Paper Mario is probably best described as an RPG platformer. Mario travels through various lands, from desert to rainforest, on land, water and air, platformer style, jumping on objects, breaking blocks, and uncovering hidden items. But he interacts with characters, enemies, and storyline development RPG style. The game begins as Mario sets out to save the Princess from the evil Bowser, who has stolen a magical artifact called the Star Rod and made himself invincible. Jealous of Mario’s popularity and wanting desperately to be favored by the Princess, Bowser has kidnapped her against her will and taken her to his floating castle high in the skies above the land. Mario quickly finds that the only way he can beat Bowser and rescue his main girl is to retrieve seven Star Spirits, magical entities that grant wishes, and use them against his evil foe.
A very charming simple JRPG from start to finish. The graphics were really charasmatic, despite being 2D sprites, and I was really impressed with how slick it looked for an old N64 game. My only criticism was that a lot of the mechanics were sometimes TOO simple, i.e. not very challenging. Some parts could be tricky with strategy, but very rarely. Plus, you just get FAR too many items and power ups not to succeed. Regardless, was a fun jaunt- maybe even better than Super Mario RPG in some ways!
Score Breakdown
“The Tale”
Story- 8
Pacing- 7
Characters- 8
Originality- 8
Linearity- 9
Length- 7
Epicness- 8
“The Presentation”
Visuals- 9
Display- 8
Music- 8
Sound FX- 8
“The Mechanics”
Ease of Use- 8
Innovation- 8
Replayability- 6
Simple, but fun story with likeable characters
Unique take on the traditional turn-based RPG formula
Excellent music and visuals
Great for beginners
A bit on the easy side
One of the few RPGs actually worth playing on the system. Its got all of the Mario charm with a basic, but effective story, and a fun cast of characters to recruit and team up with. It’s certainly easier than your average RPG, but I feel that it makes for a great starting point for people wanting to get into the genre, especially those not really keen on a more traditional RPG format.