What You Don't Understand About Super Paper Mario
Vložit
- čas přidán 31. 07. 2024
- I feel like Super Paper Mario is underappreciated, even with the recent shift of popular online opinion leading to it being seen in in a more favorable light. This video essay focuses on the art direction, style, and themes of the game, which I think are often overlooked, even by the game's appreciators.
If you'd like to hear more from me about Super Paper Mario, I have a (much less cohesive) written review for it on my Backloggd that focuses more on the gameplay: www.backloggd.com/u/Kirbyster...
Footage used:
SPM: • Super Paper Mario for ...
PM64: • Paper Mario - Episode ...
TTYD: • Paper Mario The Thousa...
My socials:
Twitch: / kirbysterthesupremememe
Discord: / discord
Backloggd: www.backloggd.com/u/Kirbyster/
CZcams: / @kirbyster
Twitter: / krbyster
#superpapermario #papermario #spm - Hry
Super Paper Mario uses digital art instead of a book. I'm glad someone finally understood that
I'm surprised it took a video explaining it, thought it was obvious to everyone.
ok
@@Cliffordlongheadnot you
@@Cliffordlonghead Not This Guy he is every where
I've never thought of Super being inside a computer before, but it makes total sense. I think one of the more underrated aspects of the older Paper Mario games is the ways in which the games seem to respond to the growing technologies of the 21st century, and in particular, how audiences interface with media differently as a result. Going back to TTYD through the remake, it's amusing how novel the game finds it that people can now send... electronic mail(!!!!) to other people.
In TTYD, Mario becomes a celebrity (through various heroic deeds or WWE tournaments), one that fans and haters alike send Mario private DMs to praise or antagonize. Doopliss represents a sort of anxiety over identity theft, the ease with which someone online can take another's name and impersonate them. Meanwhile, Peach deals with a sentient computer who wants to feel love. In Super, ancient guardian dragons like Fracktail are reimagined as anti-malware systems; the game is fascinated by the rise of online messages boards and fandom culture with Francis; the Cragnons are seen enjoying cave-painting TV, while Flint Cragley goes into dangerous caves to get totally EPIC and NOT CLICKBAIT footage for his reports. Both games recognize how the new technology of the day seems to alter the dynamic between developer and player -- it's become more obvious now than ever that people, a lot of people, are watching... and responding.
In contrast, modern Paper Mario seems to turn its focus backwards. Color Splash returns to simple postage mail for messages, while Origami King has you sent around in fax machines. Instead of wrestling pastiches, crowds seem to gather around in gladiatorial arenas, while other people excavate ancient fossils in dig sites. In the Green Energy Plant, a Toad looks wistfully at images of Mario 3, noting that "these ancient images" seem to "make a lot of people happy." To at least be fair to Color Splash and Origami King, it could be argued that this more retro-focused aesthetic is definitely engaging with the tastes of the times, and I think Color Splash in particular is a game that is very engaged with mid-2010s meme culture. But it's definitely a different feeling than the 2000's Paper Marios.
It makes me think that the Ancients literally CREATED these worlds, instead of just exploring and propogating themselves throughout them
I really wish that SPM contextualized different ways that people interface with technology as things in its world, as they did with Francis and Fracktail, more frequently because that would have made the theme of exploring a cyberspace much stronger! SPM can also get surprisingly critical of new technology, with Francis becoming out of touch from overindulging in technology, and the creators of the Pixls (the Ancients) becoming enslaved by their technology after becoming over reliant on it. I would be so interested in hearing more of what these devs thought about new technology and the internet in the 2000s, as they clearly were passionate about the subject and were likely well informed from working in the industry.
I can't speak on anything in the new games , I haven't played any of them after Sticker Star. But I am very interested in playing them all sooner or later.
this is a really interesting comment thank you for the analysis
All gangsta till the nerd goomba leaks your ip, address, name, HP, attack and defense
@@Girbekafeconher name is goombella smh
I was actually shocked more people didn't realize it was a computer world. It always felt to me that the game was a computer based world, especially with how everything played out in game.
Yeah- the pixelation effect when you go into pipes and the mouse cursor when flipping really gave it away to me…
Also those flippy transporter things in the desert level are literally just the squash and stretch tool from every photo editor ever lol
idk why no one ever noticed lmao
@@jackatk There were more hints as well, in the first level you can see formulas written in the sky. Like the game's code was being exposed.
@@danielserrano929
Yeah! Although weird stuff like that is pretty standard for Mario games so I don’t think it’s as much of a giveaway
The selection box is everywhere in Super paper Mario. It appears when you flip, when enemies flip, it's how Dimentio, Bleck and Mimi get around, it appears when you use an item like Fire Burst, it appears when you fall down a pit. It's also iconography that's exclusive to Super Paper Mario.
