Noticed how no Sammer Guy appeared in the Under Where. Not because they died, but they were completely erased as if the Sammer Kingdom never existed. That fact just makes me feel very uneasy
LuminaryEm thank you for that, gives me chills to think about. Very good catch to another great piece of subtle SPM world building It really is a case where the more you dig in to SPM the more there is to appreciate!
Count Bleck is also the only Mario villain who isn't motivated by greed or a desire for conquest. He reminds me of Professor Gerald Robotnik from the Sonic series. where he just went mad with vengence and wanted to kill everyone because he was so devastated that the Millitary killed his grandaughter.
It's my favorite type of villain, really. When they've been driven to madness through hardship, when you can see where they're coming past the extremes they've taken- especially with something so human as the love for another. Thanks for your example with Gerald Robotnik, great connection :)
it's pretty rare that I find tragic villains like them. I always find the tragic heroes. My favorite kinds of villains are those who were once good. but had become corrupted by a dark force and the ones that are shrouded in mystery. like the Shadow Queen for example. I find it very fun to theorize where they came from and how they became what they are.
I agree with you there as well! The Skull Kid is my favorite example of both as he's an innocent corrupted by a dark force, and what's warping his mind & actions is the spirit of the mask (Majora, heavily shrouded in mystery). Cool you mentioned the Shadow Queen- both her and Shadoo in this game is interesting to me as well. There was a theory circulating on the Mario Wiki that the Pixl Queen mentioned in Caron's stories is reformed as Shadoo- I thought the evidence was there but not necessarily strong enough to talk about in the video. Super fascinating to think about: I love the Shadow Queen's abilities and the story blip in TTYD mentioning her creating the Pit of 100 Trials. Again, really tying the world together- they make all the difference.
Even though he was not a human, in a way he was the most human villain in any Mario game. He had a reason in destroying everything, because he lost everything (Timpani). She was his everything, most likely the only one who cared for him, unlike the tribe of darkness.
It's not even his backstory that makes me think he's a good villain. To be honest, I never really liked the whole "Lost one person - Tries to destroy the world" kind of character, but I feel like Count Bleck is an example of it done right. The reason I think he works is that the writers don't give him a free pass on all the horrible shit he did; they make him own up to what he did and force him to undo it. I feel like a major pitfall that these kinds of characters have is that the writers ignore all the terrible things they did and expect you to feel bad for them regardless (Which just makes them frustrating and less sympathetic), but they have Count Bleck atone for his actions, and ultimately redeem himself.
@@tekateman6464Both of you make fair points. I personally am of the opinion that simply undoing horrible things you did is not enough, and looking back, I'm not sure if "redeem" is the right word, honestly. Maybe "atone" would be the right term, but like I said, I'm not sure. I mean, he did suffer a lot, but nothing really excuses omnicide.
@TheCJ As for "done right", I mean the writers don't FORCE sympathy onto him, and they don't give him a free pass for what he did because he's sad. I do feel he deserved more punishment, but they didn't try to say he was justified in trying to destroy all worlds or say he did nothing wrong. And they forced him to undo his actions and own up to what he did. Edit: Although, I can see why some people would view it as being forced, since the narrative is definitely sympathetic towards him, but it didn't feel ham-fisted or in-your-face.
TheCJ I don’t think it’s as simple as Bleck being grief stricken and wanting to destroy all existence. I always felt it was more as if losing Timpani meant he lost all his individual purpose. He didn’t care about his life anymore. So what do you do? He believes it’s his prophetic duty to end all worlds as the prognosticus says. And since he has nothing to live for anyway, might as well fulfill my role in prophecy. That’s how I viewed it. Blumiere and Count Bleck are in some respects separate entities. And the finale shows Blumiere struggling against the Bleck identity that the Dark Prognosticus bestowed on him.
@@MrGrass97 no matter what people would say, he is a good vilain . And I personally don't care of him wanting to destroy the world, but that he helped to put an end to " the destruction of the world", what he done in the end is much more important of what he have done in the middle. The love is such a beautiful power.
SPM is the best Paper Mario game, hell, it's just one of the best Mario games. It's a shame that there are good chunk of people who dismiss it because "ooh but it's not an RPG >:[[[["
I've always loved SPM, but even back in the day I wanted it to be a one-time departure for the series. Of course, that didn't happen with SS or CS- so going back and playing this game again, knowing its legacy and what followed it's amazing how in-spirit it actually was to the first two RPG's. The recipes/items, enemies, the story- in plot it's a fantastic successor to Thousand Year Door. As its own thing, I think the concept of flipping dimensions is really neat- the platforming is mediocre in some areas but overall I really think it works well and it's justified how Intelligent Systems was able to pull it off. I'm glad we got a game like this! I hope people that didn't give it a chance initially go back and enjoy the experience. I'm in the camp that calls these three games the "Paper Mario Trilogy", SPM deserves it! :)
I swear I'm always learning new things about this game's plot... and I've been obsessed with it since I first played it back when it was fairly new. Just goes to show just how much passion went into it, such a shame it didn't get the appreciation it definitely earned. Almost everything I love about Paper Mario stories culminated and peaked in this game, which is one of the biggest reasons the new ultra-basic direction after it is so sickening to me. It's almost as if they felt like they couldn't top this, and this story is good enough that I can believe that, but you never truly know until you try. I'm going to watch part 2 of this now, but I'm still shocked at the realization of even more pieces that fit together that I didn't realize before this video, like the Pixls being made from the souls of the dead tying into Timpani's soul becoming a Pixl... I'm getting emotional because we'll never see anything like this game again :'(
Brother just replayed this game, and I love it to pieces. It has the best writing for Luigi, Peach, and Bowser, the worlds are so much fun, and the VILLAINS- The main backstory is tragic and sweet, Nastasia's loyalty makes me want to cry, and Dimentio is a magnificent bastard who gave little 10-yr-old me my first trust issues.
