This game was announced at E3 but not playable since the show was an E3 showcase, though the game was now recently playable at the Tokyo World Hobby Fair, and some interesting developments have come from the footage of these playable sections.

We have a boss battle which unlike the other Paper Mario games, is not a turn based battle, this is a real time 2D platforming Mario type boss battle, with the main difference being that Mario still has health like in the Paper Mario RPGs, there also appears to be a damage system.

And then we have this video which shows traditional Mario platforming gameplay in the Paper Mario graphic stlye and some other differences for instance obtaining a Mushroom does not increase your size but is in fact like the usual RPG Paper Mario mushroom (a health recovery item) the player can switch between Mario and Bowser on the fly and you can also switch from a 2D "sidescrolling" viewpoint to a "3D" perspecitve where you can access other secret areas.

The game looks very bizarre, not so much in its look we're pretty used to the Paper Mario style, but more in its gameplay, switching 2D/3D viewpoints, 2D Platforming Mario but still with some "RPG" elements, all pretty weird but also sounds like a lot of fun. The game is set for an October release in the US, and whilst the Wii is coming up around that time, you might not want to be missing out on this game, might be the perfect game to try out that backwards compatibility :)

I don't think this game is getting the attention it deserves as most people concluded that the Cube is dead and it's now time to focus on the Wii. However, had this game come out 6 months ago I'm sure we'd all be salivating over it.

Intelligent Systems done a great job with the Paper Mario franchise and I'm sure Super Paper Mario will be a fitting end to the Gamecube's life.

Hell if it's a good game I'll probably get it, might depend on Wii funds though, but it would suck to miss out just because of release schedules. I'll be keeping my eye on it, thats for sure.

As soon as I saw even the faintest whisper about this game it shot right up to the top of the list of my most anticipated titles. Most of you would know that I recently had the pleasure of playing through Civ's copy of Thousand-Year Door and well I was definitely blown away at how beautiful the game was. Not just graphically but in all aspects. The simplistic (yet complex) nature of the game was an awesome thing to immerse myself into and it made me want to purchase it instantly. Obviously I haven't done that though (because I'm an idiot).
But yeah, this is definitely one title I am eagerly awaiting and I cannot wait to pick it up later this year. I don't care if it releases around the same time as the Wii, while yes Metroid will be a huge distraction there is no way I'll be forgetting this little gem.

I was quite surprised to see that the battle system doesn't seem to be on the stage anymore, but looking at that video I am certainly impressed with it. In some ways it made me think of Shadow of the Colossus. If this game is taking certain elements of SotC as its inspiration then oh my monkey will it be fucking awesome. :D

Civ's copy of 1000 year door? I thought you were playing your own copy :P Hold on, have you guys met in person or something, isn't Civ in QLD and Nismo in Canberra? Confused :huh:

You're right Borg. We swapped games. Its like a "free" way to "rent" games. ;)

Anyway, I'm looking forward to this game even though Nintendo isn't giving it the attention it deserves. The new 2D/3D switch in battles looks good and I'm glad they ditched the stage battles. Seeing as its one of the Cube's last games, it'll be a rare and collectable game imo, so get in quick. ;)

^ Wouldn't be the first time for this franchise either. :(

Yeah the original Paper Mario on N64 suffered a similar fate.

this is the reson im keeping my cube, its gonna rock so hard :D

IGN have some new screens from the game. Even though they don't offer much, I couldn't help but drool at them for a while. Damn I love Paper Mario's art style.