6.8 /10 1 Votes
76% Metacritic Writer(s) Shunsuke Kobayashi Series Mario & Luigi series Developer AlphaDream Platform Nintendo 3DS | 5.9/10 IGN Publisher(s) Nintendo Initial release date 3 December 2015 Composer Yoko Shimomura Genre Role-playing video game | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Director(s) Shunsuke Kobayashi
Hiroyuki Kubota Producer(s) Akira Ohtani
Yoshihiko Maekawa
Toshiharu Izuno Programmer(s) Makoto Aioi
Haruhiko Tanuma Artist(s) Akira Noguchi
Takuji Sasaki Similar Mario & Luigi series games, Nintendo games, Role-playing games | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, known in Europe and Australia as Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros. and in Japan as Mario & Luigi RPG Paper Mario MIX (Japanese: マリオ&ルイージRPG ペーパーマリオMIX, Hepburn: Mario & ruīji RPG pēpāmario MIX), is a role-playing video game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The game is the fifth title in the Mario & Luigi series (and a Paper Mario spin-off game title), crossing over with elements and style of characters from the Paper Mario series. It was released internationally in December 2015, and in North America the following month (January 2016).
Contents
Plot
While attempting to fix a hole in Princess Peach's castle library, Luigi trips and accidentally knocks over a mysterious book containing the Paper Mario world, causing the paper-thin residents within it to spread across the Mushroom Kingdom. Afterwards, Bowser combines his evil army with that of his paper counterpart, Paper Bowser, and they kidnap Peach and her counterpart, Paper Peach. Mario and Luigi must now team up with Mario's paper counterpart, Paper Mario, to set everything right, defeat both Bowsers, and bring all the paper people back into the book.
Gameplay
The story of Paper Jam crosses together the universe series of Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario, the aftermath of Sticker Star and Dream Team (and right before Color Splash), resulting in the sprite-based residents of one universe meeting their paper-thin counterparts from the other one. As such, players control a team consisting of Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario, whose actions are controlled by pressing A, B and Y respectively. In addition to the moves Mario and Luigi can perform in their series, Paper Mario can use his paper thin body to perform his own unique actions, such as squeezing through tight gaps or turning into a paper airplane in battle to help the brothers. Like previous games, battles incorporate various mechanics, such as timing attacks or using "Bros. Attacks". During battle, Paper Mario can make copies of himself, allowing him to deal extra damage or attack multiple enemies at once, as well as use special techniques called "Trio Attacks" that involve him with his counterpart, Mario, and Luigi to attack together. There are also sections where players control giant papercraft versions of Mario, Luigi, Peach and Yoshi to fight other papercraft enemies.
Reception
The game received generally positive reviews. Paper Jam holds an aggregate score of 76/100 on Metacritic, indicating "generally favorable" reviews. Polygon awarded it 6.5 out of 10, saying "Those desperate for a dose of Mario could do far worse, but it's hard to look inside this machine without seeing what's gotten tangled up inside." Destructoid awarded it 8 out of 10, saying "While it sometimes holds your hand for a little too long and at times fails to take proper risks, it was consistently polished, enjoyable and memorable." GameSpot awarded it a score of 6 out of 10, saying "As Dream Team and Sticker Star proved, Nintendo has a knack for showcasing new and inventive ideas in both series. Paper Jam effectively relies (and often coasts) on its novel crossover appeal. Bold experimentation will have to wait, perhaps in an installment where, conversely, Mario and Luigi visit Paper Mario’s world."
It sold around 50,000 copies in Japan during its first several days of release, which equalled around 17.97 of its initial shipment. An edition of the game bundled with Mario Kart 7 sold an additional 2400 units.