It seems to me that the Paper Mario series is not just one of those side game cash grabbers with no essence, but instead actually has a well-designed plot meant to actually catch the player's interest and maintain that throughout the story. It's outstanding to me that Nintendo actually cares about their customers as a company that they put so much effort and creativity into games rather than essentially copy and pasting source code and re-skinning and modernizing the textures (looking at you, Call of Duty devs). As for the final scene where Timpani and Blumiere are reunited, is it sad that it touched me emotionally watching them walk away despite never having seen any gameplay or having any knowledge about the story until approximately 15 minutes ago? Great video, Thane. :)
Landon Cayia thank you, Landon. We talked in person just recently but I want to say that you’re right, Nintendo is a company that strives for polish and impact above making a quick buck. These are games that stick with you for a long, long time after you play them (I’m still replaying the very games that got me started) & they’ll always be my favorite for that reason. Their creativity is unmatched! Believe it or not I’ve heard good things about some of the Call of Duty series story modes, so I’m sure there are at least devs on board that do care about lasting appeal but you’re right, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s hard to justify the existence of annual sequels in franchises that copy/paste.
Count Bleck is the best villain in a Mario game in my opinion. As a kid I saw him as an incredibly potent threat to Mario and the gang even forcing Bowser himself to team up with the good guys because of how horrible and unacceptable his intentions were, also he sent all the worlds (or most of them) into nothingness as shown toward the end of the game (even if it's temporarily). Now that I am a young adult (or a late teenager) I can only relate to his character and his nihilistic view of life and his tragic past now that I actually understand what he is all about. Just his motives are something that makes him stand out from other Mario villains which are, as another commenter mentioned, usually motivated by greed or a desire for conquest. His intentions are the darkest, presumably suicidal as he wants to eradicate everything from existence probably including himself as he sees everything as meaningless, aside from Timpani, as he lost all hope of ever seeing her again. Another thing that makes him interesting is that he chose a path of redemption at the end of the game which is something we don't see many Mario villains do since they are usually killed off, even Bowser (even if he keeps coming back), he instead gets a happy ending (be it an extremely sad one). This brief "the end" moment (8:46) is one of the only time I've been genuinely touched by a video game and I remember almost tearing up as a child.
@@its-amemegatron.9521 Also, Silver is an interesting character compared to Kersti. Too bad that in recent years, Silver is the definition of "wasted potential" because Sonic Team never really does anything with him, and he's just sort of there nowadays.
Count Bleck is not evil for evil’s sake. Of course, unabashedly, entirely evil characters have their place in fiction too, but the gradual reveal that Count Bleck is not one of those, but a good man who lost everything and now runs on revenge and spite, is quite well done, in my opinion. And the ending is well done. He reversed the destruction of worlds, almost entirely out of altruism-he didn’t have to do that now that he reunited with his love, but he did.
4:29 I actually remember this being stated by one of the NPCs in the game. They acknowledge the idea of the void being in their afterlives! It was quite striking even if it was only a little optional conversation.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg, I jokingly titled it "Super Paper Mario: A Dissertation" because the script was so long :D there's a LOT of mature themes in this one
Can you imagine Intelligent Systems going back to make a sequel? A follow-up to the original trilogy might please fans most, or at least a game chronologically after/in the same universe referencing the events of PM, TTYD, and Super. Sticker Star & Color Splash would be cemented as off-shoots, and peace in the fandom would resume 😅
@@ThaneGaming What if Dimentio actually succeeded and the world in the modern trilogy was actually the new and "perfect" world that Dimentio created though?
Count Bleck reminds me of Count Dracula especially from the Castlevania series especially since they both became dark and evil due to losing their loved ones!😀 I think that's who Count Bleck is based off from!😀
I absolutely love this game, but somehow I never looked into some of this. Nice job, I learned something new about Super Paper Mario's story. I especially loved the part about Merlumina's spicy love life XD.
I'm so glad. Honestly I never knew about a lot of this either when I first played- I remember loving the main story, which is fantastic in its own right, but the character stories add so much to tie it all together. Thank goodness for Wikis to encourage me to actually speak with Garson/Carson for all their tales (initially thought they only gave advise on gameplay/retelling things you already knew about. Wasn't spending 10 coins apiece for that hah). I saw every bit of lore I read up using their stories as reference, and I thought it was so cool this is actually in the game for the players that care enough to learn about. Intelligent Systems really nailed it here IMO, unfortunately the credits don't specify exactly who's responsible for the script like the previous two games. Thanks for the kind words, you're welcome. I'm super happy to have others as interested as I am :)
gamers in a container there was so, so much more plot detail to this game than I initially gathered on my first play through- I couldn’t believe how all the pieces fit together and it made me respect SPM that much more 😊
@@ThaneGaming Yes. I want to do so much more digging into this game now. Which reminds me. There is a version of the River Twygz theme that's been cleaned up for the voices to be distinguishable. I heard some really messed up things. I'd recommend you check it out if you haven't already. All I'll say is the Ancients may not be as benevolant as they mag first seem......
I first played this game when it released in 2007- I was in middle school and have fond memories from a couple of friends I could talk about the story with. Having recently re-played this title again in its entirety, I fell in love with it all over again. I've researched by really digging deep into the game's lore, and uncovering things I never even knew about until now. Everything from the OST to the cast of villain characters has had a profound effect on me, so I hope you enjoy the culmination of my efforts :) This is a very different experience to anything you may expect from a Mario game- let me know if you have any memories of the title or things you wish to share :) Remember there will be two parts to this: the game is so dense in its mature themes I had to split it in two separate videos. In the next I will be discussing war themes, drug references, this game's underworld and more. Thanks for supporting the channel!
Hey thanks for asking :) I did a bit of searching for the highest quality scans I could find on the internet and the best pictures were on Tumblr via "pikmingirl". I'm grateful they've archived like this, though if you want more the book is pretty inexpensive on Amazon- I was thinking about picking up a few volumes myself for other games in the franchise! Images in the video: pikmingirl.tumblr.com/post/96861379788/mangascanbits-super-mario-kun-volume-37-38-super For those that don't know, Super Paper Mario is covered in volumes 37 and 38 in the long running Super Mario-Kun manga series.
@@ThaneGaming Maybe it could be a burst fire rate of spears but each shot deteriorates in accuracy. Each shot does 5 damage for a bodyshot and 7-8 for headshot depends on enemy HP.
