Super Paper Mario

Super Paper Mario
Developer(s)	Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Director(s)	Ryota Kawade
Producer(s)	Ryouichi Kitanishi
Programmer(s)	Tadao Nakayama
Composer(s)	Chika Sekigawa Naoko Mitome
Platform(s)	Wii
Release	NA April 9, 2007 JPN April 19, 2007 EUR TBA AUS TBA
Genre(s)	Platformer/RPG
Mode(s)	Single player

Template:Nihongo title is a platform/role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems, a division of Nintendo. Originally developed for the Nintendo GameCube, it was released for the Wii on April 9 2007 in North America. It will be released in Japan on April 19 2007, but 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 combines platforming gameplay and RPG elements.

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. 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. When producer Kensuke Tanabe was told about the idea, he decided to make the sequel an action-adventure game, but retained some role-playing elements to establish the game in the Paper Mario franchise. 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. The team played side-scrolling Mario titles for inspiration, envisioning how the levels would look in 3D.

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

Storyline

File:Superpapermariowedding.jpg

Count Bleck overlooks the wedding of Princess Peach and Bowser during the intro.

The story begins at the home of the Mario Brothers. Luigi gets bored of the recent lack of excitement and suggests that he and Mario go to visit Princess Peach, as they have not seen her in a while; but as they depart, Toad suddenly appears, and announces that the Princess has been kidnapped again. The brothers suspect that Bowser is behind it, and quickly set off to Bowser's Castle. But as they arrive, they find that Bowser is not aware of the Princess's kidnapping; indeed, he was preparing to go and kidnap her himself. A mysterious figure then appears, announces itself as Count Bleck, and kidnaps Bowser, Luigi and all of Bowser's soldiers; he leaves Mario behind.

Princess Peach wakes up to find herself in a wedding dress, standing at an altar with Bowser. Count Bleck and his toady Nastasia have kidnapped both her and Bowser to marry them; a book called the "Dark Prognosticus" predicts that the marriage of these two will create the Chaos Heart, which will destroy all of existence. Bowser goes along with it, but Peach resists; Nastasia is forced to hypnotize Peach into saying "I do", which creates a dimensional rift in front of the altar. Luigi, who was nearby, wakes up and realizes what's happening; he rushes at Count Bleck in an attempt to stop him, but both he and Nastasia disappear with the Chaos Heart which causes a huge explosion at the wedding.

Meanwhile, back at Bowser's Castle, Mario wakes up to find an unfamiliar creature. A butterfly-like organism transports him to the town of Flipside, a town between dimensions. The butterfly, who goes by the name of Tippi, takes Mario to an old wizard named Merlon. Merlon informs Mario of the situation, but presents the "Light Prognosticus", which contains a method of destroying the Chaos Heart. Mario matches the description of the hero in the book, so Merlon entrusts him with an object called the Pure Heart; this, along with 7 others, has the power to defeat Count Bleck. Mario places the Pure Heart into a Heart Pillar, which opens a door to another dimension called Lineland.

Meanwhile, Bleck and his henchmen have been controlling Bowser's army and using them for their own purposes. Peach is revealed to have survived the explosion at the wedding and is able to escape the castle by being transported between dimensions by Dimentio, although he is not shown and only saved Peach to further his own sinister plans. Luigi also survived, but is put under Bleck's control and tranformed into "Mr. L". Mario travels throughout the universe, collecting Pure Hearts and meeting up with Peach and Bowser, the latter having been able to escape Castle Bleck. Strangely, he does not remember how he escaped and said that he was at the castle one moment, then the next, he woke up in a field in the Bitlands. Twice they fought against Mr. L, who uses his Brobot against them. After the second encounter, Dimentio appears before Mr. L and ends his game. He then goes to Mario, Peach, and Bowser at Flipside, and he ends their games as well. Mario wakes up to find himself alone at the Underwhere, where people go when their 'games be over'. Luigi, having finally escaped the control of Bleck, is soon found by Mario and joins his brother in his journey. As they explore more of the Underwhere and its counterpart, the Overthere, they find Peach and Bowser, who rejoin Mario.

As the game progresses, it is slowly revealed that Count Bleck wants to destroy every world because he was angry for something that happened long ago. Count Bleck was once Blumiere, and his dear Timpani was taken away from him. Timpani was a girl who took him in after he was injured falling off a cliff. Blumiere was shocked that she took him in since she was a human and he was a shadow that belonged to a dark tribe, thus making them very different. They soon fell in love and planned to get married, when she mysteriously disappeared.

