Paper Mario

Paper Mario (2001) for the Nintendo 64 is a delightful and imaginative RPG that stands out as one of the most charming entries in the Mario franchise. With its distinctive paper-cutout art style and clever writing, it manages to feel both nostalgic and fresh, even decades later.

The game's story is familiar: Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach and threatens the Mushroom Kingdom, but this time with the power of the Star Rod, which grants him invincibility. What makes the narrative shine, however, is its playful tone and surprising depth, especially in the segments where players control Peach in stealth-based scenes that add variety and humor.

Combat is turn-based, but made engaging with timed button presses that add strategy and interactivity to every move. Mario is joined by a colorful cast of partners, each with their own unique abilities, both in battle and for solving environmental puzzles.

The world design is bright and creative, with memorable locations like Shy Guy's Toy Box and the mysterious Forever Forest. The badge system adds a satisfying layer of customization, allowing players to tailor Mario's abilities to their preferred playstyle.

If there's a downside, it's that the difficulty may be too easy for experienced RPG fans. Still, the pacing, charm, and creativity more than make up for it.

Paper Mario is a beautifully crafted adventure full of heart, humor, and style. It's approachable for newcomers but deep enough to satisfy genre veterans; a timeless classic worth revisiting.

This was the last N64 videogame I ever bought (unused) before I upgraded to an XBox in late 2001, and I must say that I'm honored to say so. This is an amazing game, full of great puzzles and fine RPG battles. Mario's world has never been shown like this before, and Nintendo has made a big gamble by creating such a game--and it works!

What's great is how it seems sort of childish, but is actually rather hard at times. Even though it's sort of sappy and corny and the music is sickeningly sweet, it's a surprisingly deep and beautiful game that will appeal to adults far more than to children.

Don't be turned off by the marketing and design of the game!

The graphics are excellent. The game is designed in 2D, and with the 64 bits on a Nintendo, this only means that the designers have more room to add great detail to the two dimensions. The result is brilliant.

If you haven't upgraded yet, or if you still just own a dusty old N64 (I got mine Christmas '96, when they were the Furbies of that year and very hard to find in stores), this is certainly a must-find. I don't know if they still manufacture N64 games, but you'd be doing good to look for a used copy if they don't. Mine's in top-notch condition, being the last I ever got and unused since 2001 (when I beat it in 24 hours flat-out), but I'm not selling!!

I recently unplugged my Xbox and decided to try a few N64 games. I was amazed at how fun it was to start "Paper Mario" over. I'm proud to say that this game exists in my rather lengthy archive. DO NOT let its image get to you.

There's a reason it has 100% good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes with an average of 9.1 stars out of 10.

Highly recommended! Completely engrossing and truly addictive.

5/5 stars.

• John Ulmer

He is the face of video games. whether it's a sidescroller, a fighting game, a racing game, Super Mario will be good in one (except if it's on the CD-I or the Virtual Boy) but on Nintendo's best selling consoles, from the original NES all the way up to the Wii, the game Mario is in will be very good (maybe not so much the NES and SNES's educational games, though.) and on the N64, Paper Mario stood out.

Paper Mario starts out like any other Mario game...your goal is to rescue peach from bowser...again! except this time, he has to do it RPG style. he collects coins, star points (which if Mario collects 100 of, he levels up.) Star pieces (which can be traded for badges.) and finally, badges (which will give Mario a special edge, depending on which badge he wears. for example, if he wears the power jump badge, he can perform the power jump and cause more damage than a normal jump.) Now the whole princess rescue thing might seem repetitive, but in every new adventure Mario goes on, he encounters new obstacles and meets new friends. who gives a damn if they're bad guys turned good?

the control isn't bad, it's not like it's impossible to control Mario. besides, if you're playing a Turn-based battle (which is how the battles work.) who needs them to be complicated?

The music is by far is the best i've heard on the N64. it turns you on, literally. in the earlier stages, the music is lighthearted and easygoing, but by the time you're fighting the bosses near the end of the game, the music becomes dark and amazing. the final battle with bowser has truly one of the darkest battle music sequences ever.

On a Final note, this game feels like it belongs on the gamecube. if you have a little brother or sister who wants to get into RPGs, get them to play this one first. it's also one of the easiest RPGs in terms of figuring out what to do, but the bosses require patience.

10/10

Second only to Super Mario 64, this was my favorite Mario game for the N64 and one of the last great games for the system. It also kickstarted the beloved Paper Mario franchise.

The story is pretty routine for Mario, but things are more serious this time. After stealing the Star Rod from Star Haven and imprisoning the 7 Star Spirits, Bowser lifts Peach's Castle high into the sky, captures Peach, and soundly defeats Mario. Narrowly surviving the encounter, Mario sets out on yet anothet big adventure to rescue the 7 Star Spirits, confront Bowser, rescue Peach, and save the Mushroom Kingdom before the Koopa King takes over.

As the title says, the game introduced a unique animation style. Mario and the other characters are represented as 2D sprites with flat paper-like depths, yet they inhabit a world with a 3D environments, buildings, and other objects. This brilliant mix gave the game a distinct story book like setting and retained Marios 2D platforming play style. You not only play as Mario, but Peach as well in between chapters as she assists the hero despite her captivity.

Like Super Mario RPG for the SNES, the game contained many RPG elements, like leveling up with Star Points, learning new moves, using or purchasing items with coins, equipping badges that grant Mario special abilities, and turn based battles, which can start with Mario or his enemy striking first.

You'll fight a wide variety of familiar enemies, like Goombas, Koopas, Shy Guys, Pirahna Plants, and others. The battles against enemies and bosses are mostly easy, but the later bosses, like Huff n' Puff, Crystal King, and Bowser himself, require strategy and patience to defeat.

Assisting Mario throughout his travels are 8 different party members with their own abilities you can use inside and outside of battle, like Koopers shell attack to hit switches, or Bombetta blowing holes in walls. As typical for RPGs, there's plenty of side activities, like collecting star pieces to trade for badges, levelling up your party members, doing favors for Koopa Koot, fighting in a dojo, and delivering letters. There's plenty to do for completionist gamers.

The music is outstanding, thanks to prolific game composer, Yuka Tsujiyoko. The game had a diverse range of music, like the bright and cheery theme for the hub world, Toad Town and the tranquil Koopa Village. Later, the soundtrack gets darker and more dangerous with Tubba Blubba's castle, Mt. Lava Lava, and Bowsers castle. The boss themes were the most remarkable, like the TMNT-esque music of the Koopa Bros, Lava Pirahna's theme that shifted in intensity, and the dark yet awesome final showdown with Bowser including guitar riffs and organ notes.

Even today, the game is playable and fun, especially for fans of Paper Mario games curious about how this franchise started. So, try it on the Nintendo Switch if you're interested.

Paper Mario is one of the best games that came out for N64. I would say this is in the top 5. Next to the Zelda franchise.