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Saturday 9 February, 2008
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WARNING! This entry contains spoilers! This Game Log covers through Chapter 1 of Paper Mario, so if you haven’t played that far, your game experience may be spoiled a bit if you read this.
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GAMEPLAY
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I am very happy with how the pacing of “Paper Mario” has picked up quite a bit since my last Game Log. Previously, I had played through the Prologue, which, while it wasn’t boring, was a tad slow-going. For this game log, I played through Chapter 1 (the Koopa Bros. Fortress).
While the Prologue had its comedic moments, this first Chapter gave me what I expected I would see in terms of humor, based on the reviews and recommendations I had received. Quite simply, the dysfunctional nature of the Koopa Bros. creates comedy that is charming and simply hilarious. For instance, the first portion of the boss fight between the Koopa Bros. has Mario and co. pitted against... some sort of sorry excuse for Bowser on wheels that the Koopa Bros. think is completely fool-proof.
Beyond this, though, things have really picked up for me because the game is turning over control of much of the game’s mechanics to me, including Action Commands, Badges, Abilities, and Allies. Through Chapter 1, I received a new ally (Kooper, an adventurous Koopa), many badges to decide between (Badges enable abilities. I only have a certain number of Badge Points – you need Badge Points to equip badges), new abilities that give me much more choice during battle than simply “attack,” and full control over the Action Commands available in battle. Overall, all these new choices bring out much more of the RPG elements in the game and give me more control over the resource management of my characters, which results in a much more fulfilling experience.
DESIGN
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Overall, “Paper Mario” is an interesting hybrid of the traditional Platformer and Role-Playing Game, creating an exploratory element where you must jump around and use skills in the overworld, but also a strategic battle element with traditional RPG mechanics infused with in-battle action elements that make turns a little less boring.
The Action Command is one of the more noteworthy elements in terms of design because they solve a traditional problem with turn-based RPGs – having to sit around between turns with no control over an action’s effectiveness. In “Paper Mario,” the Action Commands give you something to do both when you’re attacking and when your enemy is attacking. Also, it removes much, but not all, of the luck element associated with turn-based combat (I don’t know if this attack will be effective or not... are the fates on my side?).
Beyond this core gameplay mechanic, the presentation of “Paper Mario” is best described as charming. It’s funny, it’s happy, it’s saturated, it’s... well... cute paper cutouts that are fun and loveable. There’s even an affinity to the enemies, which also look like paper cutouts. Once again, referring to the Koopa Bros., they were a main enemy in the game, but they were still funny and charming, matching the overall tone of the game. Together, it creates for a pleasurable experience that invites fun.
Also, I must note the tutorial elements of the game. The entire Prologue section is pretty much the game’s tutorial, and for being that, it’s not that bad. There are a few moments that feel like tutorials, where an in-game character walks you through, for instance, Action Commands. Though, these experiences are kept to a minimum, reserved for the most unique elements of the game. Instead, the designers favored the option of putting the player in a relatively safe training environment and letting the player discover these elements through actual gameplay. This is a good decision on the designer’s part, seeing as players don’t typically like to sit through page after page of on-screen text tutorials.
In summary, “Paper Mario” is a fun game that still hasn’t lost its charm despite being many years old and lives up to its predecessor, “Super Mario RPG” (SNES). I look forward to playing much more of this intriguing game.
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