Paper Mario

About Paper Mario

Paper Mario (2000) is Intelligent Systems' papercraft-styled RPG in which Mario and his partners rescue the seven Star Spirits after Bowser steals the Star Rod and lifts Peach's castle into the sky.

Paper Mario in Depth

Bowser steals the Star Rod from Star Haven, imprisons the seven Star Spirits, makes himself invincible, defeats Mario and lifts Princess Peach's castle into the sky. To save the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario must free the Star Spirits, whose power can cancel the stolen Star Rod, by defeating the minions guarding them. The game combines traditional role-playing with Mario series ideas: in the overworld Mario jumps and swings his hammer to overcome obstacles, and many puzzles and barriers depend on the abilities of his partners, each with a speciality needed to progress. Partners join as he reaches new places, and one accompanies him at a time, interchangeable at will.

Partners also help in turn-based battles, where they have no HP of their own and damage only stuns them for a while. Battles are distinctive for "action commands", timed button inputs that make attacks more effective. Nintendo first approached Square, maker of Super Mario RPG, but it was busy with Final Fantasy VII, so Intelligent Systems developed it, with Shigeru Miyamoto producing, Kumiko Takeda and Kaori Aoki writing the script and Naohiko Aoyama as art director responsible for its distinctive look. It was praised for its concept, battle system and graphics.

Making Paper Mario

Intelligent Systems developed it and Nintendo published it for the Nintendo 64 as the first Paper Mario game. It received critical acclaim and topped the charts for two weeks in other regions, and was re-released on the Wii Virtual Console in 2007, Wii U in 2015 and Nintendo Classics on 10 December 2021.