Paper Mario is one of seven N64 titles Nintendo teased as future content when it revealed the Expansion Pack, with others on the way being Banjo-Kazooie, F-Zero X, Kirby 64: The Crystal Shards, Mario Golf, The Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask, and Pokemon Snap. No concrete releases came in November 2021, though corporate documents were uncovered suggesting Nintendo hopes to improve the Expansion Pack going forward. Today’s trailer spotlighting Paper Mario is great for fans of the game, but may not bode well for the service going forward.
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Nintendo Giving Paper Mario the Spotlight is a Great Sign
As with many of Nintendo’s popular franchises, Paper Mario has had something of a rocky history. The N64 original and its GameCube successor The Thousand-Year Door are widely acclaimed as some of the best beginner RPGs ever made. They eschew the huge numerical values and complicated spells of games like Final Fantasy in favor of simple, action command-centered battles; wrapped up in a unique papercraft aesthetic that creatively uses the Super Mario IP.
Super Paper Mario on Wii changed up the formula by presenting more of a traditional platformer with RPG elements, all in service of its 2D-to-3D flipping gimmick. After that came what many would consider to be a “dark period” with the release of Paper Mario: Sticker Star and the crossover Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam on 3DS, as well as Paper Mario: Color Splash on Wii U. None of those titles are fondly remembered by fans, as they turned their attention to the paper aesthetics as selling points and were more homogenized examples of the Super Mario brand.
Though Paper Mario: The Origami King on Switch is generally seen as a more positive entry that injects a lot of creativity back into the series, it continues moving away from the RPG roots that fans loved in favor of its own puzzle-based combat system. The general scarcity of “traditional” Paper Mario content has led to fans asking for re-releases of The Thousand-Year Door. Thus, seeing Nintendo give the N64 original its own spotlight in 2021 with a brand-new trailer just before making the game available again is hopefully a sign it recognizes the fanbase’s desire for more.
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Nintendo Switch Online’s Drip-Feed May be Getting Worse
Unfortunately, as much as one may want to celebrate the release of Paper Mario for Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack, its standalone announcement is potentially evidence that Nintendo is doubling-down on one of the service’s biggest criticisms. Many have given the company flak for how slowly it releases new NES and SNES games via Nintendo Switch Online - and for how many iconic games like Earthbound are still missing.
Assuming the pattern possibly established by Paper Mario holds true, it being the one new N64 game confirmed for Switch Online’s Expansion Pack within two months of its release, fans may have reason to be concerned. More games may join Paper Mario later in December, and it would make sense for Nintendo to bolster its service as much as possible leading into the first big holiday season the Nintendo Switch OLED model is on the market. However, just one game being added every few months wouldn’t be great given how many are already skeptical of the Expansion Pack’s price.
Paper Mario will release as part of Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack on December 10.
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