Super Paper Mario (Wii) Preview

This one really did come from the left wing, not actually being unveiled during Nintendo's Press Conference at this year's E3, rather being slipped into our field of vision via a stealth Press Release. Suddenly GameCube fans had something to smile about considering their thunder had slightly been stolen with the announcement of a special version of Zelda: Twilight Princess heading over to the Nintendo Wii as well. But is that a pure platform title or another in the Paper Mario series of RPGs from veteran developer Intelligent Systems?

The company is revered within the Industry and gaming circles alike, having worked on such hits as Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Metroid Fusion, the Fire Emblem and Advance Wars series, previous Paper Mario games, some of the WarioWare titles and even the spectacular Tetris Attack from way back on the SNES! But this time it is side-stepping the full-on role-playing scene to mix the genre with the usual Mario platform antics in what is looking to be a very impressive product.

The first aspect that hit people when this was unveiled was how gorgeous it looks. Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door stunned gamers with its crystal sharp, paper-thin graphical style with fresh colours and wickedly attractive visual techniques used throughout. If anything, Super Paper Mario actually looks even crisper than before, smoothly changing from the wonderful 2D realm into the third dimension when called upon, all with the greatest of ease. This, alongside Twilight Princess, will definitely be classed as one of the most fantastic looking games in the GameCube's existence (albeit for different reasons).

What must be remembered as well is that this is no mere platform or RPG experience, but platform action with elements of role-playing mixed in perfectly. In addition, whilst Mario might have his name in the title, he is not the only character you can take control of, with Princess Peach and Bowser also getting in on the act wherever necessary across the eight crazy worlds that are on offer, with many traps and puzzles that can be overcome using different abilities. Since each character can do different things, it becomes imperative to know when you should switch between the three (Daisy is also rumoured to be in the game, but whether as a cameo or being playable is unknown).

Each character's special ability is triggered by a simple depression of the R button and, for instance, doing so when in control of the Princess will open up her trusty parasol (maybe the same one from Super Princess Peach?) to let her float slowly, having first of all jump much higher than others due to her healthier constitution making her quite light. It terms of brute strength, nobody is more terrifying than the King of the Koopas himself, big bad Bowser! He stomps around levels in his usual sedate, yet intimidating way, breathing fire when required in a very effective way. But all eyes will be on the star of the game, Mario, who can magically change the entire landscape!

Yes, despite being a lowly plumber, Mario now has the power to switch the 2D playing field by 90˚ so that the world suddenly takes on a third dimension. This completely changes the way you play through levels, as whereas you may not have been able to get past an annoyingly large pipe before, for instance, the change in viewpoint allows you to merely side-step the obstacle and progress as normal! Keeping your mind focused on how the game plays will definitely work to your advantage as other examples include paper-thin ladders being revealed when the angle is changed and seemingly impassable chasms actually have bridges that previously looked like nothing more than flat background scenery. The amount of variety within is a key point to how devastatingly good Intelligent Systems can make this game.

But those fans of the Paper Mario RPG games will also have familiar aspects to play around with, such as the fact that there are people that follow you around