In sammer's kingdom, my older sister on her first playthrough said that she thought the world was destroyed because she was too slow and felt so bad She didnt know it was just meant to be like than 😔
One dark thing you didn't mention was WHY Bleck and Timpani were a tragic couple to begin with: Racism. They got fucked by being from two races who were at odds with each other, they happened to fall in love, and their people violently disapproved of the coupling. You implied it, but didn't outright state it, unless I missed that.
ZeldaKing64 yes! I’m happy someone noticed that. It was >1 second in the video, but that was a screenshot of an actual tweet by the parody account “Nihilistic Arby’s” (check it out, great dark humor). I photoshopped the user to be Count Bleck, and changed the year it was posted to be Super Paper Mario’s release date :) just figured the two would have a lot to talk about haha
I was about 13(?) when I first played the game, and it definitely impacted me emotionally then. I didn't even notice the other more subtle world-building details until later in life, and learned a lot when I played through it again for this video! It's a roller coaster of an experience :)
1. Thanks so much! You helped make my day, I really appreciate the kindness. 2. It's never too late ;) I love shedding light on older games, I know it's niche but I really want to talk about that games that impacted me most, and this was definitely one of them. It's a celebration of the series :)
Good I'm glad! I really hope you enjoy your second play-through, I know I definitely learned a ton about the game I had no idea about when I first played in 2007. The NPCs have new things to say after each chapter- remember that and you'll see a lot of dialogue that'd otherwise be easy to miss :)
I love this game so much and this vid reinforced that, in fact I’ve been writing a crossover fic based on Super Paper Mario that goes more in-depth on some of the lore that you only get to hear about if you go out of your way to listen to the stories in the cafes
in the aftergame Count Bleck and Timpani aren't in the underwhere or overthere. So they likely were forced to be in alternate universe completely alone which is kinda worse then death.
Something I noticed about Shadoo is that he's essentially just the same model as Mr. L, just completely black. If you look closely at the back of him, you can see the tie of Mr. L's scarf. If you pay extreme attention to the front of him, you can even see the front of the scarf as well! I'm 99% sure that I'm not the first person to notice this, but I'm glad I noticed it now.
I first got this game about ten years ago and very much overlooked it. That was mainly because I did not understand the plot and it didn't seem like an actual Mario game. Ten years later I gave it another shot wondering why everyone said that this was the best Paper Mario game. After playing through the game the very first time, I realized that underestimating this game was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. There is so much interesting lore in this game that I feel like I come to a new realization each new save file I start. Each character is really memorable which is another great aspect of this game. By the way, did anyone else notice that the first creature you encounter when Dimentio sends you to the Underwhere kind of has a face that resembles Count Bleck?... Does anyone know if that is hidden lore or is it just a coincidence?
Woah, interesting catch at the end of your comment there. That’s a good point, but in other Paper Mario games, you encounter those too. But in all it makes me think deeper about Bleck’s face design. I very much feel the same about the game. Super Mario Galaxy was the first video game I ever played in 2008, at 9 years old. I loved it so much, I wanted to try another Mario game so I got super paper Mario because idk the cover looked different. It seemed interesting enough. But I didn’t like it. It wasn’t as fun as Galaxy and I waited a few months before returning to the game. And boy did I finally see the beauty of it
I know a lot of people don’t like SPM, but I really deep down feel that this game beholds a lot of effort and emotion. It IS an usual turn of tables for a Mario game, but I was definitely intrigued with the story than anything else. Mario might just be Mario, but I still like the game. I like how Tippi began to “crush” on Mario and Luvbi made her flustered. Meanwhile Mario was utterly confused.
Count bleck at the beginning of the game be like let's have this monster and this human marry each other this will create a chaos heart and it did because they hate each other
Hombre,de verdad tanto este como el Segundo video Han sido muy Buenos,de verdar mereces mas subs,un muy bien trabajo (sorry,I dont speak in English but I understand your video,good work!)
That's a good idea. Been thinking about Dark Aspects of Mother 3 for a long while now... I made a pseudo one when describing the heavier moments in my psychology video, though a real episode showcasing everything is much needed. Thank you, that'll most likely be the next one I do :)
Haha so it's a little confusing but only 11 of the 12 original Pixls can actually join Mario (they are implied to be the same ones from the legend), so the 12th is likely the one who died fighting the Pixl Queen, as Carson mentions. I made up a design since we don't know what it looks like, so the one with a spear is a photoship creation by me! Sorry if I got your hopes up 😅 there is an unused ladder-like Pixl found in pre-release versions of the game though, which is kind of cool!
That's true! I would consider that a Dark Aspect. She is shown to be alive after beating the game, but players don't know that at the time and it's still traumatizing for her parents
Wasn't the Pixl Queen the 12th original Pixl, or is there an original Pixl that I missed, because I remember including the Pixl Queen it is already 12.
Great Video Edit: I've always wished that such a video existed. PS: In chapter 1-2 is the mother of the three old sisters! ✌(>‿☮) And thanks for the Heart!
YOU DON’T EVEN USE THE WORD EXISTENTIAL RIGHT, LET ALONE PRONOUNCE IT RIGHT Also I got Tippi’s identity spoiled to me by the fame itself :( I decided to try the pit of trials and found Tippi’s capture card which outright tells you that she’s timpani.
I'm going to pretend I didn't see the one that they said about the 100 trials cuz I already played the game on my own but I still haven't made it there well I didn't make it to to floor 60 on the regular but I only had like 10 HP left and no healing items
Great video! Super Paper Mario is so underrated. I hope that in a future Mario game, we will be able to see Blumiere and Timpani as an Easter egg. For example, let’s say there’s a Paper Mario game where Mario and co try to go to another dimension in order to obtain something important and as they are flipping dimensions, you quickly see Blumiere and Timpani and they look surprised and happy to see Mario and co. I don’t know though. Any mention or Easter egg of them seems unlikely at this point.
