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Super Paper Mario

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Super Paper Mario
North American box art
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
SeriesPaper Mario
Platform(s)Wii
Genre(s)Platform/console role-playing game
Mode(s)Single-player

Super Paper Mario (スーパーペーパーマリオ, Sūpā Pēpā Mario) is a platform/console role-playing game (RPG) developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. Originally developed for the Nintendo GameCube, it was released for the Wii. The style of gameplay 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, RPG and puzzle elements. It is the third game in the Paper Mario series.

Gameplay

Premise and setting

Super Paper Mario is a platformer with role-playing elements. The player moves through a series of levels, where he explores various landscapes, fights enemies, and solves puzzles. The game is divided into 32 levels within eight chapters, where each chapter takes place in a unique location, or "dimension". The main objective is to collect the eight Pure Hearts, one in each chapter, which is used to gain access to the next. Each area is joined to a central hub, a town called Flipside.

File:SPM 3D.jpg
The perspective and level design changes as the player switches from 2D (top) to 3D (bottom).

The majority of gameplay is in 2D. Early in the game, Mario is given the ability to "flip" into 3D. By doing so, the perspective shifts and the 2D level rotates to reveal a hidden z-axis, placing Mario in a 3D environment. Flipping therefore allows the player to maneuver around obstacles impassable in the 2D perspective, or find items, enemies or varying landscapes only visible along the z-axis. However, staying in the 3D perspective too long depletes Mario's health.

The game uses a scoring system where points are accumulated through defeating enemies and using items. It also acts like the player's experience points system, however; points allow the player to level up and gain stronger attacks and higher resistance to damage from enemies or hazards. If the player's heart points (HP) reaches 0 from too much damage, they receive a game over and must resume play at the previous save point. Some recovery items, like mushrooms, restore HP.

As well as Mario, the player gains control of Princess Peach, Bowser, and Luigi as the game progresses and can switch between them at almost any point in the game. Princess Peach can float over long distances, Bowser can breathe fire, and Luigi can perform a super jump. Only Mario can flip between dimensions.

Controls

The game is controlled by holding the Wii Remote sideways, akin to the Nintendo Entertainment System control scheme, though very little of the controller's motion sensing is implemented.[1] During gameplay, the Pixl Tippi allows the player to use the Wii Remote pointer like a spotlight to highlight and read the descriptions of items and enemies, or spot any hidden objects. The 1 and 2 buttons on the Wii Remote allow the player to use the ability of a Pixl and jump, respectively. Pixls grant the player abilities such as throwing or destroying obstacles, becoming tiny, or defending against enemies.

Wii Remote motion controls are used primarily for activating items through tilting the remote or shaking it. Also, shaking the remote after attacking an enemy causes the player to pull a "Stylish move" and earn extra points, and consecutive Stylish moves accumulate even more.

Plot

In light of a recent kidnapping of Princess Peach, Mario and Luigi head to King Bowser's castle to retrieve her, only to find that Bowser was not responsible for it. It is then revealed that the true kidnapper is Count Bleck, a sorcerer who wields an ancient, prophetical tome called the Dark Prognosticus. In addition to Princess Peach, he kidnaps Luigi and Bowser, and brainwashes Bowser's Koopa and Goomba army. The Count then employs the hypnotic powers of his right-hand woman, Nastasia, and forces the marriage of Princess Peach to Bowser in order to, as the Dark Prognosticus foretells, unleash a destructive power known as the Chaos Heart. Count Bleck uses the Chaos Heart to open an inter-dimensional rift known as "The Void", which will eventually grow large enough to engulf the entire universe.

Mario meets a butterfly-like Pixl named Tippi and a wizard named Merlon, who have come in search of Mario. They inform him that he matches the description of the Hero, described in another prophetical tome called the Light Prognosticus, who is able to halt the impeding doom of The Void. To banish the Chaos Heart and reverse the destruction, the Hero requires the eight Pure Hearts, artifacts created from genuine love. Mario and Tippi set off to collect the Pure Hearts and stop Count Bleck's plan.

