The Beauty of Simplicity | Paper Mario Retrospective

In 2001, Nintendo released a new Mario role-playing game to North America: Paper Mario. Despite its simplicity, the beauty of Paper Mario lied in its unique art style and its fun, silly charm. It spawned a number of sequels that both refined the formula of the original and went in many different directions as the series went on. While the state of the series is a source of frustration to fans, in celebration of the first game's 20th anniversary, we'll be taking a look back in the franchise and examine all six games. We begin our journey with the one that started it all: Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64. #PaperMario #Nintendo64 #SuperMarioBros
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TIMECODES
00:00 - INTRO
03:05 - DEVELOPMENT
05:26 - GAMEPLAY
08:59 - COMBAT
13:29 - PARTNERS AND LEVELING UP
20:27 - AESTHETICS
23:39 - STORY AND CHAPTERS
29:48 - SIDE QUESTS
32:34 - PEACH SEGMENTS AND FINAL CHAPTER
36:15 - CONCLUSION
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SOURCES / RECOMMENDED READING:
PC Mag: 20 Years Ago, Nintendo Transformed the RPG Genre With Paper Mario (bit.ly/3ji6zfO)
Looper: Super Mario RPG 2: Why We Never Got A Sequel (bit.ly/3cEiUt7)
Vice: 20 Years Ago, Paper Mario Made the Mushroom Kingdom Feel Like a Real Place (bit.ly/3pNjY1K)
GSLA: Paper Mario - 2000 Developer Interview (bit.ly/3oL6YZ5)
IGN: Mario RPG is for the Kids (bit.ly/3rm86UQ)

[@Hawlo]

Quick Change shouldn't be that difficult to get. It starts after Chapter 3 where you see Merlon outside of his house with a troubled expression iirc, which should immediately make you want to talk to him to see what's wrong. After that, it's just doing what the NPCs tell you to do and you'll get the badge.

[@LowerBlack64]

what's best, you don't even need to go through the whole hoops and ordeals to get it. if you know the final step, you can skip right to it.

[@DemolitionDerbyChaosShorts]

I can't like this comment because it has 69 likes

[@ksrhys-]

​@@DemolitionDerbyChaosShortsit has 96 now, thought you might wanna know

[@DemolitionDerbyChaosShorts]

@@ksrhys- thanks

[@josho.757]

Paper Mario on 64 is my childhood man, I love that game

[@raylewis60]

me too it's one of my favorite Mario Games

[@griffinbrooks6748]

For me it’s ttyd

[@PsychicWars]

Goombario is actually one of the best party members in the game because of how his damage scales with rank-ups. Even without Charging up, 6 damage for no FP cost is higher than any other party member can deal except for Bow, and WITH charging it's just flat-out game-breaking. By the time the endgame rolled around I was never switching him out except when I needed Watt to deal with high-defense enemies and Parakarry for screen clears.

[@lukecartwright535]

Absolutely and he beats bow for me cuz her damage don’t mean shit against anything with 1 defense

[@MrGojira95]

21:23 - 21:29 Great!! Now I can’t unsee Peach’s eyes being lifeless. 🤣

[@theluigifan1]

Good video but I have to say, the Goombario disrespect is real. I find him to be far more useful now than I ever did as a kid. Charge + Multibonk pretty much wastes every boss once he’s Ultra-ranked. Plus, he does have a personality if you use Tattle in literally every room/area you walk in. Trust me, the shit this kid says gets a good laugh out of me even now. Because he’s the only party member you get to talk to at will during your adventure, I find him to have the most personality. That’s not to say the others are lacking in personality, I just love being able to talk to Goombario when I’m walking around and not going through any cutscenes or required story beats. Goombario is underappreciated, almost to the same extent as Mario’s brother Luigi. Which is odd considering Goombario’s father Goompapa literally named him after Mario.

[@SuperKamehameha2]

Literally thought the same thing. Goombario is great !

[@zjzr08]

Yeah, using Goombario to get information in every area and enemy is great, shows his personality so much, and so earnest in his travel with his favorite hero - in a way he's kinda like a proxy of the player.

[@TehPwnographer]

Goombario is a straight up assassin when he’s fully charged

[@Sjono]

31:49 Paper Luigi is always a treat to see.” Wish we could’ve seen Paper Luigi in the crossover title Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. Would’ve been awesome to see how Paper Luigi who actually talks interact with Luigi

[@antenna_prolly]

_"Okay, Star Rod, make me a sandwich!"_

[@DieAntDie]

After your DK64 retrospective was recommended to me and I enjoyed it quite a bit, I checked to see your most recent uploads and I was delighted to find this one. You're really great at making videos and I sincerely hope to watch your channel grow even further.