It also appears when you switch between party members (Mario, Peach, Bowser and Luigi)
Holy shit I just realized that. You’re so right about the teleporting aesthetic being like a selection screen
In the previous game, love was the one thing the computer didn’t understand. In this game, it’s the uniting force throughout the computer
YOUR RIGHT
Something about that comment you highlighted in the beginning raised me an eyebrow. Specifically this part: "And the worst part is that I know [the geometric artstyle] wasn't an intentional stylistic choice, it was because *they were shackled from using original character designs by arbitrary shifts of corporate policies".*
I find it very interesting that the commenter believed this prohibition of using original character designs was why Super Paper Mario has this geometric artstyle... because this mandate was actually introduced _during the development of _*_Sticker Star_*_ (somewhere inbetween 2010 and 2012), NOT Super Paper Mario (which released in 2007)._ It's this prohibition of original character designs why Sticker Star onwards only has the same basic five Toad colors from the main games as its only NPC designs. If this same mandate was introduced in Super Paper Mario, _the game would've looked completely different, because _*_it's FULL of original character designs!_* The geometric shapes aren't the result of the mandate in question being in effect at all, in fact, they probably ARE the kind of original character designs being prohibited in the first place. The commenter is GROSSLY misinformed, and/or probably thinks that Super Paper Mario is part of the same era as Sticker Star, Color Splash and Origami King JUST because the gameplay isn't the same as in 64 or Thousand Year Door and therefor MUST be bad (for the record, I don't think all that is true at all and that Super Paper Mario is of the same era as the first two games, and that regarding it as the same era as Sticker Star is a massive disrespect to Super).
Yes exactly! It completely misunderstands what was bad about Sticker Star’s world by attributing SPM character design to a lack of creativity, rather than an abundance of it. Seeing that misunderstanding is what made me want to make this video.
Even without knowing when the mandate started, its just an outwardly contradictory stance to make. 'The designs are so abstract and offputting because they're mandated to use only the most marketable, iconic characters'... it makes absolutely no sense.
its weird for a reviewer to say something lacks creativity, when what they wanted was for them to use the default not original paper Mario art styles. even if the restriction was in place, it still would have forced them to be creative!
FINALLY I HAVE FOUND THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND. SOMEONE WHO IS DEFENDING SUPER PAPER MARIO.
he's not the first.
Is there any reason to defend it? From what I know, most people liked Super Paper Mario outside of bias.
@@concerningindividual629A LOT of people compared it to TTYD and realized that it wasn’t the same amazing (and I mean amazing…like cmon TTYD is top tier) format and story structure that TTYD was. The fact that the first two games were similar and Super wasn’t caught a lot of people off guard- I really do think, if they gave Super a chance, people would have much less of a hatred for it! Super was a big game in terms of defining my childhood and what I would eventually grow up to love so much.
Also thinking about it now, that game was released 17 years ago…the whole technological implications thing discussed in the video was way more relevant than I initially thought. It’s amazing that the devs for Super were able to tie in this new age theme of technology with the story of Love and Chaos.
Just Played ttyd prefer super tbh
"The main antagonist's motivation is the loss he experienced from being Romeo and Juliet'ed."
Bruh 🤣
No no, he's got a point
I always felt like Super Paper Mario was strongly inspired by digital art, specifically vectors, with its unique world and character design. It's got my favorite art direction in maybe any mario game. I can only dream of getting another game with a similar style.
Also when you go 3D in the Pit of 100 Trials you can see circuitboards behind the walls! Another point in your favor. For all the time I spent thinking about this game I never considered "it's in a computer" but that makes perfect sense! Great little addition to the writing about SPM, well done
I'm so happy more people are recognizing SPM's digital themes!! There's other stuff too, notably in the levels' backgrounds. Lineland has math equations, Outer Space looks like it was drawn with copy+pasted stars or just a star brush tool, and the Underwhere has some kind of coding trees (there's probably a proper name that I'm forgetting)
I never really thought about how the original three games were all themed around different mediums of storytelling though. Really further cements it as the "Mario Story" trilogy of Paper Mario
The 'coding trees' are actually family trees if you look closely!
"ms paint artstyle" seems like a pretty big misnomer, if anything it looks more like vector art to me with its frequent use of gradients (which you can't do in paint!) in the character designs
Interesting, I don’t have any experience with vector art programs but that could be the source of inspiration! The heavy use of the rectangle tool and the 3D bar are what gave me the biggest MS Paint vibes, I’m not sure how represented those are in vector art.
@@Kirbyster i think adobe animate and illustrator are 2 popular ones
I use scratch for both vector and pixel art lmao (thats a coding app)
Even the void can be seen as a digital element, it’s lightning is very boxy and follows a grid. When Sammers kingdom was destroyed it was completely empty and barren with fragments of the world still laying around, like a wiped hard drive
I like the fact that they look like this, the fact that the geometric shape look is so different makes it hit even more that you're in another dimension, a world where life itself is very different, so naturally things wouldn't look like they did in Mario's dimension.
I grew up playing super paper Mario and not the other three and never understood why so many people hated it cause to me it was something me and my mom, dad, and brother would play on our Wii
On it's own, no one would have had any problem with the game. It's the 'Paper Mario' pedigree and the expectations that came along with it that colored peoples opinions. But you, a child with no knowledge of the Paper Mario series and no pre-existing expectations or opinions, are/were able to enjoy it on it's own merits or simply as a symbol of those old family game sessions.
@@OriginalUnjustifier It was just not fair. I do like TTYD and PM64, Mario RPG. but 2D/3D system was so creative and fun. It made me so excited. now a lot of people on internet like reddit admit that SPM got unnecessary hate. It doesn't matter it's RPG or not. SPM is in my hall of fame along with SM RPG, PM64, TTYD OG & remake.
@@quas3728 Personally I was in the same boat as the people decrying the fact that is wasn't PMTTYD2 Electric Boogaloo, back when I first played.
That lasted until...around the third world, at which point the new mechanics and game style had won me over. Nowadays I consider them both fine games, just with a differing focus and genre.
