Posted April 17, 2007 MTV News: If you take games a little too seriously, then the newest Nintendo-made Wii game, "Super Paper Mario," is making fun of you. So says one of the game's co-writers, who admits he's a computer nerd too. "I kind of know all the weak points of that particular type of nerd — there is that nerd in me also," said Erik Peterson, writer at Nintendo of America. "I know all the really touchy points." So in chapter three of the eight-chapter game, the one that pits Mario and friends against the sci-fi/photography/computers/gaming/TV/movies "renaissance nerd" Francis, Peterson's touches include a line about people who demand their role-playing games last 180 hours and would like their dolls to be referred to as "action figures." And that was just going with the spirit introduced by the game's Japanese developers, Intelligent Systems. "The roughest line in the entire [game], 'I go on message boards and complain about games I've never played before,' actually came from IS," Peterson said. "I thought that was so awesome and so brilliant." If it's not obvious that the jesting is in good fun, then consider that "Super Paper Mario" makes fun of games and game-writing too. It's partially the product of Peterson and the writer he split duties with on the game, Nate Bihldorff. The two Nintendo of America writers worked off of a translation of the game's original humorous Japanese script. Peterson wrote chapters one, three, six and eight. Bihldorff wrote chapters two, four, five and seven. And everyone swapped notes about everything. They tried to leave nothing un-mocked. The "Paper Mario" series was introduced by Intelligent Systems on the Nintendo 64 more than six years ago. If there is anything serious in a fat plumber, his world of giant mushrooms and the people who love it all, Intelligent Systems doesn't seem to see it. Instead, it sees ample material at which to poke fun. "It's so obvious that they love the Mario series as much as we do," Bihldorff said of the Intelligent Systems team. "[They] have no problems making fun of themselves and making fun of Mario. They've got no problem breaking the fourth wall." Along those lines, "Super Paper Mario" goes even further than its predecessors, standing out as the first major Nintendo game containing characters that acknowledge the player's existence. Early in the game, when a character explains the game's controls to Mario, one of the plumber's companions asks what this talk of an "A button" is all about. Don't worry, the first character says, someone nearby does. Later, the player can control what Princess Peach says in argument with nerd Francis. If the player has her accept Francis' marriage proposal, she stops and says, "Who's picking these responses for me? I'm not marrying that dork!" Breaking the fourth wall fits the main gameplay gimmick of "Super Paper Mario." Initially the game appears to be a side-scroller, a flat-paneled left-to-right adventure like old favorites "Super Mario Bros." and "Super Mario World." But early in the game the player gets the ability (through that mysterious A button) to swivel the view of the landscape 90 degrees and view the formerly flat levels in the direction Mario is looking, in three dimensions. What used to be impassable obstacles in the flat version of the game turn out to be flimsy paper cutouts, prop scenery easily snuck behind. Other behind-the-scenes humor dropped in the game includes the lines spoken by Nastasia, the main bad guy's assistant. She uses a lot of business-speak. She wants to take meetings "offline" and has "something important, FYI, for your inbox." The game reveals what happens to characters in video games like "Super Mario Bros." that fall down bottomless pits. There is an "after-game," apparently. A slew of samurai that only appear in full force after a player beats the main quest of the game and seeks them out are named after obscure Mario references. One is Mystical Whistle. One is Squatting Birdo. (When asked by GameFile if that character was male or female, Peterson got the joke.) Peterson and Bihldorff didn't take every joke available to them. They didn't knock the Virtual Boy that appears on the shelves of Francis' collection room, even though it is the most mocked system Nintendo ever made. "I feel sour that I didn't think of that," Peterson said. And at least one joke backfired. In the game's main town of Flipside there is a chef whose oven looks like a Nintendo DS Lite. That's the extent of the joke, a sight gag of a cooking appliance shaped like Nintendo's handheld system. If the player has Mario access the oven, a message appears: "Awaiting data upgrade." Subsequent messages make it clear that this high-tech oven is simply requesting recipe instructions, but some Nintendo fans interpreted this as proof of some sort of connection between "Super Paper Mario" on the Wii and the Nintendo DS. "We were actually bummed out when we saw that reaction online," Bihldorff said. "We should have rewritten that line." Didn't they appreciate the buzz? No, Bihldorff said, because they heard that some customers called Nintendo asking why their DS Lites weren't syncing up. "We'll let other people worry about getting buzz. We just wanted to make it as clear as possible." Poking the kind of fun that "Super Paper Mario" does has been a relief to Bihldorff. "I can't tell you how many games I've played that take themselves so seriously and yet have to come up with the most convoluted crap to explain this thing you have to do as a video game player and try to give it a real reason that you should be doing it, something that advances the plot. That is a really hard thing to do, especially if you specifically want somebody to go to these parts of a level and collect something and all of a sudden you have to contrive this plot point where the key is broken up into five pieces. This whole series isn't afraid of looking that thing in the face and say, 'Hey, this is a ridiculous thing we're making you do.' " So fret not, anyone who thinks "Super Paper Mario" is having fun at their expense. The people who made it know the game is pretty ridiculous too. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 17, 2007 This may be the game that gets me to buy a Wii. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 18, 2007 This may be the game that gets me to buy a Wii. me too, it looks ace, the kind of cool innovation coupled with pure gaming simplicity that makes a mockery of many new titles Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 20, 2007 Rumour: SMP comes out on here on the 21 of June. