Dawlphinn
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Dawlphinn
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Super Paper Mario
Wanted to come back around and expand on my thoughts of the game since TTYD on Switch just released!
I think the general sentiment amongst old head Paper Mario fans is that this game isn’t good because it didn’t carry the RPG formula. I understand that. Theres also a crowd that claims this is an incredible game because of the story. I also understand that.
Super Paper Mario does a lot with its characters and its story, but much of the gameplay I feel is at odds with itself. It’s a platformer, but more of a puzzle platformer, but also wants to keep the Mario staples such as jumping on enemies and collecting items. This is kinda where issues start to arise. In the game you are able to use various “pixls” to your advantage to solve puzzles much like you would in the overworld of the previous two games. You can also change perspective into 3D, showing solutions to puzzles, which feels more like a gimmick at times, especially when the game doesn’t necessarily get past the “let me reveal a door or pipe” phase. My problem with the game is that it feels like it doesn’t know what it wants to be. All “traditional” platforming moments are extremely basic and/or confusing, especially in the last half of the game (the Overthere, for example, is a long and tedious vertical map that has you jumping across multiple platforms generally not knowing where you’re going). The additional characters allow for more interesting platforming but having to switch between the characters when you want to glide or fire breathe is an annoyance.
Another problem I have is with the amount of dialogue. Not for the moments that contribute to the greater story, but with some of the lower grade NPCs. I remember for the Floro Caverns section, being stopped by multiple characters between platforming sections and being annoyed that I wasn’t actually playing the game. And Chapter 4 is probably the worst offender, being an extremely basic shoot ‘em up section that doesn’t keep your interest for very long. The level design mostly falters during the last half of the game, becoming more confusing to follow than fun to navigate.
I understand the love for the story and art design though: one thing I feel like isn’t touched upon much is the way the series shifts from paper drawings to digital art landscapes. The whole game carries a digital, computer art program aesthetic, from the “3D health meter” looking like color swatches in a digital art program, to Mario having a cursor cross over and create a bounding box over him as he switches from 2d to 3d. Characters are more geometric this time around, almost as if created with MS Paint shape presets (this is a compliment, trust me). Theres also a big contributor to this aesthetic: Francis. Using L33t speech and shouting computer jargon like “CTRL ALT DEL”, Francis embodies 2000s internet forum browsers in a way that’s very funny and endearing. This really hammers home the digital aesthetic of this game and sets it apart from the rest of the series, and I applaud it for taking “Paper” Mario into the “advancement” of illustrating in a digital age.
Despite my love for the story (which will stick with you years after playing) and the incredible sound design, the gameplay is a shallow attempt to blend the overworld puzzles of past games into a traditional 2d
platformer. It fails at reaching the complexity of Mario’s mainline 2d gameplay due to its confusing level design and unsure mechanics. But I still believe it’s worth your time if not for the fantastic story and art design.
I think the general sentiment amongst old head Paper Mario fans is that this game isn’t good because it didn’t carry the RPG formula. I understand that. Theres also a crowd that claims this is an incredible game because of the story. I also understand that.
Super Paper Mario does a lot with its characters and its story, but much of the gameplay I feel is at odds with itself. It’s a platformer, but more of a puzzle platformer, but also wants to keep the Mario staples such as jumping on enemies and collecting items. This is kinda where issues start to arise. In the game you are able to use various “pixls” to your advantage to solve puzzles much like you would in the overworld of the previous two games. You can also change perspective into 3D, showing solutions to puzzles, which feels more like a gimmick at times, especially when the game doesn’t necessarily get past the “let me reveal a door or pipe” phase. My problem with the game is that it feels like it doesn’t know what it wants to be. All “traditional” platforming moments are extremely basic and/or confusing, especially in the last half of the game (the Overthere, for example, is a long and tedious vertical map that has you jumping across multiple platforms generally not knowing where you’re going). The additional characters allow for more interesting platforming but having to switch between the characters when you want to glide or fire breathe is an annoyance.
Another problem I have is with the amount of dialogue. Not for the moments that contribute to the greater story, but with some of the lower grade NPCs. I remember for the Floro Caverns section, being stopped by multiple characters between platforming sections and being annoyed that I wasn’t actually playing the game. And Chapter 4 is probably the worst offender, being an extremely basic shoot ‘em up section that doesn’t keep your interest for very long. The level design mostly falters during the last half of the game, becoming more confusing to follow than fun to navigate.
I understand the love for the story and art design though: one thing I feel like isn’t touched upon much is the way the series shifts from paper drawings to digital art landscapes. The whole game carries a digital, computer art program aesthetic, from the “3D health meter” looking like color swatches in a digital art program, to Mario having a cursor cross over and create a bounding box over him as he switches from 2d to 3d. Characters are more geometric this time around, almost as if created with MS Paint shape presets (this is a compliment, trust me). Theres also a big contributor to this aesthetic: Francis. Using L33t speech and shouting computer jargon like “CTRL ALT DEL”, Francis embodies 2000s internet forum browsers in a way that’s very funny and endearing. This really hammers home the digital aesthetic of this game and sets it apart from the rest of the series, and I applaud it for taking “Paper” Mario into the “advancement” of illustrating in a digital age.
Despite my love for the story (which will stick with you years after playing) and the incredible sound design, the gameplay is a shallow attempt to blend the overworld puzzles of past games into a traditional 2d
platformer. It fails at reaching the complexity of Mario’s mainline 2d gameplay due to its confusing level design and unsure mechanics. But I still believe it’s worth your time if not for the fantastic story and art design.
13 days ago