Mario role-playing games

Mario role-playing games
Genres	Role-playing game
Developers	Square, Intelligent Systems, AlphaDream
Publishers	Nintendo

There have been a variety of Mario role-playing games released in the Mario series' history. The first was Square's Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. This game has never received a direct sequel, although as it was the first game to put Mario into an RPG environment. The Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi games are usually considered spiritual sequels. The next game was Paper Mario, which was later followed by Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Paper Mario, the latter being a platform game with role-playing elements — unlike earlier games in the series, which were role-playing games with platform elements.^{[citation needed]} Another spiritual sequel was the handheld game Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, which had a sequel called Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, and a third installment called Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Main article: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, often shortened and officially known in Japan as Super Mario RPG, is a hybrid adventure/console role-playing game developed and published by Square and Nintendo. Nintendo first released the game on March 9, 1996 in Japan and on May 13, 1996 in North America. The game was released around 10 years later in Europe on Wii's Virtual Console on August 22, 2008. It came out on the North American Virtual Console on September 1, 2008.

In Super Mario RPG, Mario, Bowser, Princess Toadstool, Mallow, and Geno fight as allies in the first console role-playing game (RPG) in the Mario series. It contains token similarities to many other Square role-playing games, such as Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy series, with a story and action-based gameplay based on the Super Mario Bros. series.^[1]

Paper Mario series

Paper Mario introduced "distinctive retro-style 2-D-looking paper-cutout characters",^[2] which GameAxis Unwired praised as "colorful".^[3] The four playable characters from the Paper Mario series are Mario, Princess Peach, Bowser, and Luigi.^[4] Matt Casamassina of IGN notes the main characters are "all fun to play for different reasons" and that the ease of moving between playable characters "is a plus since there are some well-designed puzzles that require you to use two or more of the heroes to continue forward."^[5]

Paper Mario

Main article: Paper Mario

Paper Mario is a role-playing (RPG) video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64. It was first released in Japan on August 11, 2000, in Europe on October 5, 2001, and in North America on February 4, 2001. Paper Mario was re-released for Nintendo's Virtual Console in 2007.

Paper Mario is set in the Mushroom Kingdom as the protagonist Mario tries to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser. To do so, he must locate seven "Star Spirits" to negate the effects of the captured Star Rod, which grants invincibility to Bowser. The player controls Mario and a number of partners to solve puzzles in the game's overworld and defeat enemies in a turn-based battle system. The battles are unique in that the player can influence the effectiveness of attacks by performing required controller inputs known as action commands. Peach is also playable in particular parts of the game to complete stealth-based objectives.

Paper Mario is the first installment for the Paper Mario series and is the predecessor to the GameCube game Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. The game received a positive reaction from the media, attaining an aggregate score of 88% from Game Rankings and 93% from Metacritic. It was rated the 63rd best game made on a Nintendo system in Nintendo Power's "Top 200 Games" list in 2006.

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Main article: Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is a console role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo GameCube. It was released in Japan on July 22, 2004, in North America on October 11, 2004, and in Europe on November 12, 2004.

The Thousand-Year Door has some unique elements owing to its visual style. The graphics consist of a mixture of three-dimensional environments and two-dimensional characters who look as if they are made of paper.^[6] At different points in the game, Mario is "cursed" with abilities that enable special moves in the overworld, all of which are based on the paper theme. Mario can fold into a boat or a paper airplane by standing on a special activation panel, and roll up into a scroll of paper or become paper-thin.

The game was well received by critics, with an average score of 88 percent from Game Rankings.^[7] In general, critics praised the game's engaging plot and gameplay, but criticised it for not being a big progression from its predecessor. The Thousand-Year Door won the "Role Playing Game of the Year" award at the 2005 Interactive Achievement Awards.^[8]

Super Paper Mario

Main article: Super Paper Mario

Super Paper Mario is a platform/console role-playing game (RPG) developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. Originally developed for the Nintendo GameCube, it was released for the Wii. The style of gameplay is a combination of the previous Paper Mario and Super Mario Bros. games. Unlike the RPG-style gameplay of previous Paper Mario games, the game combines platform gameplay, RPG and puzzle elements. It is the third game in the Paper Mario series.

Super Paper Mario is an RPG with Platforming elements. The player moves through a series of levels, where he explores various landscapes, fights enemies, and solves puzzles. The game is divided into 32 levels within eight chapters, where each chapter takes place in a unique location, or "dimension". The main objective is to collect the eight Pure Hearts, one in each chapter, which is used to gain access to the next. Each area is joined to a central hub, a town called Flipside.

The majority of gameplay is in 2D. Early in the game, Mario is given the ability to "flip" into 3D. By doing so, the perspective shifts and the 2D level rotates to reveal a hidden z-axis, placing Mario in a 3D environment. Flipping therefore allows the player to maneuver around obstacles impassable in the 2D perspective, or find items, enemies or varying landscapes only visible along the z-axis. Through the majority of the game, staying in the 3D perspective too long can deplete Mario's health. Players can also play as Peach, who can float in the air and use her umbrella as a shield, Bowser, who can breathe fire, and Luigi, who can perform a super jump. Players also collect Pixls that have various abilities during gameplay.

