Paper Mario

PAPER MARIO

Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64 is the first in the Paper Mario franchise and the second Mario RPG ever made, created as a sort-of sequel to Super Mario RPG, but with its own name and branding to differentiate the two. It tells the story of Mario, once again working to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser, only this time accompanied by several companions of several different species across the Mushroom Kingdom.

Mario is our main protagonist, and functions more or less as Mario would, with most of his in-battle moves consisting of three different levels of jumping or smacking the enemy with a hammer. You can also use items in battle, like fire flowers and such, but it's hard to really tie some of those down to him specifically. The main MacGuffins, if you will, of the game, are the seven Star Spirits, each of whom grant a special ability once you have rescued them. Eldstar restores your health by five points, Mamar sings a lullaby to put your enemies to sleep, Skolar calls down a storm of shooting stars, Muskular chills out the enemy and lowers their attack power, Misstar gives Mario a kiss and heals him by twenty, Klevar freezes time for the enemy for a while, and Kalmar turns enemies into stars to remove them from battle. All together, they can launch a powerful star beam. Hmm, seems like the Star Spirits have managed a slot all their own. Good for them.

Across the game, you pick up eight companions, each with their own abilities and representing a specific species respectively. Largely, each one is there to represent that specific species and thus will likely not get a slot of their own, but be a specific skin of the enemy that they are. That said, some, like Bombette and Sushie, represent species not yet with a roster slot, so they likely represent Bob-Omb's and Cheep Cheep's best chances of getting onto the roster all together.

First up, we have Goombario, a young Goomba who looks up to Mario. He is the most basic, his four moves being a headbonk, tattling on the enemy's information, charging up his power, and multiple headbonks. Next, we have Kooper, a Koopa wanting to become an adventurer. All four of his moves involve him spinning in his shell across the ground to strike the enemy, just with differing levels of power (and lighting on fire for the last one). Third, we have Bombette, a Bob-Omb held captive by the Koopa Bros. Her four moves include a body slam and three differing levels of exploding. (Hmm, not yet). Parakarry is a Paratroopa working as a mailman. His four main attacks include striking someone from the air, spinning in his shell to strike from the air, carrying an enemy offscreen, and attacking multiple times from the air.

Lady Bow is a Boo and wealthy heiress of a haunted mansion. Her moves include slapping an enemy, turning herself and Mario intangible, using a jumpscare to scare off enemies, and smacking enemies with a fan. Watt is a Lil' Sparky captured and used as a light source. Her moves include a powerful shock, another powerful shock that paralyzes an enemy, charging a specific stat, and an even more powerful shock. Sushie is a Cheep Cheep looking after a bunch of Baby Yoshis. Her moveset includes belly flopping by launching into the air, squirting a stream of water, covering Mario in a block of water, and causing a tidal wave of water. (Actually, I think she might have done it. Yay!). Finally, we have Lakilester, a Lakitu who turns against Bowser to join Mario. His moves include throwing a single Spiny egg, throwing a bunch of Spiny eggs, giving Mario a cloud he can use to avoid attacks, and causing a hurricane.

We have quite a few supporting characters, most of which are simply NPCs in the various towns you visit, the only exceptions being Princess Peach and the young Star Spirit, Twink. Between every chapter, you play as Peach and Twink as they work to undermine Bowser's control and help Mario from afar. Peach's controls are entirely basic, with the only exception being a magical umbrella that lets her disguise herself as an enemy. In battle, Peach doesn't fight at all, but Twink has a basic tackle ability.

Other major supporting characters include the wizard Merlon, who gives you advice and shows the ability to throw lightning. Merlon has several family members floating around, like Merlee, Merluvlee, Merlow, Merle, and Madame Merlar, all of whom cast spells to boost your stats or trade you certain items like Star Pieces. They might have potential but we'll see going forward. Most of the towns are populated with Toads, Yoshis, Ravens, Bub-Ulbs, Bumpties, and so on. A few important named NPCs include Goombario's family, the explorer Kolorado, Lady Bow's butler Bootler, Raphael the Raven, the Wise Wisterwood Tree, Lakilester's girlfriend Lakilulu, quizmaster Chuck Quizmo, the Master and his students Chan and Lee, and the cook Tayce T. Luigi also appears here and there.

Bowser is the main villain here, and he is primarily supported by his Magikoopa advisor Kammy Koopa. At the beginning of the game, Bowser stole the Star Rod from the Star Spirits, which gave him extraordinary powers (adding further possibilities to the Spirits themselves). He stomps, breathes fire, claws, and flies in his Klown Kar normally, but when powered up by the Star Rod, he also has increased strength, defense and HP, and can create lightning blasts and shockwaves with its power. Kammy is a pretty basic Magikoopa in the same vein as Kamek and can fly around on a broom, summon up a block, and throw lightning.

