Super Paper Mario

For more uses, see Paper Mario (disambiguation).

Super Paper Mario is a RPG-type platformer for the Wii, in the vein of the classic Mario titles, but with the aesthetic qualities of the Paper Mario series. However, it's not just a 2D side-scroller. The game fuses elements of 2D and 3D gameplay together, shifting back and forth between dimensions. As Nintendo Power magazine describes it, the game is the first "5D" sidescrolling video game.

The player must start out with is Mario, as time moves on Princess Peach, Bowser, and even Luigi will be playable and switched at anytime via the + menu. The characters in the game are able to transform into humongous 8-Bit sprite versions of themselves, and plow through enemies and bricks with reckless abandon. Interesting to note is that the giant characters are actually versions of the original Super Mario Bros. sprites, blown up to epic proportions.

The game was originally planned for the Nintendo GameCube, but Nintendo changed it to the Wii. Additionally, the game was originally going to be released in 2006, but the year has been changed to 2007. All of the graphics in the game also seem to have pixelated effects, including small squares to make up colors of objects and backgrounds; however, they are visible and share a style with Mario's Super Picross. Super Paper Mario has recently been released in North America on April 9, 2007.

Story
As so many stories start, Princess Peach has been kidnapped and, upon hearing this news, Mario and Luigi set off to Bowser's Castle to save her from Bowser, whom they suspect to be the kidnapper. However, it is not true. Once they arrive and confront the Koopa King, he says that he was just about to do that. That's when the evil Count Bleck, a mastermind who refers to himself and others in third person, appears, along with Peach. He uses his control of black holes to render Mario unconscious, then takes Bowser, the Koopa Troop, Luigi, and Peach to Castle Bleck, which is in another dimension. Mario is the only one left in the keep, still out-cold. Bleck has possession of a book named Dark Prognosticus which tells of a marriage of a powerful king, and a pure-hearted princess, that will open a dimensional rift ("The Void") that will swallow the whole universe.



Later on, Peach regains her own consciousness to find herself and Bowser in wedding outfits. It's a wedding that's been arranged by Count Bleck, where Peach is about to get married to Bowser! Bleck, acting as the priest, asks both of them if they will "take each other as their lawfully wedded husband/wife until their games are over". Bowser joyfully says yes, but Peach refuses. She is then put into hypnosis by Bleck's assistant, Nastasia and forced her to say "I do". Luigi, also in the area, wakes and tries to stop Bleck. But it's too late-because of the the bonding of Bowser and Peach, the Chaos Heart has appeared. Bleck begins laughing evilly and flees the scene with the Heart.

Meanwhile, Mario is awakened by a Pixl named Tippi, who brings him to the town of Flipside (where a small hole, the Void, is found in the sky). Here Mario meets Merlon. Merlon has the opposite of Bleck's book called the Light Prognosticus, and he explains to Mario that the book tells of a hero to stop Bleck, which exactly describes Mario. But before he can do anything, he must find the eight Pure Hearts, one of which Merlon has.

Chapter 1: Lineland
Using the Pure Heart, Mario gains access to Lineland, the first world. He manages to find the Flip wizard, Bestovius, and gains the ability to flip between dimensions. He uses this ability quite often, for it helped him proceed to Mount Lineland and Yold Town, where he found another Pixl, Thoreau. This Pixl proved to be very handy later on when Mario got to the Yold Desert. Here, Mario was greeted by O' Chunks, a minion of Count Bleck with a Scottish accent who attacks him. Mario used Thoreau to beat the thug easily, and proceeded onward to the Yold Ruins. There, Mario went through some tricky traps and puzzles, until he made to the top of the ruins, where he was greeted by Fracktail. The robotic dragon was about to let Mario pass, until another minion of Bleck, Dimentio, comes and corrupts him. He fights Mario, but was soon defeated. Mario then enters the sanctum Fracktail was guarding, and was given a Pure Heart by Merlumina.

Chapter 2: Gloam Valley
He returns to Flipside, where his finds Peach unconscious and, revives her with some Spicy Soup. After picking up Peach, they head to Gloam Valley, where a Bob-omb-like Pixl, Boomer, joins them. The group finally reaches Merlee's Mansion, where the next Pure Heart was said to be at. They meet Merlee's maid, Mimi, who makes them do slave labor after breaking her vase worth 1 million Rubees, and Slim, a Pixl who helps out by giving them the ability Mario got back at Hooktail Castle. Later on, Mimi reveals herself as a shapeshifter who serves Count Bleck, and chases them around the basement in the form of a huge spider. Mario and co. eventually find Merlee, who uses her magic to render Mimi un-invincible. The gang squashes the shapeshifter like a bug, and is awarded the next Pure Heart from Merlee.

