Paper Mario: Master Quest

Author : Efrain Silva

Now, Nintendo and Mario lovers everywhere, you remember Paper Mario, right? I’m talking about the original one, the first title of this series that came out for the one and only N64, back toward the start of the millennium. That, for me, started out as a boring game and series, but then I grew into it...now, I’ve beaten this game so many times, and my brother has as well.

If you are a true Paper Mario series fan, then you, for sure, have played and even beaten the Master Quest version of the game. This is basically just a harder version of the original game, made by a ROM hack, with tougher enemies and much more. Mario and his friends get to use stronger moves, in some areas, and there’s just more fun to be had overall, I’d say. The Master Quest also includes some new badges that you never got to see in the original version of the game as well.

More so, you will find that there’s even more enemies and locations here, not to mention a totally optional dungeon (yeah, Paper Mario --- this dungeon is optional, so if you don’t want to risk losing your life on something else, just one more thing added to the list, then we totally understand and can’t blame you for it...heh heh). The Pit of 100 Trials, by the way, is what this dungeon is called, and its name is everything you need to know about it...enter at your own risk, as they say. Bold gamers like myself, and many others, have already gone in and conquered, but the real fun lies in doing so again and again and again (and beating your record each time)!

I really liked, among so many other things, the Super Soda, known to restore 5 HP. The prologue for the Master Quest kind of starts off the same way the original game did. As you progress along, at the beginning, you come to find that Mario awakens (just like in the original) right in Goomba Village. You have to get to the Shooting Star Summit, just as before...but this time, the entrance there is not through the East gate, a slight difference. You move along and eventually find that the classic “opening” dungeon of the original game involves not just the getting to and through that forest behind Goomba Village...but you actually get to explore and do a little more before proceeding here, and not just facing that first dungeon.

This remake, if you want to call it that, is pretty clever, all in all. Those little tweaks and additions sure make it interesting. I especially like, also, how you’re allowed to actually use action commands during the prologue itself in Master Quest, which you were never allowed to do in the initial game. That was quite a twist, for me! Anyways, check out more on this game online. Up for the challenge?