Paper Mario - 9/10 (Possible spoilers). Although not my favorite in the series, it's still a fantastic game. Perhaps if this was the first Paper Mario-type game I played, it would have easily been my favorite. But having played through Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door and Super Paper Mario several times before purchasing the N64 version, its shortcomings were a little frustrating (maximum of 30 Badge Points… really?). However, now that that's out of the way, my overall experience with Paper Mario has been incredibly enjoyable. I would have no reservations recommending this game to anyone, especially due to its fantastic value on VC.
As far as presentation, it would be difficult to find a game as charming, colorful, and delightful as any in the Paper Mario series. I love the storybook visuals, and the music (like most Mario games) always adds so much to the gameplay experience. Very creative. Playing it on my 47" HDTV seemed to emphasis the choppiness, and there were some frame rate issues, but really, nothing to be concerned with. It didn't detract from the experience at all, just something I noticed.
One of the strongest aspects of this particular Paper Mario game is its perfect blend of story and solid gameplay. I found the dialogue to be quite entertaining, and there were very few times where I felt like it went on too long. The immense amount of time put into sidequests and getting 100% completion was totally worth it. That's one of my favorite features of the Paper Mario games; there's so much to do, you really feel like you're getting your money's worth.
I've played the game through twice now, and I still come across things I've never noticed. Just like a good book, this game made me want to start back at the beginning again as soon as I finished it.
Ok, so that's it for the review part. I found it very helpful to read other peoples thoughts, and strategies especially. RetroRich, I found it interesting that you mainly used Bombette as your partner. I think I only used her at spots where it was necessary to progress. Bow and Watt were my most popular partners, and towards the end of the game I was using the last three partners especially. And I'm a major badge user, but I think I developed that habit from PM: TTYD. Anyways, love this NL Game Club, HolyMackerel! Good job, can't wait for the next game.
I'm glad you enjoyed the club! I didn't manage to finish Paper Mario - too many games to play over the Christmas period - but I made quite a lot of progress. I love the game and I'm definitely going to finish it however! Thanks for your reviews @RetroRich and @she_gamer! Great insights into the game there.
@RetroRich I also find it interesting that you used Bombette mostly. I almost never used her! I stuck mostly to Goombario for Tattle/Charge Jump and Kooper for Power Shell/Dizzy Shell. Then again I haven't gotten the final few partners yet so that may change in the future.
What do you guys think about doing a poll allowing members to vote for a score from 1-10? That will require less effort on everyone's part and we'll get a nice average of what people thought of the game.
I really enjoyed our first session with Paper Mario. I haven't played a game so single-mindedly for a long time! It was great discussing it with others and sharing hints and ideas about the game. I think it was a great choice for our first playthrough actually, because there's so much to the game. I was going for completion the whole time (which explains why I haven't finished it yet) - searching around for secret panels to buttstomp, doing letter deliveries with Parakarry, answering quizzes, buying out the badge store... man, this game was a whole ton of fun and kept delivering more and more.
I love the childish style and the silly humour. It all really brings me back to the gaming days of my youth when I played and completed games just for fun, not for multiplayer or for mastery. Those were simpler times, huh? I loved the twists this game put on traditional RPG mechanics. Only having small amounts of health and doing small amounts of damage (literally only in the single digits for most of the game) was a really interesting design choice. It makes me wonder about games like the recent Final Fantasies, where you're doing hundreds or even thousands of damage with each attack. It seems a little bloated, or maybe a little too pretentious, when placed next to a game like Paper Mario where the game is very tightly balanced.
Other twists I really enjoyed included playing as Princess Peach in the castle, the interesting Focus/Star Power system (Refresh is so useful!), the Jump/Hammer dynamic and the incredible diversity of the badge system. Sometimes when I got a new badge it was like a paradigm shift: "What, you can switch out your partner and attack with him on the same turn? SWEET!" "Holy cow, I can get my partners to focus now!" I loved moments like those.
