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[PantherLotus]

***THE OFFICIAL SUPER PAPER MARIO THREAD OF WONDER AND JOY***

Welcome to the official thread for one of my most personally hyped games of all time. From Nintendo's IntSys development studio, this game comes to the Wii after a long delay and cancellation from the GameCube. SPM takes a departure from the Paper Mario RPG-focused tradition in that the main game really focuses on platforming with a light dose of RPG elements. The formula has changed, but the brilliance remains. Multiple playable characters, paths, and all-new power ups promise to keep this game thrilling for the everyone.

As awesome as the game will surely play, the visual style is not something quickly forgotten either. It seems so surreal that it encroaches upon that territory that very few games ever even dare to step into--the realm of art. From the shimmering backgrounds to the paper-based characters, this is a bright and beautiful game.

While you're here, please note that nearly everything in this post is clickable and linked to a larger/bigger source for your enjoyment. Take your time to explore everything, it's worth it. I look forward to your impressions!

***THE FOLLOWING IS A VERY MEDIA INTENSIVE THREAD. 56K PRAY FOR MERCY***
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Box Arts:



Developed by - Intelligent Systems (Tetris Attack, Fire Emblem, Paper Mario)
Published by - Nintendo

Release Dates:
JP - April 19, 2007
NA - April 9, 2007
EU - TBA 2007
AU - TBA 2007

Genre - Side-scrolling Platformer with some RPG elements
Modes - Single-player
Price - $49.99

Websites
Official Website - Coming Soon!
SPM @ Nintendo.com
SPM @ Wiki
SPM @ IGN
SPM @ Gamespot


PREVIEWS

Super Paper Mario stars Mario's flat Paper Mario counterpart in a new title that doesn't really have much to do with the original Paper Mario or 2004's Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. The big draw for the game is its combination of traditional 2D platforming with 3D elements. Going well beyond Mario's gimmicky flat character model, the title mixes 2D and 3D like never before.

The main game is a 2D side scroller not unlike the classic Mario games. You've got blocks to crush, Goombas to stomp and Koopa shells to send flying off on a path of destruction. There are a few differences from the classic titles, though. First, mushrooms restore Mario's health, rather than making him bigger. Mario can get bigger with a star power up, but he ends up filling the screen in large, 8-bit pixelated form and can then smash through the stage ala New Super Mario Bros.

You also have access to other characters on the fly. You're free to switch between Mario, Bowser and Peach, each of whom has her own special powers. Peach, fresh from her adventures in Super Princess Peach on the DS, uses her umbrella to float down from jumps.

Super Paper Mario is, in fact, a side-scrolling platformer in the vein of the classic Mario titles but with the aesthetic qualities of the Paper Mario series. However, it's not just a 2D side-scroller. The game fuses elements of 2D and 3D gameplay together, shifting back and forth between dimensions. Watching the brief video for the game, you can get a pretty good idea of how it plays. The paper version of Mario runs to the right, stomping on koopas, punching bricks, collecting coins, and whatnot. However, you won't just be playing as Mario, it seems. Both Princess Peach and Bowser are shown as playable characters in the video. And in perhaps something of a nod to Nintendo's newest Mario title for the DS, the video also shows all characters getting severely gigantic, blowing through enemies and bricks with reckless abandon. Even more hysterical, the giant characters are actually versions of the original Super Mario Bros. sprites, blown up to epic proportions.

REVIEWS
EGM -
Famitsu -
IGN -
Gamespot -
PantherLotus - 9.9/10

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● Official Invitation to the Ceremony of Marriage of Mr. Bowser Koopa and Ms. Princess Peach
● Location: the town of Flipside
● Villain: Count Bleck
● Problem: A black hole above the city.
● Solution: Mario & friends to the rescue!

Mario and Luigi are enjoying a lazy afternoon at their house when they hear the terrible news: Princess Peach has been kidnapped! The two brothers head straight for Bowser's castle to get her back, but Bowser is just as surprised about Peach's kidnapping as they are. At that moment, a strange top-hatted villain called Count Bleck, warps in and abducts everyone but Mario. The mysterious villain then forces Peach and Bowser to get married, creating a rift of dark energy that threatens to tear the universe apart.

Only Mario can save the day... but he can't do it alone. As Mario finds his way into a town called Flipside, where a black hole resides above the city along with odd mathematical equations floating about in the air, he has to venture through 8 chapters to save the day.

Princess Peach is forced to marry Bowser by Count Bleck; a book called the Dark Prognosticus predicts that the marriage will open a dimensional rift that will engulf the universe. Mario is transported to the town of Flipside, where the Light Prognosticus states that a hero matching Mario's description can close the rift. To accomplish this, Mario must find the eight Pure Hearts.