It is revealed that same dark tribe Bleck was from sent Timpani to another dimension. Led by Bleck's father, they sent Timpani to the world between dimensions and her body was clearly not able to withstand the process. Merlon found her hurt, so he had no choice but to turn her into a Pixl. Blumiere was so angry that he opened the dark prognisticus that was kept by his tribe, wanting to destroy everything that took her away from him. His soul was consumed by the book and turned him into Count Bleck. Count Bleck used his new powers to destroy his own world out of thirst for revenge and desired nothing more than the destruction of existence itself, which included all worlds and dimensions.

In Chapter 8, the four heroes encounter O'Chunks, Mimi, and Dimentio, who had given them trouble over the course of the game. Bowser, Peach, and Luigi fought them respectively by themselves, and all six seemly perish in the end — Bowser and O'Chunks were holding up a ceiling about to crush them, Peach and Mimi fell down a pit, and Dimentio apparently sacrifices his game to end Luigi's. However, when Mario finally encounters Count Bleck and finds he cannot harm him, the other three heroes show up alive. They explain that a trap door opened up below Bowser when he was holding up the ceiling, and Peach landed on Bowser when she fell. But Luigi cannot recall exactly how he survived. The Pure Hearts then appear and weaken the force field surrounding Count Bleck, leaving him vulnerable to attack.

When Count Bleck is defeated, Dimentio appears, revealing his survival as well, and tells the group his plans. Dimentio was never truly working for Bleck, rather, he had been using him the whole time for his own plans. Dimentio only joined Bleck to reside in the shadows and used Bleck to create the Chaos Heart. Secretly, he was helping Mario be united with Peach, Bowser and Luigi so that they will become three of the four heroes spoken of in the Light and Dark Pronostigus. He was the one to release Peach and Bowser from their imprisonment in Bleck's castle to have them meet with Mario. Luigi is revealed to be not only the fourth hero, but also the one to determine the fate of the universe, as hinted by Merlon earlier in the game.

The Dark Pronostigus states that Luigi is the ideal host for the Chaos Heart and was controlled by Dimentio to test his abilities. Dimentio has been testing Mario and his friends the whole time because he hopes for them to defeat Count Bleck so that he could take control of the Chaos Heart. In order for this to happen, he needs the the Pure Hearts, which he used Mario and his friends to obtain so they can use up all their power to defeat Bleck. The defeated Bleck reveals his love to Timpani. He begs the heroes to end his game so that Timpani has a future to live for as his destruction is the only way to stop the end of all worlds. Dimentio takes control of both the Chaos Heart and Luigi. He merges Luigi with him and the Chaos Heart after viciously murdering Nastasia. He imprisons Count Bleck, Timpani, and Nastasia's body in Dimension D and becomes Super Dimentio. He reveals that he is going to destroy all worlds and dimensions and create brand new ones, with him as their supreme ruler.

However, while in Dimension D, O'Chunks and Mimi reappear alive as well, and reaffirm their loyality to Count Bleck. Bleck and Timpani activate the Pure Hearts with their love for each other and use them to escape the dimension. Mario and his friends use the hearts to make Dimentio vunerable and heal themselves. In the end, Super Dimentio is defeated and barely clinging to life. With his last breath, he leaves a portion of his power to continue controlling the Chaos Heart and use it to destroy existence itself. Dimentio explodes and sinks into the ground, leaving Luigi perfectly unharmed and no longer controlled. Count Bleck realizes all the suffering he caused everyone and reveals the only way to stop the Chaos Heart and the void was to show it true love, so he returns to the wedding altar with Timpani and they both say their feelings. The void closes, the Sammer's Kingdom world that was destroyed during the course of the game is restored to normal, Nastasia revives, and Timpani and Blumiere disappear, but it is known that she is happy with Blumiere.

Much of the story include in-jokes to previous Mario and Nintendo games, included by the writers of the game.

Gameplay

The player controls the characters by holding the Wii Remote sideways like a NES controller. With the Tippi Pixl, the player can also point to the screen with the remote to identify features on the screen as well as hidden objects.

