Paper Mario

Overall: B+
Violence: B
Sexual Content: A
Language: A
Drugs/Alcohol: A

Platform reviewed: Nintendo 64
Publisher: Nintendo
ESRB rating: E

Hey Mario, you look great but something is different! Could it be a new mustache? Designer boots? I know! You've lost weight! Alas, flabbiness has fallen out of favor with even our adorable perky plumber. In a creative twist, Nintendo has flattened their familiar role-playing characters into 2-dimensional cutouts, interacting in a 3-dimensional environment--hence the newly fit, and trim, Paper Mario.

In a nutshell, Bowser (Mario's long time brutish archrival) is up to no good. He has even reached beyond the Mushroom Kingdom to wreck havoc in Star Haven, home of the wish-granting guardian Star Spirits. Ripping off the Star Rod (their precious magic wand), Bowser has imprisoned each of the seven celestial do-gooders. But he reaches the lowest of lows when he kidnaps Princess Peach at her very own party. Mario and his friends' mission, should they choose to accept it, is to rescue the Princess, free the Star Spirits from seven different lands, recover the Star Rod, then gang up on Bowser. After doing all of that, I can only imagine what Mario would charge per hour to unclog someone's drain.

With a little help from his newfound pals, Mario collects badges and well labeled, easy to understand icons (something like the marshmallowy treats found in breakfast cereal) to defeat his evil foes at different levels. A point system (requiring a basic knowledge of fractions) is used to calculate Mario's health (Heart Points), special attacks (Flower Points), and special abilities (Badge Points). As for the rest of the instructions, Nintendo makes this beginner's journey into the role-play (RPG) genre easy. Dialog bubbles appear whenever Mario approaches other characters, giving tactical directions as well as developing the story.

If you are unfamiliar with the older Mario games, you'll soon realize that mushrooms are good, flowers are bad, and pipe openings zap you to another location of the vast kingdom. But if you're well acquainted with the older versions you may be bored with the predictable plot development and simple puzzles.

Of course Paper Mario's linear storyline was always intended to play second fiddle to its main attraction--the combat. This game uses turn-based battles, a style made popular by Dungeons and Dragons. When Mario makes contact with an enemy, he and one of his team members are transported to a stage-like standard battle screen. As success depends on picking the right friend, choose the one whose abilities (such as delivering lightning bolts, magical fireballs, or bomb explosions) will be the most useful. After you've done your worst, your opponent has a chance to do his. Each side continues to take turns patiently pounding each other until someone runs out of Heart Points. Our hero doesn't go un-rewarded. With each victory he gains Star Points, which help him move to a higher level, thereby increasing his chances to defeat Bowser.

Although the cartoon packaging implies this game is meant for a younger crowd, guess again. It's not easy to tear through the paper adventure, especially if the youngster is unable to read the on screen hints and directions. Paper Mario's characters may appear flat, but the game requires deep thinking and strategy, making it more like trying to rip the phone book in half. Consequently, my 6-year-old soon lost interest while his 10-year-old brother, who loved the game, commandeered the controls and took full advantage of his younger brother's limitations.

But don't let that scare you away from this unique and rewarding RPG. If I had to choose which was less stressful, Paper Mario or folding Origami, Mario would win hands down... and no paper cuts to boot!

Melanie Law

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