If you'd ask the typical person, the reason to buy Sony's PlayStation over an Ultra 64 was the RPGs. That, and the PlayStation is still being sold while the U64 was discontinued in April 2002. Sure, that's a valid statement, but while the PlayStation did have more classic JRPGs, the U64 had one ace up its sleeve: Paper Mario by Intelligent Systems, who would later make its sequel, my favorite game of all time and a high recommendation, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. But this isn't about that, it's about the first game, which itself is a strong contender in the U64 catalog.
The typical JRPG doesn't really play like Paper Mario. While the basic elements are there (levels, stats, and turn-based battling), this is a more laidback affair with more focus put on a cohesive storyline than on its gameplay. Battling is done with only two characters at a time, HP is generally low, and you only really have two or three attacks. This game is more about the story anyway. I won't give any spoilers here, at least! Trust me, this game is perfectly possible to review on its own.
That all isn't really important. You all know what Paper Mario is, I don't really need to reiterate. This is more about my personal experience with the game.
So, what do I think of the game? In a nutshell, I'm growing very warm to it. I actually didn't like the game at first, because it wasn't more Thousand Year Door. That... was a lapse in judgement. Sure, it's nowhere near as refined, comical, or powerful as the second game, but it doesn't have to be. After all, it's a smaller game on a smaller system with no precedent to beat. It's an experiment. I'm aware of Legend of the Seven Stars, and Paper Mario did start out as a sequel to it, but while it shares many mechanics it doesn't really have the same feel or approach to storytelling.
As I said before, the gameplay is pretty simplistic, but in all honesty I enjoy it nonetheless. Plus, the game has a trick up its sleeve. While most turn-based RPGs tend to be "pick option from list to make enmy dead", Paper Mario gives you a pretty good amount of interactivity with Action Commands. I've gotten alright at them, generally can dodge most non-Bandit, non-Pokey enemies, and I can especially multibounce pretty good. Not to brag, or anything. Though I doubt vidya is something to really be bragging about in the first place...
Everyone argues as to who the best partner is, but personally I like Goombario the best and keep him out outside of battle. Enough that he's the only party member I've S-ranked on the file I'm playing right now, in the middle of Chapter 2. Not that I ever deviate from that. Some people think he's annoying, I don't but that's fine if you think so. I like both Parakarry and Kooper too, I take the latter out whenever I'm near Professor Kolorado to be nice to him. In battle, Goombario's charge/multibounce is OP but other than that everyone has their niches and being able to damage every enemy on the field at once is a very helpful and appreciated attribute of both Kooper and Bombette.
The controls are more or less sensible. The C-buttons don't control the camera here but that's fine, they're used for quickly using items or switching party memebers. I have no real issue with this. A jumps, B hits with the hammer, this all makes sense. Z spins Mario around, which for some reason makes him go faster? I shouldn't complain about that though, it's saved my ass plenty of times in Dry Dry Desert.
The graphics are pretty good. The pixel art is all well done and the artstyle is pretty good, but there are some areas that I could imagine with more polish. Additionally, but this is just my weird thing, I really wish for the return of "Classic Mario", or the shorter, chubbier Mario in red overalls. This game seems like it'd be the perfect way to reintroduce him, but to be fair at the time it wasn't considered to be a separate canon from the main series, just an art style shift. This means that Goombario is canon to future Mario games (including those with goomba massacres) and Catherine (as she's called in Wario's Woods) is canon to this game (which is very nice). Other than that, it's all very nice. One touch I thought was very nice is the text glitching out for the star spirits' apparitions.
Musically, the game is catchy as hell. I'm more of a music listener than a maker (but I've been looking into it), so I can't break it all down, but it's upbeat and grabs my attention. Sounds a lot more like MIDI than I'd expect out of the Ultra 64, but I'm not complaining, even though MIDI instruments (or specifically, MSGS, a pale imitation of Roland's SC-55 done by the very same) are dogshit it's perfectly possible to make a song sound good in spite of them. That's what they did here. The soundtrack is one of best on the Ultra 64.
Would I recommend the game? Absolutely, especially if you're an Ultra 64 diehard like myself, a Mario fan, or someone looking to get into RPGs.
return home / return to the ultra 64 page / this page written january 3rd, 2020