Summary
It would be great to see Nintendo remake anotherPaper Mariogame, but perhaps not the one many people would immediately think of. ThePaper Marioseries could potentially be on the cusp of a revival after the release of the long-desiredPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Doorremake. It wouldn’t be unfair for fans to assume that another remake could be in the series' future. However, one game in the series could be a startlingly good candidate for such treatment. The surprising thing is, it might not be the first title that people would immediately expect to see.
There are manyplayers who enjoyPaper Mario, and it’s not hard to see why. ThePaper Mariogames are an RPG spin-off of theSuper Marioseries with a distinctive and charming paper-themed art style. In addition to solid gameplay, the games' writing and sense of humor are two strong points. The subseries manages to be even more tongue-in-cheek than the mainline games while also including some seriously threatening villains, such as the Shadow Queen fromPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. While reinventions of the series would be divisive,Paper Mariois still a beloved title, as the reception toTTYD’s remake shows.
Super Paper Mario Would Be an Excellent Choice For a Remake
Paper Mario Was a Beloved Nintendo 64 Classic
At first glance, theremarkably creativePaper Mariofor Nintendo 64seems like a perfect candidate for a remake. After all, while it wasn’t the firstMarioRPG, it was the game that kicked off thePaper Mariospin-off series. Not to mention, it is often held up alongsideThe Thousand-Year Dooras one of the best games in the franchise. The fact that bothPaper Marioand its sequel share most of the same mechanics should be proof of that alone. However, for as excellent as the originalPaper Mariois, it’s not the game that could benefit the most from a remake.
Super Paper Mario Was a Solid Game With Unique Elements
Super Paper Mariois a fine example of aNintendo game that deserves a Switch port. The game is admittedly somewhat controversial due to its major changes to the formula. Most notably, it’s a platformer with RPG elements rather than a turn-based RPG, and the well-loved partners were replaced with less-characterized Pixls. Despite these issues, the game itself is legitimately good. The gameplay is fun, with the dimension-flipping gimmick providing plenty of creative opportunities, and the story is one of the series' most gripping tales.Super Paper Mariocould benefit greatly from getting a remake that exposes it to more fans.
Paper Mario is Already Playable Via Nintendo Switch Online
There is another crucial difference between the two that givesSuper Paper Marioan edge.Nintendo Switch Online’s collection of Nintendo 64 gamesalready includesPaper Mario, so it’s already available to players with the expansion.Super Paper Mario, on the other hand, only saw a digital re-release for the Wii U that is no longer available, so players can only find it through the original Wii version. This makes the game far harder to find and play thanPaper Marioat the moment. As a result, there is more reason for Nintendo to consider developing aSuper Paper Marioremake first.
Super Paper Mariocould benefit greatly from getting a remake that exposes it to more fans.
Super Paper Mariowas the first major formula change for the series, but it’s a game that deserves a second look. Thesuccess ofPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door’s remakeshows that the older games in the series still have plenty to offer. With bothPaper MarioandTTYDavailable to Switch players, that leavesSuper Paper Marioas the last remaining member of the original trio. Now that the initial surprise of the genre shift has passed, a remake ofSuper Paper Mariocould see it finding a new audience.
Paper Mario
The Paper Mario series is a spin-off from the main platforming adventure that sees Mario engaging enemies in turn-based combat using an array of abilities and special attacks. There have been multiple Paper Mario releases with Paper Mario: The Origami King being the most recent.