[@mushman1395]

This retrospective is great! It deserves more views tbh

[@CloudConnection]

Thank you! Of course it's still new but the first day performance of this video has been absolutely fantastic compared to my others, so it'll get a bunch more views soon enough!

[@mushman1395]

@@CloudConnection I hope so! I discovered your channel pretty recently and have been loving it. Keep up the great work!

[@fernando98322]

The truest definition of "Baby's First RPG" and I absolutely love the game because of it. And thanks to a fun world to explore and a rich battle system with Badges, it still holds up amazingly.

[@zacktyler2810]

*"Baby's First RPG"* LMMFAO 🤣😂🤣

[@Wolfkaosaun]

Paper Mario is a franchise that's always intrigued me but I never got around to it. With that said, I absolutely want to play this game first and foremost

[@CloudConnection]

I'd definitely recommend it if you're looking a for a simple but chill and charming RPG!

[@angusyoung119]

Huge suggestion: Only play the N64 one and Thousand Year Door for Gamecube

[@AwakeTheFall]

Dont listen to the fanboys. Try all the ganes, they all have greatness to them

[@michaelo.1320]

@@AwakeTheFall no, they don't. sticker star does not have greatness to it. that doesn't make me a fanboy, I'm just calling balls and strikes

[@DTheAustralian]

@@michaelo.1320 Do it anyways. Leave no stone unturned.

[@MrPlayer890]

Just found your channel through the Paper Mario subreddit, and it's at the perfect time. Origami King and some research into Mario in general has left me very interested in the Paper Mario series, and a retrospective like this is just what I'm looking for. Your review of 64 does confirm the general opinion of it, that it's a solid game held ultimately improved upon by its successor. All things considered, it's not as rough a start as something like Metroid or Legend of Zelda, so even with TTYD's success, I'm always curious about why this game is always overlooked since it's only one of the two pure RPG titles in the series. Going to subscribe for the rest of the series!

[@RilfDanielson]

I don't know if you have yet but you should definitely play this Paper Mario. Even better than Thousand Year Door in my opinion

[@MrPlayer890]

@@RilfDanielson I have played through it when I was younger, though I got stuck at the end, same with TTYD. Comparing them is one more excuse to play through each again.

[@Underestimated37]

I actually did a double take when I realised how new and small your channel is! You present like a pro and the video quality is top notch, and you’re not willing to shy away from the controversial! You’re doing amazing and I can’t wait to see what’s next!

[@ToonNoah]

Only ever played this game on the Wii Virtual Console. But I feel as if I grew up with this game as so many other people did. Such a great video. Really enjoy hearing your thoughts on it!

[@CloudConnection]

Thank you very much - and thanks for the shoutout on Twitter!

[@raylewis60]

same bro thats the first time i got to play that game i have an N64 right now and im hoping to get it physically on N64 and play it again someday

[@DaNintendude]

I love retrospectives and it was neat to see a Paper Mario one in my recommended. I enjoyed the video and I definitely am looking forward to seeing your future retrospectives on the rest of the games in the series!

[@SuperRADLemon]

Bud your narration, voice and quality is *chefs kiss*. Can't believe I found you before you blew up. Lets go, and good luck moving forward

[@CloudConnection]

Thanks so much dude!

[@drak6106]

Loved this video and look forward to the rest of the franchise! I hope your videos blow up, they definitely deserve it for the effort you had to put in them!

[@Chris-jx4ij]

It might be a bit simplistic at times, but I really enjoy this game even when I replay it as an adult. I especially like how grounded it feels with the low damage numbers, and the action commands make me feel involved in battle. It's got some nice story beats and whenever I get back to the parade at the end I tear up a bit from all the great memories of the game. I've played and beaten all but Color Splash, although I did give it a watch. I've actually enjoyed every one that I did beat except for Sticker Star which felt like an ok game, but didn't really feel like a paper mario game. I was a bit surprised at my enjoyment of Origami King, especially with the fact that some things felt like they were tacked on simply because the fans were asking for them without considering why they were asking for them. Weird battle system though, which got tiring after a while.