Jr. Troopa is a minor villain who recurs throughout the game and tries to pick a fight with you, gaining a new ability every single time. At first, he is basic and can only jump, but in later fights he gains the ability to tuck into his egg shell to defend from harm, sprouts wings to fly, gets a spike on top of his head, learns how to cast magic spells, and then puts them all together. Much like Croco, he might just barely ride the edge of a potential moveset.

Across the game, we have a number of bosses to contend with. These include: the first ever appearance of Goomboss, who simply kicks you; the Koopa Bros, TMNT Koopa knockoffs who stack on top of each other and spin together, fire Bullet Bill cannons, and pilot a giant papier-mache Bowser mech; Tutankoopa, a Pharaoh koopa who can float, throw Buzzy Beetle shells, and summon Chain Chomps to attack you; Tubba Blubba, a giant Spike . . . um, I mean, Clubba, I guess . . . who terrorizes a Boo village by eating the ghosts and can butt bash you; his heart also acts as a boss as you have to beat that to harm him; General Guy, a Shy Guy driving a tank who throws bombs and fires electric blasts at you; Lava Piranha, a giant Piranha Plant living in a volcano that spits fireballs at you; Huff N. Puff, a giant cloud being that can suck in or blow strong winds and blast you with electricity; and Crystal King, an ice being that throws bits of icy crystal at you and can create duplicates of himself.

Now, we come to the enemies. Most of them are series regulars, including: Goombas, with Paragoomba, Gloomba, and Hyper Goomba variants; Koopa Troopas and Paratroopas; Fuzzies, who now drain HP; Bob-Ombs; Bullet Bills and Bill Blasters; Bloopers; Monty Moles; Pokeys, who can throw their body parts; Bandits and Tiny Mousers from the Yoshi series; Buzzy Beetles, Swoopers; Chain Chomps; Piranha Plants, with putrid and frost varieties; Boos, Clubbas, which are basically Spikes with maces; Shy Guys with so many different varieties (including Groove Guys, Sky Guys on balloons, Spy Guys, Medi Guys, Gourmet Guy, Pyro Guys, and Spear Guys); Lantern Ghosts; Lava Bubbles; Spike Tops; Crazee Dayzees; Spinies; Lakitus; Hammer Bros; Bony Beetles; Dry Bones; and Magikoopas with different varieties for boosting attack, defense, and healing.

Some notable newcomers include Clefts, giant rock creatures that charge at you; Koopatrols, heavily armored Koopa soldiers; Buzzar, a giant vulture who attacks with feathers; M. Bush, an enemy pretending to be a bush; Hurt Plants who poison you; Ruff Puffs, basically clouds; Gulpit, a frog thing that swallows and spits out rocks at you; Monstar, a swarm creature who calls down stars on you; and Duplighosts who mimic you like a Ditto.

The game is divided up into specific chapters, each one with a seemingly loose connection to famous books that becomes more obvious in later games. The major hub areas include Peach's Castle and Toad Town around it, with Shooting Star Summit leading up the the Star Sanctuary where the Star Spirits live. The prologue takes place in Goomba Village and leads to Goomba King's Fortress. Chapter One covers Koopa Village and the Koopa Bros. Castle. Chapter Two is a desert-themed world, with Mt. Rugged, Dry Dry Desert, Dry Dry Outpost, and Dry Dry Ruins being major locations. Chapter Three has a haunted theme, with Forever Forest, Boo's Mansion, Gusty Gulch, Tubba Blubba Castle, and Windy Mill. Chapter Four takes place entirely withing a giant toy box. Chapter Five takes you to the remote Lavalava Island and the volcanic Mt. Lavalava. Chapter Six takes you to the pleasant Flower Fields, Sun Tower, and Cloudy Climb. Finally Chapter Seven takes you to Shiver City, Shiver Mountain, and Crystal Palace, all ice-themed. The final chapter sees you getting up to Bowser's Castle, a giant Klown Kar built underneath Peach's Castle.

Your item choices are once again enormous, as with most RPGs. You have a badge system where you can apply specific badges to your character to give them various stat boosts and so on. Other items include various types of food, both picked and prepared by Tayce T., Mushrooms, Fire Flowers, Syrups and Elixirs, Life Shrooms, POW Blocks, Sleepy Sheeps, Snowman Dolls, Stop Watches, and Thunderbolts.

