Paper beats rock and scissors here - top titles on the GameCube

Nearly six years have passed since release of this unusual title, the Gamecube has since been replaced by the more successful a lot Wii, which tends playful in a slightly different direction.
If you can not make friends with it in its entirety, so you have at least here, unlike the PS3 has the advantage that the console is backward compatible.
Especially for those who have missed the Gamecube or omitted in their playing career is thus the possibility, again take a short or long retrospective.
In this game, it's definitely worth it, even though there is already a Wii own sequel called Super Paper Mario. The predecessor is in fact different, in a pleasant way.

Also known under the title Paper Mario 2 continuation of the unique RPG series with the cuddle-plumber and new and old friends in the lead roles is definitely worth a look, although only used to earn.
You probably similar all in all more of the first published in Germany version (then one of the last title, which came out on the venerable N64) and is therefore definitely a nearly thoroughbred RPG platforming plays only a minor role here, but was the actual genre origin Marios and his game world does not deny, citing a wonderfully charming way in this gameplay secrets here. That makes this game among others of its species unique.

The story is quickly told: Princess Peach makes adventure holiday in a town called blanks, a sort of Naples of the 70-80s hawked on Mario-style. It teems with hustlers, gangsters and crooks. To make matters worse, drifting there also a lot of other, more sinister strangers around, are following a bad plan and how could it be otherwise, Peach times just kidnap a first undisclosed location.
And here comes naturally Peachs best friend, the plumber Mario globular into play, which is to search Peach and has a very different way, dark legend that seems to have in Rohlingens bowels in origin explore.
Here he meets during his quest all sorts of friends in to join.
Always one of them is your hero with his special abilities aside.
So you beat you from the hub of the action, the grubby port city by a diverse, colorful game world, traveled forests, the sea, tranquil town and swing at the end gar tions stars on.
All this turns out varied, funny and sometimes ingenious ideas, sometimes you have a village against a curse save, sometimes you need the cute inhabitants of a tree to solve the puzzles as entourage to a chapter. That just mood and comfort on the bit too linear geratenen gameplay time. You can only chapter by chapter solve, after the end of each there is something stereotypically running short game sequences with Peach and Bowser, to control halfway fun, but just the story of Princess Peach etrinkt something Kitsch and becomes quite tough until a few funny ideas, you can not wait to finally allowed to control Mario. Bowser's performances are there already funnier and winking when he catches rumbles through the scenery and for retro fans keep his sections a few special treats ready.

Graphically, the whole thing beautifully designed and original, which makes in a 3-D world on 2-D world. So you always considers what is happening from a few sections of the page, even if the dimension of depth is of course present, but you can also just run "sideways". Mario is here just made of paper, as well as his friends and enemies. The style of the graphics seems inspired by games like Super Mario World: Yoshi's Iceland (Super Nintendo) sprung a detailed coloring book, I think, a stroke of luck. It easily adapts to Mario and the narrative of history, blends harmoniously into the overall concept. Bombastic special effects can not be found here, instead loving animations that leave room for the essentials: The innovative, well-designed combat system. Turn-based, tactics oriented by strong greatly different from each other and partner characters, the most ingenious trick in the game: skill also plays a not insignificant role. Simple wait before the fight screen there is not, because every attack demands different key combination as well as different timing. Also one must not passively watching when one is attacked but can mitigate damage by pressing A or B key at the right moment, or even counter, depending on the game skill. For professionals there are still showing the way special tricks that serve to entertain the audience, yes, because Mario is fighting in front of spectators, depending on the level in ever larger scale, applauding and so give major star power for the special actions disappear in lame fighting slowly but surely from the scene. There are friends, throw the Mario and his colleagues useful items, but also the rioters throw stones, cans and the like, but also where you can halt. Every now and then even a part of the scenery falls over.
That's just crazy entertaining, the timing is quite sophisticated and thus offers long-term motivation. All in all, making the fights easy mood. As in almost any RPG, there are also a couple of lengths and sometimes you will inadvertently involved in a fight, which then can also nervous.
But during the game itself also provides the ability to prevent this.
Which brings us arrived at the Order, the Mario both purchase, exchange, find or possibly may even steal from opponents. To use the Order requires you Orden points, which can be purchased through combat experience, Mario rises to a level, he can decide whether he wants to increase his strength points, flowers points (for special fighting techniques) or order items. Here then the character will be individually crafted to specific strengths towards.

Marios partners, however, can achieve a better status, which indeed prevents the annoying "level up", but taking late in the game a little motivation, as there is to learn just no other special techniques just by finding so-called regalia. Defense and attack power can be increased on the Order, but also limited, since there are some orders even in limited numbers.
Overall, however, the system provides enough freedom and space for maneuvering to act balanced.

History will press ahead, there are no moments in the game where you can touch or aimlessly running, which in turn is an advantage of a linear sequence of action. Side quests are plentiful, but all run through the so-called job agency, where, depending on the progression of the story more and more jobs are available. That's funny at first, but acts somewhat stereotypical and formulaic in the long run. There are no optional side quests that can be triggered locally to what each area of ​​the game world even more depth could lend. While you can from time to talk to the inhabitants of a settlement and learns many useful or even nonsensical, but they share one their concerns always only when it is previously ran again for Job Agency in blanks, which in the long run a bit annoying especially not bursting with every order of creativity, if you had several times run from A to B without much sense, then the seeming simplicity artificially inflated and bored. Since air would have been up if you had included the side quests more in the story. So they act sometimes as annoying accessory. However, many a job brings a new useful options, so that one should daily at least from time to time.

Overall, you get the feeling of being in a beautifully designed, large game world with quite a lot of gameplay depth, making it easy to enjoy various corners new secrets to discover, buy things and do new opponents.
The fields themselves are voices accompanied by music, the odd annoying Passage is, but overall the music fits very well into the overall picture, the mood conveyed well by gentle horror through a dreamy and yet always somewhere mario-typical.
Your character Party is sympathetic and versatile, humor is not forgotten and many familiar faces make you feel to have a real Mario game in the Game Cube, the gameplay could not be better to make precise and sowol for beginners and advanced. For professionals, there is an optional battle site, which is quite challenging, but is not required necessarily to solve the story.

I spent over 100 hours with the game, because it look so much to do, and out there, the story itself is just the right length and should be solved in 40-50 hours, so definitely enough fun.

The charm of the game has never left me, and the sequel would not have changed the gameplay at the expense of the role play so much, I would have also considered buying a Wii.
I recommend the game every gamer who even remotely can what to do with the Mario world, even people who previously had no interest in RPGs, this one is just different, entertaining, funny, and you're not to passivity in the fighting damned ,

About some shortcomings, such as highly-linear storyline which partly boring, unnecessary side quests and annoying in the long run Princess Peach passages can be overlooked confidently, overall, the game offers a lot of fun, captivating hours.
So, GameCube owners, dusted the dice and Wii players, puts you into a GameCube controller, Paper Mario is definitely worth the purchase.