According to a fact sheet, Luigi was accompanying Mario to find Bowser when Princess Peach disappeared, and Count Bleck is said to have taken Luigi away as well

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Specifics
● Side-scrolling platformer with minimal RPG elements.
● Playable characters Include: Mario, Peach, and Bowser
● Switch between playable characters instantly.
● Mario friends, Pixls, grant new abilities and help reveal secrets.
● A health bar allows for multiple hits, and powerups can refill the bar.
● 8 Worlds to explore.

RPG Elements
● Starts in a Town
● Mario & Company have hit points!
● Talk with characters in different towns.
● Score doubles as an EXP system for leveling up.

Controls
● Hold the Wiimote on its side, NES style.
● Move using the Control pad [+], Jump using the [2] button.
● Switch between 2D/3D with the [A] Button (limited time action).

Super Paper Mario will be the second Paper Mario game to feature side-scrolling platforming gameplay; Mario, Peach, and Bowser will each be available as playable characters, and the player may be able to swap between characters at any time during a level. The game offers eight worlds for the player to explore, and features a scoring system.

Similar to playing NES games on the Virtual Console, the Wii Remote is held sideways, where the player moves using the control pad and jumps using the 2 button. Pressing the A Button (if the player's character is Mario) switches the viewpoint from 2D to 3D, or in other words, from a side-scroller to a third-dimensional landscape. This allows a more thorough sense of depth and more action taking place. However, this perspective is only temporary: when the player switches to 3D mode, a 10-second timer appears beneath the player's HP, as a row of rainbow-colored squares. When it reaches zero the perspective snaps back to 2D, and then slowly recovers.

Along the way, Mario will run into what are known as “Pixls” that will grant him new abilities like being able to search areas for secrets with Tippy the butterfly. Point the remote at the screen to reveal hidden doors and more after you gain this ability. Other uses for the Wii Remote are mentioned as well such as shaking the controller after landing on an enemies head to rack up some extra points.

The big twist comes about when you switch the game to 3D. Instead of moving from left to right, you now move into and out of the world. All the creatures and enemies that existed in the 3D world are here too; you can stomp on Goombas and crush blocks, although the 3D perspective is, admittedly, a bit hard to get used to. You can only remain in this perspective for a limited time before your energy starts to drain. To reset the timer, you have to switch back into the 2D perspective.

The 3D perspective is meant to be used for solving puzzles. When in 3D, the once flat world now has depth, allowing you to get around blocks and pipes that might previously have hindered you. In one sequence, the 2D view has a huge chasm that can't possibly be jumped across. Switch to 3D and you'll find that the mountain that appeared as a background element in the 2D world is actually accessible and can be climbed as a means of crossing the chasm.

Characters and Abilities
The E3 trailer showcased several new abilities and power-ups, one of which is a space helmet: Mario is seen floating in mid-air while shooting enemies with a ray gun, and also running sideways down a wall. Each playable character will have different character traits, as well as a special character-related move. For example:

● Mario - Mario's special move turns the world 90° for a limited time, allowing the player to play in a 3-dimensional environment. This reveals hidden objects invisible in 2-dimensional mode.

● Princess Peach - Being the lightest, Peach can jump the highest, and similar to her move in Super Princess Peach, can use a parasol to glide large distances while floating slowly towards the ground. It is unknown if she also uses it to attack enemies like in the aforementioned game.

● Bowser - The largest, heaviest, and slowest-moving character out of the three. Bowser retains his ability to breathe fire, which does more damage than a normal attack.

● Unknown - Nintendo Power has confirmed the existence of a 4th playable character!!

Pixls
● Tippy - allows the player to point the Wii Remote at the screen like a spotlight. This spotlight can give more information about enemies, allies, items, and surroundings, and reveal hidden objects.
● Thoreau - gives the power to pick up and throw enemies and can be interchanged with other Pixls.
● Boomer - can be placed like a bomb that leaves behind pixelated fire and dust.
● Slim - allows the character to turn sideways and become paper thin, making it possible to slip between bars or other narrow places.
● [Unknown] - One of the Pixls will act as a floating platform that can carry the player across certain hazards.

It has been stated by Nintendo Power that as the player progresses he will pick up new allies called Pixls, which give the player new ways to use the Wii Remote in game. For example, one Pixl, named Tippy, allows the player to use the remote as a pointer, using it to find hidden objects and learn about enemies.

Power ups
● Mushroom: Restores some of the character's heart points.
● Starman: Causes the character to grow to immense size (similar to the Mega Mushroom in New Super Mario Bros.), allowing him or her to crash through the level, effectively invincible. It also causes the character to appear in the form of an NES-style sprite.
● Red Flower (previously known as Fire Flowers): Deviating from its traditional role of allowing Mario to throw fireballs, the Red Flower makes him move faster.
● Blue Flower: The opposite of a Red Flower; it makes the player move more slowly.
● Pal Pills: These cause a group of miniature 8-bit Marios to follow you around and act as a personal army.

