The third game in the Paper Mario series is a combination the traditional Mario Bros Platformer with RPG elements.
For those expecting a 3rd Mario RPG, don't. This game is more like Super Mario Bros 2 with the item and experience retention gameplay elements of prior Paper Mario games. Beyond that, this game is a platformer, although not entirely linear. Backtracking and moving in all 3 dimensions removes some of the linearity, but don't expect freedom like in Grand Theft Auto or Elder Scrolls, but think more than Super Mario Brothers. Anyways...
Gameplay : The gameplay is simple. You control Mario, Peach, Bowser and Luigi in a platforming romp through Flipside and 8 surrounding worlds threatened to be sucked into the void summoned by Count Bleck via the Dark Prognosticus book. The Light Prognosticus says there are 4 heroes... take a guess who those 4 are. Instead of Crystals or Stars, this time there are 8 colored "Pure Hearts" that the heroes have to collect. Yes, they range the whole color of the rainbow like previous Paper Mario games.
Basically you have the options of running and jumping. Mario has probably the most important ability in the game, switching between 2 and 3 dimensions. If lost or in doubt, switch to 3 Dimensions and look for a new way forward. The next most important I believe is Peach who while pressing down can hide under her parasol and become invincible (she's actually the best fighter believe it or not), she can also float using that parasol to jump impossible gaps. Luigi is close in that he can jump VERY high, and with his super jump (Which jumps very high) can do massive damage, even against protected enemies above him. If he could turn invincible he would be without a doubt the best fighter. Bowser is a big bruiser and does double the damage of everyone, but he can't duck and can't climb and jumps and runs slow. He's hard to avoid attacks with, although his fire breath is a punishing attack, he still is too cumbersome outside of some situations.
That being said, you come across these little floating 2 dimensional fairy like things, named "pixls". They come in many shapes and sizes, one is Boomer, a bomb, another is Carrie, a little floating thing that allows you to pass spikes and move fast, another is Fleep who flips things and makes them appear and dizzy enemies. My personal favorite is Cudge who is a hammer. Once you get him, Peach is the undisputed best combatant in your party (Which you can switch on the fly mind you, provided your characters are in the party).
Aside from that, you have items that do damage, heal life, double damage, reduce damage recieved and more. Sometimes they automatically work, other times, they require button presses, Wiimote turns, shakes and what not. A little bit of the Wiimote is used here, but more or less, this game could be played with an old school NES controller. Seriously.
There is no MP, no Star or Crystal power, nothing like that, so you have to rely on the characters, pixls and items. This game isn't strategic combat, it's basically hop, bomb or hammer on enemies. And your main Pixl, Tippi who is used by turning the Wiimote like a flash light at the screen to reveal hidden objects as well as enemy weaknesss will tell you exactly how to defeat the monsters.
Again, you this game is quite easy. You can't die from falling in pits, you get lots of HP up chances, and the bosses can more or less be obliterated by one of the characters super abilities (like Wracktail in the Pit of 100 Trials can be killed by Luigi in one round if you have a damage boosting item). Only one time did I have trouble with one boss, and even then, it was just because she moved so fast it was hard to hit her with thrown objects. But if your skill at jumping and multibouncing on your opponent is high, then you will succeed.
Beyond that, there are other random power ups like Flowers which drop coins from the sky, other flowers slow or speed up time (giving you 3x the experience). Yea, you get experience for more HP and more damage... but that's about it. Other items include invincible stars which turn your character into a towering 8 bit rendition of the character in question which allows you to bowl through the entire section with ease.
Aside from that, some puzzles, mazes and fetch quests, actually a lot of the latter, there isn't much more. In fact, this game has a lot of non gaming sections. What I mean by that is there is a part where you have to earn money for breaking a vase. You can either mash on the jump button, run like a hampster in a cage or... well thats it. It takes a solid 15 minutes of running to the right to make the money you need. Yes, you have to sit there holding on the right direction for a total of 15 minutes (you can stop and start up again later, but the total time is about 15 minutes). Other quests are obnoxious, like one guy makes you write Please 5 times, and if you didn't know to write it in capitals or with a !, you won't get by that level. Other obnoxious fetch quests can become tedious and irritating mind you.
And some of the levels are graphically so sparse that there are very little distinguishing features (Level 4-3 and level 8-3) come to mind that they actually hamper the gameplay. Imagine finding a tiny grey lightning bolt on an offwhite background or going through a copy and paste wallpaper space background through nondescript wormholes. Yea. It's like that.
So while a less challenging (very much so) platformer, it lacks the tactical combat that made the previous games more challenging and deep. I guess this makes it more approachable to a larger demographic, but still, something is missing and a lot of filler is in place in this game.
