i love how in his notes it's all about how different and fun the game is and then just "The goomba dad looks like my dad"

you didn't even mention Luigi's diary, one of the best insights into his character, especially before Luigi's mansion.

One thing I love about the game is in fact how... immersive the world is. For a game released in the N64, there's a ton of dialogue that changes depending on your actions. Every NPC has a name, and depending on the chapter, they may change their location and what they're doing. While the partners can be paper-thin (ha) with regards to personality at times, they all have a place in the world and people they interact with. For example, you can make Kooper talk to Kolorado and he'll gush over his idol.  And you mentioned Mario receiving letters, but if you go to the post office, each of the partners also receive letters from friends and family, worried about them. It helps with the feeling that you're helping these people out and that your actions have an impact, which is an odd feeling to feel about a Mario game.

The game in general just has such a crazy level of attention to detail (something the next two games also nail) it's honestly crazy. It makes the world so much more fun to explore than most RPGs. I always yearn to return to Toad Town to see what's changed; like at one point Goombario's family goes there and you can just hang out with them. Someone at Intelligent Systems wrote a crapton of tattle dialogue for Goombario that most players won't see, but someone will, and it rewards that player's curiosity.

EDIT: also, that whole "people wanting something to be just like when they were children" speech is gonna be very relevant next time you cover Sonic games, haha

Something I want to point out, on the “slow start and story front-loading” segment:

I played this as a 9 or 10 year old, but as someone who wasn’t born in an English-speaking country. On one hand it is one of the games I attribute to having learned English so early; not knowing the language the game is written in gives it a COMPLETELY different perspective.

Me and my friend got stuck in the desert on the “Starts with L, ends with EMON” part, but up until that part we trial and errored our way forth, and having things be so clear to us, in just imaging was what made us love this game.
We didn’t know what the Star-Spirits said, we didn’t know where we were meant to go based on hints.
But seeing Mario fall out of the castle, getting to play Peach between chapters made us understand the game’s story without being able to read it.
We ended up having to sit there with a borrowed dictionary, whenever we got stuck (which was OFTEN), but it was so worth it to get through this game as kids.

Looking back, it’s amazing to me that a game which is so text-based can also be so accessible to people who doesn’t know what the game is telling you with words. We started by learning with what it showed us!

“Let’s take off those rose-tinted glasses”
plays clip of 2001 Josh taking off glasses

"I didn't judge it for what it was; I dismissed it for what it wasn't."

If I had a dollar for every time my friends did that shit to something I liked...

"peach has no equipment"
proceeds to show him using one of the pieces of equipment peach gets

This is the Paper Mario breakdown I've been trying to make for years.

Kudos to you Josh. The youtube-verse is filled with folks giving a quick gloss over history, lore, what the game is, and that's about it.

But you introduce another element. PERSPECTIVE. And I love that, because its presented in such a way that even folks who don't have a shared experience/similar experience will enjoy the video, and become interested in the subject matter.

Love it. Keep it up!

This is the second most ominous thumbnail I've ever seen in my life

1997's Josh already had the traits of a youtuber lmao

I know it's delayed but hearing you talk about this games soundtrack makes me so excited for the mario and luigi video since the same composer from mario rpg returns and it's so fast and fun

Glad I never went through that “trying to look like an adult when I’m only 12/13” point in my life.

Mostly because I had friends that didn’t do that either thankfully. So I didn’t feel the need to try and be an adult when I was still young.

If Super Mario RPG was largely a Final Fantasy game cosplaying in a Mario skin, Paper Mario took that playbook and then went and had lunch with Dragon Quest and came away impressed. Charming, genuine, earnest, cozy, familiar, fairy tale-esque—all of these words get used to try and capture the tone of DQ *constantly*, and the heavy focus on situation-driven storytelling where you roll into town and spend a while soaking in the sights and culture before stumbling into whatever problems the locals have rather than being constantly swept up in a grand, party character-driven narrative is also right on point. Heck, even the wholly linear, permanent armor and weapon system could be seen as a throwback to DQ1's solo protagonist doing the same thing.

I still remember the Crystal Palace chapter of Paper Mario as one of the best moments I’ve ever experienced in gaming.  It felt like such a fun adventure to solve that murder mystery, make that trek up the snowy mountain, defeat the Crystal King.  It was just so awesome.

"Forgive the lack of Geno"

Oooooh! Too soon!

I know that the story isn’t as engaging as RPG, but the one thing I LOVE about this game’s story is the way it builds up the final battle.

You mentioned last time that RPG did a great job showing Exor as a threat but I think they did an even better job with Bowser in this game.

He kicks your butt in the beginning, you see him acting cocky and having his way with the Princess after every chapter. A lot of the characters make reference to wishes or dreams they have but they can’t come true because of HIM.

But over time, he gets angry and scared of you making progress. The Star Spirits spell it out for you in their speeches. Going up to his castle and powering through and eventually beating him in the same place you were defeated before feels SO GOOD. Even if the GAMEPLAY isn’t a climax, the STORY is.

This game above all else makes him seem like a huge threat and I LOVE it. I wish they did it more in future games.

THANK YOU for talking about MistareFusion. That’s a channel that needs more love!

"Forgive the lack of Geno"
Trying to do this right now for Smash Ultimate

Perspective. I think that's what I love about your videos. Not just hearing your personal perspective (of child you and current you), but your willingness to remark other potential perspectives and feel more informed as a result. Especially with Paper Mario as a series, there's been so much tiring back-and-forth and "betrayals" of what IS and what ISN'T a true game in the series. But this vid showed that even from Mario RPG to the first Paper game, there's always been a break in tradition and expectations. And every break deserves recognition for both its deviation from its predecessor and its carving of a new path. And I'm glad you addressed both your original unfair bias to the game and your newfound enjoyment of it. Keep being excellent.

Great analysis. Paper Mario 64 was my "sick" game when I was a kid. I had the flu and my grandma spoiled me by buying this brand new mario game for me so that I could feel better. Had no idea what to think of the game, but I loved every minute of it. And the TTYD was even better. Haven't played either one in many years so i'm definitely filled with nostalgia, but this was a very enjoyable video and made me want to replay the game! Thanks for making it