The paper version of the plumber is the best one yet.
Story:Paper Mario kicks of with Peach arriving at the town of Rougeport, where she meets a strange hooded woman. The strange woman tells Peach that if she can open it, she may have whatever is inside the nearby chest. After she opens it, she finds a map an the screen flashes. This shows one of the best parts about the story. It unfolds much like a mystery novel, with you constantly guessing what will happen next. This oppening scene doesn't reveal anything, but you'll instantly wonder what happens and make up your own theory. Also the whole thing is hilarious. You won't be able to keep from smiling when Mario is dubbed the Great Gonzales, and finding numerous refrences to other people and stories like The Rock, Romeo and Juliet, and Hernan Cortez . The story takes some interesting turns, such the intentions of Sir Grodus, the main antagonist and the use for the Crystal Stars. All characters have tons of emotion and you'll likely be enamored to all of them, even pedestrians. The fact that even a computer bursts with emotion is a testament. The locales are the best part. There are several of them and have many different feels and looks. Like a wrestling arena and haunted town. They have so much personality that you'll visit them again and again even if you don't have any real objective there.
Presentation: While the characters are all paper, the enviroments are fully realized in 3D. These buildings and other structures all look fantastic. However, the big bosses are the most impressive works of art. They are still made of paper, but they are also three dimensional. There desing is hard to explain, but extremely eye catching. There are several catchy tunes and the battle theme also changes from time to time. The pedestrians and main characters all look very good as well and move suprisingly fluidly for paper. Also, all battles literaly take place on a stage, with a curtain, audience, and cardboard bakdrops.
Gameplay:Paper Mario is one of those old school turn-based RPGs, however, it keeps you constantly engaged through the necesity of button pressing. Every attack in your arsenal requires some sort of button press, but they're pretty easy and keep you from getting bored. Likewise, when enemies attack, you can either try to block and migitate damage or counter, take no damage, and damage your foe. The later is harder, so it provides an interesting risk vs reward. You'll aquire special moves that are powered by how much the audience likes your preformance, and FP moves that require FP, a hard to come by resource that forces you to think carefully about your FP use. The difficulty is well managed,and the bosses require you to be resourceful and quick. There are also brief Bowser and Peach stages, and some light platforming. Also, you acquire partners to help you in battle and the field. You'll grow attached to them and their various personalities. They can use powers to interact with the enviroment to continue forward. The only problem here is that once you finish the 40 hour quest, there's not much left to do.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door's lovable world in which you do such a variety of things in a variety of places and a gripping story that will keep you wraped up in a fine paper filled adventure