the unusual legacy of super paper mario
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- Опубликовано: 27 сен 2024
- or: I Just Wanted To Talk About How My Favorite Childhood Game Is A Perfect Case Study In How Large Corporate IPs Are Handled And Also In Explaining Several Fan Phenomena That I Think Are Interesting So I Did (For 23 Minutes)
timestamps:
1:26 - 5:53 game synopsis
8:46 talking about the reigning in of mario spinoffs & corporate IPs
16:00 talking about talking about games on the internet
23:06 outro & bonus speedpaint :-)
i'll try to upload captions when i get the chance- in the meantime, since i know i garble my words sometimes, here's the transcript:
docs.google.co...
BGM: super paper mario OST
(in order of use:) today's story, flipside, gloam valley, castle bleck, bounding through time, flopside, the ultimate show, swoon.exe, memory 4
twitter: / madsengland
Honestly, I know it would’ve sold less seats, but I personally would’ve been more passionate about Shakespeare’s ‘Romeo and Juliet’ if it also had Juliet transform into a rainbow butterfly after her death and Romio became a despondent universe-ender with a heart of gold and a quirky rogues gallery...
gdjannfnansaldmnds
Mood 😩😩😩
I was not mentally prepared for nastasia being called a simp.
What could prepare you for that
As is so often the case, the plainest truth is oft painful.
We should really revisit games we didn't play for a long time with the knowledge of the modern language. I bet we are missing so many joke-gems.
@@lorddimenzio4145 Francis
@@amiiboguy7288 It was kind of unavoidable what Francis was even in the late 2000s. He was just as funny and absolutely wild then, though the degree to which this kind of gag has aged well is impressive.
super paper mario feels, in every way, for all intents and purposes, like a quirky and unique indie game that just happened to have mario ips inserted into it late into development even if that's not what actually happened
I agree, it feels that way- I wouldn't be surprised if the story was one of the writers little passion project that they tried inserting into Mario. The characters are angular and look absolutely nothing like general Mario characters, I like that a lot- It's interesting how this game came out quite a while before the "quirky indie games". I wonder how this game would have faired with audiences had it released perhaps 5 or so years later-
Bro why are you right this shit just fanfiction 😭
Well this game is a possible inspiration for an actual indie game (Undertale)
@@seasonembrace3624 Honestly, I see the resemblance in some specific areas- Heart items with the ‘backstabbing’ antagonist, Geek Lizard, Money loving spider quickly come to mind- (though Muffet wasn’t made by Toby Fox, so I don’t know if that counts)
@@tricksterdim Even Asgore & Asriel have some similar elements to Blumier as well.
It's true that SPM is the "middle child" or "black sheep" of the Paper Mario series. I can't help fall in love with this game. Its fascinating lore and characters especially the villains.
This is that game where Mario Luigi, Peach and Bowser worked together as team.
They give us fan-favorite: like Mr. L and Dimentio (of course he's a popular one)
It's a shame that the future Paper Mario series has extremely strict with character designs and story plots. I don't ask Mario's Timeline (like Zelda) but at the very least tell us a story about Mario and his friends in new adventures, location, and characters
Great video and Amazing Artwork!
Of course, because there's nothing the collective internet loves more than evil clowns.
@@saifuusuri Jevil & Marx are further proof of that.
"black sheep" implies it's the most hated. Nobody in the world considers SPM the worst
The worst thing said about SPM is that it began the decline which is true gameplay wise at least
You know, something weird just occurred to me watching this. For over a decade, I have been absolutely perplexed by Rosalina. Super Mario Galaxy was, by all accounts, a Mario game: it played like a Mario game, story elements were only what they needed to be to move the story along like a Mario game, original enemies didn't stray very far from what a Mario enemy looks like. And yet Rosalina was a bizarre X-factor in the mix; sure, appearance wise she fits right in next to Peach and Daisy, but then you go to the library and hear her read out her origin story, and it doesn't even sort of resemble the kind of storytelling you get from a mainline Mario game. And even though her presence has been mainly sanitized in appearances following this, ensuring that she functions no different from any other Mario character despite her still retaining her status as the closest thing the Mario universe has to a goddess, that one storybook has remained a defining aspect of her and continues to this day to make her stand out in a really weird way.