You mean Tiptron At the end of the game, Tippi becomes unavailable for the player's use after her marriage to Count Bleck and subsequent disappearance. So Francis created Tiptron, and for 999 coins (the highest number of coins the player can hold), he will sell it to Mario, allowing the player to use Tippi's abilities again. Also, Tippi turn to her original form and she's with Blumiere
@@admnov93 Tippi acts like she's trying to tell you that she is not just a robot. Her soul was brought back from wherever the hell it came from and no one believes her. BLUMIERE IS SOMEWHERE ALONE until they make a bleckbot
@@aierisfrost8447 Or maybe Tiptron has identity crisis, she refuses to accept that Francis created her based real one. And sold her to the highest bidder That's kinda traumatic
@@admnov93 Why would Francis program her like that??? I mean I get he would want to make her as real as possible but Stay with me here Francis is essentially a fanboy And if that's the case then he would make tippi like him in some way like most any intense fan would. Tiptron is basically the outcome of a fan reviving a dead character for thier fanfic.
That would be super impressed that he manages to revive someone from death using technology. That enough he is able to replicate almost identical pixl. (Still not convincing with that theory of Tippi's trapped on Tiptron's body) They never told us where exactly is Timpani and Blumiere after destroying the chaos heart. The only clue that we have: 2 couple (Tippi and Count Bleck) in somewhere (probably in their own created dimension) reunited at last... Also, manga has that ending...
@Porky Minch I suggest you look in the comments of literally any SPM OST video. People definitely DO NOT hate this game. This game gets as much praise as it needs (if not more than it needs imo). But every Paper Mario fan thinks their favorite game is the most underrated… ESPECIALLY SPM fans.
"The Underwhere" is a milk bar in Flipside and "The Overthere" is a coffee bar in Flopside, names based on the Chapter 7 locations! It's pretty funny that The Underwhere bar is an actual place from a Mario game
Linkenz2 I was wondering if anybody was going to comment on that! Funny story, that Pixl’s actually something I made up using parts of the other Pixls. The 11 in-game that can become Mario’s partners are not the original twelve in the backstory- they were simply convenient to use as a visual aid. I needed one more, and Tippi would have made things confusing so I opted to craft one in that style :D I also considered using a scrapped ladder-shaped Pixl (found in early game content) but I couldn’t find a high-res picture. We should give the little guy a name and ability!
That definitely works! It'd be really helpful to have a shooting ability, since there isn't really one besides Thoreau's grab. Maybe then I'd switch out more often and not rely on Carrie all the time hah
@@ThaneGaming Works good on Dimentio too! When Dimentio flys in the air, Spearow would be able to hit Dimentio in the air (since you don't have Luigi in the early game). Luigi+Spearow is a good combo when fighting Dimentio in Castle Bleck, where Luigi does the super jump and uses Spearow's fast fire rate to tell who is the real Dimentio when he clones himself.
![Dark Aspects of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door [Remake] (Part 1) - Thane Gaming](/img/n.gif)
Noticed how no Sammer Guy appeared in the Under Where. Not because they died, but they were completely erased as if the Sammer Kingdom never existed. That fact just makes me feel very uneasy
LuminaryEm thank you for that, gives me chills to think about. Very good catch to another great piece of subtle SPM world building
It really is a case where the more you dig in to SPM the more there is to appreciate!
I guess you can say that the Sammer Guys got destroyed by the Champion of Destruction AKA Count Bleck in a literal sense.
Pretty dark
Count Bleck is also the only Mario villain who isn't motivated by greed or a desire for conquest. He reminds me of Professor Gerald Robotnik from the Sonic series. where he just went mad with vengence and wanted to kill everyone because he was so devastated that the Millitary killed his grandaughter.
It's my favorite type of villain, really. When they've been driven to madness through hardship, when you can see where they're coming past the extremes they've taken- especially with something so human as the love for another. Thanks for your example with Gerald Robotnik, great connection :)
it's pretty rare that I find tragic villains like them. I always find the tragic heroes.
My favorite kinds of villains are those who were once good. but had become corrupted by a dark force and the ones that are shrouded in mystery. like the Shadow Queen for example. I find it very fun to theorize where they came from and how they became what they are.
I agree with you there as well! The Skull Kid is my favorite example of both as he's an innocent corrupted by a dark force, and what's warping his mind & actions is the spirit of the mask (Majora, heavily shrouded in mystery). Cool you mentioned the Shadow Queen- both her and Shadoo in this game is interesting to me as well. There was a theory circulating on the Mario Wiki that the Pixl Queen mentioned in Caron's stories is reformed as Shadoo- I thought the evidence was there but not necessarily strong enough to talk about in the video. Super fascinating to think about: I love the Shadow Queen's abilities and the story blip in TTYD mentioning her creating the Pit of 100 Trials. Again, really tying the world together- they make all the difference.
wait what about Eggman???
I just love vilians like that
Fun fact: Even Tippi yells at the player for trying to get info on a Sammer and tells you that there is no time for that and to get the Pure Heart
This is probably the most realistic villan in any game.
Even though he was not a human, in a way he was the most human villain in any Mario game. He had a reason in destroying everything, because he lost everything (Timpani). She was his everything, most likely the only one who cared for him, unlike the tribe of darkness.
It's not even his backstory that makes me think he's a good villain. To be honest, I never really liked the whole "Lost one person - Tries to destroy the world" kind of character, but I feel like Count Bleck is an example of it done right. The reason I think he works is that the writers don't give him a free pass on all the horrible shit he did; they make him own up to what he did and force him to undo it. I feel like a major pitfall that these kinds of characters have is that the writers ignore all the terrible things they did and expect you to feel bad for them regardless (Which just makes them frustrating and less sympathetic), but they have Count Bleck atone for his actions, and ultimately redeem himself.
I mean, he saved the entire existence. Isn't that redemption? And his father killed his bride that sounds rough
@@tekateman6464Both of you make fair points. I personally am of the opinion that simply undoing horrible things you did is not enough, and looking back, I'm not sure if "redeem" is the right word, honestly. Maybe "atone" would be the right term, but like I said, I'm not sure. I mean, he did suffer a lot, but nothing really excuses omnicide.
@TheCJ As for "done right", I mean the writers don't FORCE sympathy onto him, and they don't give him a free pass for what he did because he's sad. I do feel he deserved more punishment, but they didn't try to say he was justified in trying to destroy all worlds or say he did nothing wrong. And they forced him to undo his actions and own up to what he did.
Edit: Although, I can see why some people would view it as being forced, since the narrative is definitely sympathetic towards him, but it didn't feel ham-fisted or in-your-face.
