Topic: NL Game Club Session 1: Paper Mario

@Ren: I do consider myself a relatively big RPG fan, and I would say that Paper Mario stands up as itself. As an RPG, strictly speaking, it falls flat on its face. It's a good thing they dropped the "Super Mario RPG 2" title, because that simply wouldn't have fit the game at all. Paper Mario is definitely a sort of "RPG lite," but I still like it that way. Many "hardcore" RPG fans do not, however...to my understanding, I am in a minority on that one.

@andyutd97: Yeah, that's perfectly normal. The game's pretty slow-paced, especially with a lot of story before you even get to a battle with Star Points at the beginning. Somewhere roughly 8 or 9 hours in, I'm only at level 9 (if I recall correctly) myself.

It's funny, with Paper Mario I get that sort of excited feeling I used to get with old games. Like I can't get enough and I want to continue and continue. I don't know what it is that sets it apart from most recent games I've played... The originality? The silliness? The simplicity? Lack of stereotypical high-contrast brown-shaded graphics? Haha. Ah, the appeal of 90s games!

@Ren I'm a major RPG fan and this game is great. The action battle system is nice and it has enough strategy that you do need to think about how you approach each turn. The story is awesome too, and that's a big part of RPGs as well. The kiddie-ness is not a problem since I'm sure we're all confident enough in our masculinity (or femininity, for the girls). Very satisfying game.

@andyutd97 It seems levels come slowly in this game but each one makes a big difference. Don't worry about it.

@HolyMackerel: 90's games? Paper Mario was released in 2001!

2001 is close enough to the 90s to count! Like how everyone still had big puffy hair and leather jackets and giant shoulder pads in 1991.

Continuing Paper Mario now.

EDIT: Also, were the original N64 games so pixelated or is it just VC on the Wii? I can clearly see large pixels in Paper Mario as well as Ogre Battle 64. Did the N64 have a lower display resolution than the Wii?

Working on my own personal Star Piece and Badge list... so far so good. And this time around, I'm going to do EVERY sidequest... letters, etc. I plan on logging many hours on this one. Currently on Chapter 4.

Well Im Stuck At The End Of Chapter 1.
Any Advice Guys

@HolyMackerel: I can't tell you much if you don't tell us your gaming setup. TV resolution? Size? Type of cable used? The Wii is indeed capable of outputting a superior signal than the N64 (480p instead of 480i). VC games are touched up to still look good that way. I do tend to notice some white lines between polygons in the backgrounds, but no pixelization.

@andy: Define "end of Chapter 1." Did you beat the boss and don't know where to go next, or are you stuck on him?

@Stuffgamer1: Stuck In The Castle. Seem To Keep Dieing

@Stuffgamer1 Well I have a wide-screen plasma TV. It's HD-ready but it looks just fine rendering 480i/480p. I'm using the 480p component cable for my Wii. I notice that 3D polygons (like the edge of terrain) looks alright, but Mario himself looks pixellated. It must be that the texture resolution of N64 games is low. I've also noticed the seams between polygons in Paper Mario too. I wonder if that was noticeable in the original N64 game?

End of Chapter 1 SPOILERS

@andyutd97 The Koopa Bros. castle? What's killing you? Normal enemies, fake Bowser or the Koopa Bros? Fake Bowser is a pushover so you don't need advice for that.

The Koopa Bros. are pretty easy, make sure to guard their spinning column attack because it's pretty strong. You need to topple them over so jump on them, then get your partner to whack them. They'll fall over, and each time you hit one of them that Bro will stay down for the next turn. Once you've eliminated one of them then the rest should be no problem for you.

End of Chapter 1 SPOILERS
@HolyMackerel Normal enemies. I keep running out of res so the koopa bros kill me. Also i use the blue koopa dude as a partner. Is he the right one to use. Do you have a stratergy

I've made my way to the start of Chapter 4. It's been an awesome experience so far. I seem to be playing this a lot differently than I did the first time around. I've been putting pretty much all of my levels into BP and FP and have only increased HP once because I was starting to get to a point where enemies could kill me in one turn.

Going for 100% has been pretty fun so far, but I swear Chuck Quizmo is stalking me! Every time I turn a corner he just seems to be there.

SPOILERS

Keep Kooper. I have a good strategy to defeat them using him that I used today. You'll need a POW block though.

1. Don't waste FP on knocking 'em down the 1st time. Just use regular attacks.
2. Once they've been knocked down and flipped over, do a power jump on the green one.
3. After that, use Kooper's power shell attack. Green will be defeated.
4. When they get up, use a POW block to knock 'em back down again.
5. Repeat step 3 and they all should be defeated.

Hope that helps.

@cheetahman91 Yep It Does Thanks XD

Paper Mario... How many times have I played through it already? Originally I didn't own it, just picked it up on occaision from the nearby video rental place. It was one of the few games from there I managed to complete. Now it sits comfortably in my VC collection.

I believe in my current playthrough i'm either right before or right in the middle of Chapter 4...

@HolyMackerel: I do believe the textures are the same as they were in the original release. I found myself surprised by Mario's appearance when I revisited the game years later. I suppose it was because I had become so used to his appearance in TTYD.

Starting chapter 4... so far I've only leveled up my BP, and once on my FP. I have two heart badges and two flower badges, so I guess I can equip those if needed.

Anyone know a good place to grind? (keeping in mind I'm at Chapter 4). I always want to equip just one more badge, but I really need to start leveling up my heart points.

SPOILER SPOILER I just barely beat the black shy guy (anti shy guy?). I had 15 HP and 10 FP, but between me and Bow, we pulled it off.

Right now I'm enjoying collecting piggies! Also I just noticed that in Mario's house there's a board that lets you knowhow much you've collected. That really going to come in handy for completing the game.

argh. I've been working non-stop and haven't had a chance to play in a while. you guys are getting too far ahead of me. can everyone please take a break for a couple days? thanks in advance

anywho, regarding the "rpg lite" discussion: i think the simplicity is what makes the game challenging and fun. you only have so many HP, FP, and BP to work with, so each move has to be thought out. i'm a big rpg fan (mostly older games, kind of catching up on the new ones now), and i like the game a lot, and wouldn't really consider it to be an "rpg lite," just a different approach.

There is something else in Mario's house that can be quite interesting. Maybe you already found it. Although it hasn't anything to do with completing the game, it has something to do with the story.

finally got a chance to log some playtime! finished up the Koopa Bros. fortress then saved and quit. I'm guessing I'm about to go into one of those Princess Peach sections.

@HolyMackerel
I spent some time killing Bullet Bills over and over to finish off the level I was on, but they only give you 3 star points each! Are you talking about the cannons or the bullets?

Made it to Lavalava Island. I stored all of my items in the bank and am going for collecting coconuts to sell for 1 coin a pop. Probably gonna do that 'til I reach 200 or so since I've been having troubles collecting enough coins for things throughout this entire game. After I get all of these coins, I'm buying out Chet Rippo and the badge shop in Toad Town and looking for secrets.

I guess this will be my grinding area as well, since I'm now having troubles beating measly fuzzies. XD