But watching this and revisiting my nostalgia for what I would consider my favorite game with Mario's name on it, I suddenly developed a thought: Rosalina is out of place in the main Mario universe, but she would have been right at home in Super Paper Mario.
A favorite headcanon of mine is that Rosalina is Blumiere and Timpani's daughter, since at the end of SPM's credits we get that little scene of the two of them on a hill near a tree.
@@ZatClaireHow old would that make Mario if he then meets Rosalina as an adult?
Lore that isn’t fully explained all the way in silly games is kinda like nearly getting hit by a truck as a child- everyone assumes I’m fine and will move on and forget about it but it’ll actually work its way into my brain for the next 20 years, slowly changing my brain chemistry
“safe” really is the best way to describe modern mario. not “bland” or “boring” just “safe”, good enough. maybe this will change with Mario Wonder coming out this October, but i aint holdin my breath
hopefully if the thousand year door remake sells well itll convince them to make more games like the first three
Maybe I’m being too optimistic right now, but with Mario wonder and all the old rpgs resurfacing on the switch (Mario rpg, paper Mario ttyd, and Mario and Luigi brothership) it looks like they’re actually getting more and more creative and trying new things out. We might never get a story as good as super’s but I think overall it has gotten a lot more interesting recently.
When I was little and played this game with my dad's help, the one thing that sticks out in my memory more than anything else is that I thought that the top part of Bleck's cape was his hair, and I was devastated when I learned he was actually bald and didn't have big red hair.
LMFAO
All the fanartists (including me) drawing him with luscious blue or indigo hair got you covered!
I just want to say thank you. Super Paper Mario is such a special game to me, especially due to the deeper story and interesting characters. It was a very formative game for me as well, so to hear someone talk about it makes me very happy.
The whole "tranformive" vs "reactionary" idea was really changed i the i look at fandom, and media and general, like it's probably the same reason i then to be interested in niche and weird media a lot more, the more out-there and unique something is the more room you have to think about and build on it compared to something simple and clean.
Never played it, but the way you describe it, oh gosh, I can so clearly picture myself being obsessed with it as a kid, it seems fantastic! The way Bowser was an ally and Luigi was brainwashed into a villain? The twist where the the background couple was actually Count Bleck and Tibbi? The way that Nastasia took a bullet for the Blumiere? The final boss fusion? How they sacrificed themselves to save the universe? Holy shit, I would have gone crazy over it all!
Also, this is such a great analysis of the current trend of media produced.
It’s tippi.
The joke is that she gives tips.
Nothing hit me like Sammer's Kingdom annihilation arc.
Maybe the "True Mimi" reveal.
This is a game to experience.
19:32 Okay, Dimentio handing you the L on the left there is hilarious
*Right
SPM is my favorite because of the story. I thought the story was sweet and dramatic. I ended up getting into it as an adult. I also couldn't get into the other "popular" Paper Mario games since the story didn't suck me in. It's sad Nintendo isn't taking risks again and we end up missing out on cool different takes on Paper Mario. Also thank you for pointing out that the loudest comment is not always the correct one
I guess I'm a little late to the party here, what with this video being several months old, but I still feel the need to comment on this just because...if I'm being honest with myself?
This might be one of my favorite analysis videos on this site. It might be my favorite analysis I've ever seen in any format on any site, period (if you'll recognize and forgive a little bit of hyperbole).
SPM has always been my second favorite in the series (tagging just behind TTYD, because OBVIOUSLY), and you absolutely hit the nail on the head in regards to why I ended up replaying it multiple times before finally boxing it up: the story was (and is) still my favorite story in the franchise. That scene at the climax you referred to that makes you emotional hits me the exact same way, even now when I'm just thinking about it, and the ending is frankly my favorite in the entire series just for how beautifully bittersweet it is.
But what really turned me on to this video (NOT LIKE THAT, OH GEEZ) was your frank analysis of the state of big corporate franchises in the modern age. I really hope companies wise up and begin turning away from these kinds of image-polishing tactics, because-combined with the rise in fan-related copyright crackdowns made against people who weren't even planning on profiting off of their creations-they really are doing their properties, their fans, and (ironically) their own corporate image a rather disheartening disservice.
I guess to sum up: I know you seem to mostly do cute fan animatics and whatnot (which is cool, don't take this the wrong way!), but if you were ever to do another video like this, I would absolutely watch it to death.
