Like Twilight Princess, Super Paper Mario was originally intended to be a GameCube game, something that’s glaringly obvious when you consider the relatively traditional control scheme. The Wii Remote is held horizontally, similar to the classic pad, with the D-pad predictably used to control Mario’s actions and the 1 and 2 buttons used to jump and fire. You can point the Wii Remote at the screen to get information on characters and objects and you also need to shake it to perform certain moves in the game, but they both feel shoe-horned into the game in an attempt to justify it as a Wii game. That’s not to say the controls are something to be criticized because they’re perfectly responsive and actually give the game an NES flavour given the NES controller’s likeness to the Wii Remote.
Super Paper Mario’s most unique feature is its clever ability to switch from a 2D perspective to a 3D world. This plays an integral part throughout the whole game whether it’s dealing with enemies by simply sidestepping a rolling spike that was inescapable in 2D, discovering new routes and areas by revealing previously unseen doors, or solving any one of its many quirky puzzles. This power is limited by a power bar but not to the extent that you feel restricted by it.
Paper Mario goes 3D.
The story of the game is relatively straightforward. As events would have it, all of the familiar Mario characters such as Peach, Luigi and even Bowser have been kidnapped by Count Bleck. As you progress through the game you’ll stumble upon short episodes involving these other characters from the Mario universe as they are trapped in Bleck’s lair. Escaping with any of these characters means that they become available for you to use in the main part of the game. Each of these supplementary characters have their own use. For example, with Peach you can float across large gaps using her umbrella, allowing you to jump to areas that Mario can’t reach. Since Mario is the only one who can flip into 3D, the rescued characters are really only useful for when their ability is needed, as any prolonged use can be frustrating. But if you think of the characters as simply being special abilities then it’s a non-issue.
In addition to the character abilities, Mario will come across a selection of spirits on his journey. In the previous Paper Mario games the spirits gave Mario the power to change shape, like turning into a paper airplane to fly over great gaps for example. In Super Paper Mario, the spirits provide Mario with extra powers, whether it’s simply picking things up and throwing them, being able to make bombs or turning Mario into a miniature version of himself so he can get through extremely tiny gaps. They are well integrated into the game and provide the player with additional ways to solve puzzles and overcome apparent dead ends.
The general narrative and speech bubble text conversations have always been a bittersweet element of the Paper Mario games. While they are often funny and packed full of Nintendo charm (and some clever real life observations) they always had a tendency to go on a bit - and this is the case here too, more so than ever before in fact. There are times when the text entertains and there are times when it will make you laugh, but far too often you’re left with the feeling that what had just been said could have been said in a much more concise fashion. You’ll often find yourself hammering away at the 1 button just so you can get back to the game.
Hmm, this looks familiar?
Visually the game can, at times, be one of the most attractive you will have likely ever to have seen simply due to its imaginative, clean and colourful style. Although the game can be guilty of maybe throwing too much brown and grey at you it makes it up by showering you with more colours than your eyes can handle. The crisp, clean 2D world certainly has the edge over the rather jaggy looking 3D world but at its best it’s a real treat. The soundtrack however is a complete mixed bag. One moment you’ll have one of its tunes stuck in your head while another time you’ll be reaching for the remote to turn the sound down. A consistent soundtrack is somewhat of a hallmark of Nintendo games so when a game isn’t quite up to scratch in the music department it sticks out like a sore thumb.
Super Paper Mario’s biggest fault is that it doesn’t know what it wants to be. It appears to be a 2D platformer, but it doesn’t have ideas to succeed as one and even if it did its slow pace would make it a completely unexciting adventure. Under the surface it still retains a lot of the RPG elements of the previous games in the series. But it doesn’t go anywhere near deep enough to be engaging enough to work on that level either.
But to be overly negative about Super Paper Mario would be unfair. The game does have some good ideas, especially later on when the whole 2D>3D idea is push commendably well. Also, it does have some highly memorable moments, especially the space/underwater shooter sections as well as the whole retro-styled Bitlands section which is like some wacky NES Super Mario Bros tribute. It’s just not a highly exciting game to play. Its enjoyable and its worth your time but it doesn’t grip you in the way it should. If you can forgive the pun for a second, this is a game that has all the right ingredients on paper, but in practice it just doesn’t quite work.
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Look out for the review in a few of weeks 
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