Here's what we've got so far:

Characters:
Mario: jumping, fireballs, punch, hammer, koopa shells
Paper Mario: jump, hammer, companions, Star Spirits, badges, items like Fire Flowers and Sleepy Sheep
Luigi
Princess Peach: therapy, group hug, sleepy time, mute, come back, psych bomb, slap, parasol, fan, frying pan, Sneaky Parasol, Twink
Bowser: Terrorize, Crusher, Bowser Crush, Poison Gas, throw Chain Chomp, drill glove, throw Mario, stomp, breathe fire, claw, Klown Kar, Star Rod, lightning, shockwave
Mallow: Thunderbolt, HP Rain, Psychopath, Shocker, Snowy, Star Rain, cymbals, froggie stick
Geno: Geno Beam, Geno Boost, Geno Whirl, Geno Flash, Geno Blast, pellets, shooting stars, rocket fists
Kammy Koopa: fly on broom, summon block, throw lightning
Yoshi: race
Toad
Star Spirits: Refresh, Lullaby, Star Storm, Chill Out, Smooch, Time Out, Up and Away, Focus, Star Beam, Peach Beam, Star Rod, lightning, shockwave
Merlon (and family): cast spell, lightning, tell future, divine secrets, trade
Smithy: sledgehammer, meteor shower, drain, smelter, Tank Head, Magic Head, Treasure Head, Mask Head, build machines
Axem Rangers: axes, bombs, petal blast, heal, freeze, electrify, mute, body slam, The Blade, breaker beam
Smithy Gang: Mack (fire), Bowyer (arrows, electricity), Yaridovich (spear, spells), Punchinello? (bombs)
Jr. Troopa: tackle, hide in shell, wings, head spike, spell, transform
Croco: steal, run away, bite, bombs, weird mushrooms
Booster: toy train, toy minions, card tricks, throwing knives, bouncing on a ball, killer Bundt cake
Birdo: shoot eggs
Johnny: trident, boost HP, drain, minions with spears, starfish, crabs, treasure chest, springs to get out of water, King Calamari
Valentina and Dodo: fly, peck, cancel moves, Petal Blast, Diamond Saw, Blizzard, Water Blast, Aurora Flash, Light Beam, Solidify
Culex: Shredder, Dark Star, Flame Stone, Meteor Blast, fire crystal, water crystal, earth crystal, wind crystal
Koopa (Kooper/Parakarry): Shell Toss, Power Shell, Dizzy Shell, Fire Shell, Sky Dive, Shell Shot, Air Lift, Air Rad
Goomba (Goombario): Headbonk, Tattle, Charge, Multibonk
Spiny
Lakitu (Lakilester): Spiny Flip, Spiny Surge, Cloud Nine, Hurricane
Hammer Bro
Shy Guy: Groove Guy, Sky Guy, Medi Guy, Spy Guy, Gourmet Guy, Pyro Guy, Spear Guy, General Guy
Cheep Cheep (Sushie): Belly Flop, Squirt, Water Block, Tidal Wave
Boo (Lady Bow): Smack, Outta Sight, Spook, Fan Smack
Piranha Plant
Bob-Omb (Bombette): Body Slam, Bomb, Power Bomb, Mega Bomb
Chain Chomp
Dry Bones
Blooper
Lil Sparky (Watt): Electro Dash, Power Shock, Turbo Charge, Mega Shock
Pokey
Monty Mole
Bandit
Tiny Mouser
Buzzy Beetle
Spike: clubs, butt bash, eat ghosts, heart
Koopatrol
Duplighost

Bosses:
Belome
Exor
Smithy
Mega Smilax
Czar Dragon
Etc.
Goomboss
Koopa Bros.
Tutankoopa
Tubba Blubba
General Guy
Lava Piranha
Huff N. Puff
Crystal King

Stages:
Mushroom Kingdom
Tadpole Pond
Forest Maze
Yo'ster Island
Mole Mountains
Booster Tower
Sea Side
Star Hill
Sunken Ship
Land's End
Nimbus Land
Barrel Volcano
Bowser's Keep
Smithy's Factory
Peach's Castle
Toad Town
Star Sanctuary
Bowser's Castle
Goomba Village
Koopa Village
Mt. Rugged
Dry Dry Desert
Forever Forest
Boo's Mansion
Gusty Gulch
Shy Guy's Toy Box
Lavalava Island
Flower Fields
Cloudy Climb
Shiver Mountain
Crystal Palace

Items:
Badges
Mushrooms
Lots of Food
Fire Flower
Sleepy Sheep
Thunderbolt
Snowman Doll
Stop Watch
Too many to list

Thanks for reading! Next up, one of my two favorite Paper Mario's, The Thousand-Year Door!