Mario & Luigi Paper Jam Reviews

Mario & Luigi Paper Jam is ranked in the 63rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
7 / 10.0
Jan 20, 2016

It's certainly not a bad game by any means, it just doesn't do enough with the Mario and Luigi RPG or Paper Mario brands to really stand out.

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NZGamer
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Jan 8, 2016

One of the better JRPGs on a system that's full of them.

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Emma Schaefer
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Jan 20, 2016

This amusing crossover of Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario adds another solid title to the Mario RPG lineup. Though the recurring minigames and the length of some battles can get a little tedious, combat is generally immersive and fun, and a good sense of humor breathes life into the well worn Bowser-captures-the-princess plot.

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4.2 / 5.0
Jan 20, 2016

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam has personality. There's a little bit of extraneous filler here, in the form of papercraft battles and optional amiibo cards, but people who chose to focus on the delightful story, fantastic battle system, and assortment of mini-games will be more than happy to join Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario on their adventure.

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GameZone
Top Critic
Unscored
Jan 23, 2016

The bar has been set high for 2016: The wonderful meshing of twitch and RPG based combat, constantly growing list of abilities, ever changing enemy types, and all around charm sets Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam apart from other RPGs. Almost every aspect of Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam coalesces into a near perfect game. That's quite the feat considering how many different things are jammed into this little package. There's almost always something new to do after every notable encounter, which is important in a genre that is flooded with games that become exercises in rote repetition long before they end. Paper Jam is roughly 30 hours of portable gaming joy, and a great start to a year that should be loaded with JRPG styled goodness.

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Unscored
Jan 26, 2016

Those clever, dialogue-driven interludes are all the downtime Paper Jam needs. Yet it pads itself out with mindless chores that waste time and momentum.

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8 / 10.0
Jan 23, 2016

Though slow in parts, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is fun, funny, and simply feels good to play. A must-play for Mario RPG fans of all stripes.

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5 / 10
Jan 25, 2016

Regardless of your inclination towards Nintendo's mascot, it's safe to say that you can avoid Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. It's a soulless crossover with a penchant for mission design that frustrates more than it should.

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Jan 20, 2016

'Mario and Luigi Paper Jam' is the next Mario spin-off for the Nintendo 3DS, bringing an enjoyable and challenging RPG to the handheld console.

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60 / 100
Feb 26, 2016

Material and the diegetic real come into interesting conversations throughout Paper Jam, but that is the reach of the game's ambition. As with many Nintendo games of the last few years, its gameplay elements are immaculately designed but risk nothing.

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4.6 / 5.0
Nov 30, 2015

AlphaDream has refined its own RPG formula to near-perfection while accommodating another series. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is a modern classic.

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B-
Feb 18, 2016

The best way to sum up Paper Jam as a game: safe. Too safe for its own good.

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Adam Riley
Top Critic
7 / 10
Feb 11, 2016

Without a doubt, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros. is just as solid an RPG adventure as its predecessors, avoiding the pit that Partners in Time fell into with its multi-character approach. Paper Mario slots into this new romp perfectly well, although there are times where the 'Paper' world is not exploited as much as fans may have wanted. Nevertheless, the laughs are still there, as are the innovative 'Bros.' moves for battles, more than making up for the incessant mandatory 'Toad Hunt' mini-games included. This may not be Mario & Luigi at its best, but it still rises high above the recent Paper Mario entries and will keep fans of the series entertained until the end of the impressively lengthy adventure.

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Jan 21, 2016

Mario RPGs continue to defy my expectations of them. These characters and universe that you would never expect to work once you apply a proper narrative to them do far better than many titles that aren't inhibited by a heritage in platformers. Satirical and self-referential, backed with some boundlessly creative combat systems and the endlessly bright Mario aesthetic, Paper Jam might not be a huge step forward from its predecessor on the Nintendo 3DS, but it is every bit as much fun.

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Geeks Under Grace
Gareth Tucker
6.5 / 10.0
Apr 8, 2018

Mario & Luigi Paper Jam Bros. is a fun and enjoyable romp through the Mushroom Kingdom with dialogue that will genuinely make you chuckle. It is not a must but for veterans of the Mario RPG games, but it is not one to avoid either. This is a good introductory title for anyone interested in either franchise.

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USgamer
Top Critic
Jan 22, 2016

By shoving the story aside and doubling down on its great battle system, Paper Jam smartly emphasizes what the series does best. Some of the padding can be a little annoying, but the way paper-thin characters add new angles to enemy encounters makes this crossover more than just a simple gimmick.

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Jan 29, 2016

Paper Jam isn’t a bad game, but it’s hardly a series highlight.

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