Chapter 3: The Bitlands
Meanwhile, Luigi attempts to escape from Castle Bleck, but is captured by Goombas and Koopas under Nastasia's control, and receives a terrible fate offscreen. Mario and Peach use the next Pure Heart to enter the Bitlands, where Tippi is kidnapped by Francis, the nerdy chameleon. They meet the Pixl Barry, who gives them advice for on their way to Francis' home, then returns to his hiding place in a bush. While they are going through the Bitlands, Mario and Peach come across Bowser, and after getting a good beating, and some talking into, enlists his help to find the Pure Hearts with them. The three manage to get to the next area, the Tile Pool. Here, they meet the Pixl Thudley, who helps them escape the 8-bit waters (but not until after they beat up the gargantuan squid, Big Blooper, that is). Afterwards, they scale the giant Dot Wood Tree, and confront Dimentio (again in Mario's case). They defeat him, and ride the pixlated red wind to the end of that area. At last, they reached Fort Francis, where they freed yet another Pixl, Carrie. With her help, Mario and Co. managed to get around the fort to get the secret passwords to Francis' room. Unfortunately, the cat-like door shot lasers at Mario and Bowser, so only Peach could enter. Alone, she faced Francis, who got a bad case of infatuation, and used a dating simulator to win her over. He failed miserably, resulting in his program going up in smoke. But when he finds out that she's after Tippi (whom he called Francine), he quickly retaliates. Mario and Bowser come in to aid her, and the trio toppled the geeky chameleon, and rescued Tippi. Tippi was so grateful that a Pure Heart came out of nowhere!

Chapter 4: Outer Space
They used the next Pure Heart to enter Outer Space, but found out they could not breathe here (even though they could in the last game) So they went back and got a helmet from one of the citizens back at Flipside, then went back to Outer Space. Here, they met Squirps, who served as their guide and ray gun to attack the space creatures. They made a pit stop on Planet Blobule so that Squirps could go to the bathroom. They found an outhouse, but had to irradicate the Pixl Fleep out of there first by giving some "toilet" paper first. Fleep thanked the gang by joining their party. After Squirps was done with his business, they went back onward into the Outer Limits. After that, they made their arrival to the Whoa Zone, where the Pure Heart was said to be here (or so said Squirps). After going through all the weirdness of the zone, they found the final path to the Pure Heart being blocked by another one of Bleck's flunkies, Mr. L. He seemed to more fore familiar to the others, as his attacks were of that of someone else they knew very well. The trio tromped L, but that just made him call for backup-his weird space machine, Brobot. Using Squirps, Brobot toppled, and Mr. L ran off. Squirps then led the gang to a statue of his mother, where the Pure Heart lied.

Upon returning to Flipside, Tippi faints, leaving her at Merlon's and the gang finding the way into the next world themselves. Luckily, Fleep revealed a way into the alter-ego of Flipside, Flopside. Here, they manage to reveal the next door. They go back to Flipside, get Tippi, and enter the next world.

Chapter 5: Land of the Cragnons
They drop in (literally) to Downtown of Crag, where they are given the job of finding the missing citizens who are being taken away by Floro Sapiens. As the gang tracks down some Floro Sapiens with Cragnons, they end up fighting O'Chunks again (with the assistance of Dimentio's Dimension D). They beat him, and then find another Pixl, Cudge, who helps them enter the Floro Caverns. There, they helped Flint Cragley find his cameramen, and use the key he had to enter into the deeper parts of the Floro Caverns. Eventually, they found out that the Floros have been brainwashing Cragnons with Floro Sprouts to do their bidding. Mario and Co. wandered around the area, until they found another Pixl, Dottie. She used her powers to shrink the gang when needed, and this led to everyone fighting O'Chunks again. This time though, Dimentio put a Floro Sprout on the Scotsman's head, making him look, feel, and sound dumber than he already was. They beat him in Dimension D again, and got the Sprout he dropped off. The Sprout helped Mario get inside the main hall of the Floro Sapien ruler, King Croacus. They met the king himself, then gave him a good beating. Only afterwards did they find out that it was the Cragnons who were doing the wrong-doing by polluting the waters with their garbage, which had driven Croacus mad. After the apologies, Mario and Co. were awarded the next Pure Heart that Croacus had.

