[Review] Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
System: 3DS
Release date: January 22, 2016
Developer: AlphaDream
Publisher Nintendo
In all honesty, Mario & Luigi has fallen off my radar within the last few years. That’s not due to a dislike of the various games. I played the first one, but after that, I simply never picked up another title. However, when Nintendo announced that Paper Mario would be coming together with Mario & Luigi, my love for the former franchise was enough to finally push me to giving it another spin. Now that the RPG is finally in my hands, I can comfortably say that Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is a great representation of both series.
Both franchises involved in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam are known for their superb sense of humor and memorable characters, to which this game doesn’t lack any of. Around every turn is another character or scenario that will make you laugh, and both the Marios and Luigi are both wonderfully animated and help the game keep its humor constant. Watching the two worlds come together is quite the treat, and seeing the characters respond to the situation at hand makes it even better. The best example is when both Bowsers interact, as the two have large personalities and are incredibly stubborn. Very rarely will you find humor that comes as constant and lands so well in games such as these, so it’s a pleasure to have it all done so well – especially when a title is as lengthy as this one.
An RPG would be nothing without its battles, and thankfully, Paper Jam isn’t afraid to deliver on that front. The battle system, while being pretty basic on the surface, provides enough to make me want to engage every enemy I see while still being given new challenges. When taking on enemies, you can press a button corresponding to one of the party members in order to have them hit harder or avoid an attack. There are tons of different baddies to find, and each one has a unique style to attack. As a result, learning how to properly maneuver each brother into perfectly landing an attack or dodging one makes for a lot of fun trial and error situations that feel oh so good when you finally master them. One boss battle had me using Paper Mario as an airplane to carry Mario and Luigi through air while Petey Piranha shot at them. These kind of tricks are never really repeated, which means there’s always a new experience in any battle ahead. This system works really well, because it had me interested in fighting even the most basic of enemies. I do wish that Paper Mario’s copy ability that allows him to use clones wasn’t as powerful as it is though, because it sometimes just renders the other members of my party worthless during some battles. Aside from that, it’s an incredibly solid fighting system that is sure to please a very wide range of gamers.
The leveling system is pretty standard, with each brother having their own levels and experience, and as levels increase, they are granted with stat increases. However, you can upgrade the brothers’ outfits and weapons to heighten their growth, and can also scan amiibo to obtain cards that help you upgrade them or use special moves in battle. I personally didn’t use either feature too much simply because I never bothered, but when I did I could tell it made a huge difference in how I played, so it’s nice that the options there for different kind of RPG players.
Throughout your journey to save both Princess Peach’s (I may never get used to that), you’ll travel through some of the brightest and prettiest locations the Mushroom Kingdom has to offer. Every area I found myself in had a special mix of both Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi art styles that made what would’ve been a standard sight into something more. While Mario and Luigi’s world goes for a more realistic feel (can I even call it that?), the cardboard and paper cut-outs from Paper Mario’s world not only more visually appealing, but also more fun to traverse, as our trio of heroes will being jumping through walls made of paper and un-crinkling items to help them advance.
During your travels there are more than just battles and pretty scenery to look at in the land, as this game is littered with extra little activities to pass the time and better your relationship with the characters. The most common ones are the Find Toad and PaperCraft Mario missions. The first one will have you chasing down and finding toads as they scatter themselves throughout the area while the next has our three stars hopping atop a large cardboard Mario and attack other large enemies. These are nice distractions and help keep invested in the game’s world, even if I’m not battling or advancing in the story.
The plot in this game won’t shock you since it sticks pretty close to the “Princess is kidnapped, go save her!” formula, but surprisingly enough, the addition of every character having doubles actually does add just enough to make the story feel fresh again. It’s also thanks to the previously-mentioned superb writing that the characters conflicts are not only funnier, but also become more interesting. There’s also a few little twist and turns that happen throughout the story that keep things going, but I won’t spoil those for you. Let me just say, the ideas they come up with are pretty crafty.
All in all, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam does an exceptional job of staying true to both series, and blending the best qualities of each into one. Throughout the adventure I found myself constantly sinking deeper and deeper into this games wonderfully crafted world. I fully expect myself to keep coming back to this one for the weeks to come until I can’t stand the sight of another paper pun, which shouldn’t be too soon.
The more I think about Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, I feel my love for it in-crease-ing. I enjoyed watching the story un-fold, and seeing the two worlds come together made this experience the opposite of tear-rible. Jokes aside, it’s an exceptional title. With a great battle system, fun story and writing, and a large world to explore, this title just about has it all. If you’re out searching for a title to start 2016 on the right foot, look no further, because the worlds favorite mustachioed brothers have you covered.
