Review: Predictable ‘Mario & Luigi Paper Jam’ Follows the Fold
Mario, Mario, and Luigi. (Image: Nintendo)
He jumps, he smashes, he karts. But while Mario’s impressive physicality helped make him the world’s most well-rounded (literally) video game icon, the portly plumber has quietly made a name for himself among more cerebral fans through the excellent Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario role-playing franchises. There’s a big brain underneath that famous red cap.
His latest role-playing effort for the Nintendo 3DS, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, is an odd mashup between the two series that on, ahem, paper seems like a recipe for RPG perfection. But it turns out to be a study in conflict. The game looks great and its combat is fun and layered, yet the series’ typically sharp writing couldn’t yield a paper cut this time out. Coupled with some unflattering side content, Mario & Luigi makes for a jam with a few sour notes.
The story is, as you’d expect, paper thin. Luigi accidentally knocks over a book that unleashes the flat characters from the Paper Mario series into the “normal” three-dimensional Mushroom Kingdom. That includes tons of Goombas, Toads, and even Bowser himself. Despite everything Back to the Future taught us about messing with the space-time continuum, Bowser and his 2D counterpart put their large, dumb heads together in yet another ultimately futile effort to rule the world. Paper Mario himself slipped out of the book, too, and in short order joins Mario and Luigi on a quest to blah blah blah you know how this goes.
As with prior Mario & Luigi games, most of your time is spent navigating the platformer-like regions of the Mushroom Kingdom and enduring tons of chatter between our heroes, their marginally helpful guide, and countless other characters. Unfortunately, the script isn’t as clever as in past games, trading the tongue-in-cheek, fourth-wall breaking bits for a dull, almost Vaudevillian vibe tailored more for young gamers than those who have enjoyed the franchise’s sly writing. It has its moments — a flat Princess Peach escapes a cage by simply walking through the bars, and Bowser’s double dose of ego leads to some great exchanges — but in general, the jokes fall flat and the new characters are forgettable. That’s not a great combo.
The brothers are a great combo, however, particularly during the game’s plentiful combat sequences. You control the three in turn-based fights infused with arcade action. Mario’s stomp attack, for instance, requires you to press ‘A’ right when he lands on an enemy’s head for maximum damage. Paper Mario can summon copies to power up his attack and give himself a damage buffer. Luigi boasts the highest health of the three and can team up with Mario for the game’s strongest attacks.
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There are tons of moves to unlock and discover, and while at first it all seems a bit shallow, over time the combat system bears itself out as colorful, engaging, and strategic. Fighting even basic enemies can be a blast thanks to the excellent controls and sheer variety of abilities, each of which requires different button inputs. It’s the turn-based game that keeps on giving.
Sadly, Paper Jam isn’t entirely sure where to stop, saddling itself with a few other gameplay experiences that aren’t anywhere near as exciting. Occasionally, you’ll have to take on the enemy in awkward battles featuring giant, rock-’em-sock-’em robots made out of paper. Suddenly switching to a tanklike third-person control scheme doesn’t work well; the camera is a mess and it’s entirely too slow. Compared with the tight combat controls, it’s a sluggish sumo match.
Two Bowsers enter, no Bowser leaves. (Image: Nintendo)
Likewise, the game periodically forces you to hunt down lost papercraft Toad characters in order to progress. These Toad Hunts see you wander around large, gated areas in the hopes that you’ll stumble into enough of them to end the sequence and get back to the game. You’ll sometimes face a countdown timer, too; fail to capture eight Toads in under 20 minutes, for instance, and you have to do it all over again. It’s tedious, trial-and-error padding in a game that really doesn’t need it.
But where the game stumbles with its extras, it excels in its delivery. Paper Jam does a wonderful job finding visual harmony in its two franchises. Bold outlines and bright colors breathe life into the paper characters, and while the sprites for the regular characters are a little fuzzy, they’re animated brilliantly. It’s brimming with charm, from its consistently clever use of paper as a gameplay and visual device to its slightly off-kilter treatment of its heroes. I may never tire of watching Mario and Luigi wildly gesticulate while spouting pages of fake Italian.
And though it’s not the best game in either series, Paper Jam delivers enough well-executed turn-based combat to please fans of both Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi. It’s unfortunate that the writing and humor aren’t quite up to snuff, but fast-forward through the dialogue and you’ll soon find yourself staring at another gang of bad guys just asking for a fire flower to the face. That’s a jam worth playing.
What’s Hot: Terrific turn-based combat; looks and sounds great
What’s Not: Toad Hunts and papercraft battles underwhelm; story and jokes fall flat
Ben prefers Paper Mario to Mario & Luigi. Tell him why he’s wrong on Twitter at @ben_silverman.