[@Jake-ls2ou]

I was just commenting on another vid but I'm really grateful I found your channel. You're realling singing my song and speaking my language. I adore these old games. Grew up on em. These retrospectives mean a lot to me. Thanks.

[@polyhex]

hey you have a great channel, keep it up!! loved your banjo-kazooie series, been binging your retrospectives a ton the past couple days

[@markplymale]

Played this game so much growing up. Great work on this video man!

[@Tpike777]

With videos like these your subscriber base will surely start to sky rocket! Seen your DK 64 one as well, great production quality. Looking forward to TTYD retrospective. I wonder what chapter will be your favorite? 🤔

[@pchurch692]

Great video! Can't wait to see more, glad I stumbled across this.

[@kenmacaulay5248]

My fave is Thousand Year Door. Good job on the vid so far. You deserve more views! Keep it up!! :)

[@Zlartec]

Your retrospectives have been great so far. You deserve way more views. If you take a look at the Paper Marios (and later on the Mario&Luigi series) will this include Super Mario RPG as well?

[@CloudConnection]

Yes, I will look at SMRPG at some point!

[@bigchumbus]

Excited for the remake, you have a relaxing voice. Good video, gonna check out the rest.

[@thetruecrystalvixen]

Funnily enough, there is a game that was released a month or so ago that I would consider 'Baby's First RPG; Gator Game. Paper Mario was one of the first RPGs I played as a child, and is an excellent game for anyone to play as there are puzzles, a colourful world, strategy and a good story. My brother was about eight when he first did Paper Mario and we both agree that it is one of our top five games, even now. Our only criticism of the game were that there was no Recipe Guide, inability to continue after defeating Bowser and a Yoshi or Shy Guy companion.

[@kevinstreetgaming]

Hey man, I just came across your Donkey Kong 64 video and now this. You have a great channel. Keep up the great work!

[@socksmccox1025]

Your channel is fantastic. Just wait for it, you'll get the recognition you deserve.

[@NoLongerNeedThis]

I don't mean to brag or anything, but I found out how to get the quick change badge on my own, back when I played the game for the first time as a kid. The hints I was given seemed pretty straightforward to be honest. Unfortunately, I was still far too young and naive to grasp how useful the badge was for battle strategy, so I didn't even equip it a lot of the time out of not knowing the value of what I had. Needless to say I always have it equipped when I play the game now.

[@Happymealthief]

This video is so good! Underrated channel

[@SlamBolts]

The quality of these videos, crazy good!

[@GumshoeGamer]

One day I’ll play a Paper Mario game

[@Portersona69420]

as long as it's not sticker star.

[@raylewis60]

@@Portersona69420 lol i actually liked Paper Mario Sticker Star tbh idc what ppl say

[@arielalbertim8630]

I love this game so much! Really great retrospective and review! Just in case when you make the videos about the post-sticker star games, I highly reccomend cheking SuperMarioT's videos and they explain excelently the history of the series' development + interviews.

[@ottolehto]

Nice retrospective! Thanks.

[@DonotForget12103]

Well, now that Nintendo 64 is on the Online service for the Switch, I’m getting myself an N64 controller and play it in order to find out why people love this game so much… Edit: Never mind I just got it on the Wii U Virtual Console, let’s see if it charms me… Edit 2: I love it. This game is SO GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD

[@ATalkingSock]

This game is marvelous, and really got me through some tough times in my youth.

[@mgmboy3778]

It's crazy because Nintendo just posted Paper Mario 20th Anniversary I'm not getting my hopes up that's all I'm saying

[@CloudConnection]

It's absolutely fair to be hesitant about what Nintendo has in store for the series in the future. I imagine most people are.

[@panampace]

This guy does analyses of all the best games of my childhood

[@sunburnttongue1759]

looking forward to following videos! you make some great content

[@tophario1492]

Love the content. I've gotta say, your voice is similar to Antdude's and he covers similar things. Birds of a feather flock together

[@zackblade3856]

This is my favorite game, along with Persona 5 Royal and Mega Man Legends this is the game that made me a gamer, even as a dumb eight year old I was strategically using badges and because of the simple numbers it was easy to understand and I’m glad you gave it a fair review showing me flaws I was too blind to see, nice video and I’ll be sure to tune in on the other games in the retrospective

[@Acacius1992]

Yeah the Paper mario Fanbase is extremly divided. Yet I realy see the oposide as well: Defending the new against any (even valid) critisism and call everyone who like/prefer the older titles as toxic Nostalgiablind. Great Video I habe to say I like your voice and style of reviewing :)

