Super Paper Mario

SquallSnake7

Editor in Chief
Jun 23, 2005
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Is this game worthy of a purchase? I played through Paper Mario on N64 but didnt really play the GC version. I did however love Mario and Luigi SuperStar Saga GBA.
 
It's a pretty solid game. Lots of reading, some pretty funny humor, and a good plot. I don't know about buying this one as i'm not too sure of the replay value, but it is defenitely worth gameflying or renting.
 
some of the puzzles and stuff can get you lost for a bit though. I recomend bookmarking a walkthrough just in case......
 
walkthrough = weakness. :p Ya can't give in to adversity! Am I the only bastion of old-school perseverance, the attitude we had back in the day before there was easy and available access to the internet or magazines (and subsequently walkthroughs)?
 
My belief is that almost all modern games are designed in such a careful way that you can figure out how to progress eventually based on your past gaming experiences. You just gotta tap into it. My example is Metroid Prime: Echoes. There's something cool about playing a sequel of a game that is very similar to its predecessor. As soon as I got Echoes, on my first playthrough I put it on hard difficulty and turned off the hint system that kind of directs you to the area where you need to go next. And I beat it without ever having to refer to a walkthrough. Just gotta tap into past gaming experiences and be able to pick up on the game's environmental cues as to what you gotta do (how a level's designed, patterns in the pacing of the game, etc).

You know what I hate? Games that virtually force the use of a walkthrough at some point. Granted, 99.9% of games these days don't seem to force you into it, but they will when it comes to finding all the secret stuff that would otherwise be nigh impossible without some inside-informed walkthrough (gotta sale those walkthroughs perhaps). But there were some NES games back in the day that had parts that were impossible to glean from the manual or any type of information in the game.

Anyway, I'm highly stubborn when it comes to challenges. Right now I'm playing through castlevania III for the NES, no cheat codes or anything. It's been rough, but now I'm at the last boss. And now that I hear how hard Ghost 'N Goblins is, I'm savoring the opportunity to go back and master it.
 
Yeah, that's a general assumption I'm willing to afford to any game being released on consoles through the major publishers for sure. Higher management probably makes sure that their products are balanced enough to be completed in theory (by means of the QA teams). I mean, I can't think offhand of any game released since the 3d era began that I couldn't complete/beat based on internal design cues. There have been games I couldn't beat cuz I hated them, weren't fun, were buggy, etc. But not because I couldn't progress to the end due to vague directions or goals.

I suppose the abstract equation for finishing a game with these assumptions and without outside help would look something like this:

Y = ( ( (A * E) + (P * 1.5) ) - ( (R * S) + L) ) / 10

P = patience index (1 - 5)
L = mean length of game index (1 - 5)
A = intrinsic ability index (1 - 5)
Y= likelihood you finish a game (%)
E = past gaming experience index (1 - 5)
R = degree of game's actor difficulty index (AI) (1 - 5)
S = degree of game's non-actor difficulty index (puzzles, progression design, etc) (1 - 5)

where Y < 0 = 0% and Y > 1 = 100%

That is if you could quantify this stuff, and add a bunch of other variables. :p
 
I've heard good things about SPM. I hear it's a bit more side-scrollery, adventury than the previous PM offerings. For that reason, I'm inclined to pick it up. Besides, it looks really fun. Maybe not as fun as The New Super Mario Bros. but at least a solid side-scroller.

I did buy the GC PM, and was disappointed. I didn't like the way combat was set up. Turn-based Mario just didn't compute. I think the action is real-time in this one, which is great.
 
Place your concerns aside: this is an awesome game. Just got it the other day. The whole 2D/3D world flipping concept is strongly realized and well executed. It works on so many levels and it's one of those things that only Nintendo coulda pulled off first (we may see some variations on this in the near future). Plus, the overhauled combat system is good. More and more I'm becoming less and less a fan of the RPG style of playing. This game has a real-time RPG combat system... but Mario style! Good stuff. Also, the strong points of the Paper Mario franchise return in solid, funny writing, slick presentation, and challenging-enough puzzles.

(edit: add)
The intelligence of this game is well disguised.

GIQ (Gaming IQ): 3/3
 
Super Paper Mario is clever. It is written cleverly, has clever gameplay, clever puzzles, and cleverly stylized graphics (in 2D).

If you are finished with Zelda and Resident Evil 4, and you are tired of your VC games, pick this one up. You will definitely not be disappointed.
 
Too bad I'll never get a chance to play that Crush game probably, but I'll keep an eye out for it if ever go back and play PSP games.
 
Alright, this game has one of the best and funniest spoofs of a internet/technology/anime geek. ever. Oh man. high-technicaaaal.