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 20, 2007 Rumour: SMP comes out on here on the 21 of June. I'm attaching wings to my pigs right now The article also says: SSBM: 25/10 Super Mario Galaxy: 01/11 Metroid Prime 3: 15/11 My sides are splitting :laughing: :laughing: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 21, 2007 I gonna order the japanese version next week so once i get it i will post some views on the game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted April 21, 2007 I gonna order the japanese version next week so once i get it i will post some views on the game. I'll be very interested to see how this sells in Japan and whether it becomes a bit of a phenomenon and spikes the Wii's sales. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 16, 2007 It is available now! Well, the strategy guide is anyway... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Super-Paper-Mario-Official-Guides/dp/0761556451/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/026-7679980-5298846?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179319452&sr=8-4 I wonder if the pages are made of super-absorbant paper to dry our tears on? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 16, 2007 It is available now! Well, the strategy guide is anyway... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Super-Paper-Mario-Official-Guides/dp/0761556451/ref=pd_bbs_sr_4/026-7679980-5298846?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1179319452&sr=8-4 I wonder if the pages are made of super-absorbant paper to dry our tears on? Darn it! I thought we had a date! I can only really think of July/August as a release date...other then that, i'm going to start worrying because i'd rather have Galaxy then this, but i'm looking forward to both? What a mess...why Nintendo why! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 16, 2007 EDGE says Summer this year in the latest issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 18, 2007 Details are sketchy at the moment, but the new issue of NGamer UK seems to have a SPM review! I'm 90% certain this is talking about the UK version - the other reviews seem to correlate. I will check when I see a copy on the shelves, but it's meant to be out for subscribers today. http://gonintendo.com/?p=18082 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 18, 2007 It's the a review of the US Version Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 18, 2007 It's the a review of the US Version Oh crappy, it didn't specify that on the page. I thought as it had specified US for other reviews, then it would if this was one. And I just noticed that it was you who wrote it LOL Disappointed Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 18, 2007 Anyone know how to play imports the easy way? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 18, 2007 Gamecentral has a nice little review and gave it an 8/10 on Teletext today. Also said we probs won't see it till after July. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 18, 2007 Gamecentral has a nice little review and gave it an 8/10 on Teletext today. Also said we probs won't see it till after July. You see, this is whats worrying me...will Nintendo really release two big Mario games within 2 months? If this comes out, say September..surely we won't see Mario Galaxy in November as well? Slightly worrying... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 18, 2007 You see, this is whats worrying me...will Nintendo really release two big Mario games within 2 months? I don't know why that would be even slightly an issue. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 18, 2007 Ngamer gave it 88%. Pretty impressive tbh. I'm glad they didn't give it 90%+ because it's a Mario Game. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 18, 2007 FFS its ridiculous. Give us the game already Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 18, 2007 Gamecentral has a nice little review and gave it an 8/10 on Teletext today. Also said we probs won't see it till after July. I thought it said until after June, didn't it? I assume that they've just put two and two together, like us, and seen that it's not on the Q2 release list. Nevertheless, I'm not expecting it until at least September, considering how NoE likes to take a two month summer holiday starting July.. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 18, 2007 I don't know why that would be even slightly an issue. Well could you tell me when Europe have ever recieved two big Mario adventures on a home console in the space of two months? All these people are telling me they want to 'space' ther big games out and then they release them all Q4 2007, thats not Nintendo...unless they have changed or something going to be delayed. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 19, 2007 Well could you tell me when Europe have ever recieved two big Mario adventures on a home console in the space of two months? All these people are telling me they want to 'space' ther big games out and then they release them all Q4 2007, thats not Nintendo...unless they have changed or something going to be delayed. This is what I have been saying for ages!!!!! The latest episode of IGN wii-kly has said out of the big titles, Metroid, Smash Bros, if one is going to slip to next year it will be Super Mario Galaxy, quite where they are getting this news from... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 19, 2007 See, i would agree with that...but Mario Galaxy has always been talked about by Nintendo and they have stated on numourous occasions that it will make 2007. I reckon it'll be Brawl whats delayed...or Mario Galaxy just in Europe as USA/JAP both have Super Paper Mario. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 19, 2007 Well could you tell me when Europe have ever recieved two big Mario adventures on a home console in the space of two months?How does that mean it won't come happen? Why would Nintendo want to miss Christmas with Galaxy? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Posted May 19, 2007 How does that mean it won't come happen? Why would Nintendo want to miss Christmas with Galaxy? What? Sorry? I'm saying 'When has Nintendo ever released two major games in the space of two months?'. Thats all i'm asking. I don't think it's a good idea to release two major Mario games within 2 months including Brawl and Metroid, do you? i doubt it will happen, it'll be great if it does though! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