Super Paper Mario, like other Paper Mario games, borrows both RPG and platforming elements in its gameplay. A main hub city called "Flipside" provides a location for Mario and his party to talk to residents, shop, and rest, as well as to open doorways to other worlds. There also exists a mirror version of Flipside called "Flopside" that becomes available in the last half of the game with improved items and shops. Unlike previous Paper Mario games, there is no turn-based fighting; instead the player faces foes directly on screen as in a usual Mario platforming game, and through experience gains and special items, the amount of damage dealt can be increased; the player also must watch the party's health taken as damage from foes, though this can be restored with special health items. The traditional scoring system used in most platforming games doubles as an experience point system. After jumping on an enemy, the player can shake the controller for extra points. The player can also collect "catch cards" for all the major characters and enemies; possessing an enemy card will double damage dealt for that enemy.

File:SPM 3D.jpg

Beta version of underground area from Chapter 3-1, both normal, and 3-D.

While the concept of a "paper" Mario (existing in only 2 dimensions) still continues through the game, a frequently used power obtained early in the game allows the player to "flip" Mario into the third dimension at nearly any point in the game. When this occurs, the current 2D level is rotated to become 3D in a third-person view; obstacles that may have blocked progress in 2D can simply be walked around in 3D, or hidden blocks or enemies may become visible. There are also numerous secrets to the 3D version of the level, however, Mario can only spend a short amount of time in this form before taking damage.

Mario and his party also gains powers through creatures called "Pixls" within the game. These give the current character an additional ability such as turning sideways to slip through cracks, hammering down large blocks, or planting bombs to defeat foes. In addition to Mario, the player will eventually control three other characters: Princess Peach, Luigi, and Bowser. Both the current character and Pixl can be switched out at any time during the game.

There are total of 8 chapters in the game, each split into 4 levels, with the final level culminating in a boss fight. For all but the last chapter, the goal is to collect a "Pure Heart" which is then used somewhere in Flipside to unlock the door to the next chapter. Save points are located strategically throughout Flipside and individual levels; if the character's hit points drop to 0, the player must restart at the last start point, though the player can escape to Flipside at any time, at the cost of having to restart the last level when they return.

Additional side quests also can be performed once the player can access these areas through the use of the Pixls and new characters.

Main Characters

Main article: List of characters in Super Paper Mario

There are four playable characters and each of them have different traits and a character-specific ability. The player only controls one character but can switch between them at any time through the in-game menus.

• 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 impassable 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.
• Peach: Her ability is using a parasol to float long distances and also ducking 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: He is able to jump a bit higher than the other characters, and can super jump. This allows him to reach high ledges and attack enemies above him, and is similar to Mario's Spring Jump in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. The player fights him as Mr. L in Chapter 4-4 and again in Chapter 6-1 and 8-4. The player can start using him in Chapter 7.

Main Villains

• Count Bleck: The main villain of the game, he wishes to obliterate all worlds with the help of the Dark Prognosticus by fulfilling its prophecy. Refers to himself in the third person.
• Nastasia: More officious than evil, she stands loyally by Count Bleck's side as his secretary and secretly loves him though doesn't think she can compare to Timpani. Seems to have skill at hypnotical magic. She also when not alone with Count Bleck speaks in the manner of, and using many quotes from Bill Lumbergh, of the movie Office Space.
• Dimentio: A sinister court jester who serves Count Bleck. Dimentio's name comes from the words "dementia", referring to his twisted personality, and "dimension", because he has the power to control various dimensions. He created his own miniature world called Dimension D, and works behind the scenes over the course of the game to ensure Count Bleck's defeat, so he can obtain the Chaos Heart.
• O'Chunks: A man with lots of brawn but little to no brains thats totally dedicated to Bleck and seems to have feelings for Nastasia. He speaks with an Irish accent.
• Mimi: Shapeshifting young girl that uses her doppleganger powers to get close to her enemies and attack when least expected. Has an affinity for Rubees and changes outfits often. Her true form is a moldy green body with long spider like legs and a small dangling body from her moldy head.