[@Bladieblah]

Fans of the new games are offended so easily even when you just say the new games would be so much better with the old battle and badge systems. Funnily enough I've never seen anyone say the new systems are an improvement, they just feel attacked because people hate on the game they like and form a picture in their mind of the people criticizing their game and insult that image. Edit: I don't like calling people "easily offended" and such, I can relate to where it's coming from (smash ultimate player, melee elitism is ever present) but everyone calling you a "toxic elitist" and trying to explain it away with nostalgia, is actually toxic

[@TriforceElder08]

Awesome video my man

[@alphaleafgaming747]

Looks like we both had the same idea! Good Luck with your channel

[@SuperKamehameha2]

My favorite game of all time :) Love this video

[@Griffnix]

Loved Paper Mario as a kid and it still holds up to this day. Between this and Thousand Year Door, I very much prefer this one. Could be the nostalgia but I like that it takes place in the Mushroom Kingdom with the typical Mario/Peach/Bowser dynamic. It's familiar and comfortable to me. I acknowledge that the sequel is better on most ways. There is one thing that I have a gripe with in TTYD and I'm interested to see if you see it as well. I'll mention it in your retrospective when you post.

[@SuperMuskett]

20:50 the game's visual style was made to emulate a sort of diorama of sorts so it would naturally look like that

[@ashleyblack7419]

there is one point I have to disagree with ^^ finding the quick swap badge isn't impossible without the use of a walkthrough. there is an NPC in Dry Dry Outpost that tells you. it just can be really confusing but I did find it myself.

[@packjag9670]

Just 100% (badges, star pieces, optional bosses, recipes) the game recently. One of the few games that made me go back and finish all the way through.

[@whitemage34]

Lady Bow is my Main Partner for Boss Fights

[@UnicornStorm]

I wouldn't say other RPGs are more engaging because of their flashy animations and high damage values. I think it has more to do with their more complicated nature. You more frequently learn completely different special moves to stun, poison, weaken, slow or otherwise hinder your enemies. You learn strong attacks with a trade-off in accuracy or moves that do the opposite. Paper Mario takes a long time until you have that kind of attack-variety, so having you take an active role in the battles brought this variety into gameplay, which was a pretty good choice. As to the importance of the "paper" theme in the first Paper Mario..... You have to understand that this game wasn't created as a Paper Mario. That name was the product of the localization. And a lot of people wouldn't have minded less paper mechanics in later games of the series. TTYD used it sparingly enough, SPM had I believe two moves that didn't even need to be a reference to paper. The huge emphasis on paper began with Sticker Star and this might even have been the reason why the design of the newer games went the "wrong" way.

[@Bladieblah]

The flat/paper art style was definitely intended, the Japanese name translates to "Mario Story", everything being flat references it being pages from a storybook. And literally the only bad part about the sequels (SPM and Origami King) is how they butchered the combat and badge system, not exploration or dungeons. TTYD did a lot with the paper idea and it's the most highly regarded game of the series. SPM with an expanded TTYD/64 style combat and badge system would probably be the best game in the series because the exploration and music was so great

[@zjzr08]

​​@@Bladieblah While it was an artstyle in 64-SPM, you had to admit since Sticker Star, they made the artstyle literal with references to how they behave as paper beings and also the objects around them, like if Danganronpa made literal flat characters living in a diorama world and we see characters killed by scissors as their sprite got cut in half.

[@natedawg9006]

Origami king was actually good

[@docbaker3333]

Personally I use Goombario's Charge to help finish off enemies I know I can beat in a single turn I used to get rid of a Charged up Hyper Goomba under windly mill before he could attack me and I felt like a genius for doing it.

[@rga1605]

I remember this game, it was so fun, but I never completed or advanced after Tubba Bubba because I could only rent it. The first stages really made me think about the Mario universe because I was so used to see goombas as Bowser's minions and Mario's enemies, but then the first part has a family of goomba that were just normal people. Although for kids (and I was one back then), it did help me to see the Mario world is more complex than it seems.

[@1un4cy]

Imagine if it cost money to keep playing after you died. It'd be, Pay Per Mario

[@jpfoland01]

I love using Bow just for the disrespect to enemies by back-handing them, lol.

