Game Detail:
Genre: RPG
ESRB: E
Players: 1 player story
Difficulty: Easy
Replay: Although the story is fun to play, there is little variety offered in each play through.
Story
The backstory of the game is told in the opening cinematic sequence and instruction booklet reading:
“Far, far away beyond the sky, way above the clouds, it’s been said that there was a star haven where Stars lived. In the sanctuary of Star Haven there rested a fabled treasure called the star rod, which had the power to grant all wishes. Using this wonderous Star Rod, the seven Star Spirits watched over our peaceful world carefully…very carefully Then one day, a terrible thing happened… The evil King Bowser appeared in Star Haven and stole the Star Rod! Using its incredible power he quickly imprisoned the seven Star Spirits! Completely unaware of the trouble in far-off Star Haven, Mario was back home in the Mushroom kingdom, eagerly reading a letter from Princess Peach. It was an invitation to a party at the castle! With much anticipation, he and his brother Luigi set off for the party, oblivious to the chaos that lay ahead…”
Gameplay
Paper Mario is an RPG and like many in its genre is focused on carrying the player through a story. In this game the character traverses around as Mario and other playable characters; customizing, unlocking puzzles, beating enemies and bosses. Like many RPG games the characters have HP, magic, special abilities, money, items, health bars and attack options. Beating enemies and gaining levels will allow for certain options to become available to the player. Paper Mario is a 2D Mario game that contains 3D elements in its style and design and is similar to the look of a pop up book. The game takes elements of paper in order to create humorous/fun effects that build on the gameplay. The characters and enemies move like paper on the screen. These elements add a nice twist to the genre. Paper Mario is described as an easier RPG game with an average playtime of 20-40 hrs.
Legacy
Paper Mario has contributed to many spin offs in its series including the most recent release of Paper Mario: Color Splash. Paper Mario took the RPG genre and twisted it in such a way to make it more interesting and fun for the audience. The use of paper and this style of gameplay has also served as influence in games such as: upcoming release, Ikenfell, and the 2014 release, South Park: The Stick of Truth.
Sources:
“Game Rankings: Paper Mario”. Game Rankings. Retrieved 2008-08-17.
“Mario RPG is for the Kids”. IGN. 1997-11-21. Retrieved 2006-03-18.
“Paper Mario, Album Stats.” Video Game Music Database. Retrieved 2012-06-04.
Rogee. Paper Mario Cover Art. 2001. Moby Games. Web. 7 Feb. 2017.
n64gaming 