Up Next: Paper Mario

Never underestimate Nintendo's ability to milk its triple-A franchises until the teat is bone dry. At this point in history Mario had filled many roles, from hero to tennis star, now he's paper. This warrants a larger discussion about the company's  reluctance to stray from it's well established brands when bringing new game designs to market, but not now.

Paper Mario's design is based on the much heralded Super Mario RPG for the SNES. A turn-based RPG at first blush but during the battles, performing well-timed button presses during attacks will give you offensive or defensive bonuses. It's a little thing that goes a long way - by keeping you active during battles rather than just selection actions, you are more engaged in the overall experience.

BOOM! HAMMER SMASH! 1 Damage.

I think most RPG fans can agree that seeing an outrageously large number pop out of an enemy's gaping wound from a sword that no one could possibly ever hold is one of the biggest thrills of playing a game in this genre. This is where playing Paper Mario feels like tiddly winks. Each enemy has, like, 3 HP, and each attach does 1 HP of damage; 2 if you time your attacks just right. I know it's a completely cosmetic and vein complaint and I could just pretend that the 1s are actually 100s but it just feels like I'm playing with a baby's toy.

Its a charming adventure with well-written dialogue and imaginative worlds. But when you use a devastating item that you spent all your coins on and you see 4 HP damage, it's just a total boner killer.