TL;DR: agreed on SPM, agreed on corporate failings, love your attitude, subscribed
I guess I am just werdio who like spm and the original of course spm my fav tho origami king was solid
Literally Super Paper Mario made me believe in love. Idk what else has that much power.
Moustaches
hhhhhh I love SPM so much, listening to Memory ALWAYS makes me emotional. Highkey, this convinced me to get it for my sister at Christmas, she just moved and got a wii and I think she’ll really like it. I loved this video! As someone who also greatly enjoys rambling about niche things, I look forward to what you choose to do next. :D
You sound like my dream friend!
I also got it for Christmas last year as well :)
This is exactly what I've always tried to say about SPM, but never had the words. It is, to this day, my favorite Mario game ever. It was such a huge part of my childhood and even now, I enjoy replaying it and feeling the connections to the characters and story that I felt as a nine-year-old. Thank you for creating this video, I feel so understood! :)
It's strange for only Paper Mario to do this, as Mario Odyssey expriments a ton and takes a lot of risks.
Super Paper Mario was my introduction to the paper mario series and i fell in love so hard with this game with its quirky little existence and weird lore. I remember hunting around the lower parts of the town and talking to the npc's after every story beat and helping out cause they were so interesting and fun. I was actually a little disappointed by original 2 since the story wasn't as captivating as SPM but chalked it to being earlier games and i still had fun. Sadly, the newer games also leave me wanting as i didn't find sticker star to have what i wanted and i just haven't touched color splash or oragami king. I have been told oragami king holds a pretty delightful story but as of right now i still have yet to find out.
Did you ever find another game that scratched the itch for something similar?
unironically i really like bug fables and i recommend grabbing it where you can. it has a really cute and meaningful story with some weird tones that held my attention. it plays like an updated version of the og paper marios if you really like those.
@@BubbleTeaCalico Thanks for the suggestion, I checked out the steam page for the game. I personally did not find the og paper mario games to my liking. I prefer the side-scrolling realtime combat of Super Paper Mario. So I'm gonna pass on bug fables
OP i came for tma animatics and stayed for the paper mario,, WHAT a good post!!!! (I think about Mimi-Spider Every Day)
Used to think this was a weird lame game compared to the first two. Now it’s the only Mario game that makes me cry. Thank you for being someone I can share this feeling with 🌟
It's also my first paper mario game (and also my favourite). I remember that the story and the unique staff had so much impact on me as a kid that I had to Replay (and ended up 100 precent everything (no joke, don't do it)) it was very good. It really was the story and the characters for me in this game not to mention the world building about the Ancient Empire and the concepts of advanced magic, dimensions, politics (pixel revolt), failure of a civilization (probably symbolised with the obsession with the dark book) and many more staff like it around already good story (and also the possibility the Dimantio is a sadistic 3000 years old maniac that wrote the dark book and effectively killed slowly this empire). Ah and the music is also great.
Note: when doing the post ending game you can really feel the importance of the story when it's absent...
Second note: I still didn't find out why Luigi is the perfect host to the chaos heart what is even the deal with it
I'm currently working with the idea that, when the Chaos Heart was summoned, Luigi was the first to touch it.
Also I super dig the way you personify the characters in your artwork, I always love to imagine them outside the otherwise simplistic style of the game.
Super Paper Mario was genuinely such a good game, I loved its various story lines and how they all tied in to the common theme of love, even different types of love. The story was filled with emotion, and the gameplay was amazing, this is by far my favorite Paper Mario game, and I, unfortunately, don't think any other Paper Mario game will ever top it.
i always come back to this vid essay every time i think of super paper mario lol. but this is srsly refreshing in the sea of clickbait titles, it's just more thoughtful and introspective than ur average video essay. also the transformative/reactive fandom thing will never leave my brain now, it's just a really good thought
i hate that stupid mansion by the way, i got stuck there as a kid and didn't figure it out until i looked it up in like, high school? 😭😭😭. also omg i love those drawings, seeing the super paper mario fandom actually become a thing is kind of amazing. it felt like i was the only one who ever played this game for a while lol
Nostalgia hits fucking hard dude, but it hits especially hard when I think about this game for some reason. Its story is just way different then anything I remember playing back then.
