It's funny--a little over a week ago, I was begging Nintendo of America for any information about its upcoming Wii title Super Paper Mario, but sadly, they could not give me anything at all. No screens, no fact sheet, no explanation of how it uses the Wii controller or how the gameplay unfolds...nothing. Then, about 48 hours later, Nintendo mysteriously decides to drop off a full preview build of the game. WTF!? Hell, I wasn't about to ask any questions though...instead, I dove right in and spent the greater part of a lazy 4-day weekend playing through the game. Yesterday, I finally solved that tape here at my desk (much to the chagrin of Michael Donahoe, who's desperately attempting to stay spoiler-free).
What I find truly odd about this whole experience is that Nintendo still hasn't really told anyone about this game. Outside of a mildly informative preview in the current issue of Nintendo Power, nobody knows what's up with this game. Why? I have no clue...Nintendo isn't the most forthcoming company around, but they generally try to get some sort of word out about their releases. Truly, I'm baffled. When I see other sites reporting on some roughly translated info from Famitsu (while "Princess Peach can use her parasol to find secret areas" is vaguely true, it's sad that such a lame morsel of info constitutes a newsworthy item), I realize that someone needs to step up and educate the masses on the next big Wii game.
Now, I don't want to step over the boundaries of the embargo I signed, nor do I want to spoil some of the games MANY shockingly creative twists and turns, but I'd love to answer some of the burning questions that you guys have about the game. So, feel free to ask me ANYTHING about the game in the comments. If I deem your query to be worthy, I'll paste it into this main post and answer it for the entire class. Sound good? Let's get it on!
noisynoisy asks, "How do the 2D/3D mechanics work? Can the player switch between the two at any time??????
You actually control several different characters during the game, but only Mario can 'flip' the world between 2D and 3D. It's easy--all you do is press the 'A' button to flip to 3D, but while in that view, a meter constantly counts down...if it runs out, you'll begin to lose HP. It refills slowly once you've switched back to 2D....
noisy goes on to ask, "Is the game more action or more RPG. Is it similar to the original Paper Mario on the N64?"
It has towns, shops, NPCs, and puzzles like the Paper Mario games you know and love, but nearly all of the levels unfold as a blend of traditional side-scrolling platforming and more RPG-like puzzle elements. All combat happens in real-time, though: You're hopping and bopping, not picking commands from a menu.
and for good measure, noisy also asks, "Does the game support progressive scan with 16.9 ratio?"
Yep. That's how I played it. Looks crisp!
Pipking asks, "How does the gameplay handle with the remote - creative or tacked on?"
That's veering into reviewy territory, but I'll say that although it was clearly not a from-the-ground-up Wii project, much of the Wii-mote implementation feels intuitive and clever. You're probably only using true Wii-mote functionality less than 20% of the time you're playing, though.
Pipking also aks, "Is it a long game?"
I beat it in about 27 hours, though I definitely missed a lot of optional stuff. Gotta go back and get it all...
Braidedsamurai87 asks, "Will there be a Gamecube release eventually?"
Sadly, nope. Nintendo really should have though...look at how well Twilight Princess has sold on the Cube. Missed opportunity, guys....
Sunderland asks, "Does the game has a sense of humor similar to,or better than that of Paper mario 2?"
Yep, expect the same off-the-wall humor and hi jinks from PM2...I'm pretty sure the same writers/translators are back. I laughed out loud a lot while playing this game...it's especially brutal in its mockery of message board trolls.
Moogletim asks, "You said that you dont start out with the basic actions like run and other actions on the 1upyours show. Is it like Traditional RPG's and that you earn or buy them like magic in Final Fantasy?"
Good question--each character has one unique ability (Mario can 'flip,' Peach can float using her parasol, and Bowser can breathe fire), but all of them can use the abilities given to you by 'Pixls' these weird little familiars that you find throughout your quest. These guys allow you to do stuff like run really fast, throw objects/enemies, etc. The magical effects you've seen in past PM games only exist as one-time-use items.
JoeFu asks, "How is the difficulty for the game? It's not too easy is it?"
It starts out pretty easy, but gets pretty damned tough by the end...and the puzzles offer solid challenge for your brain throughout.
Underfooter muses, "Is this the next big thing for wii owners after Zelda would you say? Or is it just a mild distraction until Super Mario Galaxy?"
Compared to most of the Wii stuff out there, this is a really meaty game. It's also more accessible than the past PM games, given its traditional mario gameplay. The complex 2D/3D mechanic might scare off little kids, but I think that older gamers will want to spend some quality time with this.
New_Generation_Gamer asks several questions, starting with, "You said the player controls 'several different characters' throughout the game. Does that mean any multiplayer at all, even minigames?"
As far as I can tell, SPM has no multiplayer gameplay whatsoever. It could have a hidden minigame or something, but so far, no dice.
He then asks, "Will it work with Wii Connect24 in anyway?"
Nope.
And ends with, "Also you said you missed some optional stuff, does that mean alot of sidequests to keep you busy when you get tired of the main story?"
You'll spy the occasional mysterious locked door or inacessible area, but it's not a wide-open RPG by any means. I'm guessing there's about an hour or two of side-questing that I missed my first time through.
Some crazy kid named JohnTV asks, "Will you send it to me? Today?"
Sure thing. It's on its way.
Chronomoose asks, "Shane, do you think that Nintendo will ever do a true Mario RPG sequel rather than Paper Mario? Or is that something that went out the window when Squaresoft-Enix moved on to greener, more Sony-ish pastures?"
Seems doubtful to me, bro...at least we'll see Super Mario RPG on Virtual Console eventually. The only Square/Nintendo co-op games on the horizon are the Crystal Chronicles sequels for DS/Wii. Maybe one day we'll see something else...like maybe a Kingdom Hearts/Mario crossover! Dare to dream...
CrankyPanda (among others) asks, "Does it continue the story of a past paper mario, or does the story come from the ground up?
It's a totally original story that takes place in the wacky world of Flipside. Nothing from the previous two games here, except for Mario. and Co.
TrueNerd asks, "Is the music more akin to the other Paper Marios or is it remixes of the classic platformers or is it something entirely different?"
You'll hear plenty of fun remixes here, along with a lot of original music that uses some cool retro/chippy instruments to good effect.
Mas é sem duvida um daqueles grandes jogos que ninguém jogou.
mais um para a minha wishlist
