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[Kobun Heat]

Over 40 hours, and that's without doing many of the optional sidequests. LOTS of gameplay here.

The final fight is pretty damn cool. Spoil yourself below if you want:

Spoiler

Batsugarufu, the evil alien who kidnapped Princess Peach, shows up at the end of the long ass dungeon that sits behind the Thousand Year Door. Mario beats him pretty easily. Then Bowser shows up randomly, and you have to fight him. But in the ensuing battle, Batsugarufu gets away and takes Peach into the final chamber where he USES HER BODY to resurrect the evil magic queen, sealed away for a thousand years. So the final boss fight, and it's a real bitch, is against an evil Princess Peach.

After that, the ending's mostly what you'd expect. You see all the characters again, etc. What I did not expect was...

Spoiler

You can save your game after the ending... then go back in. I'm far too tired to explore, but there's a big list of brand-new sidequests in town, there are new things to buy, and apparently there are more enemies to face off against (one of the sidequests seems to suggest it). And of course, every single fucking person in the world has something new to say, meaning that there's still a lot left to see.

So all in all Paper Mario 2 vastly exceeded my expecations as far as length and depth. I'm looking forward to the English version... the Japanese text was hilarious, but I have high hopes that the English will totally rock its face.

 

[TekunoRobby]

Kobun Heat, would it be any trouble if you can give a really quick rundown of the quality of gameplay/graphics. I'm curious to see how far they've pushed the idea of the characters being 2D and the design of the towns themselves.

Thank you very much in advance!

 

[Nos_G]

Sweet, I seriously can't wait for this game...

Good stuff Kobun.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Graphics are beautiful - the characters are very expressive and high-res... to say that it looks like a storybook come to life isn't an exaggeration.

Towns/dungeons are absolutely packed with secrets. Sometimes you won't even realize that there's a hidden area or item until you get the power that lets you unlock it, then it all starts to fall into place.

They do a lot of very clever stuff that plays off of the paper/2D motif. Examples:

Spoiler

Optical illusions; things that look flat but aren't
Mario's powers all have something to do with paper, he folds up, rolls up, scrunches up
Blowing air at things can reveal hidden secrets, like wallpaper pasted over a door
Things that were 3D suddenly become 2D to be manipulated like paper
Going from room to room generally uses some kind of pop-up book type effect

The only real complaints I have is that sometimes it just takes too long to accomplish certain things and going through the motions can get a little tedious. But that doesn't usually last long. The gameplay stays solid all throughout, and as I mentioned above, there is still a LOT that I haven't done.

 

[siege]

40 hours? I've read it was extremely short, like 8-10. That's really great if it does in fact have that much gameplay though.

 

[Rhage]

Wow, yea, that's way longer than the first Paper Mario.

 

[DJ_Tet]

great news, thanks for "spoiler tagging" the stuff.

This is one of the only games I'm looking forward to (along with the new Zelda). I'm hoping it doesn't disappoint, I've loved the series from SMB RPG all the way through Mario and Luigi (similar setup).

 

[Li Mu Bai]

Kobun, I know you have/completed Baten Kaitos as well, did you ever post your impressions here? Could you link me if so?

 

[Kobun Heat]

40 hours? I've read it was extremely short, like 8-10. That's really great if it does in fact have that much gameplay though.

Yeah, that's what Matt from IGN was asking me. I don't know where or how that rumor got started, but it's FAR from true.

I didn't complete Baten Kaitos, but I did do a preview of it for NOM UK. It's... somewhere on their website.

 

[worldrunover]

Is it much of a difference over the first one in terms of feel and puzzles and such, or can you tell it's a direct sequel?

 

[Vargas]

40 hours? I've read it was extremely short, like 8-10. That's really great if it does in fact have that much gameplay though.

The first time I heard of the game being short was on the GC General Board at IGN. No one else said the game was short to my knowledge though. I would find it weird if the game was 10 hours.

 

[TekunoRobby]

Kobun Heat your a man amoung men.

 

[beerbelly]

Is there a ghost/haunted mansion in this game? The n64's version's ghost stage was perfection.

 

[Kobun Heat]

Is there a ghost/haunted mansion in this game? The n64's version's ghost stage was perfection.

There is. The ghost mansion itself is not particularly fantastic - it's actually quite brief. But the stage it's featured in is, on the whole, fantastic, for reasons of aesthetics, gameplay, and story twists. Might be my favorite stage out of all of them.

 

[metsallica]

That 10-hour playtime rumor started on the IGN boards. Some moron claimed he beat it in 8 hours or so, but he was promptly debunked. Unfortunately, not everyone reads the whole thread.

EDIT: "Unfortunately, not everyone reads the whole thread."

The first time I heard of the game being short was on the GC General Board at IGN. No one else said the game was short to my knowledge though. I would find it weird if the game was 10 hours.

See?

D'oh.

 

[raYne]

Sorta off topic, but Nintendo should make another side scrolling platforming Mario game (non rpg), but im the Paper Mario style.

The fact that PM is an rpg in fighting at least, both bores and saddens me.

 

[Sagitario]

+1 for Paper Mario ^___^

Everything sounds great!

 

[john tv]

Can anyone explain in detail how this is different from Paper Mario 1? I loved Paper Mario to death, but so far, PM2 just looks like more of the (exact) same, which puts me off a bit. Of course I want to play it but if it's the same thing as the first game it's going to be hard to stay hooked to the end. I want new and different, not rehashed and repackaged.

Please say it ain't so!!

 

[Socreges]

Apparently they just put the first Paper Mario on a disc four times and passed it off as a new game. Don't tell Kobun, though. He doesn't seem to mind.

 

[MaddenNFL64]

Alot of what I saw in screens looks new to me. Maybe the story is similar? I think you should just keep playing John, and see how it goes.

Spoiler

Oh, and playing the game after the main guest ends is awesome .

 

[john tv]

Nobody?

 

[Li Mu Bai]

Nobody?

If you think they look the same, do a screen comparison. And then see how different it actually looks. Keep playing, abilities, powers, etc. are different as well.

 

[john tv]

I'm still not convinced. Anyone else? Come on guys, if you're this in love with the game, it shouldn't be THAT hard to come up with a convincing argument as to why it's so much different and better than the first one.

 

[Sinatar]

I'm still not convinced. Anyone else? Come on guys, if you're this in love with the game, it shouldn't be THAT hard to come up with a convincing argument as to why it's so much different and better than the first one.

This is a Nintendo game we are talking about, NEW isn't something they full grasp.

 

[Socreges]

I'm still not convinced. Anyone else? Come on guys, if you're this in love with the game, it shouldn't be THAT hard to come up with a convincing argument as to why it's so much different and better than the first one.

Who ever said it was?

If you'd really like a response, why don't you pm Kobun? He's the only one here that's played [or at least completed] the game.

From what I've seen and read of the game, it sounds like... a sequel. Expanding on the basic concepts from PM. A more fleshed out battle system, more elaborate puzzles, and a much longer game.

 

[Coen]

Well, at least the applause-battle system with the interactive crowd sounds fun and refreshing. Haven't you read about it or played it, john tv?