// Paper Mario

I’m back in the land of two dimensions with Paper Mario. After playing The Thousand-Year Door and reviewing it, it was time I jump back into the original.

Thankfully, it’s available with the Nintendo Switch Online subscription, which meant I could play it As God Intended with my N64 Switch controller.

I went into this with high expectations. Both my wife and one of my bestest friends hold Paper Mario as their number one favourite game of all time. All time!!

So I played it. And I liked it!

It was interesting going back to the original from TTYD because some things obviously felt older, but a lot of things actually felt better.

I thought it might be fun to use the same 4 criteria as my previous 4 Point Review and see how Paper Mario stacks up.

// Point 1: The Writing

Paper Mario has so much charm to it. 

The game really feels like a labour of love. It’s a more simplistic tale, but I think that adds to the wholesome factor. It has some iconic NPCs. Gourmet Guy, Koopa Koot, and Twink (yeah) are icons of the Mario franchise in my mind.

The party members, however, didn’t really feel as fleshed out as they might’ve. Parakarry (or Fly Away Gary as I liked to call him) and Bow were my favourites, as they felt like they carried their own personalities the most. Others like Goombario and Kooper, for example, didn’t really feel like they had much going on beyond just speaking with them before they were recruited. Goombella and Koops by comparison felt like fleshed out and relevant through the entire game. Overall, I felt this comparison to be true of most of the party.

An interesting aside we noticed: The game also seems to be confused about the gender of Watt. Sometimes called “she” and sometimes “he”. Unlike Vivian who was an intentional character which they used to explore gender identity, this is probably a simple typo. I, however, believe Watt simply likes to change their pronouns sometimes. And you know what, good for them.

The game has many moments that shine and can be help up on a pedestal to represent what makes the writing in these games so special. Moments like the murder mystery, when peach gets trapped on a quiz show, and pretty much any time Kolorado is being an idiot are permanently cemented in my mind. 

Paper Mario oozes with a comforting and charming quality that feels like running through a picture book wrapped in a warm blanket. It doesn’t have as much of a modern edge to the writing, but there are still many laugh-out-loud moments.

// Point 2: Art Direction

It’s hard to say too much that I didn’t say in my other review, but it’s safe to say that the art direction here is also wonderful. The theming is on point. Beyond just being made of paper, the worlds are vibrant and fun to take in.

I enjoyed Toad Town as the hub world because it felt bright and lively. My favourite area was definitely the Li’l Oink farm. You spend ten coins and get a round pig from a gatcha machine, and OH MAN are they wonderful.

I love them all, and I am still thinking back fondly of my li’l oinks living out their lives in Toad Town.

The game overall feels extremely polished for an N64 title, and that is due to the excellent art direction.

// Point 3: Backtracking

I was expecting a lot of this in Paper Mario and, to my surprise, there was hardly any.

Simply put, I think this game respects your time more than TTYD does. It doesn’t send you back and forth across the same level multiple times. Well, aside from one offender. Looking at you, flower level. Despite this, the game doesn’t ever feel lacking for content. Most of the backtracking you’ll do is in the form of optional side content, like delivering letters to characters in previous areas.

Fast travel is also located underground in this game, but it’s much more accessible. Instead of a room located far away from your hub area, you have different warp pipes spread out across a sewer system. They are all easily accessible from the entrance. You unlock more as you explore the sewer, requiring new abilities to get further in. 

I enjoyed this much more than the undercity in TTYD, which would elicit a hearty groan any time crawling through it was required.

I gave TTYD a bit of a pass on this for being an older game, but clearly I was wrong to. This game is even older, and managed to do a better job. 

The in-between levels with Peach were also more enjoyable here. You take control of Peach as she repeatedly sneaks out of her room to explore more of her castle. It’s crawling with guards, so you need to be stealthy. With each attempt, she learns more about Bowser’s plans. 

She also finds herself doing all sorts of things, like participating on a quiz show and baking a cake. I thought these segments were just the right length to stay interesting without keeping you from the main game too long. To contrast that with TTYD, I wasn’t crazy about the computer love story or the Bowser segments.

The pacing and care put into what the game asks you to do in Paper Mario is simply excellent.

// Point 4: Action Commands

The action commands in Paper Mario are certainly less forgiving than they are in newer instalments. This added a slight layer of difficulty to the combat. If you miss a few extra blocks, you’ll very quickly find yourself burning through your healing items.

Mario is also the only one with a health bar in this one. No more meat-shielding him with your friends. The limited actions your partners can take add an additional level of strategizing. 

There were a couple of fights that really came down to the wire here. TTDY, by comparison, never really delivered that same level of tension.

Of course, these aren’t supposed to be hard games. I would never describe either as such. But Paper Mario’s slight edge was nice!

Something that was not appealing to me was how many attacks made you mash the damn buttons. Mashing buttons sucks. Some attacks, you had to repeatedly mash the joy-stick to the left over and over again. Who came up with that??

Aside from this annoyance, the combat is solid. 

____

Paper Mario is an iconic entry into a series from one of gaming’s biggest icons. It has aged incredibly well. The writing, gameplay, and visual style all hold up today. 

While it may not hit the same highs as The Thousand-Year Door does at times with its more top-tier writing and incredible cast, it also avoids almost all the pitfalls that TTYD finds itself in. It’s through and through a more consistent experience.

Do yourself a favour and play this piece of gaming history.