Paper Mario (series): Difference between revisions

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|staff=[[Ryota Kawade]] (2000-2007)<br> [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] (2000-2004)<br> [[Kensuke Tanabe]] (2007-present)<br>[[Naohiko Aoyama]] (2012-present)<br>[[Taro Kudo]] (2012-present)<br>[[Masahiko Nagaya]] (2016-present)

'''''Paper Mario''''' is a [[Genre#Role-playing games|role-playing]] and action-adventure spin-off series of the [[Super Mario (franchise)|''Super Mario'' franchise]], developed for [[Nintendo]] by affiliate company [[Intelligent Systems]]. The series is named after its distinctive visual style, which consists of 2D paper [[wikipedia:Cutout animation|cutout]] characters in 3D [[wikipedia:Papercraft|papercraft]] environments. It is a [[wikipedia:Spiritual successor|spiritual successor]] to ''[[Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars]]'', the first RPG game in the ''Super Mario'' franchise, and follows many conventions established in that game. The first installment in the ''Paper Mario'' series, also called ''[[Paper Mario]]'', was released on [[Nintendo 64]] in 2000, and five further entries have since followed (four for home consoles and one handheld entry). The series has also crossed over with fellow ''Super Mario'' RPG series ''[[Mario & Luigi (series)|Mario & Luigi]]'' with the game ''[[Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam]]''.

During the {{wp|fifth generation of video games}}, {{wp|Sony Interactive Entertainment}}'s original {{wp|PlayStation (console)|PlayStation}} console overtook Nintendo's long-standing dominance in the home console market, resulting in the latter company's own console from that generation, the [[Nintendo 64]], being relegated to a distant second place. Nintendo's downfall during that era can be attributed to multiple decisions and strategies made by the company during this generation, namely launching the N64 in the U.S. a full year behind the PlayStation,<ref name="Schilling">Schilling, Melissa A. “Technological Leapfrogging: LESSONS FROM THE U.S. VIDEO GAME CONSOLE INDUSTRY.” California Management Review, vol. 45, no. 3, Spring 2003, pp. 6–32. EBSCOhost, doi:10.2307/41166174, https://www.researchgate.net/public...ssons_from_the_US_Video_Game_Console_Industry. Accessed March 27, 2020.</ref> continuing to store games in cartridges instead of switching to the less expensive CD-ROM format,<ref>Subramanian, Annapoornima M., et al. “Capability Reconfiguration of Incumbent Firms: Nintendo in the Video Game Industry.” Technovation, vol. 31, no. 5-6, Elsevier Ltd, May 2011, pp. 228–39, doi:10.1016/j.technovation.2011.01.003, https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166497211000137. Accessed 27 Mar. 2020.</ref> utilizing a pricing strategy that was not complex enough to allow it to maintain a strong position in the market, and requesting high fees and enforcing strict policies for licensing of third-party developers.<ref name="Schilling"/> The aforementioned factors resulted in multiple third-party developers abandoning Nintendo and moving development to Sony's console. One of these developers was [[Squaresoft]], creators of the ''{{wp|Final Fantasy}}'' series, which had previously developed the ''Super Mario'' franchise's first role-playing game, ''[[Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars]]'', for the [[Super Nintendo Entertainment System]] (SNES).

Square's move to developing exclusively for Sony resulted in Nintendo turning to [[Intelligent Systems]] to create Mario's next RPG title.<ref name="PM History">Scullion, Chris (December 29, 2020). [https://web.archive.org/web/20210116131625/https://www.nintendolife.com/news/2020/12/feature_the_complete_history_of_paper_mario "Feature: The Complete History of Paper Mario"]. ''{{wp|Nintendo Life}}''. Retrieved January 31, 2021.</ref> Intelligent Systems was founded in the 1980s by Toru Narihiro, and started out providing auxiliary programming for games on the [[Nintendo Entertainment System]] (known as the Family Computer in Japan) and its add-on, the [[Family Computer Disk System|Famicom Disk System]]. As its history progressed, the studio went on to develop two successful series for Nintendo: ''[[warswiki:Wars series|Wars]]'', a military-themed {{wp|turn-based strategy}} series, and ''[[fireemblem:Fire Emblem (series)|Fire Emblem]]'', a fantasy-oriented {{wp|tactical role-playing}} series; the successes of these two series' debut installments resulted in Intelligent Systems expanding its services beyond just programming and engineering, and introducing game designers, script writers, artists, and musicians into its staff. At the time the new ''Super Mario'' RPG was to be created, both of the aforenamed franchises were still exclusive to Japan only.

