Super Paper Mario

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Super Paper Mario

Developer(s)	Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Release date(s)	April 9, 2007^[1] April 19, 2007^[2] TBA TBA
Genre(s)	Platformer/RPG
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: E
Platform(s)	Wii
Media	Wii Optical Disc
Input	Wii Remote

Super Paper Mario (スーパーペーパーマリオ, Sūpā Pēpā Mario^?) is a platform/role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems, a division of Nintendo. Originally developed for the Nintendo GameCube, it is now scheduled to be released for the Wii on April 9, 2007 in North America and April 19, 2007 in Japan. There has been no confirmed release date for Australia or Europe yet.

It is a combination of the previous Paper Mario titles and Super Mario Bros. titles. Unlike the RPG-style gameplay of previous Paper Mario games, the game will combine platforming gameplay and to a somewhat lesser extent, RPG elements.^[3]

1 Plot
2 Gameplay
3 Development
4 Reception
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Plot

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

Count Bleck overlooks the wedding of Princess Peach and Bowser

One day, the Mario Bros. are at home drinking coffee, when Luigi tells Mario that they should go and visit Princess Peach, since they have not seen her in a while. Toad suddenly appears, announcing that Princess Peach has been kidnapped again. Mario and Luigi quickly set off to Bowser's Castle. However, when they arrive, they find that Bowser is only getting ready to kidnap her, not aware that she had already disappeared. Count Bleck then appears, knocking Mario out and taking away everyone else.

Princess Peach wakes up to find herself at a wedding altar with Bowser. Count Bleck and his toadie Nastasia had been plotting to force Peach to marry Bowser; a book called the Dark Prognosticus predicts that the marriage will open a dimensional rift that will engulf the universe. Nastasia casts a spell to force Peach to say "I do". When this happens, the Chaos Heart appears. Luigi, who was nearby, wakes up and realizes what's happening. He tries to stop Count Bleck, but he escapes with the Chaos Heart.

Meanwhile, Tippi, the informative Pixl, appears and wakes Mario up, explaining that she was sent to find him. Then, Mario is transported to the town of Flipside, where he meets Merlon, who tells him that the Light Prognosticus states that a hero matching Mario's description can close the rift. To accomplish this, Mario must find the eight items called Pure Hearts; the first of which is given to him by Merlon. Mario must then place this into a "Heart Pillar" to open the gateway to Chapter 1.

Mario first must find a genie who will teach him how to flip between 2D and 3D. Then he journeys to a town to find a new Pixl called Thoreau. After this the mayor tells him that the pure heart is in the desert ruins. On his way to these ruins, Mario must defeat O'Chunks, a thug sent by Bleck to stop Mario. The ruins' boss is a security robot hijacked by Dimentio, another of Bleck's minions.

Soon after, Peach is the first one to join the party.^[4]

[edit] Gameplay

Unlike previous Paper Mario games, there is no turn-based fighting in Super Paper Mario; the game is predominately a side-scrolling platformer. Some RPG elements have been added; for example, the traditional scoring system doubles as an experience point system.^[5] After jumping on an enemy, the player can shake the controller for extra points. Characters are controlled by holding the Wii Remote sideways like a NES controller.^[6] The game is also confirmed to have a Pit of 100 Trials, similar to the one found in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door.

Mario can view levels from a third dimension, giving access to places otherwise unreachable

[edit] Characters and their abilities

There are four playable characters and each of them have different traits and a character-specific ability.^[7]

Mario: His ability allows the player to view the two-dimensional world from the side, along a third dimension. This allows Mario to bypass obstacles that appear impossible when viewed in two dimensions. Staying in this mode causes Mario to gradually lose power from his ability meter, and then eventually health, at the same time restoring his power gauge.^[5]
Peach: Her ability is using a parasol to float long distances, and can also duck under her parasol for protection, somewhat similar to her gameplay in Super Princess Peach. The player can start using her in chapter 2.
Bowser: His ability is to breathe fire, dealing more damage than a normal attack. When he jumps on an enemy, it also does double damage. His gameplay is nearly identical to his gameplay during Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. The player can start using him in chapter 3.
Luigi: His ability is that he jumps the highest, allowing him to reach areas inaccessible to the other characters.^[8]. The player can start using him regularly in Chapter 7.
Spoilers end here.

[edit] Pixls

Pixls give the player new abilities, reminiscent of helpers in other Paper Mario games.

