- Publisher:
Nintendo - Developer:
Intelligent Systems - Genre:
RPG - Players:
1
2001
Paper Mario
"It may possess a paper-thin aesthetic, but Paper Mario's biggest success is that it adds considerable depth to what is historically a story-weak franchise. The puzzles may be a little on the simple side, but otherwise this is a rich and fulfilling RPG experience -- something which is quite hard to come by on the Nintendo 64. Even today, it still has great visual charm."
9/10 - Martin Watts 64
User Reviews (12)
"I've always loved the Mario and Luigi Series and years ago I bought this game on the Wii Shop Channel.Probably the best thing I've ever bought and the successors that I've played after it have sucked in comparison.The levels and story line are great.The sidekicks you travel with are fun to fight with.Overall it's somewhat a brilliant Super Mario Game for the Nintendo 64."
9/10 - Super8-BitBen 64
"Paper Mario is a game full of charm, both in it's usage and exploration of the Mario IP, as well as it's paper aesthetic. The artstyle, characters, and gameplay are simple, but also memorable, and draws you into the game. It has a slow start, but once it gets going, Paper Mario is a combination of lovely locations, wonderful characters, involving action, and surprising depth."
10/10 - Souldin 64
"If there is one negative aspect of the N64, it is that RPGs were few and far between on the console. Fortunately for those hungering for the genre, Paper Mario offered a simple, but satisfying RPG experience that was able to charm players with its adorable paper-thin look and an incredibly zany sense of humor. For any N64 owner, this game is worth owning!"
9/10 - bizcuthammer 64
"Of all the Mario RPGs I have played, this is definitely THE game that defines my childhood and the best game I have ever played of all time. With a deep story, quirky characters, fun gameplay, excellent soundtrack, charming atmosphere, and spot-on humor, it's no wonder why this game will be remembered for the books. Paper Mario is my #1 favorite video game series."
10/10 - StephenYap3 64
"World made of paper was an amazing idea to go turn technical restrictions into advantages! The story is captivating and the whole game is thoroughly charming. The chill visuals and simple fighting system get your guard down so you'll be surprised time and again. The occasional boring moments of having to backtrack and look for tiniest details for advancing bring it down a bit."
8/10 - Omenapoika 64
"What really made this game feel like something special for me was how the game itself doesn't take things seriously, always playing with the fact that this is a game, and that everything is seemingly made out of paper. Other Mario RPG games have continued Paper Mario's ridiculous brand of humor, but it is the Nintendo 64 title which really hits absolute grandness for me."
9/10 - Anchel 64
"Having played this after he Thousand Year Door, every title since has been a disappointment in the paper Mario series. You can do only the A-block that is just -1 for all attacks, not the skill B-blocking that could prevent all damage. Story is rather boring but thankfully you care about your teammates. And it's still a fun RPG-adventure, not so much than TTYD."
8/10 - Luffymcduck 64
"Paper Mario is a classic. In took what Nintendo and Sqauresoft's Super Mario RPG did and improved upon it. The worlds are fun to explore, the characters are funny, likable and interesting, and it spices up the usually boring Role-playing game battle system by adding action commands, a system also used in games like Super Mario RPG, Legend of Dragoon, and Mario & Luigi."
10/10 - Oragami 64
"A very great game that is one of the best offered on the Nintendo 64. It is also one of the few N64 games that actually have aged well graphics wise and gameplay wise. The only thing I can say bad about this game is that your partner is limited on options in a battle. Otherwise, you will have fun throughout this whole game."
"One of the greatest RPGS ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever ,ever."
"A cutesy, childlike aesthetic, puzzles requiring little to no thought, and RPG elements so simple it might as well be called "Paper Mario: Baby's First RPG." SO WHY DO I LOVE IT SO MUCH? It has an undefinable charm that makes every second a joy to play. It's fun in its purest form; an adventure I can enjoy countless times. Just an incredible game."
10/10 - DerpSandwich 64
"The best Mario role-playing game, and one that joyfully revels in, err, not revelling in the oft overused and overwrought cliches of the genre. Irreverent and playful, yes, but also full of atmosphere, charm, and sincerity. RPG gameplay stripped down to the bare-bones essentials, augmented by the best gameplay elements of the Mario platformers, amidst a plethora of sidequests and challenges of all kinds."
9/10 - Solid_Stannis 64
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...
Comments 25
I remember this game with soo much joy - trudging through the jungle on New Years day and such, aah.
I have this on the wii mode of my wii u
Such an amazing game love it
Paper Mario for the N64 is my absolute favourite N64 game, as well as my 2nd favourite Mario game (my favourite Mario game being it's sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door).
