When you think of Nintendo, you probably think of Mario - leaping along, jumping on goomba heads and racing through stages to reach the perpetually kidnapped Princess Peach. Generally speaking, you don't play a Mario game for the story, given that it rarely extends beyond giving the portly plumber a reason to be heading off on another perilous adventure - but if there's one thing we can say about Mario, it's that he's got his little gloved mitts in plenty of pies. Whether he's hitting a rally in tennis, racing laps in Mario Kart or popping pills in a Tetris-ish puzzler - he's not afraid to set off on a slower-paced adventure either.
Revealed at last night's Nintendo E3 Direct, Mario + Luigi: Paper Jam (or Mario + Luigi: Paper Jam Bros. in Europe, because apparently we need confirmation of the pair's family status) is a mash up of two such franchises, Paper Mario and Mario + Luigi into one, giant Mario role playing game. Technically the latest entry in the Mario + Luigi series, things take a turn for the bizarre when Paper Mario (alongside Paper Peach, Bowser and Toad too) leap out of a book and into their world, resulting in "hilarious, and dangerous, hijinks". During their quest to, presumably, rescue Princess Peach from Bowser's clutches once more, the unlikely trio will need need to make use of both Paper Mario and Mario/Luigi's unique abilities to solve puzzles and take down Bowser's army of dastardly villains. And, as shown off in the trailer, you'll also be able to leap onto a giant papercraft Mario and dance your way to victory in battle, facing off against other giant papercrafts from Bowser's army. Exactly.
Uh oh. Double trouble!
And, if the combination approach pays off, we could be in for something genuinely special here. Paper Mario and Mario + Luigi are amongst Mario's finest games, with both game starring turn-based battles, a really sharp (and genuinely funny) script, and some rather inventive gameplay. In Paper Mario, the world and characters are constructed as if from paper, giving Mazza a whole new set of paper-specific abilities to use on his journey through the Mushroom Kingdom, whether he was folding himself up like a paper plane to glide over gaps or flipping sideways to effortlessly slide through a crack. With less of an emphasis on bopping goombas on the head and much more of a focus on exploration, it's unique turn-based battle system let you deal extra damage, negate enemy attacks and more with a well-timed button press. In a similar-ish vein, with a similar timing-focussed battle system, the Mario + Luigi games swapped the paper-themed special abilities for some good old fashioned teamwork, with puzzles that required the plumber brothers to work together, whether they're trying to escape Bowser's stomach, travelling back in time to rescue their baby selves or journeying into Mario's dream world. Bringing the two together could create the ultimate Mario role playing game.
Mario + Luigi: Paper Jam (Bros.) is due out next spring, for the 3DS - which should give us plenty of time to finish up on the previous Paper Mario and Mario + Luigi games, at least. In the meantime, why not check out the hilariously confused inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom in the trailer below:
