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.

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

The Game Show:Super Mario Advance for the Game Boy Advance

This nifty little game(which was also one of the first games released for the Game Boy Advance in America) is an updated release of Super Mario Brothers 2. In this game, the evil King Wart has taken over the kingdom of Subcon and imprisoned its inhabitants, so it's up to Mario and his friends to save the day. Players choose from Mario(who has balanced stats), Luigi(slightly lower stats than Mario, but has a much more powerful jump), Princess Peach(low stats, but can float for a little while), and Toad(has the most speed and power, but the weakest jump). Players guide Mario and his friends through a series of different levels(grasslands, desert, arctic, falls, etc.) each suited to their abilities, with a boss battle every third level. Gameplay mostly involves picking up items(such as vegetables) and throwing them at enemies.

The game is a vasty improvement over the original, with improved graphics and music, as well as voices for each character and every boss. Some other differences include:

-A Yoshi Challenge that becomes available after the game's been beaten.

-A new boss named Robirdo(she's a giant robot Birdo who spits giant eggs).

-"Big" vegetables, "big" POW blocks, and "big" enemies(the former being pictured below).

An interesting fact regarding Super Mario Bros 2, incidentally, is the fact that it wasn't originally a Mario game at all! It had originally been a Japanese game called Doki Doki Panic, an Arabian Nights-themed game concerning a family of four:Imajin the brother(who became Mario), Lina the sister(who became Peach), Mama(who became Luigi), and Papa(who became Toad), who have to save two kids who were kidnapped by Wart and dragged into a storybook. Doki Doki Panic was honestly kind of a bizarre game that didn't make much sense, however, once it was given a Mario makeover, everything certainly fell into place; IMHO, the change was definetly for the better.

   

Pros:-A highly improved update on a classic game with plenty of replay value.

           -Easy gameplay with practically no learning curve.

          -Four different playable characters to choose from.

          -Nintendo's arcade classic Mario Bros. is also available in this game, and it now features a very nifty four-player mode.

          -Uhm...it's a Mario game? :-D

Cons:-Levels, especially later ones, can be very tricky to get through.

          -It's not always easy to find out where to put the potion, which makes the door leading you to the power-up mushroom.

          -For some reason, Toad was given a really annoying voice!

Overall, a fun, original Mario game concept that any Mario afficionado is sure to love.

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