Tippi is the first Pixl in the game. Her role is similar to that of Goombario and Goombella from the previous Paper Mario games. Tippi allows the player to point the Wii Remote at the screen like a spotlight. This spotlight can give more information about enemies, allies, items, and surroundings, and reveal hidden objects.^[9]
Thoreau gives the power to pick up and throw enemies and can be interchanged with other Pixls.
Boomer can be placed like a bomb that leaves behind pixelated fire and dust. He blows up everything in his path.
Slim allows the character to turn sideways and become paper thin, making it possible to slip between bars or other narrow places. Also if the player stands still they turn invisible.
Thudley enables a powerful ground-pound, which is useful for activating certain triggers.[1]
Carrie acts as a floating platform that can carry the player across certain hazards.^[9]
Fleep exacts a frame around objects caught in another dimension and flips them into the correct one.
Cudge allows Mario to use a hammer similar to the past Paper Mario games.[2]
Dottie shrinks Mario to a smaller size.[3]
Barry protects the character using a shield and attacks enemies that touch it. [4]

[edit] Power-ups

The E3 trailer showcased new abilities and power-ups, including a space helmet: Mario is seen floating in mid-air, shooting enemies with a ray gun, and running sideways down a wall. Newer videos and information reveal more items available in the game, some of which have appeared in preceding Paper Mario games. On the subject of Badges, it is unknown what kinds are available in this game, given their prominence in previous Paper Mario games. Badge-like items called Cards are seen. The player can collect up to 256 catch cards referring to the enemies in the game, which increase attack power toward the enemies in question. For example if the player has the Koopa Card, he will be able to double his damage on all Koopas in the game. There are also recipe cards, 96 in all.^[4]

Super Paper Mario alludes to Super Mario Bros. and New Super Mario Bros. by giving each character a giant, 8-bit, sprite-like form

[edit] Development

Super Paper Mario was created out of a desire to combine the familiar look of the Paper Mario series with a new style of gameplay.^[10] Chief director Ryota Kawade was on a train thinking about ways to adapt a subgame from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door in which the player controls a large Bowser in a short side-scrolling stage; he noticed that the other end of the train looked like a stage in a Mario game and envisioned switching between two and three dimensions.^[11] When producer Kensuke Tanabe was told about the idea, he decided to make the sequel an action-adventure game,^[10] but retained some role-playing elements to establish the game in the Paper Mario franchise.^[12] Kawade and Tanabe also felt that these elements, as well as the ability to switch between two and three dimensions, would make the game more accessible to players unaccustomed to action games.^[13] The team played side-scrolling Mario titles for inspiration, envisioning how the levels would look in 3D.^[12]

Super Paper Mario was announced by Nintendo on May 11, 2006 at E3 for the Nintendo GameCube.^[14] On May 30, 2006, Nintendo set a release date of October 9, 2006.^[15] That summer, the game was "quietly moved" to the Wii.^[16]

[edit] Reception

A few magazines and websites have rated this game so far.

Electronic Gaming Monthly- 8/9/9^[17]
IGN- 8.9[5]
Cheat Code Central- 4.8/5^{[citation needed]}
RPGamer- 5/5

[edit] References

^ Super Paper Mario. Nintendo of America.
^ Patrick Klepek (February 21, 2007). Nintendo Japan Outlines 2007 DS, Wii Schedule. 1UP.
^ Super Paper Mario release notes. Joystiq. Retrieved on May 19, 2006.
^ ^a ^b Shoemaker, Brad (2007-03-23). Super Paper Mario Preview: Chapter 1: The Adventure Unfolds. Gamespot. Retrieved on March 28, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Thomason, p. 46.
^ Thomason, p. 45.
^ E3 Preview: Super Paper Mario Impressions. N-sider. Retrieved on May 20, 2006.
^ Elston, Brett (2007-03-29). A near-perfect blend of old, new and RPG chattiness. Games Radar. Retrieved on March 29, 2007.
^ ^a ^b Thomason, p. 47.
^ ^a ^b Williams, p. 76.
^ Williams, p. 78.
^ ^a ^b Williams, p. 77.
^ Williams, pp. 76-77.
^ JKR (2006-05-11). E3 2006: Super Paper Mario. IGN. Retrieved on March 7, 2007.
^ Harris, Craig (2006-05-30). Nintendo's Latest Line-up. IGN. Retrieved on March 7, 2007.
^ Hatfield, Daemon (2007-01-22). Paper Mario Unfolding in April?. IGN. Retrieved on March 7, 2007.
^ Shane Bettenhausen, Andrew Pfister, Bryan Inithar (May 2007). "Super Paper Mario review". Electronic Gaming Monthly (215): 76 - 78.

Thomason, Steve (April 2007), "A Matter of Perspective", Nintendo Power 214: 44-48, ISSN: 1041-9551
Williams, Drew (May 2007), "Super Paper Mario: The Interview", Nintendo Power 215: 76-78, ISSN: 1041-9551