This was and still is my favorite Mario game of all time. I have so much childhood nostalgia for it. The story will always stick with me
I wish i had friends to talk to abt this amazing game. Super paper mario is still the best paper mario game tbh.
Also thanks for bringing back all my nostalgia.
Super Paper Mario my beloved
I love this video! It’s a very calm and fair look into how people view the games and that’s wonderful. (Also, I’ve seen your art before, and I absolutely love it.) I honestly see Origami King as a step in the right direction, and I hope we continue to see more loveable characters.
Finally got around to watching this and I can say for sure that I was in circles on DA and Tumblr years ago where we liked reading and writing fanfiction with Mario characters (mainly the Paper and RPG series) and our main point in each story was how we would make the worlds bigger or even transform what we were given with the smallest of building blocks.
Thank you for this video essay! Spm is my favourite mario game ever, i hold blumiere and timpani so close to my heart aaagh
This is such a poignant and thoughtful video essay that does speak to me as a person who gets into weird and niche fandoms. It’s very noticeable when people put heart into a project and i think that’s why people will gravitate towards it and put it the same level of love to cherish it as well. Great video!
It's funny where in super paper Mario you can let the world's collapse by refusing the quest or suffocate in space due to you being a karen
6:43
I feel called out!......because I only like TTYD and SPM. 😅
In all honesty, this is a great video and a great dive into the oddness that is the current Paper Mario fandom. 10/10
Your takes on Color Splash and Sticker Star are basically the same as mine, though I have thought of getting Origami King recently since I hear it's a semi-return to form for the writing.
(though I heard there were sprinkles of it in Color Splash too)
Though to be honest, I can see why people still say they're fans when the entries they're praising as the 'heart of the series' are its start and its sequel.
it's hard to fault them for expecting the series to continue its 'bevy of dark themes in the middle of a happy go lucky Mario RPG with quirky writing' when that's how it began.
Kinda like that Simpson's quote: ' I used to be with ‘it’, but then they changed what ‘it’ was. '
Be kinda like if Kingdom Hearts stuck with card combat after chain of memories, and people were clambering for direct fighting combat like 1 and 2 again.
It started like that, and, given how many entries KH has, there'd inevitably be more card-combat games over time, but I'd still say those people asking for a return to form are still fans of the series.
Big ones at that. I just don't think the more entries added to a series you used to like detracts from whether you can be counted as a fan of the series anymore, basically.
Though I do definitely agree, the more risks in story and games that big IP's take, the more of an impact they're likely to have on the player than playing it safe.
(That last quote from the Origami King interview always makes me really sad for the dev team's situation)
But yeah, that's just my 2 cents on the video.
Good stuff, I'd love to see more deep dive videos like this, aaaaaand never underestimate how much the fans like Dimentio. Or jester characters in general....lookin at you Marx.
(my middle lil sister dressed up as Dimentio for Halloween once, so it's def still going strong😉)
Have you played the original Paper Mario? It's a great game as well, though not quite on the same level as its first two sequels I think it's a solid start to the series and if you like SPM and especially TTYD, you're likely to enjoy it as well.
Super Paper Mario is a very well-made game...it has a little something something for everyone.
this was one of my FAVORITE games as a kid, one of the biggest factors in that being the aesthetic. it just LOOKS so cool, and honestly informed a large portion of my aesthetic preferences/interests today
I loved this game so much as a kid and thinking about it makes me feel so nostalgic. I remember getting internet access and seeing people claim it was a bad game, which made me feel sad for all the people who will never play it, because they thought it wouldn't be enjoyable. I played Thousand Year Door a few years ago, but I still like Super Paper Mario more.
Also Mimi still haunts my nightmares haha
I think I gained brain cells watching this video.. learned a lot about the psychology behind famous intellectual property owners. Thanks!
This game is amazing and I miss it, My childhood possessions were stolen by bad friends in a move. Thank you for the video!
oh my GOSH. super paper mario is literally in my top 5 favorite games, your video is so relatable and amazing, thank you for making this and talking about what makes SPM so special, because it's rlly often overlooked!!
hi! just wanted to say that this is one of my all time favorite video essays. super paper mario was one of the games i really latched onto as a child, and it honestly shaped a lot of my sense of humor and storytelling. hearing someone talk about it with passion and thoughtfulness like this really is lovely, tysm :,) am back for a rewatch and will be back for many more im sure!
