25 Years Later, This N64 RPG Remains A 10/10 Masterpiece

Unlike its predecessor, the Nintendo 64 wasn’t particularly well-known for its RPGs, a quirk of the console that had surprisingly detrimental effects in the long run. With Square and other prominent RPG developers of the time jumping ship for consoles like the PS1, Nintendo was left with few options to offer its fanbase. This is a problem that persisted into the following generations too, as the company struggled to catch up to its competitors and deliver an RPG franchise that could rival the likes of Final Fantasy.

Of course, with Fire Emblem in full swing, Xenoblade Chronicles proving to be one of the greatest JRPGs of all time, and third-party RPG developers finally returning to Nintendo platforms, the days of the RPG drought are over. However, within that period, there was one N64 RPG that managed to stand out as a classic. While it may have been released during an era in which Nintendo’s relationship with the genre was waning, it managed to somehow end up as one of the greatest N64 games of all time, spawned its own genre, and continues to be a masterpiece today.

After 25 Years, This N64 RPG Still Hits

Hidden between the console’s very best titles, like Mario 64, and its very worst RPG offerings, like Quest 64, there were a handful of great RPGs on the N64 that became, for a brief time, household names. Several of these may not have gotten the dozens of sequels they deserved, and even more have more or less faded from existence, but their impact on the genre and the gaming industry at large, as well as their contribution to Nintendo’s continued efforts in the RPG space are nothing to scoff at.

Among the very best Nintendo 64 RPGs stood Paper Mario, a title that felt completely at odds with the series’ trajectory at the time. Sure, there had been a previous Mario RPG beforehand, in the form of Super Mario RPG, but it wasn’t exactly a staple of the franchise, and the series’ innovative push to 3D platforming looked set to be the prominent focus. Still, Paper Mario (which had originally been designed to be Super Mario RPG 2, but was changed when Square moved onto other projects), remains an iconic entry that had a huge impact on the RPG genre.

Its novel take on turn-based combat was unlike anything fans of the genre had seen before, its stylized visuals gave Mario a whole new identity, and its unique approach to exploration was utterly revolutionary. All of this managed to influence a cohort of new developers, thus giving way to an entire sub-genre, making it easily one of the most impactful N64 games of all time. Sure, Paper Mario is wonderfully bizarre in so many ways, but it isn’t hard to see why it managed to take off, unlike many of the failed Mario spin-offs that are lost to time.

Paper Mario Paved The Way For A Great Spin-Off Series

Screenshot for Paper Mario The Thousand Year Door for GameCube

Paper Mario is a perfect illustration of Nintendo’s unbridled creativity and how the developer manages to routinely gain new fans and produce two of the best-selling consoles of all time. It’s packed with bizarre and utterly antithetical ideas that clash completely with the mainline series, its premise is wholly against the tenetsof Super Mario’s core design, and its gameplay barely resembles what fans had come to expect from the series or even Mario-themed RPGs.

However, it is Nintendo’s willingness to deviate from the expected that makes Paper Mario so special, and continues to net fans with games like Splatoon Raiders, Drag X Drive, ARMS and numerous other fun experiments that, successful or not, are undeniably varied and often extremely fun. Sure, Paper Mario was designed by Fire Emblem’s own Intelligent Systems, but even that is illustrative of Nintendo’s expert delegation and accumulation of some of the genre’s and industry’s finest developers.

Paper Mario is one of the best Super Mario spin-off series, and one that I’d even argue ranks above the likes of Mario Kart and Party. Sure, they’re far more successful and understandably more popular, but Paper Mario has always felt like a true spin-off, a title that understands both what makes the original experience so great and what makes for an excellent experience within the new genre. The Nintendo 64 absolutely benefited from the presence of Paper Mario, and I sincerely hope Nintendo never lets the series die as it has so many other Mario spin-offs.