I remember playing TTYD first but never beat it, eventually I got around to this one and I'm like, wtf is this. Turns out it would be the first paper mario game I actually beat 😂
Same but I thought it was the only paper Mario game
In another world, this game is called “Paper Mario: Between the Vector Planes”
"Paper Mario: Into the Flipside"
I can't believe someone would call this game's art direction bland and uninspired. If anything this game went so far out there that it is the reason those mandates were put in place.
That's exactly how I understood it, too. _Because_ Super "flew too close to the sun", Sticker had those restrictions put on it, Color started to "find their groove" to work _within_ the restrictions, and by Origami, they figured out how to make a good story that still complied with the Rules-As-Written of the character design mandates.
@@WackoMcGoose i wouldnt exactly call it good, just ok
@@WackoMcGooseReminds me of the sega mandates😂
To add some examples of computer references in this game, which I'll expand as I think of them, there's also:
. Fracktail and Wracktail are drawn in with a cursor
. Other flipping outlines also sometimes use a cursor
. Megabite/Gigabite (Not named that in Japanese, though, so not original intent)
. 256x power in Dimension D
. In a similar vein, 256 Catch Cards, some were even cut to fit the number
. Pit of 100 Trials computer chip floors
. Prominent themes of binaries and dualities
Both the Flipside and Flopside Pit of 100 Trials are designed to look like the screen of a Game & Watch.
@@ThePengumCrew True, though in 3D the floor patterns also strongly resemble computer chips.
Fracktail and Wracktail (and maybe Shadoo?) are computers as well. There's also the cooking interfaces (and the cartridges used to expand them) and training device used in one of the side quests that look like the DS and its components, but referencing other consoles in Paper Mario is not new to this game. You also can't forget about the Interned and Interchet.
What really needs more recognition isn't just the digital aesthetic, but the absolute LACK of the old paper aesthetic. We may have flat, 2D characters, but there's no flipping pages, no blowing panels, no origami or paper airplanes. This demonstrates how very deliberate they were with the aesthetic choices.
@@Fungo4 Not true. It still shows up from time to time, but is far less prominent than the newer games and TTYD:
- Pipe screen transition is the same as TTYD.
- A page is peeled off the screen to reveal a secret or treasure
- Spiny Tromps have thickness to them as if they are made of cardboard
- Brobot ripping through the screen + the transition to the Brobot fight in the Whoa Zone
This was an awesome video. As a mathematician, I have to love the game's design. There are even 256 cards to collect and this is the equivalent of 256 bits (2⁹).
Moreover, can we say that
Super Paper Mario - Book
Paper Mario TTYD - Stage
Super Paper Mario - Computer
Paper Mario SS - Stickers
Paper Mario Color Splash - Painting
Paper Mario Origami King - Origami
? This would be awesome. Good analysis.
Colour splash (and by extension sticker star) look more like some papercraft art installation, kinda like yoshi's crafted world, with poles holding up clouds and whatnot
Origami king is just full on paper world though
Wouldn’t it be awesome if the next Paper Mario game was themed around *Movies?* They could do SO MUCH with a film production theme!
you mean 8 bits :P
@@quotetry8998More than half of the world would look like the battle stage in TTYD.
@@quotetry8998Reminds me of Paper Mario 64’s battle UI, with what I think is supposed to be a movie projector shining a light on the currently selected action. (Unless it’s something else and I’m just missing the reference.) In any case, it would be neat to see more elaboration on that theme in a future game.
This game was pure genius. There will never be another game like it ever again. That makes me a little sad, but I also realise that nothing else could come close to the emotional weight this game holds.
That club Nintendo survey where “less than one percent of surveyed players reported finding SPM’s story interesting” is so heartbreaking 💔. It’s sad to think that the reason we don’t get more games with such a strong story is because players don’t appreciate them.
@@KirbysterActually, I'm pretty sure the results of that survey were rigged/unreliable from the get-go. It's likely that the vast majority of participants speedran the survey just to get their gold points reward, and Kensuke Tanabe used that as a justification to ruin the series going forward. Whenever people bring up Super Paper Mario nowadays, they almost always talk about how good the story is, since it's easily the best part of the game and the main reason why it's so fondly remembered.
@@PSIkid I agree and also probably just kids or players that didn't get the point of the game and just wanted a quick fun regular Mario game considering the Wii was very popular among casual players and this game being the first Mario game on it.
@@PSIkid "Used that as an excuse to ruin the series going forward" is overly-cynical and uneccessarily antagonistic towards the new direction of Paper Mario
@@LackofGimmicksThat's exactly what happened though. The newer games were purposefully made worse in almost every department and entirely missed the point of the earlier games in the series. Why shouldn't I be cynical when Nintendo and Intelligent Systems actively refused to listen to fans for an entire decade and released essentially the same (bad) game three times in a row?
Besides, Origami King was uneccessarily antagonistic towards fans, with King Olly literally being a stand-in for unhappy classic fans. That game was made entirely out of spite for the older fanbase, and after seeing how the TTYD remake turned out, I no longer care what happens to Paper Mario going forward. This series can rot for all I care.
