I sat down and spent a lot of time with Super Paper Mario the past few days. Not having a “next-gen” Mario game with my Wii has killing me, so I had to pick this one up.

I’ve heard a lot of people griping about the visuals in the game not looking amazing. I think Nintendo was going for a distinct look with the game, and in my opinion, they pulled it off very well. You really feel the paper quality to every part of the game, from the trees to the warp pipes.

The controls feel terrific with the Wii-mote playing in the classic style. Switching to 3D is very intuitive and allows you to pick up some cool power ups and such. You end up using 3D more than you think initially, which is fun.

The only gripes I have with the game is all the reading. I understand it’s based on an RPG, but why not include some voice overs? You get the occasional “Ugh” from Mario, but that’s about it. Maybe some more talking from the characters?

Overall, I give the game an 8.5 out of 10. It’s very fun and provides a lot of depth.