Enemies
The trailer has shown that staple Mario enemies, such as Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Hammer Bros. and so on, will make a return appearance in the game, although two new enemies, a purple square with a beak, and a blue version of said enemy, have appeared so far. Videos and screenshots from E3 2006 and the 2006 World Hobby Fair in Tokyo have depicted a number of boss-like characters encountered in the game.

● A character based on what appears to be a mix of a chinese dragon and Hooktail is shown in an area of desert terrain. Presumably, Mario would ride along the dragon's back and throw enemies at an antenna crowned upon its head.
● Other characters revealed in screenshots also appear to be boss entities, such as a mummy, a chomping monster, and a giant Blooper.

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● Click HERE for the original Wii Screen Shot Thread post.
● Click HERE for official screens from the first Advertisments!
● Click HERE for stunning screen grabs from the GDC demo!
● Scan from Japanese Magazine
● Click HERE for the NEOGAF Preview Thread
● Click HERE for the latest Japanese scans--shows new characters & artwork!

Screens

Videos

Left to Right:
1. First Trailer @ IGN Video
2. First Trailer @ Nintendo.com
3. Level - World Hobby Fair 2006
4. Boss Fight - World Hobby Fair 2006



Music
Coming Soon!
PM2_Petal Meadows (Thousand Year Door) - HERE
PM2_Underground (Thousand Year Door) - HERE

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Ads


Wallpapers

From left to right:
1. Generic Wallpaper
2. 21 Years of Bosses
3. How interesting is this? This was made long before the 2D/3D gameplay mechanics were revealed.



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● Originally set to release in October 2006 for the GameCube.

● This is the first "Paper Mario" game to depict Princess Peach wearing her current dress (e.g. darker colors) which was introduced in Mario Party 4 (2002). The previous "Paper Mario" games depicted Peach wearing her "classical" dress, which was first introduced in Super Mario Bros. 2.

● Supports 16*9 widescreen.

● One of four major games that got bumped to the Wii from GC in 2006. Zelda, Metroid, Kirby, and SPM were all originally scheduled to appear on the GameCube. Only Zelda made it.

Requests
1. Please mark anything not expressly revealed in official releases with spoilers.
2. Feel free to post media/material that you think should be included in the OP.
3. Impressions are requested and appreciated!
4. Expect updates, both media and game play details, as they become available.

======================
~Thank you~
1. (aka - The Best Official Thread Ever Conceived) <--- Thanks Amir0x!
2. Wiki members
3. IGN media staff
4. Various fan sites - if you need specific credit for writing or otherwise please let me know.
5. GameTrailers.com, for free HD videos!
6. (Your impressions here!)

 

[castle007]

yaaaaaay

now all I need is a Wii :lol

 

[PantherLotus]

~18 DAYS AND COUNTING DOWN~

 

[ant1532]

Nice job, but just so you know I got dibs on the Super Mario Galaxy Official Thread

 

[DevelopmentArrested]

OH GAWD

 

[Costanza]

Can't wait.

 

[schuelma]

THANK YOU SWEEEEEET JESUS!!!!

 

[castle007]

Nice job, but just so you know I got dibs on the Super Mario Galaxy Official Thread

somehow I think he is going to make sure you get banned by that time :lol

 

[elostyle]

can I get a hug?

 

[Totalriot]

Thank you, PantherLotus! Great thread as usual

 

[farnham]

chad warden sayz
i aint talking bout that super mario..

its got that bitch ass lil italian wuzz

with that bitch ass hat

going like.. its a me mario.. mamamia

man f** that shit.. i want to troll sum fanboyz



we aint tryin to do 3D to 2D.. we tryin to play some games

and thats one thing mario is not.. it aint a game... it aint a gaaame

 

[Jive Turkey]

:lol Didn't Amir0x threaten to ban anybody who made an official SPM thread before him?

Spoiler

I'm just bitter because I don't have a Wii and probably won't before Super Paper Mario launches.

 

[mrklaw]

any update on the EU release date? Considering 'Q1' is over in 8 days

 

[Fuzzy]

Nice job, but just so you know I got dibs on the Super Mario Galaxy Official Thread

So you get to start the official thread for the second best Mario game this year. Big deal.

 

[Leonsito]

This is the best official thread I've ever seen, congrats.

 

[BrendenLee]

I say WOW nice nice job Lotus

 

[AntMurda]

Intelligent Systems is awesome but they did not develop Kid Icarus. They merely ported the Disk from Famicom to NES Rom Cart. Wario Ware is also not their series per say. They joined as a co-development team for the sequels after the original cult hit by the Wario Land team. The main work is still done by the Wario Land overlords.