Chapter 2 shows love in how dedicated Merlee and her ancestors are to protecting the pure heart. In Chapter 5, love is shown in how the Cragnons and Floro Sapiens have united after being isolated from each other since the Floro sapiens kingdom was established. And chapter 6 love can be shown in the Sammer Kingdom’s dedicated duty to protect the pure heart from any non hero’s… which sadly is what lead to their down fall. I also want to make a mention of Francis representing the wrong way to love something or someone from his actions
Alright so WHAT THE HECK THAT'S SO COOOL- How did I never pick up on the computer aesthetics???? That's actually so awesome like genuinely- I've always loved this game for what it does do right but this is something in particular I had just never noticed about the game- I'm overjoyed this popped up in my recommended. Wonderful video!
Very nice video.
Glad somebody commented on the *artstyle*, it was really one of the sticking points for me.
I loved the angular designs, as opposed to 64/TTYD’s rounder, organic shapes.
It feels… mechanically printed, and cut with lasers. Even the filigree and ornamentation found in Flipside is geometric.
Cool, I've been talking about just this with buddies.
To me, the first hint was teleportation using a cpu arrow to create a box.
Aswell as how worlds were drawn in like something out of mspaint or old jp computer visual novels where everything had to be drawn in line by line.
Also the fact that all the characters are more in line with flash animation rather than popup book figures.
I really hope Nintendo not only sticks to but also emphasises the early digital aesthetic if they ever remake the game.
The switch successor is said to have raytracing which would lead to some really interesting visuals contrasting the paper (assuming they’re out of paper) Mario characters in a digital pixelated world.
I hope they don’t remake it, leave it as a one off since it’ll just make the turn based fanboys more pissed off. A sequel would be nice though
@@Blastoisebo122 I think a remake with turn based combat would be really nice though. I say this as someone whose favorite PM game is Super.
ESPECIALLY if the remake's combat system derives off of computers rather than a stage play. It would be so cool.
@@PhantomOfficial07 I agree with that, that would definitely make the game better. Add badges and all paper Mario fans would be happy
Specifically, I believe the art style is less an allusion to MS paint, but the Python extention "Turtle" where you would write a program to draw not only simple shapes, but also fractal imagery. It also renders in exactly the same way super paper Mario does.
Do you know a place I can see some examples of art made with Turtle? I’d love to see more sources of inspiration for this game.
youre right!!!
@@Kirbyster bro just google it lol
@@Kirbyster sure thing! Here's one video I found: czcams.com/video/G37YAx6IqAc/video.htmlsi=UU6hD8um02dnkwhL
I think trees are one of the better examples of how turtle inspired SPM because it shows off how similar the rendering is, but also if you change the angles of the branch patterns, it's possible to make trees that look exactly like they do in SPM. (Note, turtle's alignment arrow is usually hidden)
Here's another example of fractal imagery in turtle, specifically the fractal patterns often found floating in the skies of the background: czcams.com/users/shorts7-akTJpbSbs?si=Cr_-pQgklMY_dBIZ
Funny how TTYD kinda teased SPM's story in the shape of TEC
And unlike later paper marios the gameplay of SPM is demanding. It's cohesive and makes you want to engage with them and not actively avoid them, they provide you with what an RPG makes and RPG
plus it just a few stumps away from beating it so it doesnt take time either, its what sticker star tried to do
@@user-bb2op9he1x Yea sticker star tried to capture what SPM did right and failed spectacularly, even the sacrifice at the end was meaningless, nobody liked the character lol.
In sticker star you rather avoid the battles cause they gain you nothing in SPM you got EXP and cash and items
@@ashleyblack7419 Thinking about Kersti and people who compare her to Tippi in terms of the whole sacrifice motif just makes me thing; can you imagine if we had to lug Luvbi around from the beginning of SPM all the way until the end of Chapter 7? And not only that but she always had to complain about something.
@@devonm042690 well, Luvbi at first been a really hateable character but she redeemed at some point, I feel like they'd have found a balance if her stay was longer, cause by default her behavior was a lot like Kersti's.
If you tried to somehow spice a boss up, yea how dare you try to have fun in this game, kersti would scold you for taking so long.
That's something I love about classic PM, and something modern PM should take from, all three entries vary in their artstyle and motif:
The first game is very pop-out book in look with illustrated backgrounds and cutesy toys around that give the game a feel of child-like wonder, which is pretty cute
TTYD goes more for paper puppet shows, everyone is rigged in layers, even the bigger characters like Hooktail and Cortez, and the battle system is all about putting a show for the audience, and the remake added even more to it with stuff like very polished material for the floor and adding more thickness to the characters so much you can see a rim light on them as if they're really made of cardboard parts
And Super is all about computer generation and the internet, the hud and various effects are as if the game takes place in a digital drawing program, up to even having new locations drawing themselves at the beginning, selection boxes, and scrolling windows, all that's missing there is a Dora the Explorer arrow to make it all the more blatant xd, and the whole theme of going between dimensions is very much a huge allusion to how the internet let's you meet millions of different communities all across the world
While modern PM has very much just followed and kept refining Sticker Star's more arts n crafts approach with even very notably and very detailed real life stuff thrown in there, which while its neat how they manage to make the world look very "papery", you can feel the effort, and its a bit reminiscent to PM64's to some extend, with TOK also having very pretty locations overall, though it ultimately makes their artstyle not stand out nearly as much as classic PM did in retrospect, and makes it very predictable and hardly anything special beyond just looking more like realistic paper, and that also influenced these games' story directly, which only makes people wonder if these games even take place in the real mushroom kingdom like the classic ones did, or are just confined in printed books like Paper Jam suggests, they're long overdue to take on a new medium for Paper Mario tbh, and there's plenty to choose from, Color Splash was a bit disappointing how it had paint, yet it only used it for the ink color of the crafty paper world we already saw in Sticker Star, not actual worlds made out of paint or something like that level in NSMBU or the entirety of Okami, or even a coloring book as the devs probably intended, something a game called Chikori succeeds at, just more of the same, and the fact the color isn't that critical, it ends up ruining and reduces the main problem they had at the beginning from restoring the life and color of the land, to just rescue Peach, and the color just serves to unveil the next world... Because we haven't seen that before... And definitely didn't happen the last Paper Mario(?, though TOK feeling like the peak to this particular crafty style, especially how they take full advantage to deliver stuff like body horror that wouldn't go through censors without the emphasis of everything being "paper" xd, though I really hope the next one doesn't just try to outdo TOK by making the paper even more realistic looking, it's starting to feel like New Soup
It's so relieving to know that I'm not the only person who noticed the evolution in the art direction between the games!! They all follow a different form of storytelling. 64 is a classic pop-up story book, TTYD is part stageplay, but I noticed the comic book-like influences like using dot gradients for shading. As for Super, I thought of it as a web comic. It's nice to listen to your observation!!
