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Paper Mario is 15 Years Old Today

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Rymuth

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Today marks the anniversary of the game’s release in North America.

I remember being hugely disappointed with the game’s reveal. I adored (and still do) Super Mario RPG like you wouldn’t believe and I was super bummed that the RPG subgenre for Mario went in a different aesthetic.

But this game is a prime example of it’s like to step out of your comfort zone and embracing something new. I don’t think I was ever hostile to an aesthetic change but ended up liking the final product except for Wind Waker. Great adventure with tons of charm and humor.

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What are your favorite Paper Mario memories? Feel free to share~
 
I remember the power went out right when I beat Bowser for the first time and I had to beat him again, it took forever.

Also, with this game turning 15 I'm realizing that all of my bones are turning to ash as I type this.
 
Man. What a game. I'm going to have to give this a replay to celebrate.

This is one of the earliest games I remember anticipating up to release when I was 10. Before that I would mostly just rent stuff or get gifted games at holidays.
 
It turned 15 on the 11th of August last year. I know you're going by North America but still.

I generally don't love simplifed RPG's but the first three Paper Mario's were really fantastic games. Had a lot of good moments and characters.
 
Played and finished this for the first time last year, even after a lifetime of playing RPG's this game felt fun and fresh (despite being very simplistic) and better than the other Paper Mario games I've played (Super and Sticker Star)
 
One of the redeeming factors of the N64 and in my opinion, there weren't many.

I owned the cart without owning the system, occasionally borrowed my brothers unit to get through the game.

Damn worth it. The game still holds up today. I can't decide which I like more, this or the sequel. Stellar (two parts) series.
 
This game is up there with my all-time favorites. Later in the Paper Mario series they started getting kind of, I don't know, meme-y with their humor. It started feeling like they were trying too hard to make the dialogue wacky. Paper Mario is funny and witty while feeling much more natural.

I love that the reward for exploration and doing sidequests tends to be badges that give you a completely new option in battles. Most RPGs just give you money, items you'll stockpile forever or equipment that moves some numbers around. That doesn't feel very special. Customizing Mario's abilities with badges was very satisfying, and finding a secret that opened up even more options made me explore every nook and cranny.
 
Correct, it released outside Japan one year after its initial release :)
Really should play the older games someday XO
 
I'm personally a bigger fan of the art style for this game than I am for later entries, TTYD included.

One of my favourite games of all time.
 
I'll never forget how a few summers ago I decided to go through the game and got up to Flower Fields before taking a break. When I came back to it month or so later my save file was gone and I decided to just stop playing. Then a year later I was like, time for a replay again and when I went back to find the old file restored. Super weird.

It's one of my favorite games though and really enjoy it despite the later half's somewhat high difficulty.
 
Rlan said:
Did an Art extraction of the game a little while ago! Kind of crazy how different it is versus the style Thousand Year Door had and beyond.

http://thevideogameartarchive.tumblr.com/tagged/paper-mario

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I'm actually kinda sad that they didn't do much to really advance the art style past Thousand Year Door and we've been in a bit of a stasis for the last 12 years. Hoping they do something different. My friend Yoshistar did this screenshot for a fake box art he was working on but never panned out. Would love if they went with a more high-def textured look. Maybe not the lighting on display here, but something different.

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It's one of my Top 5 games of all time for sure. It's just a magical RPG experience and the perfect balance of Mario RPG gameplay that the other Mario RPGs haven't really captured, not even Thousand Year Door.

I even made a OT for the Wii U VC port.

Rlan said:
Did an Art extraction of the game a little while ago! Kind of crazy how different it is versus the style Thousand Year Door had and beyond.

http://thevideogameartarchive.tumblr.com/tagged/paper-mario
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You manage that tumblr? Awesome. I follow it. Top notch material.
 
I love this game, and replay it regularly. It really nails the vibe of the mushroom kingdom to me, which is why I still end up preferring it over its mechanically superior sequel.
 