[@SableWolfAngel]

*Me:* "Great! He likes all the things I like about the game and dislikes the things I don't like, too!" *Cloud:* "The absolute worst Chapter has to be the sixth one, where Mario & company travel to Flower Fields." *Me:* "...welp, nevermind, I guess. My favorite Chapter is shit tier, apparently." But seriously, it's all subjective opinion after a certain point. I really like Flower Fields, but I totally agree with you on why it's awful! I guess my nostalgia goggles are glued to my face, haha. I can't wait for your TTYD Retrospective! I hope you can get it done within a few months! Cheers!!

[@CloudConnection]

Hey that's absolutely fine! I've just never been a fan of Flower Fields, but you're right, this is all subjective. I'm just one guy making a video, not trying to be the authority on Paper Mario here. So you do you! And yeah, TTYD retrospective should be out by late March!

[@SableWolfAngel]

@@CloudConnection Oh wow, thanks for the reply! I'm truly honored! I think the main reason I loved Flower Fields so much when I was young was because, well... it had pretty flowers and girly music so I was just kinda drawn to those things naturally. I guess aesthetic can go a long way when appealing to children. It's not much of an argument, but I'm sticking to it! Hey, here's a wild idea: you should do a Book of Mario (either the original or Thousands of Doors) Retrospective for April Fool's Day, but play it totally straight almost the entire time. It would be hilarious! But, you know, you don't have to do anything or maybe already have something planned. I just thought it would be funny. Keep up the good work!

[@FelixS.]

I would love a paper Mario point and click adventure.

[@AlbaCOR3]

Love this first Paper Mario game. Has an amazing charm that's hard to recapture.

[@mlpfanboy1701]

17:56 even though if you cant use mario sushi defeats nearly everything.

[@krisiskitsunegamer2967]

Even though I like the original title and I don’t find the newest title as For-filling. The most unique and diverse game in the series I love is super paper Mario. It takes on the approach of a new gameplay making everyone unique while fixated on the 4 levels per world schematic. Each world here has been really unique starting world 1 as your classic Mario in world 1, a world of pixels in world 3, world 6 I’m not too fond of as a world but more as a side challenge, but world 7 is really good as you go through Nintendo’s take in Greek mythology starting from the underworld where you can go through river Styx all the way to the heavens. And overall it has a nice sense of humor and the game gives me a really good and unique experience that I can enjoy. Don’t get me wrong I love the older titles and the newer ones are alright but for me it has to be super paper Mario to take my heart.

[@doshi066]

I need to play this game before the remake of TTYD is out

[@XhsTro]

I'm surprised you didn't mention anything about Jr. Troopa, factually the best character in the game.

[@SuperSomieStuff]

I actually got quick change by accident when I was younger and don't know how I did. IMO it's one of the most useful badges

[@mohammadsaddam4560]

Damn i remember when i'm still in elementary school playing this game and doing the dojo. My guy just turn to fking super saiyan really intimidate me, pretty damn good game

[@chrissiecupcake1882]

I remember my cousin always bring his n46 over to hook up for me to play PM64 and that's all I wanted to play. My brother and cousin would help me with later bosses because I was 7 and bad at Mario games

[@yupazestru5189]

Normal people: a fusion of platforming and turn based combat, so beautiful and addictive. Arin Hanson: I hate this fucking bullshit. I should be able to win by pressing A.

[@fearthefin2235]

@cloudconnection I know you briefly touched on it, but any interest in doing a video solely on Super Mario RPG? Feel like it could easily mix SMRPG (SNES) and the Switch remake.

[@michaelcanas2292]

Paper Mario is the best RPG, unmatched. Only next to KOTOR. I could replay this anytime, no matter what.

[@michatroschka]

whata a cozy, sweet and nice game to play

[@slymbo2382]

It would be interesting if you check out the Rayman franchise

[@CloudConnection]

Maybe some day!

[@thejongshow8821]

Bro bowsers theme slaps

[@alexanderwhittington5685]

underrated you are

[@FidensLibertas]

3:58 that part where you said that Intelligent System would go on to create the Advance Wars franchise is not entirely accurate. in Japan the Advance Wars franchise already existed but there it's just called the Wars franchise. the first game in that series was Famicom Wars released for the Famicom which is the Japanese NES. also, the Wars franchise actually precedes Fire Emblem.

[@AlbaCOR3]

I've always preferred the story book aesthetics over the overt paper aesthetics in the later games, even TTYD.

