Like Peanut Butter and Chocolate
Super Paper Mario is a game where you obviously play as Mario. SPM has a story you may like or hate. Instead of revolving around Bowser capturing Peach, the story is about a guy named Count Bleck who is using this artifact called the Chaos Heart to destroy all worlds and dimensions. As you can imagine, Mario comes to save the day. He joins this Pixl(fairy like Butterfly)named Tippi, who is like his guide. Along with Tippi Mario is joined by a team of Pixls and three friends. The story is filled with more plot twists(some are quite predictable though) than most Mario games and this game focuses a little more on story. Another part that stands out in the story is some of the hilarious dialogue and funny characters.
The gameplay is also a huge part of the game that has its many ups and downs. On the plus side, I have never seen anything like it. One major part of the game is flipping from 2-D to 3-D. This is a lot of fun to look at the environmnts while switching between and you can get out of alot of sticky situations this way. But to make sure its not too cheap, you can only stay in 3-D for a limited time before it starts to zap away your life. This doesn't affect the game much though and isn't that noticeable. The game is also a blending of Platformign and RPG. Unlike paper Mario 1 and 2, this revolves more around Platforming than RPGs, so its like platforming with RPG elements. Its fun and quicker paced, so you don't have to deal with turn based battles. Its fun and even though it can be stale at times its a nice blend. SPM gameplay does have its downside though. The game is quite easy and only has a few challenges(none of which are boss fights) especially if you are an avid Mario fan. You will also spend a good amount fo the game in menus. This is so you can switch characters and Pixls. That gets tedious and breaks up the action. Another thing is there are Pixls you will use alot and others you will barely use, almost like you just cut some of them out of the game entirely. Among the characters, you will use Mario around 75% of the time. The other characters can't flip to 3-D and have major downsides, whereas Mario doesn't. You may just switch to that character to get past a roadblock or solve a puzzle.
One place Super Paper Mario does really good in in is the graphics. It's not technically amazing but its eye candy. The backrounds are actually all simple shapes but the way Nintendo puts them together makes some beautiful environments. The thing is, the 2-d enviroments are beautiful but the 3-D environments are kind of bland, but I guess it's supposed to be that way.
The sound in SPM is nothing to cheer about. The music fits the game and the mood but sometimes its pretty annoying. The sound effects aren't all that special either, they're Mario sound effects.
Overall Super Paper Mario is a game that you may love or hate. It's a blend of many different things(2-D and 3-D, RPG and Platformer, new and old). I recomend this game to people who are fans of Mario/Paper Mario, or just Wii owners looking for something different, the essence of the Wii.