 

[Emowii]

I keep thinking i'm going to avoid this game somehow, some way. I've never bought a Paper Mario game before, but this one just looks too cool to pass up.

 

[Clever Pun]

holy crap I wish there was a huge version of this image

 

[Fuzzy]

I didn't notice Mario at first. :lol

 

[HomShaBom]

chad warden sayz

Don't bring that lame ass shit in this thread.

 

[Taurus]

Well made thread, good job PL!

 

[PantherLotus]

For those wondering, I know there is already more updated information available regarding powerups and characters and what not. I hesitate to update the OP with that information as it is creeping into spoilerish territory. It's up to you guys, though.

*And yeah, amir0x said I got this one.

 

[NomarTyme]

REVIEWS
EGM -
Famitsu -
IGN -
Gamespot -
PantherLotus - 9.9/10

AAA game confrimed.

 

[Jocchan]

As I've said in the other thread:

 

[farnham]

Intelligent Systems is awesome but they did not develop Kid Icarus. They merely ported the Disk from Famicom to NES Rom Cart. Wario Ware is also not their series per say. They joined as a co-development team for the sequels after the original cult hit by the Wario Land team. The main work is still done by the Wario Land overlords.

yeah but they made Fire Emblem and with that they are automatically amazing

 

[dankir]

Very nicely done, my next Wii purchase for sure.

 

[rod]

wow pantherlotus gave this 9.9? goty confirmed.


i cant ****ing wait for this. i might sell my PAL wii for an ntsc wii if the PAL release is too far off

 

[Lonesome_Raod]

No sign of EU date then. Going to get a wii for this.

 

[ant1532]

somehow I think he is going to make sure you get banned by that time :lol

I wouldn't be suprised. Now that you say this, I just realize that I've been banned a hella good amount of times... Hmmm, do the mods have a log or something? I'm kinda insterested in how many times it's been...

Anyways, I'm probably better off. I've noticed the GAF effect on me(playing less games)

 

[Smiles and Cries]

where can I order online on the first of the month and get it on time?
Who ships early?

also I wonder if a trip to NYC to NintendoWorld would payoff? They get first party games in early don't they?

 

[PantherLotus]

somehow I think he is going to make sure you get banned by that time :lol

It can be arranged.

 

[Jive Turkey]

I keep thinking i'm going to avoid this game somehow, some way. I've never bought a Paper Mario game before, but this one just looks too cool to pass up.

Just an FYI here...The other Paper Mario games are too good to pass up too. FIX THIS ERROR!

 

[farnham]

panter lotus.. I DEMAND A FIRE EMBLEM OFFICIAL THREAD.. (and btw.. awesome awesome official thread.. like it more then the godfather one)

 

[Oldschoolgamer]

Almost that time!

 

[Diablos54]

My penis just exploded due to the awesomeness.

 

[Xavien]

Release Dates:
JP - April 19, 2007
NA - April 9, 2007
EU - TBA 2007
AU - TBA 2007

Come on Nintendo, give us Europeans a Release Date

 

[PantherLotus]

panter lotus.. I DEMAND A FIRE EMBLEM OFFICIAL THREAD.. (and btw.. awesome awesome official thread.. like it more then the godfather one)

It's yours when we get some english stuff. But honestly, amir0x really might kill me for that one. Let's see his reaction to this one first.

 

[PantherLotus]

I do have to say that FOR ONCE, FOR GOD DAMNED ONCE, N.A. got a better box art than Japan. HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

Look at this:

 

[ant1532]

It can be arranged.

It's on!!

 

[chibcicylist]

<3 PantherLotus

 

[RubxQub]

This threads existence made my pants all soaky.

 

[Emowii]

My penis just exploded due to the awesomeness.

Might want to see a doctor about that.

 

[agent069]

Pixls
&#9679; Tippy - allows the player to point the Wii Remote at the screen like a spotlight. This spotlight can give more information about enemies, allies, items, and surroundings, and reveal hidden objects.

That sounds a little queer, you'll have to switch between horizontal and vertical position to get info? We also wish we could use the Wavebird or the Classic Controler for this game, it's a damn side-scroller anyway.

 

[Chibrou]

My nipples are getting hard.

 

[miguel_c_hammer]

if i had a wii, this would be the first game i'd get

 

[Amir0x]

for once, a thread worthy of the game it is pimping. Salute, PantherLotus. You have made thread king proud.

 

[sprsk]

I want to play this game in English.

 

[Smiles and Cries]

I do have to say that FOR ONCE, FOR GOD DAMNED ONCE, N.A. got a better box art than Japan. HAHAHAHAHAH!!!!

Look at this:

dunno both look great, I like the Japanese version

 

[castle007]

That sounds a little queer, you'll have to switch between horizontal and vertical position to get info? We also wish we could use the Wavebird or the Classic Controler for this game, it's a damn side-scroller anyway.