NBrid

Nintendo 64 wasn't so bad. Sure worthy games came out once every six months, but that's better then you could do I bet. So then why was this cutesy, yet excellent RPG, overlooked by so many?

Nintendo 64 died a long slow death. Over the last two years of its five year existence, games were hard to come by. However, during this time we were treated to a few classics. Perfect Dark, Zelda Majora's Mask, Excitebike 64, Conker's Bad Fur Day... But do not forget Paper Mario! N64 had few games, and even fewer RPGs. Paper Mario in fact might be the only traditional turn-based RPG on N64. Do not let this detour you. Paper Mario is an excellent RPG. Fans of Super Mario RPG will relish another Mario-esque RPG, and maybe even a better one. Fans of RPGs in general will enjoy it too. A must own!

The storyline is very predictable. Bowser steals a Star Wand that grants his every wish. His first step towards world domination is to capture the Princess (who he has a crush on, awe) by stealing Peach's entire Castle. He knows Mario will soon follow and so does his best to make sure Mario can't stop him this time. The key to stopping Bowser will be to find and rescue 7 Star Cards that when combined should aid you against Bowser and his Star Wand. This is the biggest downer of the game compared to Super Mario RPG, that game was interesting because Bowser was actually Mario's ally.

The graphics are decent. After playing machines like Dreamcast, PS2, and GameCube it is hard to really judge on merit how good these graphics are. (That said they are pretty good.) Instead I'll just comment on their uniqueness. The whole "paper" theme works very well. The game is told as if it is a pop-up story book, and the graphics reflect that perfectly. Everything is 2D paper thin which is most apparent when characters turn around. It is also cool when you enter a house how you can see walls of the house fold down so you can see into them. A nice touch. At the very least the graphics get the job done and set the tone of the game.

I can't say too much about the music. Nothing special, but nothing horrible either. A few classic Mario-esque sound effects are the best part.

When it comes to a RPG the key is gameplay and storyline. While the base story is very generic, it does a good job of telling it. The abundance of side stories are what makes the game stay interesting through out. Helping out a famous koopa explorer, clearing towns of infestations, rescuing Yoshi kids, solving a backroom murder mystery, ect. all give you plenty to do.

The gameplay is a classic turn-based RPG. You wander around through towns where you can stay at the inn (always for free!), buy merch at the local store, and gather information. From there you wander into forests, deserts, swamps, toy boxes, ect. where you encounter your foes. Bump into an enemy and you switch to battle mode, and depending how you bump into each other will depend on who get's first hit. Like classic Mario, jumping on an enemy's head will get you a head start on the battle when it begins.

In battle it is always you (Mario) and one of your party members. While over the course of the game you will add a number of people to your party, in a battle it is always Mario and just one other doing the fighting. You can change who that other is, but it will cost you a turn. At first I didn't like this. I'd rather see huge battles of all my teammates against a huge group of enemies, but this makes you plan out who you want to use since each teammate is very different. Mario is the main fighter. Your teammate can just attack (whether it be a special or normal attack) or switch to another party member. Mario on the other hand can attack by either jumping on the enemy or pounding it with his hammer (both with normal and special attacks), use a star power which you earn by rescuing the Star Cards, use an item, or run away. Everything centers around Mario. In fact there really is only one health meter, for Mario.

The thing that makes battles interesting are the Action Commands. When you pick to attack an enemy if you follow the instructions, you can increase the power of the hit. Examples are repeatedly hitting A as fast as you can, hitting A just as the attack hits, or hitting the buttons in a certain order. This keeps you on your toes. You can also do it on the defensive end to minimize damage.

After a battle you earn Star Points and every 100 will increase your level. You can pick to go up in Health, Flower Points (magic), or Badge Points. Badges are special objects that when worn give you a special power. Very useful. Since it is always 100 Star Points to a new level, weaker enemies give you less and less as you grow stronger to the point they give you none after awhile. Don't worry too much about levels, as long as you take the time to kill a fair number as you wander along on your quest, you will never have to specifically waste time just trying to earn that next level, which no one ever enjoys doing.

Party members help you out more then in just battle. In the exploration mode of the game each has an ability that helps you along the way. Be it flying you across small gaps or swimming you across bodies of water, you will need as much help as you can get.

My favorite aspect of this game is in classic Mario fashion, there are hidden secrets everywhere. From hidden pipes to invisible blocks, it's all there. You can find badges; star pieces that you can trade for badges; various items like mushrooms for health, fire flowers, POW blocks, honey for magic, snowmen to attack in battle, sheep to put your enemies to sleep, stone caps for Mario, and many, many more. Then add the abundance of side-quests, and you have a game with tons to do. And a game that will take you quite some time to get through. You will spend 30+ hours with this game in order to fully explore it. The plethora of classic Mario characters including goombas, koopas, shyguys, boos, and more also help this RPG maintain its Mario feel.

While you can't save wherever you want, there are save blocks all over the place so you will never have a hard time finding a place to save (they are always right before any boss too). This game really isn't very hard. Towards the end it can be somewhat difficult. A few of the puzzles may actually get you thinking. Some bosses may take a couple of tries to beat. Still, it will never frustrate you and if you are a RPG vet, you will have no problems. Avoid enemies as much as possible until you find that next refill block, and they are always there. They make your quest even easier since you can use them an unlimited number of times. It is also in general way too easy to stun/freeze/put to sleep the enemy, even bosses. I just wish they let you carry more then 10 whopping items at a time, not that I used them that often.

In the end this is a great RPG. It is a traditional turn-based RPG, but there are enough new elements to make it interesting and fun. While not ground-breaking, this game is just very well done. The full Mario Universe is here which is quite cool. If you are unsure about the whole Mario theme as a RPG, don't be. It's no Final Fantasy (or Earthbound) storyline-wise, but it's very enjoyable nonetheless. My favorite teammate is the 3rd to last guy I got. It brightened up my day when I saw him. The cutesiness of the game does get to you at times though. It is fairly obvious they wanted to make it enjoyable for all ages by not making it too hard. They also tried to keep it fairly simple since battles are just Mario and one teammate. Still, I highly enjoyed this game and I highly recommend this game. Whether you are a RPG fan or just looking for a good N64 game, this is a must own just like the Zelda, PD, Conker are all must own.