This video Is Factual. The Most Realistic And The Most Making Sense Video Ive ever seen.Thank You for making this
Your first mistake was searching for logic in a paper Mario head space.
@@alexanderthegreat-mx5zu wat
@@pablothemosasaurus21 you're a child
Fantastic analysis! Yeah the amount of unfun side content is baffling, especially having to get 96 recipes, which is nearly double the amount from TTYD, and made even worse when several items needed are only available via random enemy drops, making it the most frustrating aspect of the game. This analysis def makes me wanna replay the game tho!!
The worst part for me was probably just all the walking you need to do, even when all the items you need are already in the hub. Walking to the Itty Bits for ingredients -> the normal shop to take things from storage -> the Flipside cooking house -> the Flopside cooking house, all just to make one dish. They made so many recipes and for what? 😭 they take so much time to make but they’re almost all worse than just a super shroom shake
When I hear "side content" I immediately think about the 100 trial pit. There are basicly 4 in this game. The flip-side pit, the flop-side pit (that you need to do twice so that's why I count it as 2 pits ), and the samouraï stuff (you can cheat in this one because we automatically save every star block ). It can be fun, but it's very long and useless. Who cares about the running pixl, or about infinite 3D and double damage, or about the cards for old partners ?
@@SamSupercreationdoing it post game is not worth the time… that being said. Doing the pit early and having Dashell before chapter 5 definitely is fun and having unlimited 3D time before chapter 8 actively helps so I go for both pits before end game
@@Magenta_Nimbat just like me for real
@@SamSupercreation dont do it then lmao
oh wtf this is a total banger analysis dude
The selection box is one of the most subtle parts about this game, and I can't imagine this game without it
for the longest time i didnt really like the artstyle of this game but this video made me remember that like when i was younger i thought the way everything was like squares looked cool as hell, you really gave me an appreciation for this game...... thank you isaac moriah
It's really interesting to me how each entry in the Paper Mario series (before the dark times) liked to build off one another. The first game built off of Yoshi's Island. The second game built off the paper idea of the first game and turned it into a play. The third game took some digital references (such as the more digital sounds of that game) and the 2D Bowser sections introduced in TTYD and made that the main theme.
sup nick, i feel like i know you somewhere, anyways sup nick
I agree, if you noticed in Super almost every scene or moment are based off form TTYD for example the time where you have to go through a wave of Dimentios and have to use a hammer to get through, in TTYD is in Chapter 1 where a wave of Dry Bones come at you, or when Beldam is watching through Rogueport same as when Dimentio spanws at you on Flipside on CH6 and many more
How did I not get that
Also there was this weird dragon at the end of the first chapter, it talked like the automatic diagnostic program of Windows Vista. I think this character enforces the "inside a computer theory".
Saying SPM doesn't have interesting character designs is mental. It's hard for me to understand someone saying "ah it's all geometric shapes" like that isn't the coolest thing ever. Look at the pixls, and how well their designs convey exactly what they do. Look at the original enemies, the bosses, everything! I've never heard SPM criticized on it's art direction before, and it seems foolhardy.
SPM was the first game that made me realize that games were art as a kid. It will always be my favorite Paper Mario.
The analogy of the developers being the Overseers of the afterlife caring and nurturing a pure heart until it became its own loved being (Paper mario can not be called a copy or mario rpg or mario & luigi), but when nintendo/Mario came to collect what they knew was due, it pained them to say farewell. Damn good catch on that one.
The gameplay to me is a strong aspect of why I like this game on top of all of what you said, the digital design feels ahead of its time with how the paper aesthetic goes (the first 2 being story book paper, sticker star being stickers, color splash being cardboard/paint, origami king being origami and Super being digital paper). I honestly prefer this gameplay over the first 2 games and its nice to see someone talk about this game in a positive manner.
