RPG and platformer collide, creating one of the best Mario games ever.
Anyway, it was too late in the Cube's life for it to be released for that system, so it was ported over to the Wii.
The game starts with – wait for it – Peach getting kidnapped again! What a shocker! But Bowser isn't the culprit this time. In fact, he was kidnapped too! A devious villain from another dimension called Count Bleck has taken the Koopa King and the Mushroom Princess and forced them into marriage. There is a prophecy that the marriage of a powerful king and a pure-hearted princess will cause a dimensional rift to open and engulf all worlds, and Bleck aims to make this happen. Mario is brought into the other dimension and tasked with finding the Pure Hearts, which together would negate the Chaos Heart that powers the rift and save the universe, according to a prophecy made to counter the one Bleck's following.
Like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, this game's story takes some interesting turns as it goes on, and the major characters have a surprising amount of depth for a Mario game. Super Paper Mario may very well be one of the best-written games in the series.
Now, I want to get this out of the way before I go further: When this game was first announced, I saw many fans of the Paper Mario games throwing a big hissy fit and raving like sissy-marys over the genre shift from RPG to platformer.
It turns out they had nothing to worry about.
Super Paper Mario is still full of RPG elements. There are still towns to visit, NPCs to talk to, items to use on enemies, HP counts for you and enemies, and so on. Battling and game progression, however, work like a platformer. Instead of turn-based battles, you can stomp enemies or kick Koopa shells at them in real time to beat them, which is nice because you're more in control. You get points for beating enemies like a platformer, and it serves as experience in an RPG, gaining levels when you accumulate enough. The worlds are divided into start-and-finish levels, but there are still puzzles to be solved to get through them like in previous Paper Mario titles. The platforming and RPG mechanics have been superbly mixed together in a way that makes the game enjoyable for fans of either genre.
That's not to say the mix is totally without flaws, though. A big one is that you can do more damage and in quicker succession than in other Paper Marios, and as a result, some boss battles can be over with too soon. Additionally, the more powerful attacks can be done over and over without having to spend any kind of mana, and it's easier to dodge enemy attacks when you're not forced to stand there and take it.
Mario is joined in his quest by Peach, Bowser, and Luigi, who are unlocked over the course of the game. Each character has their own unique abilities needed to solve puzzles and get through levels. Peach can float with her parasol, Bowser has fire breath, and Luigi can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Mario, however, gets the inventive ability of changing the perspective to 3D at the press of a button. Flip into 3D and a once obstructive pipe or wall of blocks can be easily sidestepped. A dead end can hide a tunnel or doorway to continue. You can also find some neat secrets by flipping, like hidden alcoves with coins or treasure. The character use is a little unbalanced, though. The 3D flip is much more useful and needed than the others' abilities, not to mention Mario is faster, a better jumper (except against Luigi), and a smaller target, so he'll be getting much more screen time than the other stars.
You also get new moves from small fairy-like things called Pixls. They allow you to blow stuff up with a bomb, swing a hammer, shrink, grab and throw stuff, and more. Like the playable characters, they're found as you progress, and can be switched in when you need their powers, but they're more like tools in a Zelda game, adding to what you can do and how you can fight, and making new areas available. They're not as imbalanced as the characters, as the game will make sure you'll be switching them fairly often.
The gameplay was originally made for a traditional controller, and it hasn't changed in porting it to the Wii. The remote is held sideways like an NES controller, but the remote's unique capabilities haven't been left out. Pointing it at characters and enemies on the screen will get you information on them, as well as reveal invisible doors or platforms. Shaking the controller after stomping an enemy lets you strike a pose and get extra experience. Certain items and mini-games have you tilt and shake the controller as well. It's not forced and in the way, nor does it feel tacked-on. It just feels right.
Like other Mario RPGs in the past few years, the writing is quite charming and amusing. There are plenty of funny little references to Mario games past, for example, and one whole level repeatedly has some fun with Internet nerd culture. However, the text meets the same problem as that of the other Paper Marios: There's too much of it. There's a lot of story to take in, making for some lengthy cutscenes, and even the NPC townsfolk can get chatty. The stuff they say is good, but you just wish that they didn't have to drag it out so much.
The graphics keep the simple-yet-charming cartoony visual style of the other Paper Marios. The worlds are quite varied in looks, from the square trees and algebra-formula clouds of the first world, to the retro world with scenery made of oversized pixels, to the prehistoric world with Cubist cavemen. With the 3D flip, there are two ways to view each level, but it really looks better in 2D. In 3D, the backdrops – trees, bushes, rocks, etc. – are flat and pushed into one side, while the path itself is just wide, flat, and pretty empty. The puzzles using the 3D flip are well thought out, but the actual look of it feels like a bit incomplete.
Finally, the main quest is lengthy, but not Square-Enix RPG lengthy. Mario RPGs aren't exactly known for being long to begin with, and the faster method of battling just speeds things up a little more. It'll take around 20 hours to complete, but there are still plenty of sidequests to keep you playing afterwards. There are maps leading to secret treasures, cards of the game's characters to collect, the aforementioned mini-games, and a few bonus dungeons to extend the playing time.
Whether you like platformers or RPGs, Super Paper Mario is well worth the purchase, with its great writing, surreal yet beautiful worlds, and clever combination of two genres. It has a few flaws that keep it from perfection, but it's still of the high quality that Nintendo's main mascot has shown to be capable of time and time again, and highly recommended.