Number 40: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, Nintendo 2004
Intro:
Very similar to the beginning of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the player reads a story about how a great civilization disappeared and was obscured into legend. Then the Princess get the story into motion by buying a sketchy map, but it's frustrating to sit through the long conversations when there is so little visual interest. It gets the job done, but is wonderously under-stimulating. The cartoony, flat style is kept right from the start, however, and very faithfully, which is nice to see: consistency is important to me, and I'm not the first person to think that it's not fair that companies make their cutscenes so pretty when the ingame graphics are no good.
Getting Going:
The minor lack of direction at the start is alright, though if I weren't so persevering I'd get frustrated very quickly. The battle system is explained inside and out very early along, so I had no trouble taking to fights. The story is a little odd, since Mario is horribly submissive and does whatever he's told to, despite the questionable relationship between the quest at hand and finding the Princess.
Fun:
Despite being pretty easy and understimulating, this game is a lot of fun. The battle system demands attention, and the simplistic environments are nice to look at. There isn't much excitement to be had, but a few creative touches here and there make the experience very fun. Battling is interesting, though the randomness and special attacks feign at depth when all they mean is that there's a lot of stuff going on, besides the careful timing.
Visuals:
The style is really nicely done, and harkens back (in a way) to the old 2D Mario games. Everything is very kid friendly and brand-appropriate, which is nice except that more mature gamers (such as myself) are bored a little by the simplicity. The paper-related effects and design are pretty cool, though their charm is very limited and the shine fades pretty fast.
Intelligence:
There isn't much intelligence to be seen, since enemies are all very simple. Each one's attacks are appropriate to the Super Mario cannon, and their behaviors reflect their abilities appropriately, but there is little room for mind games: just smack them around and they die, eventually. Nothing special there.
Immersion:
Making everything very flat is a very interesting graphical choice, but it also meant creating a lot of unique aspects to the world that make it hugely satisfying to explore and figure out. Lots of hidden corners are accesible only when the player pays close attention or uses the paper abilities, and between the music and this creative level design, the game becomes capable of sucking the player in for ages.
Cameras:
A constant, standard, long-shot camera makes the game a lot more like the old 2D Mario games in it's feel, but nothing especially new is brought to the table. It's cute to appear in the distant background and run across the hills, but it's not very exciting. I'm sure, however, a more active camera isn't appropriate when all of the characters are two-dimensional.
Controls:
The player's movement feels pretty unrestricted, and the player can alter the beginning of fights by jumping on the enemy or hitting it with a hammer. The battle's are fun and easy, with added blocks, reposts, and damage-enhancing abilities that depend only on the player's timing, making battles a bit more creative and fun. While this is neat, it's nothing new.
Ideas:
All of the paper abilities are neat and well employed. Overall, the game's approach isn't terribly new, but the presentation and story-book theme are well executed and consistent.
Memory:
While the game is fun, it's terribly easy and not especially memorable. I don't find myself wishing and wondering about it after I've put it down, save for the bizzare computer-meets-princess love story. That, and the fact Mario confirms by giving a very Nazi-like salute, are the most memorable parts of a fun, creative RPG with cute visuals but little solid substance.
Very similar to the beginning of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, the player reads a story about how a great civilization disappeared and was obscured into legend. Then the Princess get the story into motion by buying a sketchy map, but it's frustrating to sit through the long conversations when there is so little visual interest. It gets the job done, but is wonderously under-stimulating. The cartoony, flat style is kept right from the start, however, and very faithfully, which is nice to see: consistency is important to me, and I'm not the first person to think that it's not fair that companies make their cutscenes so pretty when the ingame graphics are no good.
Getting Going:
The minor lack of direction at the start is alright, though if I weren't so persevering I'd get frustrated very quickly. The battle system is explained inside and out very early along, so I had no trouble taking to fights. The story is a little odd, since Mario is horribly submissive and does whatever he's told to, despite the questionable relationship between the quest at hand and finding the Princess.
Fun:
Despite being pretty easy and understimulating, this game is a lot of fun. The battle system demands attention, and the simplistic environments are nice to look at. There isn't much excitement to be had, but a few creative touches here and there make the experience very fun. Battling is interesting, though the randomness and special attacks feign at depth when all they mean is that there's a lot of stuff going on, besides the careful timing.
Visuals:
The style is really nicely done, and harkens back (in a way) to the old 2D Mario games. Everything is very kid friendly and brand-appropriate, which is nice except that more mature gamers (such as myself) are bored a little by the simplicity. The paper-related effects and design are pretty cool, though their charm is very limited and the shine fades pretty fast.
Intelligence:
There isn't much intelligence to be seen, since enemies are all very simple. Each one's attacks are appropriate to the Super Mario cannon, and their behaviors reflect their abilities appropriately, but there is little room for mind games: just smack them around and they die, eventually. Nothing special there.
Immersion:
Making everything very flat is a very interesting graphical choice, but it also meant creating a lot of unique aspects to the world that make it hugely satisfying to explore and figure out. Lots of hidden corners are accesible only when the player pays close attention or uses the paper abilities, and between the music and this creative level design, the game becomes capable of sucking the player in for ages.
Cameras:
A constant, standard, long-shot camera makes the game a lot more like the old 2D Mario games in it's feel, but nothing especially new is brought to the table. It's cute to appear in the distant background and run across the hills, but it's not very exciting. I'm sure, however, a more active camera isn't appropriate when all of the characters are two-dimensional.
Controls:
The player's movement feels pretty unrestricted, and the player can alter the beginning of fights by jumping on the enemy or hitting it with a hammer. The battle's are fun and easy, with added blocks, reposts, and damage-enhancing abilities that depend only on the player's timing, making battles a bit more creative and fun. While this is neat, it's nothing new.
Ideas:
All of the paper abilities are neat and well employed. Overall, the game's approach isn't terribly new, but the presentation and story-book theme are well executed and consistent.
Memory:
While the game is fun, it's terribly easy and not especially memorable. I don't find myself wishing and wondering about it after I've put it down, save for the bizzare computer-meets-princess love story. That, and the fact Mario confirms by giving a very Nazi-like salute, are the most memorable parts of a fun, creative RPG with cute visuals but little solid substance.