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[daydream]

The magnificent Nintendo 64 RPG is now on the Wii U eShop! Grab your badges and ready your Tayce T. recipe book, 'cause this adventure is no lightweight!​

Release Dates: [US] April 30, 2015; [EU] May 21, 2015
Platform: Wii U Virtual Console
Price: $9.99/9,99€ (or transfer from Wii for $2/1,99&#8364
Size: 151.1MB to install, about 82MB to store game + save
Developer: Intelligent Systems, published by Nintendo

Far, far away beyond the sky, way above the clouds, it's been said that there was a haven where the Stars lived.

In the sanctuary of Star Haven there rested a fabled treasure called the Star Rod, which had the power to grant all wishes. Using this wondrous Star Rod, the seven revered Star Spirits watched over our peaceful world carefully...very carefully.

Then one day, a terrible thing happened... The evil King Bowser appeared in Star Haven and stole the Star Rod! Using its incredible power he quickly imprisoned the seven Star Spirits! Completely unaware of the trouble in far-off Star Haven, Mario was back home in the Mushroom Kingdom, eagerly reading a letter from Princess Peach. It was an invitation to a party at the castle! With much anticipation, he and his brother Luigi set off for the party, oblivious to the chaos that lay ahead...

Mario - The titular hero of this game. As Mario, you must journey across the Mushroom Kingdom to reclaim the seven Star Spirits.

Princess Peach - Once again kidnapped by Bowser, Peach assists Mario during his journey by sabotaging Bowser's plans and baking cakes.

Bowser - The villain of 90% of Mario games. In this game, he steals the Star Rod, which has the power to make any wish come true, and lifts Peach's castle up to the sky with his flying fortress. Yeah.

Partners - In this game, Mario gathers a party of unique characters that can aid him on his journey, whether it's through traversing the world or in battle.

Paper Mario combines traditional role-playing game (RPG) elements with concepts and features from the Mario series.

When not in battle, Mario and the partner he has selected move around the overworld. Mario's jump and hammer, as well as his partners' abilities must be used many times to traverse the terrain. Making contact with the wide variety of baddies around will start a battle, rendering encounters completely non-random.

During the game, badges can be found during your journey. Badges may give Mario more moves, increase his stats and do many other wonderful things.

Paper Mario iterated on the battle system introduced in Super Mario RPG - something unique to the Mario series as well as, at the time, to RPGs in general - with a lot of new additions and refinements. Mario and one partner of their choice fight against the enemies. Each attack has its own "Action Command", which increases damage if performed or timed correctly. For example, for a "Jump" attack, the player must press A Button just as Mario is about to hit the enemy, and for a Hammer attack, the player must hold left and release at the right time. Mario can also decrease enemy damage by 1 by pressing A Button just as they hit him.

Q: I already own Paper Mario on the Wii Virtual Console. Why should I pay the $2 upgrade fee to play it straight from my Wii U menu?

A: As with all other Wii U N64 VC games, this version of Paper Mario will have additional features exclusive to the Wii U, such as suspend-and-resume, rumble support, a readable scan of the original Paper Mario manual, remappable buttons, additional controller options, and Miiverse integration.

Q: Wait, Watt is a girl?

A: Indeed she is. Though she has been mistaken as being male in two different Paper Mario games, including this one.

Nintendolife - 10/10

Paper Mario was, much like Super Mario RPG was to the SNES, the swansong of the N64. It was followed by a sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, in 2004. It's still a frequent debate which of the two is better, though I would have to go with the sequel. Still, the original Paper Mario is also brilliant! Since the Wii can play GameCube games, you can just buy Paper Mario on VC and hunt down a copy of the sequel if you don't already own it. Any self-respecting Nintendo fan should play at least one of them.

Gamespot - 9.5/10

With stunning graphics, excellent sound, and extremely solid gameplay, Paper Mario is a quality game on all fronts. The sprite-based graphics combined with classic Mario gameplay make this a must-own for any Mario lover, and the simplified RPG system makes this a compelling game for both RPG fans and non-fans alike. Games of this caliber are few and far between, and it's too bad that Paper Mario might be the last great 2D Mario game.

IGN - 9/10

Paper Mario is the best RPG for Nintendo 64, and moreover, a great entry into the genre versus any system. While the cute, simplified look of the game and its similarly colorful mascot characters may turn off those looking for a Final Fantasy killer, it'd be a huge mistake to pass this title up for that reason alone. For underneath its 2D surface, Paper Mario is a fantastically deep, intuitively designed, and wonderfully rewarding experience complete with enhanced takes on old-school turn-based fighting mechanics and a statistic system that would satisfy any RPG fanatic.

