paper mario rules!

Yes, it's true, I'm a nerd.... and a Mario whore.  Maybe it's nostalgia, I have very fond memories of being a child and playing Mario games on my NES.  Whatever the reason may be, I LOVE Mario games.

One of my fave sets of Mario games is the Paper Mario series.  So. Much. Fun!!!!

I'll admit, when I first started playing Paper Mario I was a little turned off by the amount of interaction required with villagers in the form of conversation, and all of the required reading of the story itself.  I'm more of a shoot 'em up girl.  There's no battle too big for me!  But throw a bunch of text at me and I can easily lose interest quickly.

But, Paper Mario was one of the first games that I downloaded for my Wii, and I was determined to stick it out and give it a fair chance.  Man am I glad I did.  It quickly became one of my favorite Mario games!  Such a different take on a familiar story, and the bizarre ways of interacting with the characters were just so cool! 

For those of you who are not familiar with Paper Mario games, the characters (as the name implies) are paper thin.  This adds a very unique spin because Mario can do things he wasn't able to do in any previous games, like turn sideways so as not to be seen by enemies, and to fit into small cracks and crevices.  Along the way you also meet up with other familiar characters, and you are able to play as them.  Each character has it's own special abilities, which of course help you in different battles and when trying to accomplish different tasks on the various boards.

The next game in the series Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door was made for GameCube, so if you have a Wii you'll have to pick up a GameCube controller and a GameCube memory card, which seem to be readily available used for a decent price at gamestop if you drop by one of their stores.  It is quite similar to the first as far as the style of game play goes.  You end up with a few more pretty cool abilities as you progress in the game, like being able to fold up into a paper airplane to fly yourself across large gaps.... or fold up into a paper boat to sail yourself across bodies of water.  Very cool and very fun.

In the first two games in the series you are trying to save Princess Peach, a theme we are of course familiar with already.  She hasn't been captured by Bowser in each of these installments though.  In fact Bowser ends up being your ally as he strong-arms his way through the enemies in an effort to try save the one he loves.  Boy that Peach sure gets around ;)  In Super Paper Mario however Peach is part of your crew and you are all working together to try and save the universe basically, from the evil Count Bleck.

The newest version of the game is Super Paper Mario (made specifically for Wii).  I actually ended up playing the games out of order.  I played Paper Mario first, and then I played Super Paper Mario because it came out shortly after I finished Paper Mario.  That was when I discovered The Thousand Year Door and went to EB Games to get my used GameCube controllers and memory card. 

Super Paper Mario is crazy awesome as you have the ability to switch between 2D and 3D gaming at any time, something I've never seen done in another game.  Of course since this game is made for the Wii it does implement some use of the motion sensor wiimote by being able to point the Wiimote at the screen when you have Pixl with you to find hidden objects, doors, etc.  You can also shake the Wiimote after attacking an enemy in battle which will help you pull off a "stylish move" which earns you extra points.

I seriously need to replay all three games though.  There is just so much to find and so much to do that I know there's likely a lot that I've missed.  Not to mention the fact that I haven't finished the Pit of 100 Trials in any of the games.  I know, I suck.

Currently I'd say that the Paper Mario series and the God of War series are at the top of my list for awesomeness.  Of course my list changes often.  I'd love to see Mario and Kratos try and battle it out.  Not that Mario would stand a chance, Kratos would rip of his head in about 10 seconds, but it would still be fun as hell!

 

I'd love to hear from anyone else who's played the games, what are your opinions on the game?  Any tips/tricks?