Super Paper Mario (GC)

Adam Wolf · 06-19-2006, 09:51 PM

IGN.com

Mario returns for one more outing on the Cube.
by Anoop Gantayat
June 19, 2006 - Nintendo's big E3 GameCube surprise went playable at the World Hobby Fair this past weekend. IGN headed out to the Makuhari Messe in Chiba, Japan, to put Super Paper Mario to the test, and came away more excited than ever about what will likely be Mario's GameCube finale.

Super Paper Mario stars Mario's flat Paper Mario counterpart in a new title that doesn't really have much to do with the original Paper Mario or 2004's Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. The big draw for the game is its combination of traditional 2D platforming with 3D elements. Going well beyond the Mario's gimmicky flat character model, the title mixes 2D and 3D like never before.

The main game is a 2D side scroller not unlike the classic Mario games. You've got blocks to crush, Goombas to stomp and Koopa shells to send flying off on a path of destruction. There are a few differences from the classic titles, though. First, mushrooms restore Mario's health, rather than making him bigger. Mario can get bigger with a star power up, but he ends up filling the screen in large, 8-bit pixelated form and can then smash through the stage ala New Super Mario Bros.

You also have access to other characters on the fly. You're free to switch between Mario, Bowser and Peach, each of whom has her own special powers. Peach, fresh from her adventures in Super Princess Peach on the DS, uses her umbrella to float down from jumps.

The game also has a new item system that we were able to sample only minimally. Mario & crew have an item icon following them around. Pressing X tosses this icon out, allowing you to grab items from afar. Once you have an item in your grasp, you can press X again to launch it back out. We were only able to use this feature to take out a few enemies.

The big twist comes about when you switch the game to 3D by pressing R. Instead of moving from left to right, you now move into and out of the world. All the creatures and enemies that existed in the 3D world are here too; you can stomp on Goombas and crush blocks, although the 3D perspective is, admittedly, a bit hard to get used to. You can only remain in this perspective for a limited time before your energy starts to drain. To reset the timer, you have to switch back into the 2D perspective.

The 3D perspective is meant to be used for solving puzzles. When in 3D, the once flat world now has depth, allowing you to get around blocks and pipes that might previously have hindered you. In one sequence, the 2D view has a huge chasm that can't possibly be jumped across. Switch to 3D and you'll find that the mountain that appeared as a background element in the 2D world is actually accessible and can be climbed as a means of crossing the chasm.

We were able to try out just three stages of play at the World Hobby Fair. One stage had a boss encounter in which Mario faced off against a giant snake creature in a desert. The only way to defeat this boss is to climb on its back, make your way up to its head (a long trek, as the creature is huge), then toss an item at its weak spot. We also tried out an underground stage that was a perfect recreation of level 1-2 of the original Super Mario Bros., right down to the secret warp zone at the end (the pipes actually go to different levels!).

Our World Hobby Fair sampling left us wanting to get some more hands on time with Super Paper Mario. We'll get a chance when the game hits US retail in October.

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world wide · 06-20-2006, 08:13 PM

That should be really cool. I remember playing Paper Mario on the N64, i never bought it, but it was always one of the first games i would play if i got a chance. Good times.

I'm not sure if i'll buy this, because i'm not that big on games at the moment, but i'll definatly try and play it somewhere.

sNooVa · 06-21-2006, 07:20 AM

interesting sounding but the look is kind of painful to my eyes not very enjoyable at all for a paper mario game i'm afraid.

Icey Gregorio · 06-27-2006, 02:04 PM

Loved the one on the N64 then went out and got the one for GameCube like two months later and meh just didn't like it nearly as much. Doubt I'll get the new one here.

Your Mother! · 06-29-2006, 02:52 AM

I enjpyed both of the Paper Mario RPG's, and this platformer looks good, but I wonder if its as good as the new Super Mario Bros. for DS.

Gunstar Chaos · 06-29-2006, 11:56 AM

I wish they would put the New Super Mario Bros on Gamecube because I don't have a DS. I've never really been impressed by Paper Mario but I'm going to give this one a try. It actually looks pretty good. I just wish they would come out with another Super Mario RPG like the one they had for SNES.

Super Paper Mario (GC)

This is a discussion on Super Paper Mario (GC) within the Video Games & Electronics forums, part of the Non Wrestling Forums category; IGN.com Mario returns for one more outing on the Cube. by Anoop Gantayat June 19, 2006 - Nintendo's big E3 ...