Retro Sunday - August 03, 2014 - Paper Mario

I love Sundays because I usually have time to dig into a dusty old box of games and play something that I fondly remember. Today's selection: Paper Mario, one of the greatest RPG's ever created.

Paper Mario is one of the most unique games I've ever played. Instead of standard graphics and characters, almost everything and everyone is made out of paper. I honestly don't know where they came up with the idea, but it's positively brilliant.

You can still run around and jump and talk to people as you would in any RPG, but when you turn around, Mario flips over as a piece of paper would do. It looks really cool, and it only adds to what would have been a great game in its own right.

Throughout the game, you will encounter a number of sidekicks who can aid you in different ways. Maybe you want to know how much HP a character has left, or perhaps you'd like to blast through walls. A goomba and a bob-omb can help with these respective tasks, among other things.

As you progress, you will begin to obtain star powers, which can be used to deal great damage to your enemies. These moves and all of the standard fighting tactics also use Action Commands. These are button presses or other types of input that, when done correctly, allow you to cause even more damage than normal. For example, with the hammer, you hold the joystick to the left until the right time, at which you point you release it for maximum power. Or with jumps, you can continue to jump multiple times if you can time the A button correctly.

The game features tons and tons of Mario characters and environments. Anyone familiar with Mario with enjoy a large number of in-jokes and past references. Newcomers will also enjoy the game, because there are lost of new characters as well. Besides, anyone can enjoy a Mario game.

Paper Mario started what is now one of my favorite Nintendo series. While I wish the newer games focused more on the RPG elements, they are all still fun and unique. (Side note: I bet we see a Paper Mario for Wii U announced by the end of next year. You heard it here first)

So if you'll excuse me, I need to set aside 20 hours or so so I can play through this game. I haven't played it again since it was first released, and there's no time like the present! So get lost! I mean, leave me alone! I mean, go play an old game or something!