I also loved how the boss battles weren't just "deal the most damage as you can". Most of the time you had to find their weakness, and it was never anything as simple as the standard-fare RPG elemental weaknesses. With almost every fight with new enemies (and bosses especially) I started with Goombario as my sidekick just so I could get some hints on the enemies. I also found myself really interested in the enemy descriptions! And as I adventured around the world of Paper Mario, I always had Goombario out to tell me about my surroundings and the people I spoke to. There is an immense amount of detail in the game: from the interests of different Toads in Toad Town, to the favourite foods of the Koopa Bros. You can tell Paper Mario was a labour of love and it really shows!
All in all, a wonderful game. I haven't been this interested in a Mario game since New Super Mario Bros. for the DS, and the original SMB on the NES. I'm really interested in The Thousand Year Door now, and I'd even love to give Super Paper Mario a spin.
I didn't get to finish it yet. I've got 5 stars I think, and am looking for seeds now. It's part of my backlag challenge so I'll have it done over the next month. I'll have a short review of it when I'm done, but I will say that I'm really enjoying it. More than I thought I would.
Minor spoilers ahead: I also find the favorite partner talk interesting. Like HolyMackerel, I always use Goombario first, and switch to somebody else if necessary. Note that, only if necessary! I ONLY used Lakilester against Huff 'n Puff, and Sushie saw no action except against the Fire Piranha. I don't think I used Parakarry in battle at all...
I also definitely agree with HolyMackerel when it comes to HP levels in many modern RPG's. Inflating the numbers serves no real purpose, and it can be incredibly refreshing to play a game that doesn't. That's one of the things I really like about the Dragon Quest series, actually; not even Dragon Quest IX buckled to the over-inflated numbers trend. Of course, Paper Mario makes Dragon Quest's HP look excessive.
My Backloggery Updated sporadically. Got my important online ID's on there, anyway. :P
@HolyMackerel: I think a poll like that would be great! Plus, I get to drag up the average with my big, shiny 10.
Minor spoilers, I guess My most used partners were definitely Bow and Watt, followed by Bombette and Goombario (how much does that boy know?! I think he's secretly stalking the residents of the towns or something; he simply knows too much). My least favourite partner was probably Sushie. I tried her out a couple of times in battle, but she got to rest after that. I don't think I even used her against the Fire Piranha. O.O
I'm down with the poll for scores idea. Don't think I used watt in a battle once, or Bow. Bombette can hit all the enemies on the screen at once when fully upgaded, thats why I used her the most. Plus her attack was easy to pull off, not like that button combo thing for Sushi.
I finally finished this game on the weekend (only a week late!) and have to agree that it's one good game. I played a lot of N64 games back in the day, yet never played this one. Maybe it was because I never saw it in the shops, or it wasn't in my local video store. Didn't use the internet a whole lot back then (well, not to check up on the latest gaming news at least).
Regarding my most used character, I think it was probably Watt. Bow was good, but got sick of doing her move (left left left,,,) so stuck with the easier moves of Watt. However eventually I realised that Goombario could deal one more point of damage, so mixed it up between him and Watt.
@FunkyGamer Well we're doing Cave Story for our next session starting Friday, so if you're interested then you can download it for free at CaveStory.org or buy it on WiiWare or DSiWare. After that we're doing Little King's Story in March for about 2 months... then we'll vote on what game to play next.
Keep an eye on our club thread because we may end up playing TTYD if it gets enough votes!
Kid_A, the more the merrier! If you want to get the emails, HolyMakerel set up a Google Group which he sends out info about start dates/polls for future game selections, etc. It's just called NintendoLife Game Club, so if you search on google groups, you can probably find it. Other than that, it's just discussing games on forum threads.
I am way too lazy to think of something clever. My Backloggery
@Kid_A Sure, everyone is welcome! Our club thread with instructions on how to join is here. Basically just join the Google Group linked in the first post and you'll receive club announcements through your email (mostly polls and date reminders). If you want to join our Cave Story play session starting Friday make sure you have access to it by then.
EDIT: Token Girl gave me the one-two punch on this one. Oof!
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Topic: NL Game Club Session 1: Paper Mario
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