Bosses

• Fracktail: The boss of Chapter 1, this robotic dragon was turned evil by Dimentio, forcing him to attack. He attacks from the sky, and once you climb on him, he sends little miniture robots to attack
• Mimi: The little shapeshifter shows her true form in Chapter 2, where she chased the player through rooms in the basement of Merlee's mansion. See above for more info.
• Bowser: Before joining Mario's party, he fights him in Chapter 3. During Chapter 7, he fights Mario again before rejoining his side after Dimentio's attack on them at Flipside.
• Francis: The geeky chameleon boss of Chapter 3, he held Tippi prisoner until Mario and Co. defeated him. Is also an optional character to fight in Chapter 8-2, in which a series of choices must be selected part way through the level. He has a simple attack pattern of hiding and appearing briefly to either swallow the player, take a picture while blinding the player, or sending meow-bombs to attack
• Mr. L / Brobot: The hypnotized Luigi attacks Mario in Chapter 4 in the Whoa Zone. The Brobot battle had Mario floating through space shooting at him with Squirps, similar to a standard horizontal shoot 'em up video game.
• King Croacus: The king of the Floro Sapiens of Chapter 5 was driven crazy by water polluted by the Cragnons, and started attacking them because of it.
• Mimi & later Brobot L-Type: Mimi attacks the party with rubees as Sammer Guy's Kingdom collapses. Then, the Brobot and Mr. L makes a return in afterward, with hands and feet, in the newly desolate world.
• Bonechill: This mysterious dragon appears as the boss of Chapter 7. The dragon was killed by freezing to death; his remains later escaped from the Underwhere. He attacks by freezing the celing which causes icicles to fall and with a cannon on the lower half of his body. Considered to be the 'fan favourite' boss of the game.
• Count Bleck: This showdown took place at the end of Chapter 8, where Mario was forced to face him alone, with no avail. Peach, Bowser and Luigi appear to help Mario, breaking Count Bleck's barrier. See above for more info.
• Super Dimentio: The final boss appeared after defeating Count Bleck. This beast is a mix of Luigi, Dimentio, and the Chaos Heart. The true final battle.
• Wracktail: An optional boss found in the Flipside Pit of 100 Trials, Wracktail resembles a zombiefied Fracktail.
• Shadoo: Another optional boss, Shadoo was created by the Ancients and inhabits the Flopside Pit of 100 Trials. He attacks by transforming into shadow versions of the four main characters.

Pixls

There are various creatures known as Pixls that the player could use to perform special abilities. In addition to Tippi, only one other Pixl can be used at a time though the player may switch freely between them through in-game menus.

• 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. Tippi is always active.
• Thoreau gives the power to pick up and throw enemies and can be interchanged with other Pixls. This can be compared to the koopa partners' abilities in past games to get items.
• Boomer can be placed like a bomb that leaves behind pixelated fire and dust. He blows up everything in his path. This is identical to the bomb partners in past Paper Mario games
• 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. This power is identical to the one in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
• Thudley enables a powerful ground-pound, which is useful for activating certain triggers.
• Carrie acts as a floating platform that can carry the player across certain hazards and also protects the character from jumping on spiked enemies. This is quite similar to Lakilester's ability from the original Paper Mario game.
• Fleep exacts a frame around patches of space, revealing hidden items or switches.
• Cudge allows the character to use a hammer similar to the past Paper Mario games.
• Dottie shrinks the character to a smaller size to fit through passageways and visit the Itty-Bitty Food shops.
• Barry is an optional Pixl. He protects the character using a shield and attacks enemies that touch it.
• Piccolo can play music from any of the realms. She is optional, but will help the player take down a certain boss. She is also used to dissolve certain blocks in order to gain Mario a special or rare item, and can be used to remove curses.
• Dashell is the third optional Pixl. He will make Mario run a little over twice his normal speed. This could be considered a dash as it uses the same button as in the Virtual Console Super Mario Bros.

File:Spmgiantmario.jpg

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

• Tiptron is a robotic version of Tippi. Tiptron becomes available for purchase for 999 coins at Fort Francis in the end of the game, when Tippi leaves the party forever. Note that Tiptron is technically a robot, not a Pixl in its own right.

Reception

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

• Game Informer: 9.5/10
• Electronic Gaming Monthly: 9/10, 9/10, 8/10
• IGN: 8.9/10
• Nintendo World Report: 9/10
• Cheat Code Central: 4.8/5
• RPGamer: 5/5
• GameSpot: 8.8/10
• Famitsu: 35/40

Generally, the reviews of Super Paper Mario have been highly positive, ranging from 8 to 10 on a scale of 10. The primary recurring complaints are the lack of a dash button which detracts from the "old-school" platforming feel, the 3D backgrounds being very bland, and the excessive amount of dialog between characters, especially at the beginning introduction of the game.

References

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

External links

• Official Site (USA)
• Official Site (Japan)
• Game page at wii.nintendo.com
• GameSpot page
• IGN page
• 1up page
• GameTrailers GDC 2007 Story and Controls Interview