Video games - Paper Mario

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	Video games - Paper Mario

Paper Mario (Japanese: マリオストーリー, Mario Story) is a video game for the Nintendo 64. It debuted in Japan on August 11 2000, in Canada and the United States on February 5 2001, and in Europe on October 5 2001.

The video game was developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. The spiritual successor to Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
for the Super NES, Paper Mario was the last major Mario title produced for the Nintendo 64; it was also one of the system's few role-playing games. Its title comes from the fact that it has a unique graphical style, reminiscent of the older Mario titles, in which the characters are flat, two-dimensional-looking paper cutouts inhabiting a three-dimensional world, with a full range of 3D movement, as in Super Mario 64
.

The game's story premise involves King Bowser Koopa and his assistant, Kammy Koopa, stealing the Star Rod and imprisoning the Seven Star Spirits. They then use their castle to steal Princess Peach's castle, with the Princess still in it. Mario and his eight new friends must now save the Star Spirits and Princess Peach, as well as take back the Star Rod. Paper Mario was scored by Yuka Tsujiyoko, the composer for the Fire Emblem series.

A sequel to Paper Mario, entitled Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
, was released in late 2004 for the Nintendo GameCube.

Development and release

Paper Mario was developed by Intelligent Systems. The directors were Toshitaka Muramatsu, Takahiro Ohgi, and Hironobu Suzuki. Kumiko Takeda and Kaori Aoki wrote the game's script and Naohiko Aoyama was the art director responsible for the game's distinctive graphical style.

Paper Mario was first revealed at SpaceWorld 97, a video game trade show hosted by Nintendo. For lack of a better title, critics referred to the game as Super Mario RPG II and compared the game's 2D character style to PaRappa the Rapper
. Shigeru Miyamoto, who consulted on the project, stated that the game was being developed with beginning and amateur gamers in mind.

Yuka Tsujiyoko composed the game's musical score. Her goal was to reflect the comical and lively sound of Koji Kondo's original Mario music in new ways. Tsujiyoko has also stated that the nature of her personality and the influences of her composing partner, Taishi Senda, were reflected in the finished music for the game.

Released in Japan on August 11 2000, in Canada and the United States on February 5 2001, and in Europe on October 5 2001, Paper Mario immediately met with critical acclaim from a number of reviewers. Although the game's release at the end of the Nintendo 64's lifespan affected sales, Paper Mario was still the 8th best selling game for the period from January to June of 2001. It was also the top selling game in Japan the week of its release, despite the availability of several games for PlayStation 2 and Sega Dreamcast, which were then "next-generation" consoles.

Storyline

The story of Paper Mario begins with brothers Mario and Luigi spending a day at their house in Toad Town, a large city located in the Mushroom Kingdom. The two brothers receive an invitation from Princess Peach to a party at her castle. Upon arrival, the brothers begin socializing with the many guests in attendance until Princess Peach invites Mario to her balcony to talk in private.

Before Mario and Princess Peach reach the balcony, a loud rumbling noise can be heard. The Princess's castle is then lifted into the sky by a fortress that had been located underneath the ground. The antagonist of the Mario series, Bowser, has stolen the sacred Star Rod and is using it to grant his evil wishes. He is assisted by a witch known as Kammy Koopa. He had been successful in transforming the protectors of the Star Rod, the Seven Star Spirits, into playing cards and scattered them throughout the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario attempts to battle Bowser, but fails because of the Star Rod's power. After passing out, Bowser banishes Mario to the Mushroom Kingdom below. Princess Peach is shocked and is then ordered to be taken to her room, where she will not be permitted to exit.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Paper Mario ]

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Video games - Paper Mario

Development and release

Storyline

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