[@Bardockssj2003]

I'm playing this game right now, and all i have to honestly say is that i like this one, i am more of a M&L fan but paper mario is my 3rd favorite mario rpg series let me explain, i haven't played the thousand year door yet but once it comes out on switch i will give it a try, and i haven't even finished super paper mario yet and never touched Sticker star, color splash or origami king but again i want to play those yes even sticker star despite all the hate that game gets i want to play the game for my self.

[@BoyRoy18]

a quastion, can you make a review of yooka laylee and compair it to Banjo Kazooie/tooie. I would love to hear you opinion

[@CloudConnection]

Yep, I'm actually planning to cover Yooka-Laylee later this year!

[@raccoon681]

Stopped playing after the game cube the rpg formula got wierd

[@xian2themax]

I never found quick change hard to get on your own at all

[@Gubbinsmcbumbersnoot]

Paper Mario is 20 years old?!?!?!? Where… How… How old am I?

[@ericrobertbradley6591]

Bombette good. Goombella good.

[@Techn9cian123]

Installed an emulator on my laptop and then modded a Wii just for this game. The modded Wii now has the sequel which I’ve never played.

[@Techn9cian123]

Just finished PM64 for the very first time. I remember playing through the first chapter a million times growing up but I never beat the game.

[@RacerC45]

I want to see a Paper Mario-like game centered around Princess Peach.

[@jackcottle8144]

I only just played the first paper mario for the the first time this year. I really enjoyed it. However i still prefer super paper mario and the mario luigi series.

[@muskatDR]

Are you gonna cover bug fables?

[@CloudConnection]

Maybe some day

[@oopsy444]

goombas admiring mario is like a bug admiring a boot

[@ajx2956]

Interesting.

[@southernmercy5962]

I recently beat it for the first time on Switch. Not my favorite.

[@FidensLibertas]

19:05 saying super blocks aren't common is a little misleading. there's actually 16 in the whole game which is enough to fully upgrade all partner. a little willingness to explore (and maybe the internet if one's really struggling) and it's very much possible to upgrade all partners to their full potentials.

[@zjzr08]

Yeah, I feel the guy is just not patient enough to search for them, as even in my first playthrough without a guide, I remember only missing maybe 3 or so of them (one that's usually easy to miss is story "required" as the oasis has the lemon).

[@TheDanTheManShow]

Despite the fact that you might have a bias towards the first two games (albeit because you haven’t played much of the other games), based on your videos, I trust you to be fair with that later games.

[@notenoughgarlic]

I sure do miss Paper Mario. Ever since the series ended with Super...sure do wish it would come back...👀

[@CrusifoxMedia]

I wish nintendo would release a remaster bundle of N64 Paper Mario and Gamecube's The Thousand Year Door

[@Ffeoli1039]

I don't care for super paper mario as most fans but I'd love them to throw that in too. It will never happen though

[@superstar64]

Maybe it's because I have a reproduction cart, but this game seems to be really unstable on an actual Nintento 64

[@Fadeddreams5]

Paper Mario is second only to Thousand Year Door. Every other Paper Mario game has been a downhill trend.

[@Moonstrider]

The best Paper Mario game there is, overall😄

[@BBQDanTheMan]

Just leaving my comment before you blow up in views! Great stuff :)

[@Jaydove2387]

Paper Mario TTYD was my first RPG and will always be my favorite.

[@nolanhewitt2563]

Could you do a chrono trigger review?

[@CloudConnection]

One day I will!

[@mr.junior7880]

Be honest guys, Paper Mario is too cool to let down. Words won't do any good for bashing the series or complementing it, it's too good of a design. Either LOVE it to your grave or HATE it to the trash can. All these games are brought up to you :p. It's up to you to decide the N64 cartridge's fate. Also: What do you classify as a "full-blown" battle system? Paper Mario is a pretty simple design but remember that Paper Mario is purposefully non-traditional, which means that they tried to make it unique and mario-styled because that's what EVERYONE expects, I don't think they planned on turning Paper Mario into a complicated anime girl nightmare. Play Undertale/Deltarune too. Maybe it will help you understand my explanation. (I guess I'm just good at Paper Mario or I just need to play Xenoblade Chronicles.)

[@antenna_prolly]

I think "full-blown" means more complex formulae (usually with bigger numbers) containing at least some hidden mechanics. _PM_ uses basic addition and subtraction for its damage as opposed to like, Strength × Attack + one of those × Critical and then a multitude of elements... but simple is not inherently bad.