Extremely charming game. The visual style still holds up and the game makes amazing use of the fact that the world is made of paper. The story is pretty great for a Mario game, obviously isn't nothing groundbreaking but it's pretty enjoyable and also really funny at times. Characters are so fun to interact with that even just running back and forth delivering letters for a badge that isn't even that good is one of my personal favorite parts of the game. Action Commands make combat so much more fun than it otherwise would be, the dopamine hit from getting a big Power Bounce chain or mashing fast enough to get big damage out of Tidal Wave is incredible. The sheer amount of options you have to customize combat is probably my absolute favorite part of the game, though. The badge system is what makes this game so amazing, you can completely change Mario's build on the fly to tackle any situation. This combined with the variety in partners makes it so you can really play the game however you'd like, whether you just want to focus on giant numbers by charging up and using Power Jump/Smash or status effects with Sleepy Stomp or Shrink Stomp or skillful timing of action commands with moves like Power Bounce. My personal favorite strategy was charging with Mario and Watt turn 1 then betting on myself to get a lot of hits with Power Bounce + All or Nothing. I have no idea how other people feel about them but I absolutely adore the Peach interludes, they're a great change of pace and Peach being able to do her part and actually help the main quest is great.

There are very few real flaws in this game honestly. It runs pretty poorly on my Wii at points, though my Wii is pretty beaten up so that may just be a me problem. Chapter 6 is pretty mediocre, forcing you to walk back and forth on narrow paths with plenty of enemies - which would be fine if the level didn't lack a heal point entirely. You either have to rely on items or leave the level just to run 10 feet to the nearby Toad House to heal, which makes the enemies respawn which means you have to go through the whole process over and over again. At least there's a consistent Amazy Dayzee so you can easily level up (which does fully heal you) but its still not great. Other than that I really liked all the chapters, my favorite is definitely Chapter 7. The mirror puzzles are so cool and I love the whole aesthetic of the places you go there.

Overall it's an excellent game, definitely recommended. Watt best partner