TheCJ I don’t think it’s as simple as Bleck being grief stricken and wanting to destroy all existence. I always felt it was more as if losing Timpani meant he lost all his individual purpose. He didn’t care about his life anymore. So what do you do? He believes it’s his prophetic duty to end all worlds as the prognosticus says. And since he has nothing to live for anyway, might as well fulfill my role in prophecy. That’s how I viewed it. Blumiere and Count Bleck are in some respects separate entities. And the finale shows Blumiere struggling against the Bleck identity that the Dark Prognosticus bestowed on him.
@@MrGrass97 no matter what people would say, he is a good vilain . And I personally don't care of him wanting to destroy the world, but that he helped to put an end to " the destruction of the world", what he done in the end is much more important of what he have done in the middle. The love is such a beautiful power.
I love you Timpani, hundreds and thousands years from now, that fact will not have changed.
SPM is the best Paper Mario game, hell, it's just one of the best Mario games. It's a shame that there are good chunk of people who dismiss it because "ooh but it's not an RPG >:[[[["
I've always loved SPM, but even back in the day I wanted it to be a one-time departure for the series. Of course, that didn't happen with SS or CS- so going back and playing this game again, knowing its legacy and what followed it's amazing how in-spirit it actually was to the first two RPG's. The recipes/items, enemies, the story- in plot it's a fantastic successor to Thousand Year Door.
As its own thing, I think the concept of flipping dimensions is really neat- the platforming is mediocre in some areas but overall I really think it works well and it's justified how Intelligent Systems was able to pull it off. I'm glad we got a game like this! I hope people that didn't give it a chance initially go back and enjoy the experience. I'm in the camp that calls these three games the "Paper Mario Trilogy", SPM deserves it! :)
Most definitely! Unfortunately, I find a strong stigma in the Paper Mario community against the game, which is a real shame.
I wouldn't say "best game" so much as "best story."
The former goes to TTYD.
A good “o chunk”
@@AntiVillain26845 ...........
I swear I'm always learning new things about this game's plot... and I've been obsessed with it since I first played it back when it was fairly new. Just goes to show just how much passion went into it, such a shame it didn't get the appreciation it definitely earned. Almost everything I love about Paper Mario stories culminated and peaked in this game, which is one of the biggest reasons the new ultra-basic direction after it is so sickening to me. It's almost as if they felt like they couldn't top this, and this story is good enough that I can believe that, but you never truly know until you try. I'm going to watch part 2 of this now, but I'm still shocked at the realization of even more pieces that fit together that I didn't realize before this video, like the Pixls being made from the souls of the dead tying into Timpani's soul becoming a Pixl... I'm getting emotional because we'll never see anything like this game again :'(
The music in this game was good, story is literally an anime, and mimi was terrifying.
River Twygz is more terryfiying
Brother just replayed this game, and I love it to pieces.
It has the best writing for Luigi, Peach, and Bowser, the worlds are so much fun, and the VILLAINS-
The main backstory is tragic and sweet, Nastasia's loyalty makes me want to cry, and Dimentio is a magnificent bastard who gave little 10-yr-old me my first trust issues.
It seems to me that the Paper Mario series is not just one of those side game cash grabbers with no essence, but instead actually has a well-designed plot meant to actually catch the player's interest and maintain that throughout the story. It's outstanding to me that Nintendo actually cares about their customers as a company that they put so much effort and creativity into games rather than essentially copy and pasting source code and re-skinning and modernizing the textures (looking at you, Call of Duty devs). As for the final scene where Timpani and Blumiere are reunited, is it sad that it touched me emotionally watching them walk away despite never having seen any gameplay or having any knowledge about the story until approximately 15 minutes ago? Great video, Thane. :)
Landon Cayia thank you, Landon. We talked in person just recently but I want to say that you’re right, Nintendo is a company that strives for polish and impact above making a quick buck. These are games that stick with you for a long, long time after you play them (I’m still replaying the very games that got me started) & they’ll always be my favorite for that reason. Their creativity is unmatched! Believe it or not I’ve heard good things about some of the Call of Duty series story modes, so I’m sure there are at least devs on board that do care about lasting appeal but you’re right, it doesn’t change the fact that it’s hard to justify the existence of annual sequels in franchises that copy/paste.
The end music makes me cry every time.
It's so good, they really nailed the emotional tie-in through music. I love how Memory/Bounding Through Time all comes together 😄
Count Bleck is the best villain in a Mario game in my opinion. As a kid I saw him as an incredibly potent threat to Mario and the gang even forcing Bowser himself to team up with the good guys because of how horrible and unacceptable his intentions were, also he sent all the worlds (or most of them) into nothingness as shown toward the end of the game (even if it's temporarily). Now that I am a young adult (or a late teenager) I can only relate to his character and his nihilistic view of life and his tragic past now that I actually understand what he is all about. Just his motives are something that makes him stand out from other Mario villains which are, as another commenter mentioned, usually motivated by greed or a desire for conquest. His intentions are the darkest, presumably suicidal as he wants to eradicate everything from existence probably including himself as he sees everything as meaningless, aside from Timpani, as he lost all hope of ever seeing her again. Another thing that makes him interesting is that he chose a path of redemption at the end of the game which is something we don't see many Mario villains do since they are usually killed off, even Bowser (even if he keeps coming back), he instead gets a happy ending (be it an extremely sad one). This brief "the end" moment (8:46) is one of the only time I've been genuinely touched by a video game and I remember almost tearing up as a child.
You should be speaking in a First Person fool...
Way to pat yourself on the back Count
Some people saying this is worse than sticker star...
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
I'd rather play Sonic 06 than Sticker Star. At least that game has some sort of entertainment value.
True
Those people are wrooooong
Fortnite sucks
@@its-amemegatron.9521 Also, Silver is an interesting character compared to Kersti.
Too bad that in recent years, Silver is the definition of "wasted potential" because Sonic Team never really does anything with him, and he's just sort of there nowadays.
8:40 I want a sequel to this game so bad
“Will we meet again in another time or place?” As a kid, I always thought I was getting a sequel. I just kept waiting lol
Hopefully we can get it
Count Bleck is not evil for evil’s sake. Of course, unabashedly, entirely evil characters have their place in fiction too, but the gradual reveal that Count Bleck is not one of those, but a good man who lost everything and now runs on revenge and spite, is quite well done, in my opinion. And the ending is well done. He reversed the destruction of worlds, almost entirely out of altruism-he didn’t have to do that now that he reunited with his love, but he did.
