This is the second Paper Mario game, a sequel to the N64 one. It was originally released on the GameCube, but I played the recent Switch remake. It’s an RPG with a neat graphical style, all of the characters are made out of flat pieces of paper. This actually has numerous gameplay implications. You can turn to the side to fall down grates, you can fold up into a paper aeroplane to get over gaps, you can slip through tiny cracks in walls, and countless other things.
The battle system is pretty neat. Each fight takes place on a stage with an audience cheering you on. The better you fight the larger your audience is. This mainly impacts your star power, which is used to do powerful special moves. In each fight you have one member of your party with you, and you can swap them out when it’s your turn. This does mean your new party member cannot make any move until the next round. Each character has their own set of special moves based on their skills. Each move has specific inputs to press when you choose it which either boosts its power, or is required to hit at all. Getting the timing of these right is the “fighting better” bit I mentioned earlier.
The plot is the usual for a Mario game. Princess Peach has been kidnapped and Mario must rescue her. The place where it really shines though is the characters you meet along the way. For instance there is an old sea dog bob-omb, a very timid koopa hoping to avenge the death of his father, and a large golden hawk champion wrestler. There are lots of them, and they have very charming writing.
Later entries in this series have simplified things right down. The characters you meet tend to all be goombas or koopas. The battle system has a single gimmick that drives everything, and there tends to be no levelling system at all. It really is a shame, since in this one everything comes together into a very satisfying whole.