If you've read my previous posts, you may have noticed that my favorite game of all time is "Paper Mario" on the Nintendo 64. I think this'll require a little backstory here, so here we go.
The year is 1999. There is talk on the 2nd grade playground of this "PlayStation" and how awesome it is. Hell, I'd even played it at friends' houses. A lot. So when Christmas season came along, I asked my parents for a PlayStation, and they gave me... an N64.
There's a reason I don't dock points in my reviews due to clunky control, and the N64 is that reason. Trust me, trying to grasp that godforsaken trident... thing would've been hard enough if I had never handled a PS1 controller before. Thankfully, I also received a lot of games that made good use of it, like "Star Fox", "Mario Kart", "Mario 64", and "Pokemon Snap". And like any control scheme, I got used to the once-clunky controller quickly.
One day, in 2001, I was walking around the supermarket when an issue of Nintendo Power caught my eye. It had a preview/guide of the new N64 game, dubbed "Paper Mario", a name and concept that I had, at least back then, considered laughable and ridiculous. I mean, "Paper Mario"? How could you not scoff at that?
A month or two later, a close friend gave me the game for my birthday, saying that I absolutely had to play this game. I popped that sucker into my N64, and I was hit with an intro that was at first humorous, but then took a turn for the dramatic. I was quickly absorbed into the story of the Star Spirits and the Star Rod. I was captivated by the whole thing: the characters, the sense of humor, and of course, the amazing Action Command system.
For the uninitiated, the Action Command adds a little spice to an otherwise simple turn-based RPG battle system. In a normal RPG, like the first "Final Fantasy", you would just select your attack and let the game do the rest. But in "Paper Mario", if you really want to succeed, you need to put in a little more effort. Button inputs are slipped into ordinary attacks. For example, you can select the Jump command and have Mario do a single, simple jump. But if you tap the A button just as you are about to land on the enemy, you'll bounce off it and do another jump.
Later in the game, the Commands got more complex, but never too challenging. While the game still retained some challenge, it was easier than just setting it on auto-pilot.
Of course, I've spent all this time gushing over the gameplay, and it would be a crime to not mention the fantastic writing. The game has an amazing sense of humor. There are references to the 8-bit era, and even a TMNT spoof. Bowser and his minions work so hilariously off of each other. It's impossible to watch Bowser interact with his minions and Peach without a smile on your face.
Okay, maybe it's just nostalgia that makes this game so special to me, but even if you didn't play it at the age of eight, it's still worth a download. You won't regret your decision.
Rating: *****
No comments:
Post a Comment