Something funny I once heard about this game is:"The original charecters in this game were probably made like this,Someone got their kid to draw something,and then they made that drawing into a charecter"
Of course that's not true (I think),but it made me laugh
I really appreciate this type of short form content. In a age of documentaries and hour long tangents you managed to carve out a fantastic video with a distinct and clear cut point and narrative. Good job, Good video. I don't usually comment but I really do appreciate this shape you've made.
been waiting for someone to make this video. for the people who grew up in the era of ms paint and early digital art, it really strikes a chord
I've had an idea for a potential Paper Mario game's concept. As we see in the Paper Mario games, they're set in a book's universe. As we know from Mario & Luigi : Paper Jam, it's a book on a bookshelf. That means there's other books too. I saw a game whose premise is that the heroes of the book got kicked out of their story by the villain of their story, which made me wonder, "What if (Paper) Mario left his own book to go to other books in order to solve whatever problem is the one of the game ?" And your video right now made me realize it would be the ideal concept for another Super Paper Mario game.
That's actually such an interesting analysis, I never realized. But either way, Super Paper Mario will always be my favorite Paper Mario game regardless of its gameplay, because I play games for the story, and Super Paper Mario's story not only puts TTYD's story to shame in terms of depth, it's also the best, deepest story ever written for a Mario game. Nintendo should do this more often if they weren't so scared of experimenting with Mario.
Also, Count Bleck is my second favorite character ever. I relate a lot to him and what he went through. I even used to think the same, that this world is awful and that it might be better if it just disappeared. But I learned a lot since then and managed to escape the awful life that led me to think like that. Mentally abusive parents, which Count Bleck seemingly also had from what we know of his father. It's crazy how realistic he is.
honestly super paper mario is my favorite game of all time; the art, the story, and just when i played it in my life.. its very special to me. im very excited to see the general attitude towards the game shifting, and i hope that maybe in a few years we might get a port or remaster so that more people can see this game for the very first time!!!
Super Paper Mario always had this digital feel to it. With lots of it’s music using 8 bit samples and some of the chapters using lots of geometric shapes and lines. Since this was the first Paper Mario game I played as a kid, I never understood why it was called Super *Paper* Mario since nothing looked paper-like in this game, yet more digital. But I think that charming aspect was what made it stand out for me as my favorite Paper Mario game.
That painting of the first world you made on paint was beautiful! I'll always remember when I first started playing SPM , such great designs!
Super Paper Mario definitely has the best story of the Paper Mario games that I've seen. This game doesn't get the recognition and love it deserves, though for me Paper Mario TTYD is the best of the ones I've played, but I am glad to see you giving this game get the love it deserves.
I've always known that Super Paper Mario was inside a computer. It's literally one of my top favorite video games from the Wii. I was about 5-6 years old when I was introduced to it, and I've loved it ever since. Also, since we always had a smaller TV than we do now, I saw the characters from the game as different than what they're supposed to be. For example, I actually saw Count Bleck as a big clown instead of a mysterious cloaked figure, lol. Why? It's because of that huge red pin he has.
It was incredibly obvious to me when the game came out, but I imagine that for someone who played it after its release, when computers and its art weren't treated as "new" it to give it context, I guess its not that obvious.
The way the worlds are drawed "in realtime" whenever you enter a new world would have given it away for most people who was born in the 90s.
In hindsight it's insanely obvious but I somehow never put it together as a kid despite using MS Paint and other computer stuff constantly. I think it wasn't that I wasn't cognizant of computer imagery, but I was like 7 and took the "Paper" on the title at face value LOL, I just thought it was weird paper
Awww thank you so much for using my SPM gameplay man!
..and sorry for the bad video quality, I recorded it natively on my Wii U via vWii, we clearly NEED a Switch (2) Version SOON! 😼😼😼👍
I'm calling that SPM will experience a similar popularity boost as Majora's Mask, also originally considered an underdog. This video will open some people's eye, amazing work.
Been wanting to replay that game for a long time
I am SHOCKED that I did not understand how much the theme of the art was digital early 2000s art! Huge fan of Paper Mario and learned this only now!
Super paper Mario has been my favourite game all my life since i played it on the wii for the first time. I’m now 20 and keep playing it over 10 years later
Great video! I need to replay SPM again. I remember also seeing the idea that the visuals could have some influence from flash games at the time, which just ties into your point about vector style graphics.
Wonderful video, always happy to see people appreciate this game's themes, thank you
Also... I do recommend doing the Pit of 100 Trials, if you're going to do it at all, very early on-- that's what I did, and I actually got to USE the reward through the whole game (it's open by Chapter 2/3). I did the same with the other, and got to use the second reward for a pretty decent amount of the game too-- though mostly through the final chapter. Still really nice to have; people always do these things AFTER doing everything else, so the rewards are useless by then.
Honestly, the two big details that kept SPM from being a win in my book were: the removal of the turn-based combat and the lack of classic Mario enemies turned into sidekicks.
I could’ve looked past one of those things, but both being present in the same game really bummed me out as someone who loved the first two Paper Mario games and bought SPM on release day.
Now that time has passed I can look back and say that SPM was a lot better than I gave it credit for, especially compared to the Paper games that have come after it. It did a lot of things right, I just wanted more turn-based combat with action commands. The Mario & Luigi RPG games just don’t scratch the same itch.
I just came from your Zelda / Ghibli video! I really like your chill style and I hope you become more popular!
Thank you for adding another well produced video essay to this games very limited catalog! SPM will always be my secret favorite child
Woah, as someone who has always loved Super Paper Mario I never noticed the computer motif
I've always known that Super Paper Mario had some sort of digital/vector art theme to it, and I'm always surprised to see how this never gets brought up. It's an interesting step-up from the usual storybook and paper aesthetics the series is usually known for!