Shortly after the Nintendo 64's release in Japan, [[Shigeru Miyamoto]] started production work on the next ''Super Mario'' RPG. The game, developed (as Miyamoto stated) with amateur gamers in mind,<ref name="for the kids">[https://www.ign.com/articles/1997/11/22/mario-rpg-is-for-the-kids "Mario RPG is for the Kids"]. {{wp|IGN}}. November 21, 1997.</ref> was initially going to be a direct sequel to its Square-developed predecessor, using a similar graphics style, and be released for the N64's disk drive add-on, the [[Nintendo 64DD|64DD]].<ref name="PM History"/> The game utilized some gameplay mechanics carried over from ''Super Mario RPG'', such as timed button presses to deal more damage in combat, which were implemented as a means of easing fans into finding interest in the role-playing genre.<ref>Park, Gene (July 17, 2020). [https://www.washingtonpost.com/video-games/reviews/with-origami-king-paper-mario-series-leaves-role-playing-fans-behind/ "With ''Origami King'', the ''Paper Mario'' series leaves role-playing fans behind"]. ''{{wp|The Washington Post}}''. Retrieved February 4, 2021.</ref> Art director Naohiko Aoyama was responsible for creating the series' distinct paper-like style for character graphics,<ref name="twenty">[https://www.pcmag.com/news/20-years-ago-nintendo-transformed-the-rpg-genre-with-paper-mario#:~:text=20%20Years%20Ago%2C%20Nintendo%20Transformed%20the%20RPG%20Genre%20With%20Paper%20Mario,-Thor%20Jensen&text=Error!&text=It's%20undeniable%20that%20Nintendo%20masters,the%20kart%20racer%20and%20more. "20 Years Ago, Nintendo Transformed the RPG Genre with ''Paper Mario''"]. ''{{wp|PCMag}}''. August 11, 2020.</ref> taking inspiration from the graphics of the PlayStation's ''{{wp|PaRappa the Rapper}}'' and traditional animated films, such as those in the {{wp|Walt Disney Animation Studios|Disney}} animation canon or the ''{{wp|Looney Tunes}}'' franchise.<ref name="for the kids"/> Aoyama believed that players would prefer a game with "cute" paper-like character designs over one with low-polygon 3D graphics.<ref name="twenty"/> The title ''Paper Mario'', used for all releases of the series except the Japanese release of the first game, was chosen to emphasize this unique graphical style.

|style="text-align:center;"|[[File:Paper Mario The Origami King Boxart.png|145x145px]]<span style="font-size:8pt"><br>{{release|2=July 17, 2020}} [[Nintendo Switch]]</span>

''Paper Jam'' can be considered the aftermath of ''Sticker Star'' and ''[[Mario & Luigi: Dream Team]]'', resulting in the sprite-based residents of one universe meeting their paper-thin counterparts from the other one. Paper Mario can use his paper thin body to perform his own unique actions that will help the brothers, or make copies of himself during battle to deal extra damage or attack multiple enemies at once. Mario and other characters also gain their own papercraft versions which can be used in certain sections of the game to defeat papercraft enemies.

|Piccolo is an optional Pixl in ''Super Paper Mario''. She is found in an empty house in [[Flopside]], which can be accessed after completing a trading quest starting and ending with [[Merlee]]. She can cure any status effects and make Mario's jumping & Bowser's fire breath sound effects the same as the original ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]''. She can also put the [[Underchomp]] to sleep.

|Bob-omb is an amnesiac Bob-omb without a fuse in ''Paper Mario: The Origami King''. He meets Mario in a cable car, and joins Mario during the blue streamer area. In battle, Bob-omb attacks one enemy using a Bomb Bump move.

*Despite their differences in genre, all games feature role-playing elements:

**In each game, characters have numeric stats such as [[Heart Point]]s that are relevant in battle.

**[[Partner]]s contribute to battle and puzzle-solving in some way, and speak on Mario's behalf. The first three games have multiple partners that can be controlled to use additional moves in combat. In later games, there are still characters that temporarily follow Mario on the field, evocative of partners. In ''[[Paper Mario: The Origami King]]'', some of these characters have field abilities and automatically use moves to help in battle.

**Each game fleshes out its world with towns, and members of enemy species with dialogue.

*There are item upgrade systems in the first four games. The first three games feature [[cooking]]. ''Paper Mario: Sticker Star'' has special [[paperization]] spots that upgrade inserted stickers.

*In the first three games, Mario can temporarily transform into an 8-bit sprite based on those of ''[[Super Mario Bros.]]''.