I want to say — the name of that game is spelled wrong. It says RPM when it should say RPG. However, it sort of works because Paper Mario is always going. It never stops, always doing something new, always surprising you and rewarding you for paying attention. The developers cared so much about it that no one even bothered to correct it, and maybe that says everything about the game.
Coming from the IT management field, I tend to like systems that are creative but do not become overly complicated. Paper Mario did that to a RPG template (turn-based combat, party development, progressing through the story through an overland world) and asked “what if we made these turn-based battles fun?” Most RPG battles allow you to pick menu options and sit back while animations play out. Paper Mario wants you to actively engage in battle.
What Paper Mario Really Does
Mario is this silent protagonist and you are hired by Princess Peach to help her cook at her castle when Bowser shows up and destroys the place (like he always does). He kidnaps Peach and the Star Spirits (little magical beings that grant wishes when you hit B next to them) are everywhere and captured. Your task is to recover the Star Spirits and stop Bowser. As far plots go, this is pretty standard Mario. The twist comes when Mario cant talk, and no one thinks this is strange.
Paper Mario embraces the silent protagonist full bore (while most NPCs just act like they can hear you and talk right over you). Mario communicates with body language and facial expressions. Other characters will speak to him, and he will respond with actions. This creates this interesting game where Mario is a player character but also acts like a fully fledged character with personality that is shown through his movements rather than spoken through dialogue.
Everything in the world feels real because it is so stylized. The graphics are wonderful and have a paper-craft look to them. It feels like every object is made out of construction paper and cardboard. Depth in each room is accomplished through perspective. Characters may be flat but they are animated with care and personality. The art style is so committed to what it wants to be that it can make something so simple feel elegant.
Engagement Through Interaction
How turn based combat is played is usually the problem. Most games just copy and paste the same idea (You pick an option, watch it play out and do this for hours). Paper Mario asked “what if the player had to be involved with the action?”
So every attack requires you to press a button at the right time to do more damage. You have to press buttons at the right time to lessen damage taken when you get hit. You even spin a roulette wheel to determine if an item will do anything.
Every single thing you do in battle requires player interaction. It seems simple and it is. But the level of player engagement that Paper Mario demands is what most RPGs achieve through massive wall of text and overly complicated gameplay systems.
Your party consists of Mario and a few partners – Each partner has strengths you can use for exploring the over world but also unique attacks you can use in combat.
The badge system allows you to further customize Mario and his party by attaching badges to them that give stat boosts or unique abilities. You earn badges throughout the game – from NPC’s, bosses, and even mysterious recipients. Slots on your characters can be filled with different badges to create useful (or silly) builds for Mario and his party. While this is a form of character customization that is approachable and doesnt require hardcore min-maxing, it does reward you if you take the time to play with the system.
Storytelling With Character
Paper Mario does not take itself seriously. And this carries through to every aspect of the games fundamental design. Not only is Peach kidnapped, she is proactive about her situation. She literally leaves on her own and walks around with Bowser for awhile. Bowser is not your typical Nintendo villain. He has character development and even becomes vulnerable at points. The main antagonist even has valid reasons to try and kill everybody (hes not just “I hate todos!”).
The writing is phenomenal without being childish. Character moments hit you. Dialogue is funny without being forced. NPCs actually feel like they have personalities. From a world feeling lived in because not only do characters talk to you, but to each other. Storytelling is something Paper Mario mastered.
While each chapter of the game focuses on one area of the over world and pairing up with one partner. You never feel like you are just building a team – you become attached to your partners as you learn more about them through the story. By the end of the game, your party feels like actual characters you care about rather than options you chose to accompany you.
Technical Achievement Without the Fanfare
The paper-craft world is actually genius from a technical standpoint. Its hard to make 2D flat characters show any form of depth, animate them in a way that allows them to emote, and still allow players to understand what is going on. The pre-rendered style of graphics paired with a strong artistic direction creates a uniform feel that hides any technical problems.
The transitioning into battles where the world literally unfolds in front of you is beautiful and styled well without being tedious. Menus are simplistic and easy to navigate. Over world exploration is legible, and actually encourages you to be thorough. Boss designs are creative and easy to identify. None of these are crazy technical feats – they are just well done.
The music, composed by Kota Nakamura, is fantastic and thematic. The over world theme is cheerful but also sounds just off enough to match the paper-craft world. Boss themes are exciting and build the tension you should feel. Character themes are catchy without being annoying. Music compliments the experience but never over powers it.
Why Paper Mario Matters To RPGs
Paper Mario proved that RPGs did not need to be gigantic or have overly complicated systems to be good. RPGs did not need hundreds of spells or crazy levels systems. All they needed was a good story, fun gameplay mechanics, and a vision to execute on. This is not ground-breaking – fundamental game design – but it was refreshing to see proven during a time when RPGs were getting crazier and more complex.
Paper Mario influenced a ton of turn-based RPGs to come after it. Undertale ripped a lot of its combat system straight from Paper Mario. Modern turn-based RPGs understand you can create engagement through your game mechanics and not just your story. Paper Mario was years ahead of its time showing this.
Does Paper Mario Still Hold Up?
Hell yeah it does. The story is fun and charming. The battle system is fun – there is never a point where you feel like your just mashing A to grind. Exploration is fun. There is a lot of optional content but it doesnt overwhelm you. The writing is solid. Character development is there.
Some of the problems the game might have is that its generally easy to play (there are some big difficulty spikes before the final boss but nothing you will die over); and there is some backtracking that takes place while searching for certain things. But these never felt like game faults to me. More so like intentional design decisions because the game respects your time by providing you so much content.
Graphics still hold up because the art direction was solid and every character and level you visit is well designed. The paper-craft style is timeless because, again, it was a style choice and not Nintendo trying to show off what they can do tech wise.
Conclusion
Paper Mario is a RPG that proves Nintendo still knows what makes adventure games fun. It has a strong visual style. Fun gameplay mechanics. A solid story. Developed characters that care about the world they live in. Pacing that never lags. Paper Mario doesnt innovate – it knows how to execute on established ideas very well.
Everything about Paper Mario serves the games overall goal of being fun to play an adventure game. The badge system. Partner abilities. Engaging turn based combat. Over world environment exploration. Everything about this game works because they all work together.
If you havent picked it up, grab it and see what made Thousand Year Door so bold. Because without Paper Mario, there would be no hundred year door. If you are an RPG developer, look at how Paper Mario created engagement through it mechanics rather than pure system complexity.
Rating: 9/10 – The RPG that proves Nintendo still knows adventure game design.
John grew up swapping floppy disks and reading Amiga Power cover to cover. Now an IT manager in Manchester, he writes about the glory days of British computer gaming—Sensible Soccer, Speedball 2, and why the Amiga deserved more love than it ever got.
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