Super Paper Mario is genuinely one of the best stories in any medium of storytelling
I'm happy to see a 2024 video about my NO. 1 GAME ALL-TIME
Its been a while since I last played this game. This video helped me get a better understanding of a game I already loved to death, and explained what there is to love about it so much. Great work, man.
For a long time I knew about the games computer aesthetic and I've been confused why no one ever talks about it, because it's really freakin cool. I would more quickly compare the graphics to a vector program like Adobe Illustrator than MS Paint. Vectors would better represent all the lines being drawn and the geometric shape aesthetic since a lot of basic tools in vector programs really boil down to shapes, lines, and gradients
I absolutely love Super Paper Mario. Even now after playing Thousand Year Door after all the years of hearing the hype, SPM is still my #1 paper mario game. I loved everything about the game and i was in the best place I've ever been in my life back in 2010/2011 when i played it.
This was the first and only Paper Mario game I ever played and the only one I ever want to. It might be my favorite video game of all time, but if not that then it's a least in the top three. The gameplay is extremely fun and innovative, but more importantly it has one of the most beautiful stories to ever be in a video game, to the point that it left a permanent impression on my childhood, and I still feel a sense of fond sadness when I think about it. It makes me feel kind of angry that this game didn't get the recognition it deserved, but I can be consoled knowing that people are now looking back and realizing what a masterpiece this game truly was.
This is one of my favorite games of all time. I played it when I was very VERY young (like, my MOM had to READ IT TO ME) and I absolutely loved it. I've replayed it like, at least 5 or 6 times. Seeing people say it's the weakest of the 3 original paper mario games makes me so damn upset, I'm glad that not everyone takes that stance
Your mom reading the game to you is so cute 😭 ❤️
@@Kirbyster she had to read the original paper mario to me as well, lol
As someone who grew up with and loved Super's digital aesthetic It's great to see someone really get into the nitty gritty of it's look and it's potential theme's. Great work!!
You took the words right out of my mouth! Super Paper Mario is the best video game ever made in eyes, and I’m so happy to see how someone understands how I feel and what I love about the game!
I mean it’s kinda obvious that the games art style is computer art ms paint you are shown it at the beginning of every level with the levels literally drawing themselves like someone using the line tool in ms paint
So i havent actually finished this game at all but its one of the games i vividly remember playing when i was younger. I have tried to play it a couple of times in the last couple of years (maybe 3 times) but i always ended up not finishing it for whatever reason and having to start back at the beginning again years later.
That being said, this is one of the most beautifully crafted games for me. Everything in the world just fits, its just one of those games you play and nothing you see in it will take you out of the immersion. For example: the whole flipside/flopside part of the game is insanely cool to me. Thats why to me, this game is super nostalgic and why i can vivdly remember playing it even though i have never finished it.
As a kid, TTYD was my favorite game (and still is). I remember being really excited to try out SPM expecting it to be like TTYD, which it wasn’t. The things I loved about TTYD was how vast, mysterious, and explorable the world was, the battling, and the diversity of characters. The jump to 2d for me made the world and characters feel uninspired, less mysterious, and less “lived in” in comparison. It felt like a major step back. I’d be interested in giving the game another shot now that I don’t have the expectation of it being the same, since the story does seem really good though.
believe me in terms of everything except the battle system this pretty much a sequel to ttyd, it even reuses the same engine lol
@@user-bb2op9he1x I feel like the only thing that gets carried forward is the good story. The gameplay, world exploration, and diversity of races of characters, are missing from ttyd
@@joshg3832 bro have you played the same spm as i did? literally every world atleast has a new race, sometimes even multiple, the world exploration is also here, a lot of chapters involve you exploring a a big area
FINALLY! Finally someone talks about this. I have always loved the computer-like artstyle of this game, it is extremely creative and I always feel inspired by it.
Super Paper Mario is TEC’s fever dream as he gets shut down.
I love this video so much, amazing job! SPM is so special to me 😭
I was unable to keep track of those motifs, probably because the gameplay and story couldn't keep my attention. But now that you mention it, it is well written. Intelligent Systems really know how to write a game.
I absolutely adored Super Paper Mario before this video, but now that you brought to light even deeper thematic aspects found within, I love it even more. It’s a very ironic circumstance that a game’s main theme about love can resonate so well with a player that they can’t help but feel it towards the game. I know this game isn’t perfect, it’s got a lot of issues, but I will always appreciate this game’s story and themes.
I'm so glad I'm not the only one who appreciates the Super Paper Mario art style, I wish more media experimented with this weird geometric and abstract vibe. I think the closest I can think of in recent memory is, appropriately... The Amazing Digital Circus
Super Paper Mario is a game that means so much to me as a person. It is fantastically deep and well thought out, especially in regards to its aesthetics. It's also the most accessible Paper Mario Game to me, as I struggle to enjoy turn based combat. I play it pretty frequently and it's hit me like no other game has. I get something new out of it (emotionally) every time I play it.
I'm glad it's getting more recognition for how fantastic it is these days.
Man this is what I think of this game as well it has one of the best stories ever told
super paper mario is my favorite mario game, i know thats pretty rare. i dont care that the gameplay is bad or whatever. i love games with a deep story and a lot of text where u are not sure what to do next. that is the reason hollow knight is my favorite game ever. super paper mario is amazing and its my childhood game which ill forever adore no matter if its considered the worst paper mario game. i. love. it.
cool analysis too
I noticed so many of the computer elements and assumed they were just cute little references to games, not specifically computers. Lots of 2000s humor and references in a world where 8 bit nostalgia was just about to take off. A video game about video games that pays homage to the things that made it teeters on the line of just being "A video game that was made."