Late to the party on this one but I really just need to express how much I like this video. I think your analysis is on point, and to me it illustrates so well the suffocating effect of intellectual property on creative freedom. Super Paper Mario is a special game because it's kind of out there for a Mario game, but that's why I've really grown to love it.
Yesss this video is so good bro the person who made it seems so cool
This game changed my life in so many ways, I would not be living nearly the same life had I not played it and engaged with the fandom in the way I did (I literally met my partner through a paper mario streamer LMAO). Suffice it to say, Nintendo/Intelligent Systems knows how to make such formative experiences iwith their games, it's just such a shame that they shy away from it in favour of what makes the most money. Thank you so much for making this video, it's really insightful and I'm glad to have heard from others whose lives have been changed just as much as mine was due to this silly yet emotional masterpiece.
The restrictions for the newer entries make my blood BOIL, I genuinely can not understand this decision seeing how amazing the first 3 games are… Amazing video tho! SPM was THE childhood game for me, I know it by heart and love it so so much :)
One risky thing that the new origami king plot did was the Bobby plotline. It's both sad in the moment and paints a really grim picture of what life for a bombomb is like in every mario game
This game is the game that no shit was what me and my friend bonded playing. Hell I’m currently trying to turn our old role plays and hc into its own stand alone story more or less. I own this game a lot and it will always be one of my favorites.
Oh my god I needed this video, I loved super paper mario- I couldn't keep up with TYD at all 😭
I played SPM for the first time last year, what an experience it was! While I wasn't necessarily a fan of the action-RPG combat, the story and characters carried me the whole way through to the end, and it was worth it! Anytime memories played in the flashback scenes it really got me, and the final version of it during the final boss fight had me sobbing away. I'd be hesitant to say it's a better game than Origami King, but in terms of impact it has lasted longer, so you could technically argue that it is? Idk, but it is a very cool game to talk about!
19:31 bruh, dimentio do be handin' us the L, huh?
I think its funny that super paper mario has literally nothing to do with paper. Not a single paper joke in the entire game unlike any other part of the series
This game was so fun, I hope that Nintendo will either make a sequel or a remake of this game someday soon
Super Paper Mario is to the "Majora's Mask" of the Mario Franchise.
I love how much you tackled in this video and i honestly did not think i'd find someone who had the same likes for things like the Archie Sonic comics and SPM. There're so many avenues for discussion that people somehow forget about when discussing things. Also i don't know if you've been reccomended this before but i feel like you'd perhaps love The Legend of Heroes series.
Love this video!! I'm pursuing degrees in English bc new forms of literature like video games are so important and you hit the nail on the head with the ways Fandom can manifest. I'm so fascinated with how popular culture fanbases present themselves in ways so similar to "traditional" scholarship, to the point that videos like this offer so much insight and value that we wouldn't be able to discuss in the normal constraints of academia. A lot of your points are things ive tried to echo in my own papers and its awesome to see others feeling the same way about the importance of an impactful story and the ways we engage with them. Super Paper Mario is a game about the many forms of love, and this analysis coming from a place of passion about something you enjoy is a pure heart among the chaos ones. Keep on creating good stuff! :)
"Honestly there's no point in this except" it's one of the best videos on RUclips and makes a social analysis I never seen been made before. Holy moley
Can't forget how the paper Mario Ost affected some people..
"I don't care if I get hate because of this opinion, but this is my favorite paper Mario song" - Lunar1314
The Super Mario platformer games are understood by the fanbase for its basicness, but even then the likes of Sunshine, Galaxy and Odyssey at least makes it a bit complex to not be as simple as the New Super Mario Bros games. The spin-offs are usually supplemental and exprimental, and making it sync with the mainline by stopping down to its simplicity seems counterintuitive of what spin-offs are supposed to be.
I assumed spin offs are for those who already have known the franchise rather than the entry point. But in order to take advantage of the brand's popularity they will also try to make side stuff seemingly as simple as the mainstream because they already have established a big following that it doesn't need to go the extra mile as they did before.
i really like how this video analizes how what the source material prioritizes affects its fanbase. thats something ive really never heard talked about before
SPM is one of my childhood faves as well ^_^
I've played origami king and its safe to say that yes its safe but also takes slight risks like the horrifying mache enemies, peach nearly dying being folded and merged with the castel and .... and...... (sniff) k-k-killing..... b-bobby... WAAAAH!