Gameplay = 7 out of 10.
Graphics : The game is one big polygon. Very few curved features are found. I guess that goes with the whole "Paper Mario" theme, although previous paper Mario games had circular graphics. Sadly I don't think this game graphically pushes the boundaries of the Wii. In fact it looks almost the same as The Thousand Year Door.
Particle Effects are low, the pallete selection is low, and the 3D imagery is N64 quality.
Imagine an even less colorful (the last chapter is almost entirely in black and white outside of the characters and enemies). Personally, I feel that The Thousand Year door had better graphics in a game that was 3 years older. Not that they are horrendous, but it is not any major graphical leap in terms of technological prowess or better art style compare to previous games which took place in 3D at all times even though it appeared as if it was made out of a paper diaorama.
Some interesting retro graphics in chapter 3 appear where the whole world is pixelated, including the boss. However, this may not appeal to anyone who isn't nostalgic for the 8 bit days. Younger crowds may miss the significance of this art style.
The overall feeling I get from this game is more of the same, but no way improved upon the previous formula, and in some cases, worse and not utilizing the Wii's power to the fullest.
Graphics = 7 out of 10
Sound : The sound in this game has some nice effects, like the powers the pixls activate, the thunder and rumbles in the background from void and what not. There is no voice overs yet again outside of the Mario mumbles and Peach "ooohs" and Luigi's "ooooh yeeeaaa" and Bowsers growls. I wish Nintendo would just come into the 21st century at some point.
Instead of the voice overs, the game has in game text which displays with little bleeps and bloops which do get annoying after hearing them the whole game.
The music proper is a good mix of remixed Mario classics and new fare. The last chapter is full of end game music straight out of the 8 bit era. You have to have been there (in game and in the 8 bit era) to appreciate it fully though. Some of the themes are melancholy and appropriate to the feeling (when someone is lost or presumed dead) or when the enemy is attacking it's dark and sinister.
On the whole, it's good, but again, no great improvement over the previous games.
Sound = 8 out of 10
Value :
I'll say this.
I completed 1 of the Pit of 100 Trials (there are two in this game) and the whole game in 22:15 total of playtime. So it is longer than the 15 hours put forth by many people in reviews. But as I said in the gameplay section, there is a LOT of backtracking and obnoxious fetch quests that sometimes end up in dead ends.
There are a few other things you can collect like cards and do the other harder Pit of 100 Trials and see people after you complete the game, but don't expect a whole lot more than a good 24 to 28 hours of play time.
You may want to relive the story again in the future, but this isn't a playthrough again immediately type game. At least it was 50 bucks instead of 60. Might be cheaper for some of you reading this who don't have it already.
Value = 8 out of 10
Tilt : This is where this game shines. Yes, the game has some annoying fetch quests, yes it starts off slow, but the humor and classic charm of the Paper Mario franchise comes out once you get going after the 3rd chapter.
In one cutscene you talk to a giant chameleon type nerd character named Francis who tries to hit on Peach in a virtual dating sim type game. If you played any of the dating games on flash websites, then you will find this hilarious, especially his bragging about displaying his 98789p megapixel camera and the flash speed. This is Nintendo's way of trying to say "it's ok to be retro". Well besides me wanting Nintendo to catch up with the modern era, it is genuinely funny because we all have a bit of this character in us.
Another boss fight takes place in a true RPG turn based menu driven combat system. If you've played Dragon Warrior (Known as Dragon Quest now), then you will feel right at home in this fight.
Another interesting thing is that this game seems to break the 4th wall, as if the characters know they are in a game and "Don't want it to be game over" instead of saying the word "dying".
Too bad these great scenes don't take up more of the game though and have less of the backtracking and filler.
The ending tugs at your heart once you figure out the major plot twist (which is becoming more transparent the further you progress in the plot). The game has a good moral message, as do all of the Mario games, so fear not anyone with children, this game is family friendly (although it does have dark overtones, maybe more so than previous games).
Tilt = 9 out of 10
Recap
Gameplay = 7 out of 10
Graphics = 7 out of 10
Sound = 8 out of 10
Value = 8 out of 10
Tilt = 9 out of 10
Pros :
+ A cheerful colorful romp through another Paper Mario game with a wonderful cast of characters and charming humor.
+ A good number of powers and diverse character abilities take this beyond your average platformer.
+ A wonderful dose of nostalgia for the veterans of the 8 bit era.
+ A great artstyle and musical selection...
Cons :
- ... which hasn't been improved upon or updated since the series inception. C'mon Nintendo, lets not just rely on pixels and their kitsch and would a voiceover kill you?
- TOO DAMN EASY
- A lot of backtracking sections and parts that are obnoxious time guzzlers for no other purpose seemingly.