Difficulty:

Easy

Time Spent:

20 to 40 Hours

The Bottom Line:

"Best in series"

I wanted this game since I beat both Paper Mario and Super Paper Mario, which was two years ago. I ordered a copy off of eBay, and it happened to be factory sealed. After about a week, I beat the game, and it was very well worth it.

I will try to avoid spoilers within the story, but basically Peach finds Mario a treasure map, and she wants Mario to come to Rogueport to find the treasure. Mario finally gets to Rogueport, and apparently Peach is nowhere to be seen, and Mario learns that Rogueport has a dark history. Throughout the course of the game, Mario must collect Crystal Stars and keep the world safe from the X-Nauts. It really engages you, and it is quite the epic story.

The gameplay is almost identical to the first game, so basically you have your HP, FP, and Star Power. You have the action commands, and the guard commands, both handled by the four main buttons. It really spices it up compared to the first game though with some of the action commands. You can also turn into a paper airplane and other paper things to solve puzzles and progress further into the game. Although the game is a bit on the easy side, the final boss blindsides you with it's difficulty.

It is pretty much Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64, but with a GameCube style engine. Mario and every other character are more detailed, and so are the surrounding environments. It's a great art style.

There are some really good themes in this game! The theme of the Punies is a prime example. There are too many good ones to describe, but I highly recommend listening to the theme of Punies just to see what I am getting at.

It's a reasonably long game. The main quest can take you 25-30 hours, while side quests and all that leveling up and collecting badges can take you atleast a dozen more hours by an estimated guess.

I think the replay value is really high. It was such a fun game, and although it is easy, it makes it easier to get into, I think anyways.

Overall, this game is fantastic. It is the greatest Mario game of all time! Better than Paper Mario, better than Super Mario Galaxy 2, better than Super Mario 64, better than any Mario game ever! Definitely one of the best GameCube games as well.

Pros:
+Clever puzzles
+Great design
+Awesome music
+Nice art style
+Easy but easy to get into

Cons:
-A setback in the final dungeon
-Some annoying puzzles

Story: 9.7
Gameplay: 10
Graphics: 9.9
Music: 9.5
Lifetime: 9.1
Replay Value: 9.9
Overall: 10