An unbiased review of Paper Mario for the N64:
Wanting to know the source of all of the people who swear by the Paper Mario series and those who lament its tranformation into something other than an RPG, I was interested in playing the original. Having never played it or any other Paper Mario before I can give a different opinion on it without the usual nostalgia goggles.
Story:
Its story is simple enough, but one loaded with charm and character. Heavily influenced by Mario RPG, it had to do with stars, princess, bowser and for wishes to be granted again. It's nothing groundbreaking, even for its time, but the way it's written and presented does wonders for it. Incredibly lighthearted, it seems closer to a Saturday Morning Cartoon than a video game, and that's a good thing. Seeing the huge amount of random Toad conversations was one of my favorite parts of the game. The localization and translation is surprisingly well done, and it manages to make it just a sweet story all throughout. This is probably the strongest part of the game.
Gameplay:
Another thing greatly influenced by Mario RPG was the combat and gameplay. The idea of timing the action command to add to your attack or to reduce incoming damage is still as appealing as ever. While I love my regular turn based JRPGs as much as the next guy, the added skill of timing the action command just makes you that much much more invested in the combat and prevents it from becoming boring too quickly. The 2D platforming elements are quite few and it controlls adequately in those situations. However, it doesn't come off as just a rip off of Mario RPG's combat. The addition of badges (items that passivly or actively increase your power and/or defense) creating just that extra layer needed to make it its own system and its own game. The idea of having just one extra companion and one that can't be killed is a very interesting adition and one that really shakes up the strategy. However, my biggest complaint comes from one of its most innovative changes to the traditional RPG. Having everyone attack for 1s and 2s. This in the begninning created a lot of thought and strategy and placed charging attacks a priority in some cases and discouraged them in others. My complaint is that, towards the end you start attack for 6s and 8s which eliminates a lot of the uniqueness of the battle system. I felt like it was more challenging and overall more fun back when I would jump for joy because I hit for 3.
Presentation:
Suprisingly, even as an n64 game, the graphics hold up well. This is supported by the fact that it is...Paper. The game is a 3D world however, all of the charachters and environments are in 2D. Although it is slightly strange to see 2D characters in a 3D world, having sprites in the game allowed it to transcend the graphical limitations of the time. Till now This Mario sprite is one of my favorite.
The Music also holds up quite well, but that's about it. Enjoyable catchy romps that were forgotten a few hours after turning off the game. I like them as long as I listened to them, but I won't be putting any of them into my playlists.
Time Value:
The game is a solid 20 hour game with ample reason to replay. It manges this time with very few instances in which I felt they were artificially lengthening the game. Other than that, the drive to collect everything in the game from all star pieces to all of the bades badges toanswering all of the questions is enough to satisfy most people obsessed with collecting. That will keep a person going for at least another 10 hours, if that is his thing. You will get your money's worth.
Verdict:
A very fun game that does a lot of things well but very few things "great". I can easily see how it has created the fanbase that it did, but it is not the masterpiece some would have you believe. While I am very glad that I had the chance to play this, I won't be picking it up again for a long time.
Visuals: 7.5/10
Music: 6.5/10
gameplay: 8/10
story: 8.5/10
overall: 7.8
