For people who are intimidated by RPGs or just plain dislike them, do not be put off by the fact that Paper Mario is one such game, as it only barely qualifies. You still have multiple characters you can fight with, you still have to upgrade characters and you still have to put up with turn based fighting, BUT - and a very big but at that - it's all simplified to the point where it's just plain second nature.

When walking around and fighting you only see Mario and one of the other members of his party, and you can change characters very quickly through the menus. The upgrading of Mario happens whenever he gains over 100 stars during battle and the upgrading of his party members happens when you earn enough shine sprites to do so, and the fighting only gets boring/tedious when you try and fight every enemy that comes at you - you may only see one Goomba but once you initiate the fight you may come across more.

The game follows a very linear story, you can still go anywhere you like but the game just won't proceed unless you go exactly where you have to, or talk to a specific person you've been told to go and see, but that doesn't mean there aren't other things you can do. The main town of Rogueport is home to two specific minigame/side quest buildings. One houses a couple of slot machines and four minigames based on abilities you earn as you progress through the game, and the other holds a notice board where you can sign on to help people with their problems. Completing someone's problem will earn you coins, mushrooms or other such pick-ups.

The games runs fluidly for the most part - which it should as there aren't many polygons being used - but there are times when you will be amazed at the amount of items on screen and you won't see a change of frame rate at all; and others where there is very little on screen but there will be a noticable frame-rate drop. We only noticed this outside the Glitz Pit but it still seems rather unnecessary.

The overall sprite-based graphical style is refreshing to see nowadays, and it may even make you reminisce of the days when Mario was just a side-scroller. Nintendo clearly knows how you'll feel as Paper Mario includes the first couple of levels of the original Super Mario Bros. somewhere in the story.

Having everything in the game made of paper is a unique style to use. Houses fold out when you enter them so you can see inside, big bosses have fold marks and holes in them where the folded paper doesn't meet, secret switches and items are hidden behind pieces of paper you have to blow away, and the most ingenius addition is that Mario himself can fold himself up into a plane/boat/tube and fly/float/roll into places he might not normally be able to get into. Each character he teams up with also has its own abilities and each is used more or less to its potential.

The game's Dolby Pro Logic II sound processing is applied beautifully. It may not be a 3D-based game but it doesn't stop the camera from doing a few quirky things, and when it does the sound doesn't stick to the left and right. Sure, you need a system that can pull it off but even if you don't you are still in for a treat. It's what you have come to expect from Nintendo - quirky midi files, some retro themes and the occasional shout from characters. However, without speech in the game there's a lot of reading to be done, and while the character voices would inevitably grate, it's a bit of a chore without them.

Expect to see pretty much every Super Mario character from the ages, including the Piantas from Super Mario Sunshine. There's also a host of new ones, each given a background and far from superfluous.