. ^ a b Thomason, p. 47.
  18. ^ [1]
  19. ^ [2]
  20. ^ [3]
  21. ^ [4]
  22. ^ http://www.gameinformer.com/Games/Review/200706/R07.0411.1202.25242.htm
  23. ^ Shane Bettenhausen, Andrew Pfister, Bryan Inithar (May 2007). "Super Paper Mario review". Electronic Gaming Monthly (215): 76–78.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  24. ^ http://wii.ign.com/articles/778/778606p1.html
  25. ^ Cole, Michael. "Super Paper Mario review". Retrieved 2007-04-08.
  26. ^ http://www.cheatcc.com/wii/rev/superpapermarioreview.html
  27. ^ Schreier, Jason. "Super Paper Mario - Staff Review". RPGamer. Retrieved 2007-04-09. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
  28. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/wii/rpg/superpapermario/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;score
  • 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
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Super_Paper_Mario&oldid=122119884"