Chapter 6: Sammer's Kingdom
They used the next Pure Heart to open a doorway leading to the Sammer's Kingdom, where the Void is almost at full size. They were "welcomed" by one of the Sammer Guys, Jade Blooper. They fight, and beat him. That's when King Sammer comes with his 99 other Sammer Guys, and explians the rules of his land. Beating all 100 of his men will earn them his treasure: another Pure Heart. So, the gang starts fighting their way though the gates of Sammer Guys. Unfortunatley, when they reach the 20th gate and defeat Rolling Thwomp, Count Bleck appears announcing the imminent destruction of the Sammer Kingdom. After Tippi has a brief chat with him, Bleck leaves. Mario and Co. go past the next five Sammer Guys, who are too weak to fight, until they meet up with the king again. he decides that they should have the Pure Heart now instead of later, and shows that it's in the chest on the 26th gate. The gang opens it up to reveal not a Pure Heart, but a bomb that blows up in their face, but nobody is harmed. The king is upset at this, and reveals himself to be Mimi. She fights the crew in her normal form, but gets trashed again. She doesn't care, because she was only trying to stall them. Mimi leaves, and the gang continues to rush to the 100th gate. But by the 30th, they are too late. The Void devours the entire kngdom, and everything in it!

Thankfully, the gang manages to get back Flipside, unharmed. They see the door to the Sammer Kingdom still there, and decide to go back in. What they find is nothing but... nothing. The Void left the Sammer Kingdom totally blank, leaving only small outlines of the palace, and a really long line for the gang to walk on. Mario and Co. continue to go through the dead world, until they come across the Pure Heart, or what was left of it, as it looked to be nothing more than a dull, heart-shaped rock. But before they could claim it, Mr. L appears and takes it for himself! The gang battles him, and his new Brobot L-Type, and emerge victorious again. They get the Pure Heart from L, who later on gets "destroyed" by Dimentio. Afterwards, Mario and Co. go back to Merlon's to discuss what to do about the Pure Heart rock. Dimentio appears with the answer, and "destroys" Mario, Peach, and Bowser!

Chapter 7: The Underwhere
Mario wakes up to find himself in The Underwhere- the video game Hell. Mario looks around trying to find a way out of the place. He comes across a strange fairy-like girl who doesn't seem to like him, then makes his way to Queen Jaydes' palace. Here, he meets Jaydes, who finds herself in a predicament. King Grambi of The Overthere wishes to have his dughter Luvbi back immediately. Jaydes asks Mario to find Luvbi for her, and for doing so, will revive the stone Pure Heart. Mario's search for Luvbi ends up in him finding his own brother Luigi. With Luigi's special jump ability, the Mario Bros. find Luvbi, who goes back to Jaydes after being found again. The brothers return to Jaydes, who is happy to have Luvbi back. She gives back at restored Pure Heart, and sends them back to Flipside.

The brothers head back to Merlon's to get the Pixls, then head to Flopside to activate the next door. The door ironically takes them back to the Underwhere, where Jaydes gives them a new task of escorting Luvbi to the Overthere. They make their way past Underwhere Road, where they find Bowser and get past three Dorguys, including fighting a ravenous Underchomp. Then they make their way through Overthere Stair where they manage to get Peach back by waking her up from a deep sleep with a repulsive fruit. Finally, when they reach The Overthere, they end up freeing Nimbis, fighting all sorts of skeletons, and beating up the frozen cannon creature, Bonechill, who was attacking the Overthere. It was later revealed that Luvbi was a Pure Heart, and after a fierce argument with her parents, Luvbi decided to transform back to her Pure Heart form, and was given to Mario and the gang.

