Review: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door
Mario returns in this sequel to his fan favorite RPG from the N64. Can Paper Mario live up to the expiations of the series fans? Can is surprise someone whom hadn't played the first game at all unill after he played this game?
Story:
While exploring the kingdom on vacation the princess gets kidnapped by, Aliens? Now Mario must rescue the princess and solve a mystery to save the mushroom kingdom from a mysterious entity, with the friends he meets along the way.
Graphics:
The look is stylized, and although in a game that looks the way that it does usually doesn't usually get mentioned as graphically impressive, Paper Mario 2 does fit the bill, the fact that they got as many enemies on the screen at one time is something that can be labeled as impressive, to say the least there have been 300+ enemies on screen at one time.
Music:
The music is easily meets the quality fans of the Mario series have come to expect. All of the delightful bleeps, boops, and sounds Mario fans expect in their games are here as well. Call me picky but I was a bit disappointed that there was no voice over for any of the characters except the character noises. To be quite honest it is a gripe for the entire industry as to how voice acting is approached when it comes to RPG's in general, not just his game.
Control:
Control wise Paper Mario 2 is spot on and plays like a Mario game should out of battle, in battle the smooth control continues, and since that this game is an action and timing driven RPG that is a very good thing. Each of the characters has their own ability, and skills and plays differently, for instance Koops is a Koopa that has no jumping ability, but can send his shell flying for some good damage, but can not hit flying opponents, and his reactions are slower than Mario's for defense.
Design:
What has become a trademark for Nintendo, they have been extremely inventive with this title, playing on the paper theme of Paper Mario 2 to its fullest extent, by allowing Mario to transform into a paper airplane, or a paper boat. Even the stages get in on the paper theme unlocking new areas, can be blown away by unlocking a gust a winding a gust of wind. This game is fun to play and it is highly evident that the developers had fun creating this game. New to The Thousand Year door is the feature that each battle is on a stage, and playing to the crowd will yield its rewards, but be forewarned, the crowd can work against you so you have too keep your eyes on the crowd to know whether to stop them from attacking you or to accept their help. This is a good system but can get forgotten in the action on screen.
Fans of the first Paper Mario game will love this game, Mario fans will love this game, people bored with prototypical RPG's, will enjoy the change of pace. Casual gamers might like it. Gamecube owners you owe it to your self to play this game!
Graphics
8/10
Game play
9/10
Sound
8/10
Fun factor
9/10
Tilt
10/10
Average score
8.8
Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door:
Pros:
Good graphics
Great game play
Frantic multiplayer
Engaging game play
Cons:
No voice work
Might be too simple for some