4:29 I actually remember this being stated by one of the NPCs in the game. They acknowledge the idea of the void being in their afterlives! It was quite striking even if it was only a little optional conversation.
Man..and the first villain in the entire Mario series was a fire breathing turtle thing.
They literally created one of the best, most well-written tragic villains. In a kid's game.
Mmmm. Super Paper Mario dark aspects.
Here. We. Go.
And this is just the tip of the iceberg, I jokingly titled it "Super Paper Mario: A Dissertation" because the script was so long :D there's a LOT of mature themes in this one
ThaneGaming Yeah, I noticed. Bleck.
...I said "bleck" because I was grossed out, but I guess you could take it as a pun for Count Bleck's name.
Haha- it wasn't the Sammer Guys that grossed you out, was it? (I'm sorry) :D
ThaneGaming Mmmayyybeee...
this game needs a sequel where dimentio escapes from the underwhere
Can you imagine Intelligent Systems going back to make a sequel? A follow-up to the original trilogy might please fans most, or at least a game chronologically after/in the same universe referencing the events of PM, TTYD, and Super.
Sticker Star & Color Splash would be cemented as off-shoots, and peace in the fandom would resume 😅
Dude that would be awesome! I never believed dimentio was this powerful its impressive
Thane Gaming maybe Blumiere and the others could be the playable characters?
And teams up with Shadoo, because I'd like to see Shadoos true form.
@@ThaneGaming What if Dimentio actually succeeded and the world in the modern trilogy was actually the new and "perfect" world that Dimentio created though?
Count Bleck reminds me of Count Dracula especially from the Castlevania series especially since they both became dark and evil due to losing their loved ones!😀 I think that's who Count Bleck is based off from!😀
I absolutely love this game, but somehow I never looked into some of this. Nice job, I learned something new about Super Paper Mario's story. I especially loved the part about Merlumina's spicy love life XD.
I'm so glad. Honestly I never knew about a lot of this either when I first played- I remember loving the main story, which is fantastic in its own right, but the character stories add so much to tie it all together. Thank goodness for Wikis to encourage me to actually speak with Garson/Carson for all their tales (initially thought they only gave advise on gameplay/retelling things you already knew about. Wasn't spending 10 coins apiece for that hah). I saw every bit of lore I read up using their stories as reference, and I thought it was so cool this is actually in the game for the players that care enough to learn about. Intelligent Systems really nailed it here IMO, unfortunately the credits don't specify exactly who's responsible for the script like the previous two games. Thanks for the kind words, you're welcome. I'm super happy to have others as interested as I am :)
Super Paper Mario has a better plot then Thousand year door
*change my mind*
*DeltaBlazin'X* couldn’t agree more
Even then, TTYD's plot is a close 2nd.
"Help me" - Carrie, 2018
So that's where you find the pixl's backstory! It's from that rumour guy! This is a very well made video by the way! Great job!
gamers in a container there was so, so much more plot detail to this game than I initially gathered on my first play through- I couldn’t believe how all the pieces fit together and it made me respect SPM that much more 😊
@@ThaneGaming Yes. I want to do so much more digging into this game now. Which reminds me. There is a version of the River Twygz theme that's been cleaned up for the voices to be distinguishable. I heard some really messed up things. I'd recommend you check it out if you haven't already. All I'll say is the Ancients may not be as benevolant as they mag first seem......
I first played this game when it released in 2007- I was in middle school and have fond memories from a couple of friends I could talk about the story with. Having recently re-played this title again in its entirety, I fell in love with it all over again. I've researched by really digging deep into the game's lore, and uncovering things I never even knew about until now. Everything from the OST to the cast of villain characters has had a profound effect on me, so I hope you enjoy the culmination of my efforts :) This is a very different experience to anything you may expect from a Mario game- let me know if you have any memories of the title or things you wish to share :)
Remember there will be two parts to this: the game is so dense in its mature themes I had to split it in two separate videos. In the next I will be discussing war themes, drug references, this game's underworld and more. Thanks for supporting the channel!
No problem-o.
Where did you get the manga pages for Super Paper Mario?
Hey thanks for asking :) I did a bit of searching for the highest quality scans I could find on the internet and the best pictures were on Tumblr via "pikmingirl". I'm grateful they've archived like this, though if you want more the book is pretty inexpensive on Amazon- I was thinking about picking up a few volumes myself for other games in the franchise!
Images in the video: pikmingirl.tumblr.com/post/96861379788/mangascanbits-super-mario-kun-volume-37-38-super
For those that don't know, Super Paper Mario is covered in volumes 37 and 38 in the long running Super Mario-Kun manga series.
@@ThaneGaming Maybe it could be a burst fire rate of spears but each shot deteriorates in accuracy. Each shot does 5 damage for a bodyshot and 7-8 for headshot depends on enemy HP.
Wow. This story is pretty dark for a Mario Game. I love it.
Good summarized!
In sammer's kingdom, my older sister on her first playthrough said that she thought the world was destroyed because she was too slow and felt so bad
She didnt know it was just meant to be like than 😔
One dark thing you didn't mention was WHY Bleck and Timpani were a tragic couple to begin with: Racism. They got fucked by being from two races who were at odds with each other, they happened to fall in love, and their people violently disapproved of the coupling. You implied it, but didn't outright state it, unless I missed that.
Why is Count Bleck talking to Arby's on Twitter?
ZeldaKing64 yes! I’m happy someone noticed that. It was >1 second in the video, but that was a screenshot of an actual tweet by the parody account “Nihilistic Arby’s” (check it out, great dark humor). I photoshopped the user to be Count Bleck, and changed the year it was posted to be Super Paper Mario’s release date :) just figured the two would have a lot to talk about haha
Bleck: "Because they have the meats! …Replied Count Bleck."
Thats the dimension he and tipi were sent to
@@AntiVillain26845 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Awesome video! This game has such a deep connection with me. I remember playing it when I was 10... wild times.