Thunderbolt - 9/10

With an engaging battle system, charming visuals, and references that will make any Mario fan giddy, it is hard to fault Paper Mario at all. Nintendo 64 owners can finally rejoice. Not only do they have a fantastic role-playing title now, but they also have one of the most delightful games of this generation. Everything — from the comical sound effects to the hilarious one-liners to the cartoon paper graphics — coexists wonderfully to create a feel-good, easy-going environment, and that’s part of Paper Mario’s charm: it never takes itself too seriously.

Posting the thread on behalf of chaobreaker who could not be with us today!

 

[JBourne]

Definitely paying $2 to play this on the gamepad.

Nice OT.

 

[Wensih]

It's about time! I was hoping this would get a Wii U VC release. I didn't know this was coming, so I'm pretty excited about this.

 

[Killer]

this is the N64 game? man the memories ;_;. I really liked it back then but never finished it.

 

[Young Magus]

Looks like I know what I'm spending my last 300 nintendo points on

Spoiler

So that this can only be two bucks

 

[J@hranimo]

For a split second, a split second I though this was a randomly announced sequel lol.

Such a classic. I've played through this like 3 times already. Hope it plays very well on the gamepad!

 

[ozfunghi]

Might get it... never played it and i adored The Thousand Year Door.

 

[Revven]

Can't wait to dive into this game again tomorrow, def. upgrading my Club Nintendo redeemed copy.

 

[WillyFive]

The best Paper Mario game, and therefore best Mario RPG.

What a great game, especially the story, characters, and music.

 

[Effect]

I don't think I've played this. I certainly don't have it in my collection. There are actually a number of N64 games I didn't play simply because N64 games costed so much compared to PlayStation 1 games at the time. RPGs were my genre of choice back then, even now. I played the Mario RPG on the SNES and I think I tried out one of the Mario & Luigi games and I did play Super Paper Mario on Wii but that's really it.

 

[Sterok]

One of the main N64 games I care about. Will be upgrading to the Wii U version for sure.

 

[giancarlo123x]

It's weird as shit that I was thinking about when this would come to Wii U earlier. Very happy it did.

 

[A Link to the Past]

The biggest reason for me to upgrade TBH is to clear space on my SD card.

 

[PixalTheCat]

Does it really have rumble support in the Wii U N64 VC emulation??

 

[Mass Effect]

this is the N64 game? man the memories ;_;. I really liked it back then but never finished it.

You should! It still holds up really well.

 

[KefkaPalazzo]

My favorite RPG of the fifth generation. I haven't played it since 2009, might be time for another playthrough. The Koopa Bros are comedic gold.

 

[vall03]

Does upgrading transfer the save files as well? I have some progress and I don't want to lose it.

 

[Artorias]

Can't wait to replay this. I haven't played it since launch.

Quick question about N64 VC, when I upgraded some NES and SNES games the Wii version remained playable in Wii mode. Does this work the same for N64 so far? Some people had issues with Mario 64 on Wii U so I kinda want to keep the Wii version just in case.

 

[blame space]

Does upgrading transfer the save files as well? I have some progress and I don't want to lose it.

Yeah does anyone know?

 

[Sadsic]

Been waiting for this all month!

 

[Xbro]

Now all we need is Gamecube VC for The Thousand Year Door.

 

[PikaED]

Does it really have rumble support in the Wii U N64 VC emulation??

DK 64 has it so, maybe?

 

[deadbass]

Yeah does anyone know?

It didn't for Super Mario 64, so probably not.

 

[Killer]

You should! It still holds up really well.

I think i well. I LOVED it back then. Hope it holds up as you say.

 

[Fandangox]

Man I glanced at the thread title and I thought it was a paper mario for Wii U, my heart.

 

[WillyFive]

I think i well. I LOVED it back then. Hope it holds up as you say.

I think it holds up really well too. The sprites are certainly low res, but the art is magnificent; and the RPG system itself is still very well done and intuitive.

 

[Isotope]

One of my favorite games on the N64; can't wait to play it all over again!

 

[Qblivion]

This game holds up super well. By far the best Paper Mario game.

 

[BRocknRolla]

This is such a fantastic game. I've purchased and beat it before though multiple times. What I really want is...

Now all we need is Gamecube VC for The Thousand Year Door.

Seriously! I've never played it and I would absolutely love to! Come on Nintendo!

 

[PKrockin]

All y'all need to play this. It's got simple, engaging battles, an excellent soundtrack, and and a wonderful script full of memorable scenarios and funny dialogue without being try-hard.

