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Another year, another great Mario title. While Sega doesn't seem to know what to do with their famous mascot, Nintendo effortlessly moves Mario in and out of various titles and genres. The latest Mario epic, Super Paper Mario, is yet another example of the skill and care they take with the platforming legend. As a quasi return to Mario's roots, much of it is more platformer than role-playing game. And while this latest Mario outing may not be a flawless experience, it's crystal clear that Nintendo still knows just how to make their mustached plumber come out smelling like a rose.
The game features some conventions of both a RPG and standard platformer. Like a typical side scrolling Mario, it features chapters (essentially worlds), with four parts per chapter. However, in between these worlds you roam the town of wacky and weird town of Flipside, taking on a side quest or two and stocking up on special items. Those special items allow for some unique attacks on your enemies, for when bouncing off their heads simply won't do. Breaks between the platforming action isn't always all that welcome. Flipside is a pretty limited town compared with central hubs of other RPGs. Running around to accomplish some minor task can be tedious.
Super Paper Mario is a solid hybrid of an RPG and platformer, which is great news for gamers hungry for new Wii titles.
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Still, it plays to its strong suit by introducing some new abilities to be used while traversing the chapters. One such addition are Pixls. Pixls are little characters that you collect as you travel. Some are essential for progression, while others are more useful but completely optional. Pixls can do anything from reveal a hidden door to provide momentary invulnerability, and they're often the key to solving many of the puzzles that arise. They also add a bit of strategy as you can only have one Pixl equipped at a time. You'll sometimes need to decide which Pixl is most useful during a boss battle.
Of course, the much talked about addition is the ability to switch from the standard 2D to 3D. Switching is essential to progression, but there is a countdown timer, and going beyond it will hit you right in the HP. So your time in 3D is fairly limited. Since the only character that can change back and forth is Mario, he's likely to be your main character through the adventure. Even though each playable character has their advantages, utilizing Mario is essential to advancement. Often switching to 3D is the only to get past an immovable object. You'll also find yourself switching to run past some enemies when you HP hits critical.
Each chapter is brimming with a unique sense of style and humor. The game isn't terribly difficult, at least as long as you spend your coins on some health replenishing shakes. You won't want to die either, as death boots you right back to the title screen. Given all the text that accompanies the beginning of a chapter, or the start of a boss battle, cycling through it all to get back to where you were can be cause for grumbling. The irreverent humor and fairly low difficulty also doesn't cover some of the frustrating backtracking that makes up some of the latter chapters. The second half of the game wears a little thin in light of the brilliance of the first half, as you traverse back through several doors in order to move on.
Most of the bumps in the road are a result of a GameCube title being transplanted to the Wii. That's not to say the controls are broken. The Wii remote isn't all that much of the problem. It just takes a bit too much getting used to. To assist Mario in his adventure, you hold the remote sideways, like you would a classic NES pad. The only problem is that the options menu button is the + button in the center of the remote. You're going to use it semi-frequently to switch characters and Pixls, so you definitely have to get used to the reach. Early on, I found myself having to look down just to find the button. The tacked on Wii functionality is also a bit of a concern. For instance, you'll have to shake the remote to activate a specific power up. Since it's something that isn't central to gameplay, you tend to forget that it's something about it.
There's plenty of extra content that's not central to the game, but adds a bit of fun for the collector-minded (or Mario obsessed). There are character cards hidden away, often in treasure chests that can only be seen in 3D. The cards will allow you to get some increased damage against those specific enemies. Of course, this iteration also features a Pit of 100 Trials for an additional challenge. It adds a bit of extra play to the 15-20 hour single player experience.
Overall, Super Paper Mario is a solid hybrid of an RPG and platformer, which is great news for gamers hungry for new Wii titles. Which, in all honesty, is probably just about all Wii owners. Mario owners looking for a fix while waiting on Super Mario Galaxy will love it. As always, Mario just keeps on jumping. Sega should take notes.
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