Overview:
Paper Mario is the first entry in the now famous Paper Mario franchise. What seems to have been a spiritual sequel or a soft reboot to Super Mario RPG which was released on the previous generation, this game has a completely different artstyle, fighting mechanic, and just overall story that separates it from anything before it. You follow Mario as he tries to save Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser [surprise!] and try to rescue the star spirits he’s kidnapped [what a twist!]. You get witty banter, insane characters, and fun setpieces which are the standard that the Paper Mario franchise has had from the very beginning.
Visuals:
At the time, this game had a wonderful look. I would say it’s unique, but a lot of games at the time were toying with the 2D cutout look but I feel Paper Mario is probably the most well known and one that has had the longest legs. All the characters look like cutouts but they’re really just sprites in a 3D world. It’s nice to see Nintendo using sprites on the Nintendo 64 because all the characters look wonderful and have a nice design to them. The worlds not so much. The 3D portions of the game just look rather bland and boring.
Audio:
I want to like the music in this game but it is just SO repetitive. You’ll hear the same, what seems like, 5 second loop of the battle music CONSTANTLY! I’m sure it changes throughout the course of a level but it just seems like it’s on repeat. Luckily the battles are short, but there are quite a bit of them. There isn’t any voice acting so everything is all pantomiming and background music. The songs for the worlds are different but, like the battle music, it’s just repetitive because of the limitations of the N64.
Completion:
I’m still working on this game. I just beat Tubba Blubba and got my third [I think] kidnapped star. As much as I like the game, it isn’t hooking me like Super Mario RPG, or even contemporary RPGs of the time, did. The game seems overtly simple which makes sense considering the demographic it’s going for. Doesn’t mean it can’t at least try to be somewhat difficult. There just seems to be too much whimsy. I want to see this through, though, so I can knock this game off my list of games I’ve never beaten.