Actually played it after TYD, I looooove the Paper Mario series (even SPM). In my consoles, the most important cartridges are always in, SNES has Terranigma, and my N64 has, of course, Paper Mario. In Case I need to quickly play a great game. I just love the Paper Mario games. Also like the Mario and Luigi series, but I never loved these games as much as paper Mario. Still sad Paper Jam isn't Paper Mario with M&L but rather M&L with Paper Mario :(

I so much hope they'll reveak ANYTHING today ...
 
This is probably my favorite game of all time along with Super Mario World. It takes the simple story of defeating Bowser and saving the princess and turns it into a grand adventure. It mixes a diverse battle system with unique puzzles that make us of the idea of a paper world, which was a bold new direction for Mario at the time. The buddy system also kept the gameplay fresh as you were constantly switching out your pals. I thought TTYD was also great, but it is not as enjoyable as the original.
 
Ah the original Paper Mario. I have super fond memories of this one. I remember when I first saw this at the store my family would go to to rent games. I ended up renting this for so long until I finally beat it, which I remember was on New Years, super fitting really.

Given that the Mario RPGs are one of my favorite series and that this was the first one I played, this game had a really huge impact on me. I remember it was the first game in which I actually got absorbed into its world, and spent hours just exploring around, talking to NPCs, and exploring everything I could.

It was also the first game in which I loved its music so much, I started listening to it even when I wasn't playing it, which began my love for video game music. I loved the mechanics and systems as well. I remember the only RPGs I'd played to this point were Pokemon and Golden Sun, and the idea of action commands kind of blew my mind as a kid.

Looking back, I always loved the way that this game had a deep world and story, yet remained faithful to the typical Mario characters and lore. Where other Mario RPGs liked to leave the Mushroom Kingdom and makes the characters more humorous than they typically are, Paper Mario kept them to their components, while also expanding them with some wonderful insight to shed more light on them. I remember loving it when I found Luigi's diary and got to learn about him and what he does while Mario is away. Peach's segments were also fantastic to spice things up and shed light on what she does while captured, and even Bowser had some great moments when learning more of why he stole the Star Rod and what he and his minions were up to. I really enjoyed the Mushroom Kingdom as well with all its various Toad residents and their fun stories, and I think Paper Mario has my favorite take on the Mario world and its characters, and is a large reason why nowadays I still love the Mario world and its inhabitants, and can't get enough of them.

It's also where my love of Shy Guys came from, and overall, I love this game, and it's always a joy to revisit. Also love all its later installments, even Super and Sticker Star. Can't wait to see the new one on Wii U, but the original will always be special for me.
 
Here's hoping the rumoured Paper Mario Wii U entry is true and that it goes back to roots from the 64 entry and TTYD.

Actually, I wouldn't mind if the new title takes pieces from each one so far:

*The battle system of first two

*2D to 3D flipping in at least a couple levels

*Bring back badges as they are in first two, but call them/make them look like "stickers".
 
Actually been replaying Paper Mario the last wee while. Such a good game! Just got up to the Toy Box.

I think someone else posted the same, but what makes it great is it kind of takes a typical Mario scenario and makes a huge adventure out of it.

The badge system is great and allows for quite a bit of customisation and finding all of them, especially the secret rooms in the dungeons, was fun.
 
Litri said:
Nintendo, did you hear? We want to celebrate this with a Wii U installment.
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I'd settle for a WiiU/NX/3DS version of Paper Mario+ Thousand Year Door at this point.

I refuse to get hyped for the rumoured game at all until I see: Tons of original characters, a traditional battle system, partners in battle and on the field (and they're not basically polygons like SPM, the first one had better be a goomba!). It's gotta be time for a proper RPG entry by now.
 
15 years? Wow, time flies! I remember trying it back in the day and hating it. It was turn-based, it wasn't a platformer, it sucked.

Many years later I was looking at games to get for my brand new Wii, when I came across Super Paper Mario. Decided to take a chance, not expecting much, and it turned out to be one of the best ideas I ever had. It was so, so good that after finishing it, it prompted me to grab the original PM from the Virtual Console, and I ended up loving it. So much charm, humor, fun, great gameplay and clever level design. Afterwards I got the sequel and it was excellent too, though I wasn't a fan of the first few chapters. Still need to play Sticker Star and the crossover with Mario & Luigi.