I was about 13(?) when I first played the game, and it definitely impacted me emotionally then. I didn't even notice the other more subtle world-building details until later in life, and learned a lot when I played through it again for this video! It's a roller coaster of an experience :)
I was 11 when I played it. Good times. Nice profile pic by the way
How is this game so underated??? Like this was my favorite Mario game EVER! Anyone else feel the same way?
Is it really underrated? I mean it’s often in the shadow of 64 and TTYD but it gets a lot of love these days
It would be cool to see a prequel game of the story that consisted of what happened those 2000 years ago
This games story was incredible... Especially for a mario game
Definitely, I’m impressed every time I’m reminded of it-they really went all out for this game narratively!
1. you really deserve more subs
2.your 11 years late tbh
1. Thanks so much! You helped make my day, I really appreciate the kindness.
2. It's never too late ;) I love shedding light on older games, I know it's niche but I really want to talk about that games that impacted me most, and this was definitely one of them. It's a celebration of the series :)
you did inspire me to go play the game again, and you did find alot of stuff I never found even though I 100% the game!
Good I'm glad! I really hope you enjoy your second play-through, I know I definitely learned a ton about the game I had no idea about when I first played in 2007. The NPCs have new things to say after each chapter- remember that and you'll see a lot of dialogue that'd otherwise be easy to miss :)
I love this game so much and this vid reinforced that, in fact I’ve been writing a crossover fic based on Super Paper Mario that goes more in-depth on some of the lore that you only get to hear about if you go out of your way to listen to the stories in the cafes
I wonder if Lady Timpani and Blumiere are doing okay... It's been a long time since I've comeback to SPM.
Legend has it that they reside in the safe and peaceful levels of the Back Rooms
I don't recall what the Back Rooms are...
*WII WOULD LIKE TO PLAY!*
One of Nintendo's better ad campaigns, ending strong before the era of Wii U commercials ha
Wait... There's a SPM manga?
Super Mario-kun(スーパーマリオくん) manga.
Mary mother of god I had no idea how deep this lore was
This is a really well-done video!! Good job
Matthew F. (Romans 6:23) thank you
I love this game I hope there is another game like this
in the aftergame Count Bleck and Timpani aren't in the underwhere or overthere. So they likely were forced to be in alternate universe completely alone which is kinda worse then death.
This video deserves much more Views. A really good, informative video!
I've watched this video like 10 times already and I keep coming back
Finally, someone mentions the Pixl War.
Something I noticed about Shadoo is that he's essentially just the same model as Mr. L, just completely black. If you look closely at the back of him, you can see the tie of Mr. L's scarf. If you pay extreme attention to the front of him, you can even see the front of the scarf as well! I'm 99% sure that I'm not the first person to notice this, but I'm glad I noticed it now.
I first got this game about ten years ago and very much overlooked it. That was mainly because I did not understand the plot and it didn't seem like an actual Mario game. Ten years later I gave it another shot wondering why everyone said that this was the best Paper Mario game. After playing through the game the very first time, I realized that underestimating this game was one of the biggest mistakes of my life. There is so much interesting lore in this game that I feel like I come to a new realization each new save file I start. Each character is really memorable which is another great aspect of this game. By the way, did anyone else notice that the first creature you encounter when Dimentio sends you to the Underwhere kind of has a face that resembles Count Bleck?... Does anyone know if that is hidden lore or is it just a coincidence?
Woah, interesting catch at the end of your comment there. That’s a good point, but in other Paper Mario games, you encounter those too. But in all it makes me think deeper about Bleck’s face design.
I very much feel the same about the game. Super Mario Galaxy was the first video game I ever played in 2008, at 9 years old. I loved it so much, I wanted to try another Mario game so I got super paper Mario because idk the cover looked different. It seemed interesting enough. But I didn’t like it. It wasn’t as fun as Galaxy and I waited a few months before returning to the game. And boy did I finally see the beauty of it
It's a real shame that we'll never see another Mario like this ever again.
Imagine for a second how awful of a death the explosion box is.
Count Bleck’s background story is like a Romeo and Juliet sequence
I love this game
Mimi's "True Form" is an homage to the main antagonist of the science fiction horror movie The Thing (1982)
I know a lot of people don’t like SPM, but I really deep down feel that this game beholds a lot of effort and emotion. It IS an usual turn of tables for a Mario game, but I was definitely intrigued with the story than anything else. Mario might just be Mario, but I still like the game. I like how Tippi began to “crush” on Mario and Luvbi made her flustered. Meanwhile Mario was utterly confused.
Fun fact: Mimi is a reference to The Thing and Exorcist.
Mimi and Dimentio would be perfect entities in the Back Rooms
Part 2 hype!
The story: h-
Me: **weeping**
First mario game i played i loved it and still do
Count bleck at the beginning of the game be like let's have this monster and this human marry each other this will create a chaos heart and it did because they hate each other
Hombre,de verdad tanto este como el Segundo video Han sido muy Buenos,de verdar mereces mas subs,un muy bien trabajo (sorry,I dont speak in English but I understand your video,good work!)
Best Paper Mario game, hands down.
Love the series, Mother 3 NEXT PLZ
That's a good idea. Been thinking about Dark Aspects of Mother 3 for a long while now... I made a pseudo one when describing the heavier moments in my psychology video, though a real episode showcasing everything is much needed. Thank you, that'll most likely be the next one I do :)
This guy clickbaited the shit out of me with that blumeire and timpani lap dance in the thumbnail.
I like super paper mario it's one of my favorites too
I love the thumbnail
fun fact dimenzio would beat count bleck in a fight, even if he is protected by the chaos heart
Wait… 12 PIXLS?
Where is that last one
I need to see what it does
Haha so it's a little confusing but only 11 of the 12 original Pixls can actually join Mario (they are implied to be the same ones from the legend), so the 12th is likely the one who died fighting the Pixl Queen, as Carson mentions. I made up a design since we don't know what it looks like, so the one with a spear is a photoship creation by me! Sorry if I got your hopes up 😅 there is an unused ladder-like Pixl found in pre-release versions of the game though, which is kind of cool!
