Paper Mario 2

[MikeF]

I expect mine to arrive on Monday like ToS did this week (ordered the thursday before)

[Adam Stone]

I too am eagerly looking forward to this little gem.

I absolutely loved Mario and Luigi, especially the humour, and get the impression this will have a similar feel and hopefully the same sort of fun-factor and laugh-out-loud moments. I sadly never got hold of Paper Mario on the N64 so can only make comparisons to the GBA RPG?

I?m really looking forward to playing this, hopefully should get it through the post on Monday (I?m another buyer from VG+) ^_^

[bowser123]

The humour is most definitely still there in abundance Adam.
There's a black box that holds a surprise very early that cracked me up, as did the dragons antics mid fight.
There are also some shady looking guys into credit card fraud that you have to stop!!!

There's also so much to collect too, although some of it is a hall back to the N64 game like collecting badges and food recipies. Still the recipies that go wrong still make me grin.

I also can't convey how stylish and bold this game is. Everything is so bright and vibrant, I'm hugely impressed with the art style. The texture-less one block colour approach to the characters may make some think it's babyish. To me it's an absolute brilliant escape from every other 3D game that seems to either be a realistic squad based shooter or third person Max Payne bastardisation THAT ALL LOOK THE SAME.

One word. Grids. As in those that waste water leaves through.
Absolute genius. As are prison bars.
And those paths that are unlocked by "the turning of paper" like a kids book that builds up in overlayed, 3D pictures on the paper. OMG. You'll see

[Papercut]

I thought the humour was very slight, and gets a bit so-so after a time. The black treasure chests are good though, and there are a few more of those to come

The battles and platforming are good fun, but the RPG elements (particularly Hoodlum Town) were just so... average. I guess if you really enjoy the humour then these section might be fun too, but I found them dull to play through just to get to the next cool bit.

The way secrets are uncovered by paper transformations is really nice yeah Shame the puzzles themselves aren't more often based this paper contruction.

[buster_broon]

well the postmans just been and..............

i have paper mario - will try and play it today and send my thoughts on this bad boy

probably wont though since i will be leaving tonight for a 10 day trip

</crying>

[FreelancePolice]

recieved it today, however i have lectures all day :/ will hopefully get a couple of hours on this tonight but i also have just got tales of symphonia (hour and a half in) so thats going to be battleing for my time

[Adam Stone]

I too was treated to a little paper splendor this afternoon. Have been playing for around a hour or so and am liking it very much so. I?m currently totally engrossed in Final Fantasy X (and Tales of Symphonia recently) so this a pleasant departure from those complexities. Though? I?m going to have to finish FFX before I start to truly get sucked into Paper Mario 2 (I?m currently against Sin so it wont be much longer?)

Anyhoo? the game at hand?

Firstly? I?m a little disappointed it doesn?t have Mario and Luigi?s little voice-overs. Heh. I thought they were absolutely hilarious so it would have been nice to have heard something similar? I feel the characters could display a far greater sense of personality if they did, even Mario Sunshine or Zelda style ?voice acting??

That aside however, first impressions are very impressive. Its just as i could have hoped. The graphics are bold, charming and pleasing to the eyes. As Mr Bowser said previously, with so many games recently looking the same ? very artificial imo, it is refreshing to have such a unique style as this (I welcome games which don?t conform to the ?realistic? ideal ? give me more Wind Wakers, Paper Marios, Okamis and Viewtiful Joes I say). The music hasnt really jumped out at me yet, but it does the job perfectly, and its so nice to hear those familar 'Nintendo' sounds. ^_^

I personally love the humour. One example near the start made me chuckle. During a conversion in the foreground there are two NLCs having a little? scrap? in the background. The script in general is just superb. The poor fella and his contact lense... i know how that feels heh

Out of interest? what are the later enemies like? I hope they are as varied, interesting and as impressive as seen in Mario and Luigi?

I?m really looking forward to plunging deeper into Paper Mario 2 properly tonight. So far so good ^_^

[Kotatsu Neko]

Arrived today from VG+.

I never played the N64 one, so I'm coming to this fresh. Or not, as it's so much like Mario and Luigi on GBA.

A little disappointed with the graphics so far. The sprites are great but the backgrounds look so primative and crudely textured. I was expecting a more painterly style, but these just look boxy and rough to me. How I would imagine the N64 version to of looked...

Only played for a few hours so far, and it's fun, if a near clone of Mario and Luigi. I finished that though as I enjoyed it so much, so hopefully this will captivate me in the same way. Juggling time now betwen this and trying to finish Pikmin 2... Love these Nintendo games.

[ukplumber]

ordered this on thiursday and it arrived from VG+ today. Had a very quick blast and it's what i expected. so far so nice. Only problem is i have Fable, Star Wars Battlefront and PES4 to eat up my minimal gaming time.

[MikeF]

^^

only briefly played it and can see myself getting sucked in, so have decided to finish Tales of Symphonia before I venture too far into the game

[FreelancePolice]

just reached chapter 2 last night really nice backdrops on this stage i fear i'm already sucked in

[Stakers]

Only rented the N64 version a couple of months ago (they've got some crazy rare games in my local rental store) so maybe its a bit more fresh in my mind but I got this yesterday and it does seem very similar to the N64 one. Not that that's a bad thing! I like the new additions with the crowd participation and stuff. Also the transformations seem to justify this actually being a Paper Mario. Bit of a loose link in the last one.

Cheers for the hookup Hulk Davidson

[Scythe]

just reached chapter 2 last night really nice backdrops on this stage i fear i'm already sucked in

Ditto, got it on Monday, have been ill so i've had time to play, first time i've played a Paper Mario and i'm pretty impressed, the bit with Peach and the shower is too cool!

[PH]

The battles and platforming are good fun, but the RPG elements (particularly Hoodlum Town) were just so... average. I guess if you really enjoy the humour then these section might be fun too, but I found them dull to play through just to get to the next cool bit.

That pretty much sums up the way i feel about the game.

I absolutely loved Mario & Luigi on the GBA. I thought i would really love this game as well but to be honest i am finding it a chore to play.

[Adam Stone]

I felt a little like that initially, well, not a ?chore? as such, but I felt it failed to provide anything which was particularly creditable - Something that made me take a moment to reflect and think ?wow, this is something special?

(I suppose this was a very harsh and probably unfair initial impression because this was only within the first couple hours of play?)

Anyhoo, I?ve been playing for around 7 hours now am in mid-way through the 2nd chapter and its charm has run be over entirely. There have been a number of little touches that have made me more then certain this will be a very memorable experience indeed. I?m loving it and am truly compelled to see the next wondrous setting, enemies, and how the plot unveils (as simple as it may be, I thinks its still engaging. heh)

Being able to control other characters as well as Mario is a great little feature and one I cant wait to (hopefully) explore further as I progress.

It is definitely a slow starter? but things soon pick up and its more then worth it imo.

^_^