Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Intelligent Systems
Genre: Platformer/Adventure
Number of Players: 1
Release Date: April 9, 2007
ESRB: E for Everyone
Platform: Nintendo Wii
Super Paper Mario Gallery

As someone who grew up on the early systems of gaming, the Atari 2600 and the original Nintendo Entertainment System, I have a long standing appreciation for Mario. The little plumber adorned in red, paired with his slightly taller and less plump brother, are two of the most recognized faces in gaming. While the build up for Mario Galaxy releasing later this year for the Wii is much greater, there was a certain level of buzz surrounding the first Mario release for the Nintendo Wii, Super Paper Mario. Originally designed for the Gamecube, Super Paper Mario is one of the first major titles for the Nintendo Wii, and gives gamers their first taste of what Mario can do on the new console.

Story

In Super Paper Mario the story revolves around a new villain, Count Bleck, who uses hypnosis to cause Princess Peach to marry Bowser. This act, foretold in the Dark Prognosticus, signals the beginning of the end of the world as we know it. However, Peach's traditional hero is available for the rescue. As foretold in the Light Prognosticus, Mario is able to defeat Count Bleck by finding the seven pure hearts. While the story sounds simple enough, it is explained through a laborous 17-minute long introduction of reading (yes - reading), that gave way to the start of the game, which included more reading and a tutorial on how to use the Wii Remote. While the tutorial was nice, there are essentially only a few buttons to use, so I found it difficult to believe that even a 7-year-old would be unable to figure it out.