Mario & Luigi Paper Jam Reviews
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.
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.
If you're a fan of the series, or just want to play a decent JRPG, then sure, this is it. Just don't expect anything you haven't seen before.
Paper Jam's cute and punchy moments are offset by its frustrating repetition
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam excels at RPG combat, but is bogged down by tedious minigames and a disappointing story.
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.
Mario and Luigi: Paper Jam is a crumpled up discarded note, recycled into a paper-thin product. At its core, it's good. The dynamic combat system has never felt better, but the rest of the package is padded with poor mini games and excessive backtracking. As a die-hard fan of both series, this was a let down. Nintendo and AlphaDream played it too safely making Paper Jam feel like a reaction to Dream Team rather than an evolution. Based on this, one wonders if it's time to retire both franchises in the hopes of reinvigorating new RPG life into another classic Nintendo character. Again, it's good, bordering on great, but the issues, both big and small, keep Paper Jam from jumping any higher.
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.
Paper Jam isn’t a bad game, but it’s hardly a series highlight.
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.
Because creativity comes at the cost of cohesion, the whole adventure turns into one irritating mini-game.
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros is wholesome, warm, but occasionally wearisome.
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is better than the last effort. It's not the best in the series, but it shines at times.
The best way to sum up Paper Jam as a game: safe. Too safe for its own good.
Delightful, yet tedious. Paper Jam is beautifully crafted but just doesn't know when to quit.
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.
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.