 

[Mr. Nice_Guy]

Yeah, I was waiting for this! Great OT, will definitely be picking it up tomorrow at the reduced price. Love playing on the gamepad.

 

[FloweryMarston]

almost had a heart attack glancing my eyes at "paper mario wii u" on the title

 

[Chrom]

It didn't for Super Mario 64, so probably not.

The Virtual Console version of Super Mario 64 is based on the original edition, is it not? It only supported rumble in a Japanese re-release as far as I know.

 

[KirbYuuYuu]

I'll pay for this to have access, but I probably won't play it anytime soon since I played it to death.

Definitely my favorite Mario RPG after running through a bunch of them numerous times.

 

[Neiteio]

I dunno, the characterization was a little flat

 

[Artorias]

There are actually a number of N64 games I didn't play simply because N64 games costed so much compared to PlayStation 1 games at the time.

Yea, that was rough! Paper Mario came out the same day as a big PS1 RPG, I can't even remember which one, but I remember struggling with it at the store. I was pretty young working my first job and, and even though I wanted Paper Mario more, it wasn't easy to fork over an extra $30 for a shorter game. I had no regrets after playing it though.

 

[Seda]

I remember getting this as a gift when it released, and I stayed up all night to play it. Definitely one of my favorite N64 games.

 

[Mass Effect]

I think i well. I LOVED it back then. Hope it holds up as you say.

Only problem I found was how pixelated a lot of the assets are. Like the sprites of the characters are pretty bad and so is the text.

The 64 version it probably wasn't as noticeable because of the low resolution and general muddiness of N64 games. I was playing it on the Wii VC and it was really apparent though. Not sure how it looks on Wii U VC.

 

[Neiteio]

almost had a heart attack glancing my eyes at "paper mario wii u" on the title

Yeah, I thought that's what it said, too.

Clicked my mouse so hard that my finger drove through the mouse, bore through the Earth, and poked someone's butt in China.

 

[RoyaleDuke]

Well, I know what I'm doing tomorrow.

Paper Fuckin' Mario.

 

[soxinthebox]

Only problem I found was how pixelated a lot of the assets are. Like the sprites of the characters are pretty bad and so is the text.

The 64 version it probably wasn't as noticeable because of the low resolution and general muddiness of N64 games. I was playing it on the Wii VC and it was really apparent though. Not sure how it looks on Wii U VC.

If it's like DK64 then it should look pretty sharp (at least on the game pad).

 

[friskykillface]

I still have a club nintendo code for this from like 2013 or 2012 haha , wii version though but i might download it and pay the $2 to upgrade

never beat the game , dont even remember it so i am ready

 

[ohlawd]

I don't have the heart to make the transfer. mah precious save file ;_;

 

[L95]

Hmm. Haven't finished the copy I have downloaded to my Wii, and I haven't played it in a while. Might as well upgrade it to WiiU.

 

[Enforced]

Great game. I still have my N64 copy with me. Sadly I think my N64 doesn't work anymore. ;_; I will get the wii u vc version sometime later this year.

 

[steveovig]

Despite buying this around its release, and then owning the Wii version, I still have yet to beat this. I have, however, beaten Super Paper Mario, explain that. I plan on picking this up this week and playing it after I'm done with Mario and Luigi:SS that I got from SS.

 

[KirbYuuYuu]

I don't have the heart to make the transfer. mah precious save file ;_;

Go on blast and finish it in like 10 hours.

 

[Revven]

I'm just wondering how much longer we'll have to wait for more N64 titles after this one because this is the last one they announced in the Direct at the beginning of the month. :/

I mean, I'm happy DK64 and PM64 both came out this month and they'll be keeping me busy for awhile as-is but it would be nice if we were to... I don't know... get some more in June-August during the usual Nintendo dry-spell of retail releases. Especially stuff like Mario Tennis 64, Mario Party 2, Mario Golf 64, etc. I really hope after PM64 we don't have to wait another 6 months just for another batch of 3.

But knowing Nintendo's track record of VC releases...

 

[DoktorEvil]

I really hope with this, Nintendo will put GCN games on Wii U and give us TTYD.

I played this and Super Paper Mario. I need to complete the good Paper Mario games.

 

[Killer]

Only problem I found was how pixelated a lot of the assets are. Like the sprites of the characters are pretty bad and so is the text.

The 64 version it probably wasn't as noticeable because of the low resolution and general muddiness of N64 games. I was playing it on the Wii VC and it was really apparent though. Not sure how it looks on Wii U VC.

ah i wish they up-rez'd that. I will look really ugly on HDTV :/.