Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (GameCube)

Advantages: Varied | Lovely looking | Oozes charm
Disadvantages: Minor issues

...end of the N64’s life Paper Mario was missed out by a fair number of people yet it was touted as one of the best games for the system. After the SNES team-up with Squaresoft, Mario donned his RPG hat on again and turned paper thin in his new adventure. For those people who turn to eBay and don’t fancy paying £50 for the much sought after game then help is at hand. The Thousand Year Door brings back Mario to his papery goodness. As ever Princess Peach ...
...who have played the first Paper Mario may not think much has changed. The graphics are spruced up but still look essentially the same. The battle system is nearly identical and also borrows from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. You also have a buddy following you around and aiding you when you need a hand. However there are some subtle little changes that do differ from the original and although not drastic the fact is that the original was good enough ... Read review

Advantages: Great game, lots of things to keep you Interested
Disadvantages: Music can be a bit annoying

...what can I say about Paper Mario apart from its my favourite game ever. It’s the most addictive thing I’ve ever played. I got my game cube a couple of years ago, and have got a few games but nothing that I could really get into, until I got Paper Mario that is. It’s a Fantastic game. The game starts off in Rogueport, with Princess Peace, where she finds a treasure map. She sends the treasure map along with a Letter to Mario. Mario arrives in Rogueport ...
...which allow him to become Paper Mario. There are different ways to use Paper Mario, and every time he is cursed you’ll get a different one, though my favourite is being able to turn him into an Aeroplane, so you can fly across rooms. For each battle Mario earns star points which give him a level up, where you can increase the Heart, Flower or badge points that Mario has. The battles are really skilful and great fun. I do have a favourite character, ... Read review

Advantages: addictive and original game play
Disadvantages: story sequences can not be skipped

...not put this down. Paper mario takes the best of all the mario games on the gamecube and puts them together perfectly. Initially I thought this was going to be yet another repetitive turn based role play game but I couldn't have been more wrong. As usual Princess Peach has got herself kidnapped again and you have to find and rescue her. Travelling through various worlds and battling an endless stream of increasingly difficult baddies. Your skills ...
...These can happilly distract you for hours when you are stuck on a level. This is the only game I have ever come accross that everyone, regardless of age, has got completely addicted to Paper Mario. My only criticism is that Nintendo haven't bought the sequal out yet ... Read review

Advantages: Good range of characters, original
Disadvantages: Repetitive

Being a big fan of Mario, I found this game quite disappointing. It does have its strenghs: it is full of original ideas such as the way the 2D graphics are cleverly used to give Mario new moves and there are a good range of characters to pick up, each with their own moves. It also has a decent story line with some good humour and several side quests to keep you busy. For me, however, the game is let down by the new fighting system (very pokemon-esq) ...
...I also felt that the game was not taxing enough, there are very few parts of it that really challenge you, the rest is simply playing through the game without ever really feeling in danger. This is certainly not a bad game, but in my opinion is not up to the usual standard of Mario games, and is probably better suited to younger gamers. ... Read review