Chapter 8: Castle Bleck
They went back to Flopside to use the last Pure Heart to enter Castle Bleck. Here, the gang faces many foes, including strong, white versions of past enemies, and more of Bowser's brainwashed lackies. Eventually, the gang meets up with Count Bleck's most loyal minions once more. Bowser fights O'Chunks, Peach fights Mimi, and Luigi fights Dimentio. These battles all lead to the same results of them being lost to the castle, leaving only Mario left to fight Count Bleck. Before Luigi engages Dimentio, Dimentio reveals his true intentions. He has been plotting against Bleck the whole time, feigning loyalty to him and manipulating events for his own sinister purposes. He was the one who released Peach and Bowser from Castle Bleck so they would join Mario. He released Luigi from Nastasia's mind control and sent him to the Underwhere to meet up with Mario who he sent to the Underwhere to repair the powerless Pure Heart. He has been testing and helping them the whole time in order for them to collect the Pure Hearts and use them to defeat Bleck. Once Bleck is defeated, Dimentio plans to take control of the Chaos heart and use it wipe out all existance and create brand new worlds for him to rule. Mario finally makes it to the castle's inner sanctum, where he is greeted by Bleck himself, and Nastasia. After his assistant leaves, Bleck attacks Mario with the power of the Chaos Heart, while Mario continuously jumps on him, having no effects. Eventually, Bleck gets bored with Mario and prepares a major attack that will end him. At that moment, Bowser, Peach, and Luigi come in to help. It looks like they survived whatever happened to them, and used the Pure Hearts to break Bleck's barrier. The foursome manages to topple the vulnerable Count, revealing the Chaos Heart.

As Bleck pleads for death, Dimentio emerges, seemingly murders Nastasia, and takes control of the Chaos Heart, and Luigi! He fuses them together to create Super Dimentio. Dimentio then sends Bleck, Nastasia, and Tippi to Dimention D, and combines his power with his jester abomination to make the beast invincible. Super Dimentio reveals that he's invincible to the heroes and begins to destroy all worlds. As all hope seems lost along with existence itself, Bleck and Tippi argue about the heroes' predicament, until Mimi and O'Chunks come with their support. It is revealed that before Tippi was turned into a Pixl, she was really Timpani, the love of Count Bleck, and that when Timpani vanished, Count Bleck thought the world was meaningless without her and used the Chaos Heart to try to destroy it. Now reunited, their hope makes the Pure Hearts reactivate. Tippi brings them to Mario and the gang, and uses them to render Super Dimentio vulnerable. After an intense battle, Super Dimentio's body explodes leaving only his head. Barely clinging to life, Dimentio has one last trick up his sleeve. He leaves a portion of his power to stay behind even after death to continue controlling the Chaos Heart and wipe out all existence. Uttering his famous line "Ciao", Dimentio explodes and sinks into the ground and obliteration. Luigi is released unharmed, but the Chaos Heart's power continues and the worlds continue to decay. As the worlds begin to deform under the humongous Void, the reformed Bleck and his minions lead Mario and other three heroes to a door that Bleck summones. It's the chapel where Bleck married Bowser and Peach. Bleck and Tippi come to the podium, where they marry themselves. This was enough to get rid of the Chaos Heart and the Void.

Mario, Luigi, Peach, Bowser, Nastasia, O'Chunks, Mimi, and the Pixls return to Flipside, where they are greeted once more by Merlon. They are all curious to what happened to Bleck and Tippi, now known to be Blumiere and Timpani. Until then, they all participate in a victory dinner that Saffron made for them. Supposedly, Mario and the others were sent back to their own dimension after that.

Between chapters, an all-dialogue narrative takes place, concerning the story of two lovers named Blumiere and Timpani, which becomes increasingly relevant to the main story of the game.

Playable Characters
Playable characters are
 * Mario – He has the ability to view the two dimensional world from the side, making a three-dimensional path that would normally be impassible. However, this uses up power from his ability meter, then his health, and at the same time restoring the power gauge.
 * Princess Peach – She can use her parasol to float long distances and deflect damage. Playable after Chapter 1, she at first starts out in Castle Bleck, then ends up at Flipside. After this, she joins Mario in his adventure. She becomes unplayable in two points however; from after Chapter 6 to the middle of Chapter 7-3, and from the end of Chapter 8-2 to the middle of the fight with Count Bleck.
 * Bowser – He is able to breathe fire, a far more powerful attack than other attacks, and his jumps deal double the damage. Playable from Chapter 3 onwards except from two points; from after Chapter 6 to the middle of Chapter 7-2, and from the end of Chapter 8-1 to the middle of the fight with Count Bleck.
 * Luigi – He has a higher jump than the others, allowing him to reach places otherwise inaccessible. First playable after Chapter 2, he begins in Castle Bleck. Afterwards, he does not become playable again until Chapter 7 onwards, when he joins Mario's party. There are two more instances where he is not playable: from the end of Chapter 8-3 to the middle of the fight with Count Bleck, and the entire fight with Super Dimentio.