I love SPM and think this video does a great job of explaining its style. But I can completely understand why others still wouldn't be happy with the game's presentation.
Super paper mario is proof that even the greatest story doesn’t matter if the gameplay is hot shit
I hated this game so much as a kid. I didn’t know it was a different genre than the previous games and I found the art unsettling.
Freshest take I've heard on this game in years. I never realized it was all in a computer but it makes so much sense now.
I found a thread on Game FAQs about this game’s art style and how the shapes make it so you can’t tell if something is a friend or an enemy
And the example they used was Growmeba, they were like “now tell me, how are you meant to know this is an enemy and not like. A platform you could ride” and I am like. It goes thru the ceiling I think it’s quite obvious it’s an enemy. Also you first encounter it alone in a dark underground section you find after finding a secret pipe. I think it’s obvious??? Idk even as a kid I could tell what was meant to be enemies and what was meant to be an npc??
Granted said people also said Mr L was a lame concept and idk man maybe Im lame but I think mind controlled evil mechanic Luigi is pretty neat exploration of his character bc Paper Luigi jus acts like that normaly (literally calls Bleck a scoundrel and says hes gonna “punish him for his badness” like…). Same thread also made a comment about how the character regulstions exist so we don’t get the butt enemy (cherbils r so funny tho) or “”inappropriate looking toads”” as if mushrooms cant look like that.
I Dont get people who act like the restrictions are good bc it means the designs aren’t weird…as if the weirdness isnt part of the point. You arent in *Mario’s world* anymore. That is why it doesnt look like a Mario game or world
Anyways glad to finally see skmeone talk about this game’s art in a Positive Way bc i couldnt find anything for that for so long. Which rlly saddened me bc i love this game’s art style bc its so unique and abstract and leads to some very fun fanart and designs for the new characters.
This was my ramble. I love SPM its my favorite game ever made and I cannot stand the flip floppery on whether its “one of the good ones” or “not good enough to be Paper Mario 3”
Great job!
Part of the nostalgia that I have is tied intimately with the style of the 2000s.
This is easy to lose if you didn't grow up with these things.
When I read the title of this video I highly doubted it but I’m happily proven wrong, good video.
Based on the title, I thought this video was gonna be pure copium from someone who just had too much nostalgia from it growing up, but you raise some good points. I never noticed all the in-computer-world similarities. Your title delivered on a premise that I think thousands of videos claim, but only really for clickbait, unable to deliver on it. Good stuff. I'll check out some more of your videos :)
This is a fantastic analysis of the game’s art style! I recognized a lot of inspiration from flash games in this game during a playthrough a few years ago. It’s great to hear your thoughts on it! 😊
I noticed all the computer elements, but never realized it was _supposed_ to be a computer.
I mean, come on! The first boss is Fracktail!
I loved Super Paper Mario's aesthetic and art style regardless, and I never actually realized any of this despite how obvious it was. Thanks for pointing the digital art thing out !! :D
Great video, was fun to watch !!
but i love him, mother... *[holds up copy of sup pap mar]*
I would say that it’s not just MS Paint, but also Adobe software like Illustrator!
And that I would have used the old Finder icon, which matches better with the character that is designed after it! It would make sense as it was the one used when the game released!!
I never realized that it was meant to take place in a computer, but with all my hours in the game using the 3D effect that brings a mouse cursor on screen whenever used, it almost feels foolish to not have realized it.
Additionally, it’s always been one of my favorite Paper Mario titles. It may have been partially a bias pick due to it being my first (and for a long time, only) Paper Mario game I’ve played, but it was just such an experience. I loved the characters, I loved their designs (Dimentio especially), I love Luigi as a villain (and how cool Mr. L looks), and I loved the environments and the gimmicks. My playthrough got cut off when I was younger as I couldn’t figure out how to beat Mimi in the bank, but years later I came back to tackle it again with a little help from CZcams tutorials, and that provided a new perspective. I had never really paid attention to the story as a kid, but as a young adult I actually had the attention span to read a little and ended up finding it incredible. I also gained a new respect for the complexity of the gameplay and the humor of the game that I didn’t get before. When I did finish the game, I felt a sense of finality. Not only to the game, but to my childhood. It felt like I’d resolved the one loose end from my adolescent life and done my child self justice. Even years later now, I still think fondly of the experience of beating the game, and wish I could go back in time and shed those tears again.
I haven't played this in forever so this was a good reminder of what the game was about
I honestly can't believe I never realized it was supposed to be a computer-based world, I feel stupid for not realizing it lol.
I even mentally made that connection between Cragnons and the apple Finder icon, but still never made the connection that SPM heavily uses computer elements and references.
I will continue to fight on the hill that is the fact that SPM is an incredible game with fantastic storytelling. Some people might dunk on it for the fact it's an action-rpg and not a turn-based rpg, and while I do think that is maybe a downside, the storytelling MORE than well makes up for that. It's an incredible story, and I hope that all the people who dunk on the game for it not being turn-based eventually give the game a try and be touched by its story
THANK YOU oh my gosh almost nobody has talked about this when it’s so visually distinct!! I learnt so much here too with Tippi’s inspiration and the Ms paint bar oh my goodness
🤯
@@fuzz409 oh no
@@mimi.sues. 🐸