SUPER UNDERRATED

Super Paper Mario is super underrated and I feel like it's not talked about enough. This is possibly due to the handful of Paper Mario TTYD fans who began to play only to realize it was NOTHING like it's predecessor. The reason for this is pretty simple, and it has nothing to do with the story, characters, maps or overall lore. It has to do with the combat system. You see, instead of running into an enemy, spawning a cut scene, and then going into a standing strategic battle sequence where moves could be selected, Super Paper Mario simply leaned into an action game combat system, meaning that enemies could be killed IN REAL TIME ON THE SPOT, JUST LIKE THEY COULD IN ANY 3D MARIO! At first, I personally hated this aspect, as I thought it rid the game of it's foundations and made killing the enemies less satisfying - I still stand by the later here, as I do think the combat in this game is significantly easier - but once I got over this hump and continued my playthrough of the game, I began to realize it was beautiful in its own way. To begin, the game design and features are super interesting. The hub world is actually 2D, to which Mario can only go left or right. However, by hitting a button, Mario can flip to "3D" which puts him behind the space you just saw, unlocking an entire new perspective. It's used as a mechanic in the game to help complete level objectives, and is super satisfying to use. The devs did a fantastic job incorporating it into pretty much all of the gameplay. The nature of this mechanic sort of gave way to the name of the hubworld named "flipside". Essentially, in order to access new levels, you have to go into this 3D dimension - and as you complete and get further along in the game, this purple black hole in the background gets bigger and bigger, until you eventually unlock Flopside, an alternative reality to the 3D alternative reality you've unlocked. It's actually crazy game design and creativity on display by the devs. I will also note, the hub world's soundtrack is a banger too. Then we have the incredible characters. Just like Paper Mario TTYD, there are a handful of side characters that join your party to help with battles and navigation. I personally don't think they're as iconic as TTYD from a design and lore perspective, but they certainly hold their own. Throughout the game you'll meet them in similar ways to ttyd, but you will certainly not have to do the amount of backtracking and legwork. The main story characters and villains are great too. One that comes to mind is the butterfly named Tippi. She is like the goombella of the game, and is able to use the move tattle to give details about enemies, yet differs by how she permanently follows Mario even when he swaps characters, as she is the one behind the 3D ability. She is actually a very complex character and is somehow related to the villain, named, Count BLEEH. There's actually a super deep and satisfying story to it all, as everything ties together in the end in a way you weren't expecting. The coolest character by far though is Mr. L. Essentially, Luigi gets brainwashed by one of the villains named nastasia, and starts to manifest an alter ego. As a result, this man goes from the classic scared of everything in life Luigi, to I'm going to fuck shit up. And while doing so, changes his outfit to black goggles, green cape, and black overalls. He then becomes an actual villain in the game! I don't think there are any Mario stories or games where Luigi is a boss. In general, Super Paper Mario is so, so good, and like I usually say, the recent paper Marios have nothing on it. Like, i think in one of the most recent paper marios one of the enemies is literal tape? Like you are fighting just normal ass, tape? And then boss number two is a stapler? Like bruh get more creative - bring back Mr. L.