Audience
The Audience is a group of generic creatures who will appear whenever Mario, Peach, Bowser or Luigi attacks an enemy and does a stylish move, which is done by shaking the Wii Remote when stomping on an enemy. They appear on the sides of the screen and say "Nice", "Great", "Wonderful", and "Excellent". This approval of the Crowd gives the player a higher score than if they had just jumped on the enemy. The audience in this game only has a handful of species from the previous game.

Items
Attack Items


 * Bone-In Cut – Temporarily doubles the player's Attack.
 * Fire Burst – Boils enemies with searing flames.
 * Ghost Shroom – Summons a Ghost Shroom to damage enemies.
 * Ice Storm – Pelts enemies with frigid shards of ice.
 * Mighty Tonic – Briefly doubles the player's attack.
 * Pow Block – Rattles enemies on the ground and ceiling.
 * Shell Shock – Rams into enemies when you kick the shell.
 * Shooting Star – Showers enemies with a flurry of shooting stars.
 * Thunder Rage – Strikes enemies with lightning.
 * Volt Shroom – Briefly paralyzes enemies the player touches.

Defense Items


 * Block Block – Makes the player invincible temporarily.
 * Courage Shell – Temporarily reduces the damage the player takes by half.
 * Turtley Leaf – Reduces all damage by half.

Recovery Items


 * Big Egg – Restores 12 HP and cures poison.
 * Black Apple – Restores 1 HP and cures poison.
 * Blue Apple – Restores 5 HP and cures poison.
 * Cake Mix – Restores 5 HP and cures poison.
 * Dayzee Tear – Restores 3 HP and cures poison.
 * Dried Shroom – Restores 1 HP and cures poison.
 * Fresh Pasta Bunch – Restores 5 HP and cures poison.
 * Fresh Veggie – Restores 10 HP and cures poison.
 * Golden Leaf – Restores 1 HP and cures poison.
 * Honey Jar – Restores 10 HP and cures poison.
 * Horsetail – Restores 7 HP and cures poison.
 * Hot Sauce – Temporarily doubles your Attack.
 * Inky Sauce – Restores 3 HP and cures poison.
 * Keel Mango – Restores 7 HP and cures poison.
 * Life Shroom – Automatically restores 5 HP if the player fails in battle.
 * Long-Last Shake – Regenerates the player's HP over time.
 * Mild Cocoa Bean – Restores 5 HP and cures poison.
 * Mushroom – Restores 10 HP when touched.
 * Peachy Peach – Restores 10 HP and cures poison.
 * Pink Apple – Restores 5 HP and cures poison.
 * Power Steak – Restores 15 HP and cures poison.
 * Primordial Fruit – Restores 15 HP and cures poison.
 * Red Apple – Restores 5 HP and cures poison. Give to Cyrrus to get to Door O.
 * Sap Soup – Restores 3 HP and cures poison.
 * Shroom Shake – Restores 10 HP and cures poison.
 * Slimy Shroom – Restores 10 HP and cures poison.
 * Smelly Herb – Restores 5 HP and cures poison.
 * Super Mega Ultra Shroom – Restores ? HP and possibly a lie made up by Mimi.
 * Super Shroom – Restores 20 HP when touched.
 * Super Shroom Shake – Restores 20 HP and cures poison.
 * Ultra Shroom – Restores 50 HP when touched.
 * Ultra Shroom Shake – Restores 50 HP and cures poison.
 * Whacka Bump – Restores 30 HP and cures poison.
 * Yellow Apple – Restores 5 HP and cures poison.

Miscellaneous Items


 * Catch Card – Catches an enemy's soul (rarely works).
 * Catch Card SP – Catches an enemy's soul (almost always works).
 * Gold Bar – A bar worth around 100 coins.
 * Gold Bar x3 – A trio of gold bars; worth around 300 coins.
 * Gold Medal – A medal worth 10,000 points.
 * HP Plus – Raises HP by 5 permanently.
 * Mega Star – Makes the player huge and invincible for a short time.
 * Mystery Box – Becomes a random item when used.
 * Pal Pill – Summons little buddies to surround and defend the player.
 * Poison Shroom – Poisons and damages the player.
 * Power Plus – Raises Attack by 1 permanently.
 * Sleepy Sheep – Briefly puts enemies to sleep.
 * Slow Flower – Temporarily slows down time; triples value of coins and points.
 * Speed Flower – Temporarily speeds up time; triples value of coins and points.
 * Star Medal – A medal worth 1,000 points.
 * Stop Watch – Stop enemies in their tracks.