I've been looking at the Paper Mario games closely, and I think I have a bit of an understanding of what's going on. And for that, we're going to need to borrow one of the more peculiar quotes from Colour Splash's developer interviews and have a look at what Mario & Luigi is doing. (Or, well *was* doing.)
TTYD and SPM are both very dark games, openly pushing the boundaries of what sorts of situations Mario can find himself in, but the further you get into TTYD's deepest recesses and SPM's... everything, you get the general sense that Paper Mario's best work just... isn't interested in the "Mario" part of the identity. Mario & Luigi, on the other hand, have some *really dark concepts on their own merits* (I maintain the reason Partners in Time was skipped was because modern ratings boards would not have objected to some of the scenes that passed muster back when the game was 2D and standards were laxer), but the dark characters feel more like they're working with Mario, using similar design bases and keeping with the tone in demeanour if not in action. Compare the Chaos Heart and the Dark Star, for example.
This comparison persists into the newer games. When Paper Mario lost the ability to add original characters, it panicked and suffered an identity crisis, before somehow finding a way to sneak original characters in anyway. Mario & Luigi, by contrast, preferred to look around for undeveloped characters lying dusty in the Mario IP and bring them out for a fresh look.
The way the two franchises carry themselves, it feels like IS is making good RPGs in spite of Mario, while Alpha Dream made good RPGs that made use of Mario. In addition to BiS and DTB providing massive redemptions to Bowser and Luigi to save them from a decade of being used as a punchline (a pattern the Mario franchise had gotten into with Paper Mario 64 and was at its worst in TTYD), and it's obvious why the Mario IP bet on Mario & Luigi. With the COVID pandemic exasperating the issues that Alpha Dream's shutdown caused, it's not yet obvious how the Mario RPG brand plans to handle that particular issue, but there's plenty more characters- like Princess Daisy- that a Mario RPG could break out anytime. 64 offered an unprecedented look into the Mario world, but IS seems allergic to trying that again.
It's my firm belief that Super Paper Mario could have avoided being so knocked by the fans of the previous installments by not calling itself "PAPER Mario". Because if you look at the third installment... there's no paper anywhere in it! The characters are 2-dimensional (in a literal sense), but that's in service to the game's theme, and it has a much more computerized motif than the others. If it weren't named as part of the Paper Mario series, I think it could be beloved for what it is without the baggage of "changing" the series.
Maybe Super Dimensional Mario lol
This was a wonderful video to stumble across! Been relistening to the SPM soundtrack, so I think that's why the algorithm showed it to me. Anyway, this game meant so much to me and basically defined elements of what I like on media, so it was wonderful hearing someone else talk about their love for it. And the reasons why it seems like an outlier in the series.
I remember playing this game for the first time. My sister never was as much of a gamer as me, but we both really loved this game for its story and characters. Up to that point, I had never played any of the Mario RPGs, so it felt like a very unique and special game. I don’t know if we did much transformative with the game, but it absolutely had more of an impact on us compared to something like NSMBW.
Also, fun fact: This game has such a transformative fan base that the director Seth Gordon wanted to make a movie out of it, but it unfortunately never came to fruition
This game introduced me to one of my favorite love stories and I'll always love it for that alone
For my first ever game as a mario maniac as a child I picked well still love this game
Basically Super Paper Mario won the award for
"Greatest Story In A Mario Game!"
2 years later, sonic is seemingly rising from the ashes for a lot of people. They're taking risks with bringing up lore and continuity and it's great.
Dimentio is the best villain and no one can change my mind
super paper mario feels like a fever dream really it feels like a game an indie developer will make thats probably why it has a lot in commune with undertale
Saw this video in my recommended for a while, good job on it btw! Super Paper Mario was the first ever video game I experienced, although I was watching my cousins play it at the time, it blew my little kid brain out of the sky that you could "play" a cartoon. a bunch of years later and this is still my favorite mario game and video game of all time.
I personally consider Super Paper Mario and TTYD *tied* for best Paper Mario game, since each has the best to offer in a respective category - TTYD it's gameplay, and SPM it's story.
