A game that adds a lot and takes away a lot from the Paper Mario series. It is a very cool and unique game.
Super Paper Mario is pretty diferent. The combat system is set to the system from other Super Mario games, but with the help og pixls (that are your helpers this time around). You are no longer a 2D Mario in a 3D world. You are now in a world that is part 2D, part 3D. A unique conscept giving the game some great puzzles. The story is also diferent. It is deeper and darker. Here it goes:
When Peach is kidnapped, Mario and Luigi suspects Bowser, but find that he is not responsible. Suddenly a strange figure appears and kidnaps Bowser and Luigi. Turns out the figure is named Count Bleck. He forces Peach to marry Bowser in order to create a chaos heart which, according to the prophecy of the Dark Prognosticus, will let him destroy all worlds. A Pixl named Tippi appears and transfer Mario to Flipside, a place between dimentions, where he will have to find eight pure hearts, because he is the hero described in the light Prognosticus and it is his destiny to save all worlds.
There is a lot more to the story, but I won't spoil it for you. However I will say it involves a love story. The story might be the best story in any Mario game, yet that is no mayor accomplishment considering they rarely are deep.
As for the gameplay, the dimention flipping works great when it comes to puzzles. It is really drazy puzzles and the design of the game is never cooler than when you are in 3D. When it comes to combat though, it really isn't that good. In 2D you feel a little to slow, and 3D really doesn't feel 3D and you can easily miss when trying to jump on an enemy. It bugs me as well that you lose life if you stay in 3D to much. In this game you can find and then play as Peach, Bowser and Luigi as well. It doesn't add a lot, but it feels pretty good to go into combat with Bowser. The boss fights is pretty good, but not all of them. Some boss fights are all the same.
When it comes to design, it is cooler then in Paper Mario, but it takes away some of Paper Mario's charm. Also, it isn't always as cool. Sometimes it just looks like a comic book drawn by a seven years old. Most of the characters look lame, not because they are 2D, but because it seems the makers haven't put much work into making them look good. Sometimes you really miss the Mushroom Kingdom.
It seems this game is supposed to be somewhat a spin-off in the series. It is different when it comes to both gameplay and design and it doesn't take place in Mushroom Kingdom. This makes it a really unique game. If I were to come to a conclusion: The dialogues are as funny and sometimes funnier than in paper mario, the story is better, the gameplay a little worse, the design cool in someways, but not so cool in other ways. Yet I feel this is the right way to take the series. When it comes to Paper Mario, the crazier the better. I do recommend the game, at least if you like puzzles and RPGs. It is unique, and I feel confident to say you will never find a similar game and you won't regret you played it.