Super Paper Mario: How to Love When You're Going to Die

Hello! What do you think of my analysis? Any differing interpretations? Anything you think I missed? There's a lot of strangeness to this game and I could totally understand people taking it a different way. Art interpretation should be treated as a conversation, so I've listed some discussion questions below to kick-start analysis beyond what I did in the video! If you have the means, any and all support on Patreon (link in description) means the world to me and really helps me keep this going. Currents perks are just name in credits, early access, Discord server, and update posts. I’m going to rework the Patreon in a few months so I’ll save the stronger pitch til then! 1. What is the deal with Ancients, in general? Is there any meaning to them being the only unique constant between SPM and the first two Paper Marios? Do they symbolize/represent anything particular? I'm a bit lost when it comes to them. 2. Where they particular little side characters or details you found meaningful in Flopside and Flipside? I describe the areas in broad strokes, but there's a lot of smaller stuff that could be studied more closely. 3. Nastasia! I didn't really find space to talk about her in this video, as I kind of saw her arc are mirroring those of other characters without adding anything unique. What sort of wrinkle does she provide to the game's writing? Anything? That it's good to love even if you end up rejected?

I think the most important moment in the game, the one that is absolutely needed for its messages to work, was when Mario was asked to help and could say "No." It comes off as a gag, but without the ability to choose the sacrifice doesn't matter.

Somebody brought this very neat detail to my attention: Count Bleck end his sentences in "...Said Count Bleck" because he's (probably) following the Dark Prognocticus word by word. He's not himself, he's doing everything the book has dictated him to do.

Hearing the line "less than 1% of Super Paper Mario players found the story to be interesting" again was just as jarring as when I heard it the first time. Even as an ignorant young kid, I was always fascinated with the story of this game and it is one of the main reasons as to why it's one of my favorite games of all time.

i always found Nastasia's post game dialogue quite poignant: "Blumiere was reunited with Lady Timpani, and the world wasn't destroyed after all." "I guess I should be happy... I mean, I am, but, um..." "I just don't think my heart has fully accepted the fact that he isn't here anymore." "...Now I understand what it was like when Blumiere turned into Count Bleck." "If I have to live on with this feeling always burning inside me..." "Yeah, then maybe there never was any point to that other world..." "...I wonder...if this is how I'll spend the remainder of my days..." "Yeah... Or maybe I'll learn to smile again and look forward to the future..." "If I can't...then I suppose I could never have matched up to Lady Timpani anyway..." It's honestly a sad but very human part of her character and in a sense shows the theme of sacrifice in a different sort of way.

god as someone who isnt and wasnt raised christian i can completely miss some themes or symbolism, and hearing 'the story of jesus christ' hit me like a bag of bricks thrown from a moving car

i lost my husband suddenly last june and this video literally gave me back some of the hope ive lost. i hope tomorrow i can wake up again when i didnt before, if only to sacrifice some of myself for others. to give back to the world the love my husband gave to me. thank you.

I think the Pixl uprising in the backstory has a clear and deeply resonant reading that harmonizes well with the rest of the story. It is as follows: The tribe of Ancients built their society on slavery. That is what doomed them. That is why their civilization fell. No matter how thorough it is, you cannot maintain coercion forever. But, rather than re-evaluating what sort of society they had built, liberating their artificial life-forms, and trying to cooperate with them, the Ancients concluded that the problem was with the nature of Pixls -- not with their relationship to them. Merlon turning Timpani into a Pixl as a way to save her life rather than a way to exploit her, and continuing to treat her as a person rather than a tool, is the sort of approach that was needed. Not only did it work, she maintained her agency, regained her old memories, and remained a positive force rather than a destructive one. But regardless of what might otherwise have been, the Ancients of the past didn't know how to function without their slaves, and so their society fell to ruin when they could no longer maintain their coercive dominance. The Pixl Queen is a reflection of how repression and cruelty drive their victims to respond with violence in turn in a last, desperate attempt to regain what was taken from them -- much like how Blumiere transformed into Bleck in defiance of a world that denied him any chance of what he felt was a life worth living. It is worth mentioning here that the Pixl Queen herself, the first Pixl, was once the daughter of the Pixls' creator, so a similar relationship as between Merlon and Tippi should have been possible. In fact, if anything, it should have been easier. The one remaining gap here would be to suggest that the love the creator had for his daughter was more the possessive type exhibited by Francis. It is, sadly, hardly unknown for parents to treat their children, and especially daughters, like this. This is especially likely in a society built around ideas of dominance and control -- for example, one which keeps and relies on the labor of slaves. Now, granted, this reading is heavily informed by my own philosophical positions outside of the game, but I do think that the text of the game itself is fully consistent with it.