Important Items


 * Ancient Clue – Serves as toilet paper for Fleep in Chapter 4-2.
 * Autograph – In the Piccolo side quest, Paper transforms into this item once Merlumina signs it.
 * Card Key – Opens the door to the processing center in Chapter 5-4.
 * Cooking Disks – Unlocks a page of the Dining Specializer. (There are seven Cooking Disks in all.)
 * Crystal Ball – You must deliver this item to Merlee in the Piccolo side quest.
 * Diet Book – Return this to Hagra in Chapter 7-2.
 * Floro Sprout – A disguise you'll get from O'Chunks in Chapter 5-4.
 * Elemental Tablets – Needed to obtain Cudge in Chapter 5-2; there are three Tablets-Stone, Fire, and Water.
 * Golden Card – Unlocks the Hammer Whacker arcade game.
 * Goldfish Bowl – The player can get this from Pook in Flipside; it becomes the Helmet.
 * Helmet – A breathing apparatus the player needs in Chapter 4-1; the Goldfish Bowl becomes this item.
 * Keys – Opens doors in various areas; keys come in several varieties.
 * Orbs – Needed to create a bridge in Chapter 7-4; there are three Orbs-Yellow, Red, and Blue.
 * Paper – The player receive this item from Watchitt in the Piccolo side quest.
 * Return Pipe – Returns the player to Flipside from most chapters.
 * Training Machine – An exercise machine that the player must deliver to Merluvlee in the Piccolo side quest.
 * You-Know-What – A mysterious item that the player must deliver to Bestovius in the Piccolo side quest.

Bosses



 * Chapter 1-3: O'Chunks
 * Chapter 1-4: Fracktail
 * Chapter 2-4: Mimi
 * Chapter 3-1: Bowser
 * Chapter 3-2: Big Blooper
 * Chapter 3-3: Dimentio
 * Chapter 3-4: Francis
 * Chapter 4-4: Mr. L, Brobot
 * Chapter 5-2: O'Chunks
 * Chapter 5-4: O'Chunks, King Croacus IV
 * Chapter 6-2: Mimi
 * Chapter 6-1 (Post-Destruction): Brobot L-Type
 * Chapter 7-2: Bowser, The Underchomp
 * Chapter 7-4: Bonechill
 * Chapter 8-1: O'Chunks
 * Chapter 8-2: Francis (Optional), Mimi
 * Chapter 8-3: Dimentio
 * Chapter 8-4: Count Bleck, Super Dimentio
 * Flipside Pit of 100 Trials: Wracktail
 * Flopside Pit of 100 Trials: Shadoo

Pixls
Pixls are new creatures in the game that give Mario and crew new abilities. There are twelve in total, three are optional.

Extra Mini Games and Options

 * Mansion Patrol
 * Tilt Island
 * Forget Me Not
 * Hammer Whacker
 * After the player beats the game, they can also do a Sammer Guy Tournament, this time being able to do the entire 100 gates, without the kingdom being destroyed again.

Trivia

 * Super Paper Mario was originally a Gamecube game. It was later moved to the Wii (and, for a time, was stated to be in production for both systems). This change added motion sensing including Tippi and the arcade's mini-games.
 * In Chapter 3, there is an area that is a recreation of Super Mario Bros. ' s 1-2. Parts of Chapter 1-1 also resemble World 1-1 of Super Mario Bros., including the famous six blocks and first Goomba setup World 1-1 had.
 * Before fighting Fracktail, when he checks his database for Mario, the Wii Shop Channel loading logo is displayed in his eyes complete with chimes.
 * The game has a noticeably darker theme to it than any previous Mario game, with scenes like Mimi cracking her neck and transforming, King Sammer's Kingdom being obliterated into a white void, Bowser seemingly dying, and quite a few others. The very plot is much more darker, revolving around the impending destruction of all worlds, dimensions, and living things.
 * Though Luigi is playable, the game manual doesn't mention him. Even in the characters page, Luigi is nowhere to be found.
 * This is the first game in the Paper Mario series not to feature Toads in the playable areas. (It does, however, feature them in the playable mini-game Mansion Patrol.) It is also the first Mario RPG not to involve the collection of star-shaped or star-themed objects in any way.

Links

 * Official Site (USA)
 * Official Site (Japan)