Fantastic franchise, my favorite from Nintendo. I wish to see more games coming, especially in the style of SPM (platforming with RPG-lite elements and quirky mechanics), but a funny turn-based RPG would be awesome too.
 
I was like, "this can't be right, it released by the end of the year?", so I turned to Wikipedia to figure out what was wrong.

Forgot for a moment that Nintendo of Europe was really crappy at the time - it didn't release here until the 5th of october that year - a whopping 8 months later, which would've put it like a month before the release of the GameCube. 'Luckily' we got that 6 months later as well, so ultimately we got to have plenty of time with Paper Mario.

Still one of my favorite games on N64. Hadn't played the SNES-game as it never released in Europe until the Wii VC, so couldn't really compare it to anything at the time but it's a great game no matter what. Love the humor and the world.
 
I desperately need a 3DS remaster. Say what you will about Sticker Star, the Paper Mario aesthetic was right at home with that 3D slider turned up.
 
The concept of enemies being good guys was so novel to me as a kid.

Going to a ghost house and meeting Boos who are just jokers and aren't really evil or loyal to Bowser. Seeing some of the most wicked and evil of Bowser's minions have a shop that has Toad customers, or an old Boo (and the idea of Boos that age lol) who went on adventures with an old Goomba and Koopa is just so cool and different from the norm of the series.

Actually I think the Boo chapter is probably the best chapter of the entire game.

- Lady Bow is a great partner
- Paper Mario Boos have a really cool design
- The music for the entire chapter is on point. Gusty Gulch's theme is one of the best songs in the series.
- There are Boos who live in a haunted wasteland and they have tans. How does a ghost get a tan? It doesn't matter.
- The "oh crap" moment of letting a Hyper Cleft charge up
- Boos are probably my favorite Mario enemy
- The twist with Tubba's heart and the lead up to it was fun


Paper Mario was one of my favorite games as a kid, and I still hold the game in high regard. Yea, it's easy, and maybe not as good as its sequel, but it's charming, colorful and the world, music and graphics are great. Who knew you could take SMW and Yoshi's Island character and enemy designs, mix the styles up a bit, and have it work out so well.

Paper Mario was also my first non-Pokemon RPG.
 
I had the game on N64, got stuck, and quit.

Then The Thousand Year Door came out, and I played it start to finish. Really a classic, that one.

I really want to give the original another try.
 
Shift Breaker said:
I'm going to have to play this again. I'm getting a Wii U soon, how is the emulation? Is it THAT bad or is it just very average?
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The emulation is mostly fine, Nintendo just decided to make N64 games really dark on Wii U VC for some reason. If you load up the Wii version on the same console it's a lot brighter.
 
The original is still one of my top ten games of all time. The charm, the action commands, the badges, the characters, the music, the art, and how the game just uses mechanics in general is pretty much flawless.

I really hope we get a 3rd mainline Paper Mario game one day but by the way nintendo has handled the franchise all I have are doubts.
 
EndlessFloydian said:
Here's hoping the rumoured Paper Mario Wii U entry is true and that it goes back to roots from the 64 entry and TTYD.

Actually, I wouldn't mind if the new title takes pieces from each one so far:

*The battle system of first two

*2D to 3D flipping in at least a couple levels

*Bring back badges as they are in first two, but call them/make them look like "stickers".
Click to expand...

This is what I was thinking. I wouldn't mind if Paper Mario U incorporated features from every game in the series. 2D-3D flipping would be great for puzzle solving and hidden secrets in some areas, but they should keep badges as-is.

Stickers could be treated more like Summons in other RPGs. Just have them be a powerful, one time use per battle, relic.
 
One of the GOAT video games. PM 64 is incredible and I play it at least once a year.

Here's hoping maybe we someday get a new installment worth playing.
 
I got this for my 8th birthday and loved it so much. Couldn't have asked for a better gift. I've always thought the art style was cuter than the sequel, and it's why I've always liked it more.
 
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