The Game Show:Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64

Paper Mario(which is known as Mario Story in Japan) is an RPG(which could be considered a semi-sequel to Super Mario RPG:Legend of the Seven Stars) starring that famous plumber himself. One of the niftiest things about this game is that, as per the title, the game's characters are two-dimentional(literally having the appearance of being made of paper) against a three-dimentional background. The story is that Mario has been invited to a party at Princess Peach's castle; unfortunately, Bowser comes by and crashes the party, kidnaps Peach and commandeers her castle. Mario has no choice but to battle Bowser, but soon discovers that Bowser has in his possesion an item called the Star Rod which makes him super-powerful, and unfortunately, Mario ends up being no match for him. Mario later learns of the seven Star Spirits who have been imprisoned by Bowser and held hostage by several of his lackeys, so Mario's task is clear:free the Star Spirits, defeat Bowser, and get the Star Rod back in order to save Peach and restore order in the Mushroom Kingdom once more.


Players guide Mario through a series of levels, ranging from deserts to jungles to mountains to flower fields to even a strange toy land. Mario is aided in this journey by several "travelling buddies"(Goombario the Goomba, Kooper the Koopa, Bombette the Bob-omb, Parakarry the Parakoopa, Lady Bow the Boo, Watt the Little Sparky, Sushie the Cheep Cheep, and Lakilester "Spike" the Lakitu)* each with their own special abilities(Kooper can get faraway items via his shell, Bow can make Mario invisible, Parakarry can fly Mario over impasses, Bombette can break weak walls, etc.).

 Mario fights battles with his famous jump and equally famous hammer. A boss battle awaits Mario and his friends at the end of each level; every time a boss is beaten, a Star Spirit, whose abilities aid Mario in battle is freed. Various badges, which improve Mario's abilities and occasionally even give him special powers(such as electrifying him, so enemies take damage when they touch him) are also available.

 In between levels, players take control of Pricess Peach, who, with the help of a little star buddy named Twink(no relation) wanders throughout Bowser's castle, picking up items and information that will be helpful to Mario on his quest.

Pros:-A very cool, enjoyable game with practically no learning curve.

         -Very nifty and very original graphics.

         -A very good, interesting storyline.

         -Very good, well-cast, and often amusing characters with lots of personality. Many familiar faces, such as Luigi and the Yoshi clan make appearances, and many other characters have goofy, humorous names, such as Russ T., Huff N. Puff, Fishmael, Minh T., Dane T., Rip Cheato, Chuck Quizmo, and Tubba Blubba.

 Honestly, y'gotta love the name "Tubba Blubba"!

         -Uhm, well...it's a Mario game! :-D

Cons:-Like most RPGs, this game can be a bit tricky at times; without a strategy guide of some sort, players may be stuck for what to do in certain situations. (Fortunately, there are plenty of strategy guides available not only online, but right here as well.)

Overall, a very cool, funny, enjoyable, and very original game with lots of replay value. Although the character designs may be paper-thin, the premise most certainly isn't!(I couldn't resist. :-D) From a personal standpoint, I've always loved this game, and back in the day, I used to play it every chance I got. A highly reccommended selection for any Mario aficionado.

Buy it on Amazon!

*My fav, Watt. (He's just so adorable!) :-)