What Makes Toad Town Such a Special Hub World? (Paper Mario)

Описание: #gaming #n64 #papermario #retro #vintage

One of my favorite games of all time just happens to have one of the best hub worlds in all of video games :)

Paper Mario[a] is a role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 64 home video game console. Paper Mario is the first game in the Paper Mario series. First released in Japan in 2000 and then internationally in 2001, Paper Mario was later re-released for Nintendo's Wii Virtual Console in July 2007, the Wii U Virtual Console in April 2015, and the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on December 10, 2021.

Paper Mario is set in the Mushroom Kingdom as the protagonist Mario tries to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser, who has imprisoned the seven "Star Spirits", lifted her castle into the sky and has defeated Mario after stealing the Star Rod from Star Haven and making himself invincible. To save the Mushroom Kingdom, rescue Peach, get the castle back, and defeat Bowser, Mario must locate the Star Spirits, who can negate the effects of the stolen Star Rod, by defeating Bowser's minions guarding the star spirits. The player controls Mario and a number of partners to solve puzzles in the game's overworld and defeat enemies in a turn-based battle system. The battles are unique in that the player can influence the effectiveness of attacks by performing required controller inputs known as "action commands".

Although Nintendo planned to have Square, now Square Enix, develop Paper Mario, the company was occupied with developing Final Fantasy VII for the PlayStation; Intelligent Systems developed the game instead. The game received acclaim, being praised for its concept, battle system, and graphics, and was rated the 63rd best game made on a Nintendo system in Nintendo Power's "Top 200 Games" list in 2006. It was followed by a series of sequels, starting with Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for the GameCube in 2004. This game has been rereleased on the Wii and Wii U Virtual Console, and the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, in 2007, 2015, and 2021 respectively.
Contents

1 Gameplay
2 Plot and setting
2.1 Story and characters
3 Development
3.1 Music
4 Reception and legacy
5 References
6 Notes
7 External links

Gameplay
refer to caption
Mario and one of his partners, Parakarry, walking through Toad Town. The game's visuals feature two-dimensional character cut-out designs contained within three-dimensional backgrounds.

Paper Mario combines traditional role-playing game (RPG) elements with concepts and features from the Mario series.[1][2] For the majority of the game, the player controls Mario, who can jump and use his hammer to overcome physical obstacles placed in the game's overworld. Many of the game's puzzles and boundaries are based upon the abilities of Mario's partners, who each have a specialized skill required for progression in the game.[3] The player accumulates partners as they advance into different locations; only one partner can accompany Mario in the overworld, although the player can interchange them at any time.

These characters also assist Mario in the game's turn-based battles, where the damage inflicted against them results in temporary paralysis as the characters do not have individual HP statistics.[4] Attacks in the game are similar to those in traditional RPGs, although the player can influence the power of a move when attacking or defending by timing a button-press accurately or performing some other action command as required.[5] Mario and his partners have a finite capacity to perform special moves, with each of these consuming a particular number of flower points (FP) when performed. Such statistics can be increased by earning Star Points (experience points) in combat to level up.[2] There is also an on-screen gauge to display Star Energy, which is required to perform another type of move that accumulates in number as the player advances through the game. The player can locate hidden battle upgrades in the game's overworld, which promotes one partner character to a new rank at a time.[4]

Progression through Paper Mario depends upon interaction with the game's non-player characters (NPCs), who would often offer clues or detail the next event in the storyline. As in other RPGs, the player can find or purchase items from NPCs to help in and outside of combat.[2] Badges can also be obtained that yield bonuses ranging from added moves to gradual health restoration during combat; each consumes a set number of Badge Points (BP), meaning Mario can only equip a limited number of badges at a time.[5] Princess Peach is playable at particular points in the game as a recurring quest line.[2] The objectives and actions of each transition to Peach vary, although most are stealth-based.
Plot and setting