I admittedly got it rather late, I think it was my birthday following the Christmas in which my brothers and I received a GameCube, but I remember yelling with joy upon unwrapping this game and playing it solely for the following week. A wonderful game to which I have wonderful memories of.
Still the best game in the series.
Ahhh, sweet sweet game! with a great sequel and then it went downhill.....
Ahh, my user review on there. Yes, I mean it.
I played it for the first time thanks to the Wii's VC, and since then I've enjoyed every Paper Mario after it (yes, I loved Sticker Star). I wish Nintendo would add it to the Wii U's VC, if just to give me a reason to play it again.
"Of all the Mario RPGs I have played, this is definitely THE game that defines my childhood and the best game I have ever played of all time. With a deep story, quirky characters, fun gameplay, excellent soundtrack, charming atmosphere, and spot-on humor, it's no wonder why this game will be remembered for the books. Paper Mario is my #1 favorite video game series."
10/10
Yep, totally agree with you Stephen!
It probably suffered a little as I played Thousand Year Door first, but I still loved this game. TYD is my favourite in the series (not played Sticker Star yet) but the original is still brilliant. I was so happy when it came to the Virtual Console years ago
This wasn't my first Mario RPG, but I definitely have crazy fond memories of it. The aesthetics, the characters, and the music all combined into one fantastic title. I even found the battles fun. Plus the badge system added an extra layer of complexity to this already decidant cake.
On a side note, the Mario RPGs are definitely some of the best RPGs that I have ever played. I honestly think it has to do with the battle mechanics. The add a little spice so that the game never gets dull.
Paper Mario was definitely good enough to make up for N64's otherwise complete lack of REAL rpg's. (we're looking at you, Quest 64!)
Oh, I love this game so much. I remember how stupid I was back then. I rented games, and didn't know how to start from the beginning, so I just chose the save files from other people. One of them was on Bowser's Castle. Yeah. I remember I got into a battle with some Koopatrols and just did crap like jump on their heads and use Star Beam repeatadly on them and be like "yay, I'm doing something!" The fact that I didn't know a lick of English didn't help.
I just really started playing it after a buddy came with a Nintendo magazine with a walkthrough that got me through the beginning and made me learn the mechanics. Then my dog shredded the magazine and I had to do the rest of the game on my own after Chapter 5, I think. Nowadays I think it's good that I did at least a part of the game on my own.
Sorry for the rambling, it's just that I love this series (first three anyway) and this game immensely. I like TTYD even better. Nintendo and Intelligent Systems, please do a REAL Paper Mario game again.
I never played this on the original console, but was attempting to play it on Wii Mode. I've struggled due to playing the Gamecube and Wii versions first.
That said, I wanted so hard for them to do a Paper Luigi during the year of Luigi, especially if it showed what happened during The Thousand Year Door.
I love this game almost too much for words. But I am a writer, so I suppose I can manage 64 of them...
A game I love, but it's following annoys me sometimes ("this one was good, and the rest went downhill" what some of them always say). I see all 4 of them being separate entities in a series about shaking up the Mario formula, so why would all 4 need to be the same!? I like them separate and different, and I REALLY want a Wii U one!
I love Paper Mario series.
All I want is a remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year-Door on Wii U.
This game bores me often. Maybe I'm partially responsible for this, but the battles tend to repeat themselves. I guess that just means I'll have to change my badges around next time I pick up my save file.
The visuals are simple, but they convey atmosphere effectively. The music, while not usually great on its own (exceptions include Bowser's theme), contributes to this. I always wished the game did more with the paper aesthetic, but thankfully its sequels did just that. This is a good first effort.
I like the sequel more, but this is also a nice game!
Love this game. Thousand Year Door has got to be one of my favorite games ever, but this game is amazing too.
@Nintendo_Ninja I don't mind them being different, I love Super Paper Mario. I just think Sticker Star is not a very good game. If it was better I wouldn't have a problem with it.
I played thorugh this again recently and I found myself enjoying just as much as when I played through it before.
That black border around the box art is so ugly!! Thank god the Australian version ditched it. Such a rare game too, i was fortunate to pick up two copies back in the day. Sold one recently CIB for almost 700$$ I do prefer the gameplay of the gamecube sequel though, best game in the series by a country mile!!
after playing this i sought out every mario rpg i could find
TTYD, the first I played in PM series, still easily the best. Best characters, versatile scenarios, best gameplay and so on. Every PM in some ways has been a disappointment since. If someones's going to make a Wii U Paper Mario, take a look at TTYD. We've had nice gimmics in last two titles and that's fine, they just weren't so good. If you can somehow surpass the magic that is TTYD, make it happen.
Tap here to load 25 comments