On Mario's journey, he encounters a number of antagonistic forces that attempt to stop him from retrieving the Pure Hearts, such as a race of mind controlling sentient plants, a die-hard otaku and nerd named Francis, and a horde of demons. Some of Mario's more prominent foes include Count Bleck's minions: O'Chunks, a dim-witted but loyal warrior with superhuman strength, Mimi, a sadistic shapeshifter obsessed with wealth, Dimentio, a psychotic dimension-crossing jester; and Mr. L, a mysterious masked villain with a flair for robotics who is actually (and somewhat obviously) a brainwashed Luigi. Dimentio is eventually revealed to be secretly working against Bleck's vendetta; he spirits Peach away from Bleck's clutches and reunites her with Mario; Bowser eventually joins up with Mario due to Peach's insistence. Dimentio also covertly assists Mario by sowing distrust between Bleck's minions, and at one point he "kills" both Mario's group and Mr. L; though, in actuality, he merely restored Luigi's memory and instantly moved the group to another location unscathed, resulting in the brothers' reunion and the cleansing of a Pure Heart that had been nearly destroyed by The Void. Both Mario and Bleck are unaware of Dimentio's standalone agenda.

At the end of each chapter, another story is told of a passionate relationship between two people, Blumiere and Timpani, that was ended by the hand of Blumiere's disdainful father, who banished Timpani to wander between dimensions and left her to die. The identity of these characters and their relationship to the story are initially unknown, though Tippi is later revealed to be Timpani, and "Count Bleck" is the pseudonym of the devastated Blumiere, who—unknowing of Timpani's rescue by Merlon—was driven insane by the loss of his love. After he took on the persona of Count Bleck, a suicidal Blumiere sought to bring existence to ruin and turned to the Dark Prognosticus. However, over the course of the game, Blumiere and Timpani begin to realize the other's true identities, and Blumiere begins to regret his actions; nevertheless, Blumiere continues with his plans, believing that he has gone too far to stop.

Upon collecting all of the Pure Hearts, Mario, Timpani, and company confront Blumiere in his castle. They defeat Blumiere but fail to halt The Void's destruction. The Chaos Heart falls from Blumiere's possession and Dimentio picks it up; he reveals that he has studied the Dark Prognosticus extensively and that he wishes to use the Chaos Heart and the Void in conjunction to create an entirely new universe in his image. Dimentio brainwashes Luigi into becoming Mr. L once more, saying that the Dark Prognosticus revealed him as the ideal host for the Chaos Heart; Dimentio fuses the Chaos Heart, Luigi, and himself into one entity called Super Dimentio, who has complete control over the Void; Super Dimentio uses this power to shatter the Pure Hearts, and begins making his new universe.

However, Blumiere and Timpani's renewed love for one another, as well as the feelings of loyalty felt towards Blumiere by his remaining minions, restore the Pure Hearts; Mario and Timpani use their power to battle Super Dimentio, who upon defeat splits back into three parts: Luigi, the Chaos Heart, and Dimentio, who perishes. However, Dimentio's lasting influence on the Chaos Heart causes the Void to expand uncontrollably, threatening all of existence.

Blumiere reveals the wedding chapel in Castle Bleck that was used to marry Peach and Bowser, and he and Timpani then restore their true love for each other and exchange their vows, which banishes the Chaos Heart, seals The Void, returns the other characters to Flipside and restores order in the universe, effectively nullifying the prediction in the Dark Prognosticus. However, Blumiere and Timpani disappeared after the rebirth of their love; it is assumed by the company they did not survive.

Merlon cheers up Mario and company, as well as Blumiere's minions, stating that they are likely in a better place, and everyone leaves to celebrate their victory with a meal. After the credits, Blumiere and a human Timpani are shown together in a place resembling a paradise.

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.[2] Chief director Ryota Kawade was on a train thinking about ways to adapt a mini-game 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.[3] When producer Kensuke Tanabe was told about the idea, he decided to make the sequel an action-adventure game,[2] but retained some role-playing elements to establish the game in the Paper Mario franchise.[4] 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.[5] The team played side-scrolling Mario titles for inspiration, envisioning how the levels would look in 3D.[4]

Super Paper Mario was announced by Nintendo on May 11, 2006 at E3 for the Nintendo GameCube.[6] On May 30, 2006, Nintendo set a release date of October 9, 2006.[7] That summer, the game was "quietly moved" to the Wii.[8]

PAL copies of the game contain a glitch if the language is set to English, German, or Spanish. In Chapter 2-2, the game will freeze if Mario speaks to the character Mimi without first picking up the key. Nintendo of Europe is replacing the game disc for no charge with a version that does not contain the glitch.[9] Nintendo of Europe announced details of the replacement on their website in November 2007.[10]

