“Super Paper Mario”

Platform: Nintendo Wii

Developer: Intelligent Systems

FYI grade: A

Mario’s lost some weight for his latest outing, “Super Paper Mario,” which is essentially a sequel to the 2004 GameCube RPG, “Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.”

This time, the turn-based RPG battles have been shed in favor of the real-time, side-scrolling, jump-on-enemies-to-defeat-them action found in the classic Super Mario Bros. games.

You’ll still gain levels to improve your character by defeating enemies and gaining experience, or adding to your “score,” as it is called in this game. You’ll also collect items with various effects to be used at your discretion.

Consuming such items as fried mushrooms or cake will heal your characters, who instead of subscribing to a single-hit-and-you’re-dead ideology, are given an RPG-style set amount of hit points which proves to be a much more forgiving system than the traditional Mario platform.

Yes, you’ll get to play as Luigi here, the often-overlooked Mario brother, although not until midway through the game. And for anyone who remembers “Super Mario Bros. 2” for the NES, they can expect Luigi’s high-jumping capabilities to make a return.

Princess Peach also joins the playable cast. Like Luigi, she retains her traditional floating ability, making faraway ledges easier to reach.

Mario’s usual nemesis, Bowser, King of the Koopas, rounds out the list of playable heroes, with a mighty fire-breath attack that can easily make short work of opponents.

So if Bowser is on your side this time around, who’s the game’s villain?

The nefarious Count Bleck makes his debut with a scheme to destroy the world that has our heroes seeking the power of the “pure hearts” in order to put a stop to his destruction.

Of course, the overall plot is pure cliche, but the game injects a great deal of humor into the ample dialogue to make it quite an entertaining experience.

As the game’s title implies, Mario appears as a 2D paper cutout, but this is standard for the entire cast of the game. Characters look flat, but move about in a 3D environment. This creates a visually impressive effect that is completely charming.

One of the most significant features in the game is Mario’s ability to shift the viewpoint from a classic 2D sidescrolling style, to a 3D view where he can move in any direction in space.

Switching to this view will often reveal hidden items behind blocks and certain paper-thin objects that can only be seen from the appropriate angle. The use of this 3D viewpoint is limited however, as Mario has only a few seconds to stay in this mode before he takes a point of damage.

However, this might not be a big deal to many players, as the timer resets after taking this damage, and the player will often have enough life where one hit point isn’t going to matter much in the grand scheme.

You’ll also be able to make use of the Wii remote’s pointer capabilities.

By aiming the remote at areas on the screen like a flashlight, certain hidden objects will be revealed to you. Pointing the remote at enemies can also yield information about them and possibly even their weakness.

A good deal of the music in the game consists of remixes of memorable themes from throughout the Mario series. Oftentimes, you’ll hear classic motives embedded in larger song, allowing for a brief moment of nostalgia.

The biggest fault of the game lies in the fact it is a bit too easy for its own good. You may go the entire game without ever dying.

Overall, “Super Paper Mario” is a fantastic diversion that is visually appealing, sonically pleasing, innovative in its use of 2D and 3D gameplay and offers up good chunks of humor and nostalgia.

“Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales”

Platform: Nintendo DS

Developer: h.a.n.d., Inc.

FYI grade: C

Chocobo, the adorable yellow bird from Square Enix’s Final Fantasy series of role-playing games, makes his return in “Final Fantasy Fables: Chocobo Tales” on Nintendo DS.

The evil demon Bebuzzu has imprisoned Chocobo’s friends within the pages of various storybooks dispersed throughout the land.

You’ll control the inquisitive young bird as he seeks out these storybooks, which, when found, will allow the player to engage in various minigames.

Completing various criteria within these minigames will allow Chocobo to either free a trapped friend, unlock a new area of the game or receive a monster card.

Monster cards are used in duels against opponents you’ll encounter throughout your travels. You’ll be able to assemble your own deck of 15 cards from any of the cards you’ve earned.

The duels will have you and your opponent selecting a monster card each round which will come alive to perform a single attack. If your card successfully lands its attack, it will reduce your opponent’s hit points. The duel is won when your opponent’s hit points reach zero.

However, successfully landing an attack is an annoying affair that is often more random than it is strategic.

Minigames found in storybooks are hit-and-miss.

Some of them, such as ensnaring darting, golden fish underwater and then offering them to the serpent Leviathan are fairly entertaining.

Others, such as drawing platforms with the DS stylus to collect coins while in a freefall and being chased by the giant Titan and simultaneously competing against all-too-talented computer opponents, can be extremely frustrating to complete.

The 3D characters and environments in the game are bright and colorful, although the heroes and even the villains are portrayed in a very cutesy manner that might be a bit much for the adult gamer. Card duels and storybook minigames are displayed in a 2D-against-3D-background style reminiscent of a pop-up book, adding an interesting effect.

Nearly all of the game’s tunes are remixes of classic Final Fantasy themes, and most of them are quite excellent. This might be your only chance to hear the “Final Fantasy VI” boss theme in a game other than its origin.

In the end, “Chocobo Tales” is a fairly simplistic and often frustrating set of minigames linked together by a lighthearted and wholly unremarkable story.

The game is best left to Final Fantasy fanatics, or to children who will find the cute characters appealing.