2006 to 2011 was Luigi's depression arc. Almost every game highlighted his 2nd place, sidekick status.

I think the contradiction with the Pixls could've easily been a lot better if they directly taught you abilities (Slim, Thudley, Fleep) or gave you key items (Thoreau, Boomer, Cudge etc) as a keepsake for setting them free, instead of the actual Pixls themselves joining you as nothing but a tool. Perhaps this way the game could also let them chill around in Flipside (or wherever they'd prefer to reside), giving you more ways to interact with them as actual characters. EDIT: With this I think it could be even cooler to then keep Barry completely unchanged, since he was never trapped when you met him, and he just joins you out of his own volition anyway. Chill dude just hangs around because he likes to

Dimentio didn't realize that the Power of Luigi™ only works for the good guys.

Here's how the Mimi chase works: She doesn't seem to really be chasing you, the game just spawns her at whatever door you came into a room from if you take too long to leave it, and she attacks as usual. The window is decent, the only time Mimi should appear is if you're dawdling or fumble a bit of platforming. I forget if she stays in the room for a moment if she spawns in it and you leave it, but either way she's not a threat if you just keep moving. There's also this one secret that takes full advantage of the ongoing chase. Behind one of the signs in the rooms is an explodable wall, leading to a lengthy hallway to a powerful item (of which I forget what it was). If you go for it, Mimi is 100% going to have time to spawn, but you do get a strong item. Play with a particularly bratty fire, and see if you can get your reward without getting burned.

One of Carson’s stories explains why flipside and flopside both exist: “So Flipside's convenient, created by Ancients in a space between dimensions. That means you can open up portals to all the other worlds from there. But on the other hand, it's strangely susceptible to influences from other worlds... So the Ancients built the town in a way that would stabilize this effect. And that particular way was... Do you know what? The town was build in duplicate with both Flipside and Flopside versions! They realized that light without dark, or vice versa, would never be stable. You need both sides for perfection, you know? Having two opposite sides is the secret of the town's stability and longevity.”

Mario being "bound by his brand" is actually a really interesting idea. All of the most popular characters tend to have personalities that they are most known for. Bugs bunny is a clever trickster, Mickey mouse is good hearted, Sonic is cocky, ect. They are kept in these roles because it is what we mist recognize them for and what makes their authors the most money. In other words, it is their destiny.

"[Mario's] potential for growth or meaning is severely limited by his existence as an unalterable brand" is such a wonderful encapsulation of why the spinoff mario games, specifically the RPGs are the only part of the mario universe has ever engaged me.

I have always cried at the ending. Seeing Blumiere and Timpani happy, even if they’ve passed on. This was a very good story and surprisingly deep for Mario. I am grateful for its place in video game history

Regarding the "games not truly being over" stuff in the Underwhere, I believe it's exactly what's said on the tin - Mario, Luigi, and the others don't actually die. I'm pretty sure the glass box and explosions are all just a showman's flashy smokescreen for the crowd while he instead directly teleports his victims elsewhere. A magician's trick - a misdirection to wow the audience and divert their attention from the manipulations he doesn't want them seeing. We know he's capable of transporting other people through dimensions from his rescue of Peach, and, of course, neither him nor Luigi end up dying when he does the same after their grudge match in Castle Bleck. If you do drugs, you go to hell before you die.

I actually love that it left things untied, that’s just how life is. Nothing is tied in a nice bow, time always matches on and there is nothing to be done, we only see a small window in the lives of the characters

I think part of the reason why so few people found the story interesting is because that they weren’t interested in the story to begin with. It has a lot of meaningful messages which this analysis does a good job of shining light on, but when it’s mostly ignored people will just end up noticing the cliches and ignoring the symbolism, which really is a shame.

One thing not said is that the Light Prognosticus was not written as a true book of prophecies. Unlike the Dark Prognosticus it was never meant to be fate, just a book on how to stall fate. The Dark Prognosticus is the one true prophecy and will come to pass one day, just not today.