You need more subs your content is good
Hey thanks so much for saying so ☺️
o'Chunks theme YEEEEEAAAAHHH
Great video
Why thank you very much :) I quite like your avatar/username
ThaneGaming thanks btw this is jaden from work
Even better! Sorry we haven't had the chance to actually talk much at work, been busy but it's always good to see you around
Luvbi died to assist Mario
That's true! I would consider that a Dark Aspect. She is shown to be alive after beating the game, but players don't know that at the time and it's still traumatizing for her parents
Thane Gaming just goes to show how great this game is
Luvbi doesn’t die, She just reverts to her true form as the final Pure Heart
Wasn't the Pixl Queen the 12th original Pixl, or is there an original Pixl that I missed, because I remember including the Pixl Queen it is already 12.
Shadoo might be the pixl queen
Great Video
Edit: I've always wished that such a video existed.
PS: In chapter 1-2 is the mother of the three old sisters!
✌(>‿☮)
And thanks for the Heart!
The Bulgarian I honestly surprised me with how much lore it reveals.
YOU DON’T EVEN USE THE WORD EXISTENTIAL RIGHT, LET ALONE PRONOUNCE IT RIGHT
Also I got Tippi’s identity spoiled to me by the fame itself :( I decided to try the pit of trials and found Tippi’s capture card which outright tells you that she’s timpani.
*Count Bleck:* Is a depressed Nihilist that just wants everything and himself to f*cking commit yeetus deletus
*All Gen-Zer’s:* _Here’s my support_
If pixls use human souls... and tiptron claims that it's tippi... uh oh...
Tiptron is a robot though.
We're still talking about a "Damsel in Distress" cliche, right?
I really don't get how this game didn't get an E10+ rating in the USA and a 7+ rating in Europe.
I'm going to pretend I didn't see the one that they said about the 100 trials cuz I already played the game on my own but I still haven't made it there well I didn't make it to to floor 60 on the regular but I only had like 10 HP left and no healing items
count was commenting universeal suicide
great video
Great video! Super Paper Mario is so underrated. I hope that in a future Mario game, we will be able to see Blumiere and Timpani as an Easter egg. For example, let’s say there’s a Paper Mario game where Mario and co try to go to another dimension in order to obtain something important and as they are flipping dimensions, you quickly see Blumiere and Timpani and they look surprised and happy to see Mario and co. I don’t know though. Any mention or Easter egg of them seems unlikely at this point.
Light prognosticus
at 2:57 where can I find that???
Count Bleeeeeeeeeeeh.... ck
Hey um
(Cough)
Tippi turned into a robot in the aftergame
You mean Tiptron
At the end of the game, Tippi becomes unavailable for the player's use after her marriage to Count Bleck and subsequent disappearance. So Francis created Tiptron, and for 999 coins (the highest number of coins the player can hold), he will sell it to Mario, allowing the player to use Tippi's abilities again.
Also, Tippi turn to her original form and she's with Blumiere
@@admnov93
Tippi acts like she's trying to tell you that she is not just a robot.
Her soul was brought back from wherever the hell it came from and no one believes her.
BLUMIERE IS SOMEWHERE ALONE until they make a bleckbot
@@aierisfrost8447 Or maybe Tiptron has identity crisis, she refuses to accept that Francis created her based real one. And sold her to the highest bidder
That's kinda traumatic
@@admnov93
Why would Francis program her like that???
I mean
I get he would want to make her as real as possible but
Stay with me here
Francis is essentially a fanboy
And if that's the case then he would make tippi like him in some way like most any intense fan would.
Tiptron is basically the outcome of a fan reviving a dead character for thier fanfic.
That would be super impressed that he manages to revive someone from death using technology. That enough he is able to replicate almost identical pixl. (Still not convincing with that theory of Tippi's trapped on Tiptron's body)
They never told us where exactly is Timpani and Blumiere after destroying the chaos heart. The only clue that we have: 2 couple (Tippi and Count Bleck) in somewhere (probably in their own created dimension) reunited at last... Also, manga has that ending...
Wait, who's that 12th Spear and Shield Pixl?
While I do see why people didn't like Super Paper Mario, but then again it's just a game in the series, not a sequel to anything
What was that rectangular pixl with a spear
this is a good game, People hate it because its not paper mario
@Porky Minch
I suggest you look in the comments of literally any SPM OST video. People definitely DO NOT hate this game. This game gets as much praise as it needs (if not more than it needs imo). But every Paper Mario fan thinks their favorite game is the most underrated… ESPECIALLY SPM fans.
9:58 flipside and flopside, not underwhere and overthere
"The Underwhere" is a milk bar in Flipside and "The Overthere" is a coffee bar in Flopside, names based on the Chapter 7 locations!
It's pretty funny that The Underwhere bar is an actual place from a Mario game
Thane Gaming oh ok
There are 12 Pixels???
What is the square pixel with the spear and shield and how do I get him?
Linkenz2 I was wondering if anybody was going to comment on that! Funny story, that Pixl’s actually something I made up using parts of the other Pixls. The 11 in-game that can become Mario’s partners are not the original twelve in the backstory- they were simply convenient to use as a visual aid. I needed one more, and Tippi would have made things confusing so I opted to craft one in that style :D I also considered using a scrapped ladder-shaped Pixl (found in early game content) but I couldn’t find a high-res picture. We should give the little guy a name and ability!
@@ThaneGaming
Spearow:
Press (1) to throw a spear in the direction you're looking at, press (B) to aim the spear in a specific angle.
That definitely works! It'd be really helpful to have a shooting ability, since there isn't really one besides Thoreau's grab. Maybe then I'd switch out more often and not rely on Carrie all the time hah
@@ThaneGaming Works good on Dimentio too! When Dimentio flys in the air, Spearow would be able to hit Dimentio in the air (since you don't have Luigi in the early game). Luigi+Spearow is a good combo when fighting Dimentio in Castle Bleck, where Luigi does the super jump and uses Spearow's fast fire rate to tell who is the real Dimentio when he clones himself.
@@ThaneGaming But then again, Bowser+Carrie is unstoppable.
So this game is basically Majoras mask BS
If you wanna simplify it like that, sure...
Count Bleck is just a boring angsty teen, end of
No
No
delete your account darling
@@Angelo_the__teetle why are you replying only now to a 3 year old comment?
@@sirwelcome shit i forgot to add the /j im sorry LMFAO it was a joke my bad i honestly didn't think anyone would see it anyway HAHAHA