Sometimes I think this could have all been different if the RPG elements were still in force in SPM, because a TTYD with a SPM story would *easily* blow what we have out of the water.
Don't get me wrong, TTYD has a great story in its own right, but Super Paper Mario's story was the one time a Mario game dared to go into some truly heavy topics. And they got bit because of the gameplay and thought the story was the one they bit them...sigh.
Really great video! Glad I stumbled upon it years later when corporate sterilization has only become more relevant. You're right, we tend to blame the games themselves when it's an overall problem with dreaded BRANDS needing to scrub all passion and uniqueness from their seat-filling mascot characters
Great vid, i completely agree. Nintendo been moving for corporate mass appeal for a minute now. Make more of these, put us on to other things you love
I've been a fan of the Mario franchise since I was a kid, and I gotta say, the thesis you make in this video has kinda put my thoughts on Mario, the world that surrounds him, and the community surrounding that world into words.
When you boil it down to brass tacks, Mario's universe is... kinda dull. 90% of what we see of his world, no matter whether it's in the Mushroom Kingdom, or some other place with weird stuff going on, more often than not it's always the same gig. Mario runs through a bunch of different worlds with different themes in sequential order to save the princess or some other thing. And they're always grass world, desert world, snow world, etc. It's the same old script they've been following for years, devoid of anything new. You know what you're gonna get most of the time, and while the fun of the games compensates for the vanilla storytelling, it's nothing special.
Now while the bulk of Mario's games seem to follow this formula, you'll often find that the most revered entries in his franchise are the ones that don't stick to the script. The ones that shake things up in some way, shape, or form. Games like Luigi's Mansion, Bowser's Inside Story, Super Mario Galaxy, and of course, Super Paper Mario, all do something crazy and weird with the characters and story that make them stick in players' minds. Rather than stick with telling a story with the same old cast in the same old situation through the same old places, they do crazy stuff like having Mario and Luigi getting shrunken down and trapped inside Bowser's body and having the story focus on Bowser having to save the day. Or having Mario get kidnapped by ghosts and having the plot focus on Luigi questing through a dilapidated old mansion to save him. It's always the ones that veer off the script that become enshrined in legend, more or less.
There's a ton more I'd like to say, but thanks for making this video, and I think you should check out some of the Mario and Luigi games. Stay legendary!
The biggest shame of it all is letting Intelligent Systems, the company best known for Fire Emblem, a franchise well known for its story telling, restricted from writing compelling and interesting stories.
This game goes back to my very early childhood, yes I am technically still a child but when i was a young young child. I'm currently 14 and going to be 15 in less than 2 months. Back when I was super young, 6 - 7 or so. I had this game in my library that I never played so I just decided to check it out, I fell in love with it but not because of the story. As a kid i skipped all the dialogue. I loved it because of the unique gameplay and it lived on in my distant memory forever when I finally finished it. Now be me currently writing this, I just got a digital copy on my Wii U a few days ago. I finished it a little bit earlier and played the entire through to completion, this games story is now actually present to me and it's amazing. I'ts so deep and in depth, and It's clear that it's a love story and I love my romance lol. I quickly fell in love with Bleck and Tippi as characters and seeing them disappear less than an hour ago, it actually made me cry which is funny, I never thought I'd cry over a Mario game. This game is always gonna live on in my memory, not always thinking about it but it's there. It's the perfect love story in my opinion, sorry for the ramble. Goodnight folks!
My favorite game since I saw it displayed at the video game store. I keep coming back playing it, now my wii isn’t working anymore I still sometimes watch the full play through in yt. But at the end I’m glad this was my childhood game
This is my favorite paper Mario game. And the only one I acknowledge as being good
This was a very good video. SPM was a big part of my childhood and still holds a very important place in my heart. I love content like this.
every day i hope so strongly that nintendo will allow the characters from this incredible game to see the light of day again, theyre all so charming and fun and unique and i crave more video game content involving them
Finding people that care about this game is always a delight, lovely video, lovely game
I always loved this game. Couldn’t believe that this game got so much bad press with how many crazy and creative ideas it has.