Reception

Reviews for Super Paper Mario were generally positive. One comment by IGN was that Mario's flip ability was somewhat overused. NGamer magazine also stated that the 3D flipped worlds were rather barren compared to the 2D worlds. As of March 31, 2008, the game has sold 2.28 million copies worldwide, with 500,000 copies sold in Japan.[21]

Super Paper Mario's plot has been praised by most critics. GameSpot said that its plot's history has a "great sense of humor",[22] while GameSpy called it "funny". However, XPlay criticized the plot as a "con" of the game, stating that it is "cutesy". The graphics were also well received.[23] GameSpy praised its "clean visuals" and IGN, giving the graphics a score of 7.5 out of 10, said "A beautiful 2D platformer and an uninspired 3D one. The worlds Mario explores look fantastic when they're flat, but the moment they gain depth they become barren landscapes".[24] XPlay said that "everyone should rejoice that the long suffering 2D platform genre has gotten a much needed makeover courtesy of the mustachioed man that helped create it in the first place."[25]

There were also some complaints about the game. Game Informer criticized the after-end of the game and the side-quests (such as recipes), as said "There also isn’t much impetus to collect enemy cards, bake things, or do anything extra since the game never gets hard enough to warrant it. And after beating the game (it takes a little over 20 hours), there isn't any significant additional content to keep players coming back."[26] GameSpot criticized the audio, saying "The weakest element is the game's audio, which is a little too retro. Although the soundtrack is solid, there are no standout tracks. The sound effects are effective, albeit a bit too familiar. Voice is used too sparingly, though what's there fits the archetype set by the previous games."[27] Though IGN praised the plot, they said "The writing is well-crafted and humorous, but there is so much to read that it actually interrupts the flow of the game."[28]

References

  1. ^ "Super Paper Mario :: Wii Game Review". KidzWorld. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  2. ^ a b Williams, p. 76.
  3. ^ Williams, p. 78.
  4. ^ a b Williams, p. 77.
  5. ^ Williams, pp. 76–77.
  6. ^ JKR (2006-05-11). "E3 2006: Super Paper Mario". IGN. Retrieved 2007-03-07.
  7. ^ Harris, Craig (2006-05-30). "Nintendo's Latest Line-up". IGN. Retrieved 2007-03-07.
  8. ^ Hatfield, Daemon (2007-01-22). "Paper Mario Unfolding in April?". IGN. Retrieved 2007-03-07.
  9. ^ "Super Paper Mario announcement". Nintendo. 2007-09-19. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
  10. ^ Nintendo - News - Super Paper Mario announcement
  11. ^ "Super Paper Mario review". Edge. 176: 84–85. June 2007.
  12. ^ "週刊ファミ通クロスレビュープラチナ殿堂入りソフト一覧" (in Japanese). GEIMIN.NET.
  13. ^ Vore, Bryan. "Super Paper Mario review". Game Informer. Retrieved 2007-05-23.
  14. ^ Torres, Ricardo (2007-04-09). "Super Paper Mario for Wii Review". GameSpot. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  15. ^ Williams, Bryan (2007-04-09). "Super Paper Mario for Wii Review". GameSpy. Retrieved 2008-04-11.
  16. ^ Casamassina, Matt (2007-04-05). "Super Paper Mario Review". IGN. Retrieved 2007-09-14.
  17. ^ "Reviews: What's Playing Now". Nintendo Power. 216: 100.
  18. ^ Mollenkopf, Emily. "G4 - Reviews — Super Paper Mario". X-Play. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
  19. ^ "Super Paper Mario Reviews". GameRankings. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  20. ^ "Super Paper Mario (wii: 2007)". Metacritic. Retrieved 2008-03-14.
  21. ^ "Financial Results Briefing for the Fiscal Year Ended March 2008: Supplementary Information" (PDF). Nintendo. 2008-04-25. p. 6. Retrieved 2008-08-03.
  22. ^ [1]
  23. ^ Mollenkopf, Emily. "G4 - Reviews — Super Paper Mario". X-Play. Retrieved 2007-12-27.
  24. ^ [2]
  25. ^ http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/reviews/1502/Super_Paper_Mario.html
  26. ^ [3]
  27. ^ [4]
  28. ^ [5]
  • Thomason, Steve (April 2007). "A Matter of Perspective". Nintendo Power. 214: 44–48. ISSN 1041-9551.
  • Williams, Drew (May 2007). "Super Paper Mario: The Interview". Nintendo Power. 215: 76–78. ISSN 1041-9551.

External links

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