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Mario & Luigi Paper Jam
Nintendo made a surprise announcement during its Direct conference at E3 2015, unveiling an RPG crossover for the 3DS. The Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario series are colliding in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. I got to play Nintendo's cleverly named portable title during a Nintendo booth tour at E3 2015, and the gameplay is a satisfying blend of two lovable, long-running series.
The premise for Paper Jam remains unexplained, but what we do know is these two worlds have somehow merged. It appears Paper Mario and his 2D friends and enemies are in the more three-dimensional world of Mario & Luigi. Pairs of Bowsers, Princess Peaches, and the famous brothers are seen trying to comprehend their absurd doppleganger situation.
We don't know how things got this way, but the turn-based RPG gameplay might be what you expect. The section I play involves Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario. The trio explore a green overworld, sneaking up on enemies to land a surprise jump attack to deal extra damage before entering a separate battle screen.
Paper Jam reminds me of a previous situation where Mario and Luigi teamed up with themselves: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. In this game, each of the four brothers were controlled with one of the DS's face buttons. The same holds true in Paper Jam, though there are greater differences between the character types. Hammer, jump, and group attacks (like a massive hammer attack) are the bread and butter of combat, forcing players to make timed button presses as each brother attacks. Characters also have the chance to dodge incoming attacks by jumping or smashing incoming enemies with hammers. The biggest difference comes from Paper Mario, who can make paper copies of himself to jump on enemies multiple times or split up for a multi-pronged hammer barrage. Paper goombas and koopas also benefit from their lightweight status, floating towards the characters in unpredictable patterns to do damage. It's a novel twist on the formula and a worthy follow-up to Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.
On the surface, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam feels like the same type of humorous, tactile, RPG-lite experience we've come to love from the series. The addition of 2D paper characters injects some freshness into the Mario & Luigi formula while helping bring the Paper Mario characters back to their roots. We don't have a release date yet, but if you haven't been keeping up with either excellent series now is a great time to catch up.
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