In Paper Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Nintendo combined the Mario universe, platforming and rpg elements, and an appealing "2D paper-cutout" art style to make a pair of terrific games. After spending time with the more platform-centric Super Paper Mario that comes out next week, I'm beginning to get the feeling that they pushed the whole "paper" aspect just a little bit too far this time around.
Things start off simple enough. Mario wakes up in his bed (an oversized notebook in which he sleeps between two of the middle-most pages) and brushes his teeth with an eraser. So far so good.
At this point, Peach knocks on Mario's door, but when he opens it to greet her she is blown away by the wind. Just in case we don't understand how this could happen, she yells "AHH I'm paper!" and folds into the shape of a paper airplane as she sails away.
Thus begins the adventure. After traveling no more than ten steps, you encounter the first power-up in a seemingly innocent question mark block: the Fire Flower. One press of a button later, and Mario is shooting a fireball out of his hand just like old times, only this time around his paper hand catches fire. In seconds the small blaze spreads into an inferno that engulfs and consumes the world's most beloved plumber.
It only gets worse from there. There's the water level, where you lose all control as the current takes you where it pleases until you eventually tear apart in soggy shreds. The horrific papercuts that your butt-stomps inflict on enemies. The new toilet paper Mud Monster characters. Paperboy, the paperboy that's actually made of paper. The level that's just the word "PAPER", which itself is composed entirely of bricks.
On the plus side, I've yet to finish the game so there's a chance the game will redeem itself. Look for an in-depth one sentence review in the next installment of Video Game Article.
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