Super paper mario is the majora mask of the paper marios while Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is the ocarina of time for me
I tell ya one day Nintendo is gonna run out of ideas and make a paper mario game with all the villains ( except for bowser since he is that comedy relief villain,) all decide to team up and use the powers of one giant power source thing and fulfill all their dreams and wishes so mario, luigi, peach and bowser go on a quest collecting 7 discount chao- i mean 7 power sources and beat said evil but one will pull a plot twist and pull a dimentio
very late but what i think is sort of ironic is that nintendo prohibits new mario games with new characters and complicated storylines for fear of not feeling like mario anymore , and super paper mario is the game that gave birth to this rule , and that in said game blumiere is forbidden to be with timpani bc she's a human and he's from the tribe of darkness , due to the rule that no member in the tribe of darkness can marry anyone outside their circle for fear of diluting their magical blood .
This game is the best. i’m glad to see that there are other people out there who enjoy it as much as me.
On a different note watch another anyliss vid of game particular of Natasha power and it made rethink how if releasing people from inbitions and not having fo things against their will makes rethink peach and Bowser's realtionship
Super Paper Mario is actually my favorite game of all time
Adore your designs for Tippi and the Count omg
Your video resonated a lot with me. I played the game back when it originally came out when I was a pre teen and decided to replay it for some odd reason recently. I didn’t expect to cry so much. Over a Mario game. So many of the themes resonated with me, it left a much bigger emotional imprint on me.
I also really like how you brought up the interviews of the series creators and the sanitisation of big IPs and discussion between broadening the audience or experimenting to resonate with the few select super fans.
This sums up a lot of how I felt about the game too. Super paper mario had a huge impact on me as a young child, I think similar to how you've stated in this video, so it's really cool to see someone be able to verbally articulate that feeling
Before the internet, I didn't have too many big, deeper meaning stories, but the internet has brought these games and stories to the forefront of my experience, and I've been enjoying it since I was like,,, what, 10? Even if a lot of it was from explicit or problematic media, I still cherish those stories, no matter how bad they are objectively, because they taught me to enjoy complex media.
what an amazing video! super paper mario is my favorite game of all time and all of this is just...correct lol. i completely agree.
I know nobody liked super sticker star but I loved and enjoyed it as a kid
Same
Also, after the story is over and you keep playing for the extra content, Tippy is gone. If you want to regain the ability to scan things, you need to go back to the Tippy-obsessed nerd and buy a robotic replica from him. It kind of looks and helps the same, but there are still enough differences to hammer home the point that the real Tippy is gone (either non-existent or just in a different dimension), and you can only hope that your friend is in a happy place with her Blumiere...
STAWPPPP
I would love to hear more of your paper Mario opinions, I love Super, by far my favorite game, even if the gameplay isnt the best and the level design is meh, the story and fun meta jokes get me every time!
Honestly I loved this game back in the day even with how different it was from the others
19:33 Blumiere’s shirt is perfection
I loved this game! It’s the reason why I love Mario games so much!
super paper mario was my first paper mario game ever and while i couldn't finish it until three or four years after i bought it (curse you, mimi), it still left a significant impact on me as a child. i think this game strongly appealed to me because it is a character-based story with the void just being the motor that keeps the plot going in the background. its characters pulled me so far into the game that every interaction felt important to me, every action i make felt important and every soundtrack accompanying the characters felt important as well.
that's why the memory tracks in particular stuck so much despite it being a long while since i heard them or even played the game myself.
that's why simple area music like the one for gloam valley is my personal white noise.
that's why character soundtracks get me so hyped up because i know i'll get to see my favorite characters again.
that's why the ending for this game stings.
the game feels more like family to me than anything, growing up with it formed a large part of who i am today. how i approach character design, story telling and relationships, my taste in music was shaped by this game, my love for the paper mario franchise was shaped by this game. my taste in games was shaped by this game.
the only other paper mario games i played were origami king and the thousand year door with me being halfway done with the latter. i enjoyed these games for what they are, origami king was charming and challenging enough with its puzzles for me not to be bored halfway through and TTYD is really fun to play with its battle system and partners to play with.
while i do find TTYD to be objectively better than SPM, i just can't put it above SPM because it had such an emotional impact on me, it appealed to me so much more. it simply is my favorite and no other game has even come close to dethroning it.
i don't think anything will ever come close to it, there will never be another game quite like this and that's why i choose to cherish it with my whole heart while i'm still alive and well.