The Paper Mario games (for N64 and GameCube) successfully married the plumber's Mushroom Kingdom trappings with classic role-playing game conventions, yet still blazed their own path with clever puzzles and offbeat humor. Super Paper Mario moves the franchise even further away from established role-playing norms by replacing the turn-based battles with side-scrolling hop-n-bop action and tacking on some meager Wii-mote functionality. The result? The red-hot Wii gets an entertaining new Mario platformer that's sure to make the wait for Super Mario Galaxy a little easier.

But don't invest in Super Paper Mario expecting unadulterated run-and-jump thrills. Despite its linear progression (just like the old-school Super Mario Bros., this game features 32 stages running from 1-1 to 8-4), the RPG framework beneath the surface lends the game a unique vibe. The wacked-out town of Flipside serves as a hub for your exploits, and you'll get to know it well. Between action stages, you're tasked with talking to townsfolk, gathering items, and uncovering hidden areas. But who wants backtracking and fetch quests in their side-scroller? Frankly, these bits tend to drag, especially when each time you want to access the next set of action stages, you're forced to sniff out a well-hidden magic column. By game's end, all the running around Flipside gets awfully old. Giving the player multiple, interconnected cities to explore would have given the adventure a far greater sense of scale. Ultimately, these RPG aspects feel undercooked compared to what we're accustomed to from the Paper Mario games.

Thankfully, the game doesn't get too mired in them. All the truly impressive stuff happens in the actual numbered stages: Yes, you're still flattening Goombas and liberating Koopa Troopas from their shells, but stunningly creative level concepts (you'll find yourself trapped in a crazy game show, enslaved in a sweatshop, and damned to hell during the course of the ever-changing adventure) make it unlike any Mario game you've ever played. Boss encounters bristle with comedic ingenuity, too. From a malfunctioning robotic dragon with hilariously long loading times to a message-board troll who engages Princess Peach in a hilarious dating-game tête-à-tête, these end-of-level foes definitely impress.

Overall, despite these occasional flashes of brilliance, the experience feels a bit uneven. Although the control is appropriately responsive, it's not exactly as tight or deep as you'd expect from a normal 2D Super Mario Bros. The fact that you can't hold down a button to run faster or pick up turtle shells detracts from the all-important Mario "feel." You can approximate these abilities using "Pixls," weird pop-art familiars that grant your characters a wide range of special powers, but having to constantly bring up a menu to switch between them seems needlessly convoluted. You never quite strike the level of platforming mastery that a "real" Mario offers; the game simply doesn't reward expert play in the same way. And perhaps it's because the game's finest levels feel so fresh and groundbreaking, but the more pedestrian stages feel downright lazy in comparison. Are you prepared to navigate the least thrilling mine-cart ride ever? You'd better be. In terms of level design, the game peaks fairly early. By the end, it coasts by on autopilot with sprawling, repetitive areas that offer few surprises.

At least some new gameplay concepts keep the slightly dumbed-down platforming from feeling too basic. The ability to switch between several different characters adds some much-needed variety, but you'll likely spend most of your time controlling Mario because only he can "flip" the 2D world into semi-glorious 3D to reveal hidden pathways, pipes, and enemies. A simple press of the A button shifts the perspective, but once you've flipped, prepare to act fast -- you only have a few seconds before the "flip" meter runs out and Mario takes damage. Transitioning back into 2D allows that gauge to refill, so you have to strategically plan your dimensional explorations. As you progress through the game, you'll quickly learn just how essential flipping can be. It's a neat trick that paves the way for plenty of ingenious puzzles throughout the adventure.

While Super Paper Mario exudes creativity, it doesn't capitalize on the Wii's paradigm-busting technology all that well. Like The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, this game began its life as a GameCube title...and it shows. Nearly all of the Wii Remote functionality here feels inessential and tacked-on, whether it's pointing to uncover hidden doors, jostling the Wii-mote to cure status ailments and use items, or timing a good shake when you stomp foes for extra points. None of these actions detract from the experience, but it's painfully clear that this was a quick-and-dirty transplant job.

Likewise, don't expect much from the visuals -- the art looks crisp and colorful, but occasional bouts of slowdown hamper the fun. Even the most impressive effects, like when Mario & co. balloon into mega-pixelated behemoths, aren't anything that the GameCube couldn't have done. The game also sounds totally predictable, from the peppy old-school Mario remixes to the paucity of "It's-a-me!" voice events. Your dreams of a fully voiced romp in the Mushroom Kingdom will remain just that for the foreseeable future.

So while it's far from the platforming/role-playing godsend that some Nintendo fans expected, Super Paper Mario still qualifies as a must-play for any Wii owner. It's creative, fun, and perhaps most importantly, funny. Quality localizations rarely get the credit they deserve, and the crew at Nintendo of America should be congratulated for penning one of the most laugh-out-loud funny scripts in recent memory. Any avid message-board poster will appreciate the brilliant send-up of their subculture (you're forced to admit that you "complain about games you've never played" in a caustically funny quiz section), and longtime Mario fans will spot numerous in-joke references to long-forgotten series esoterica. The storyline's more serious bits fall flat (the unrequited love story between the game's main villain and your helpful Pixl, Tippi, couldn't be more predictable or contrived), but there's enough humor here to keep any Mario fan hopping until the credits roll.