Paper Mario 3DS

Main article: Paper Mario (Nintendo 3DS)

Paper Mario 3DS is an upcoming role-playing game announced at the E3 2010 website for the Nintendo 3DS handheld system, and the first installment of the Paper Mario series to be released on a handheld console.^[9] This Paper Mario entry is expected to return to the turn-based battling of its early predecessors.^[10]

Mario & Luigi series

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Main article: Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a role-playing game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance in 2003. The game begins in the Mushroom Kingdom, but changes to the Beanbean Kingdom for the majority of the game as Mario and Luigi combat Cackletta, the central antagonist of the game. The quest begins when Cackletta, with the aid of her assistant Fawful, steals Princess Peach's voice after adopting the guise of an ambassador from Beanbean Kingdom.^[11]

Although technically a role-playing game, it centers on a battle system different from that of traditional games of the genre, with emphasis on timing and more elaborate attacks.^[12] The game is whimsical in tone, with various in-game jokes and comical references to the heritage of the Mario series. Superstar Saga was generally well received by critics, and IGN named it the twelfth best Game Boy Advance game of all time in their feature reflecting on the Game Boy Advance's lifespan.^[13]

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Main article: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Although the sequel to Superstar Saga, the game's plot has little direct connection to that of its predecessor, with an emphasis on the time-travelling theme, which involves the protagonists travelling between the past and present of the Mushroom Kingdom.^[14] The adventure follows Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi as they search for Princess Peach, who has been abducted by an alien species known as the Shroobs.^[15] The gameplay centres on the co-operation between the quartet, who must use their specific qualities and skills to solve puzzles and thus progress through the game. Partners in Time features multiple role-playing game elements, but with a turn-based battle system focused on timing accuracy.^[16]

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Main article: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is a role-playing video game in the Mario & Luigi series, released on the Nintendo DS console in 2009. The story revolves around Bowser being given the ability to inhale anything into his body, which includes Mario and Luigi. The game includes new features, such as the ability to play as Bowser. He has his own special attacks using his various minions, and can grow huge during some boss battles which allows players to hold the DS sideways and use the touchscreen and microphone to do special commands. Unlike its prequel, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the game offers more use with the DS microphone and touchscreen. It was first released in Japan as Mario & Luigi RPG 3 on February 11, 2009 and was released in North America on September 14, 2009.

References

1. ^ Scott Pelland; Kent Miller, Terry Munson, Paul Shinoda (1996-10). "Epic Center". Nintendo Power (M. Arakawa, Nintendo of America, Inc.) 89: p. 60. "Mario: now that's a name you may never have expected to see in this column, but by all accounts, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is an unqualified hit among long–time Mario fans and RPG enthusiasts alike." 
2. ^ Steven E. Jones, The Meaning of Video Games (2008), 139.
3. ^ Jason Woo, GameAxis Unwired 15 (Nov 2004): 26.
4. ^ Erik Hoftun, Jorgen Kirksaeter, Morten A. Osterholt, and Bendik Stang, "Super Paper Mario," The Book of Games Volume 2: The Ultimate Reference on PC & Video Games (2007), 182.
5. ^ Matt Casamassina, "Super Paper Mario Review: 2D and 3D come together as platformer and RPG join hands in Nintendo's fun (and nearly unclassifiable) new Mario outing," IGN (April 5, 2007).
6. ^ Schneider, Peer (2004-10-11). "Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door Review". IGN. http://cube.ign.com/articles/556/556422p3.html. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
7. ^ "Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door". Game Rankings. http://www.gamerankings.com/htmlpages4/920182.asp. Retrieved 2008-02-17. 
8. ^ "8th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. http://www.interactive.org/awards.php?winners&year=2005&cat=200524#200524. Retrieved 2008-09-16. ^{[dead link]}
9. ^ "Nintendo 3DS Network: Nintendo 3DS". Nintendo. http://e3.nintendo.com/3ds/. Retrieved 2010-07-04. 
10. ^ McShea, Tom (2010-06-16). "Paper Mario Impressions". CBS Interactive, Inc.. http://e3.gamespot.com/story/6266247/paper-mario-impressions?tag=latest-highlights;title;5. Retrieved 2010-06-30. 
11. ^ Riley, Adam (2003-11-26). "'Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga – Cubed3'". Cubed3. http://www.cubed3.com/review/131/2/. Retrieved 2008-01-26. 
12. ^ Sulpher, Brian P.. "Mario & Lugi: Superstar Saga Guide: Basics". IGN. http://uk.guides.ign.com/guides/550433/page_2.html. Retrieved 2008-01-26. 
13. ^ Harris, Craig (2007-03-16). "Top 25 Game Boy Advance Games of All Time". IGN. http://gameboy.ign.com/articles/772/772284p3.html. Retrieved 2007-03-18. 
14. ^ Jonathan Metts (2005-12-03). "Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Review – NWP". Nintendo World Report. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/reviewArt.cfm?CFID=bb63532d-9f80-431e-8cd4-59885b64ca20&CFTOKEN=0&artid=4456. Retrieved 2008-06-26. 
15. ^ Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time instruction booklet, p. 4.
16. ^ Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time instruction booklet, p. 24.