As you probably know, this game was originally announced as a Gamecube title, though because of the Cube's sudden death, Intelligent Systems went down the knowledgeable route and merged it over to the baby in Nintendo's family - the Wii. With that said, you can clearly see that this game really was meant to be released on the Gamecube, and that there are only a few Wiimote included gameplay mechanics, none of which are particularly notable. You'll have the pointing device, the shaking like crazy device, and, well, that's about it. And the sad fact is you'll barely ever use those aforementioned mechanics, especially the latter. The pointing device is pretty neat, seeing that you can point at litterally every living thing and Tippi will give a short but juicy description on him/her/it.
Now, the selling point of this game has to be the fact that Mario can transform the 2-D world into a 3-D world at almost any point in the game. This undoubtably paves the way for some fun and uniqe puzzles, and contrary to my prediction before I purchased the game - they don't get old. And while we're on the subject of puzzles - ''Super Paper Mario'' has better puzzles than any other game in the ''Paper Mario'' series. In fact, the puzzles are better than any other ''Mario'' series game. They're really fun, and they make great use of not only the four playable characters (Mario, Peach, Bowser, and "SPOILER" Luigi "END SPOILER"), but also the 13 different Pixl buddies that will join your party during your odd but fun adventure.
The different characters were a nice addition, though as many said - you'll probably just stick with mario 90 percent of the whole game. Though on some boss battles I found myself using Bowser a lot seeing as he deals double the damage to your antagonistic villains.
Pixls are, quite frankly, super alien like fariy beings that all posses special and possibly magical powers. Each one has a different power, such as Tippi's ability to give the beef on enemies and areas, not to mention find secret doors/stair cases/ ect..., Thoreau's ability to pick up and toss enemies, Cudge's ability to act as a hammer, and many others. Though while playing the game, I couldn't help but notice that many of these Pixl's abilities were already actions that you could perform in previous ''Paper Mario'' games. I mean, you have the hammer, the tattle ability, the ground pound, the carry across spiky areas power, and I'm sure there are others that I'm forgetting.
Now, being a member in the ''Paper Mario'' series, expect to see some RPG mechanics in there as well, though they're not in the same fashion as the previous entries. Almost any thing you do, whether it be collecting coins/items or stomping enemies, you'll gain experience points. Once you reach a certain amount, you'll gain another level, and when you do, you'll either gain one attack power or five heart points.
Fighting enemies is also dramatically (though very positively) changed. Rather than going through the sort of tedious battles where you take turns with your opponent, this is more of a platformer where you can quickly take out enemies with a good ol' Mario jump. Though more of the later enemies will take more strategy rather than just jumping on them.
Now, before I go on talking about the plot, I thought that I'd mention the fact that theres also a few stages that act as a classic space shooter. Pretty fun, but not so hard. Anyway, lets a go!
The story is another highlight in the game. It's pretty funny, though not in a way where it seems childish. It will appeal to not only adults, though in some cases the kiddies as well. You'll get the occasional fart joke, though overall the writing is very long, and some of the younger ones may get tired of it. Of course I loved it, never got tired of it, but thats just me. There will be plenty of twists in the plot too!
Anyway, this game is probably my favorite in the series. I really loved the past games, though this one really is more innovative then them, thus resulting in a classic IMO. Some will probably agree, though I really wouldn't mind - It was hard coming to a conclusion whether or not this was the best. The most surprisng thing in the game is the fact that they managed to make this series a platformer, when for about 5 years it was mostly a classic turn based RPG. I applaud Intelligent Systems for making such a grand risk, that overall was totally great.
*Graphics - The graphics have always been something that I appreciated in the ''Paper Mario'' series, and this one is one of the best in the series. I was, however, a little dissapointed that there weren't many references to the point that the whole world is made out of paper, as ''Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door'' did. Any way, I'm sure you've heard this a whole lot of times, but the 2-D segments are a whole lot prettier than the 3-D ones. - 8/10
*Sound - I like the music in the previous ''Paper Mario'' games, though I really wasn't impressed by the sound tracks featured in this game. - 6.5
*Plot - The whole chapter involving Francis made this the funniest game in the series. The plot is actually pretty good, though maybe not as epic as ''Paper Mario 2'', though it was better then the first in the series. - 8/10
*Gameplay - As I already said, this is the selling point in any game. A movie needs the plot, music needs, well, the music, and video games need gameplay. This is no doubt one of the funnest experiences I've ever had. - 10/10
I, no doubt, give this game a good ol' 9/10.
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