Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

 3DS
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 235 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 147 out of 235
  2. Mixed: 48 out of 235
  3. Negative: 40 out of 235
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  1. DashKoopa568
    Oct 27, 2016
    6
    While this game is rough round the edges, Paper Jam wasn't the best experience for me personally, the papercraft battles were quite tedious and it has quite a lot of relationships with sticker star,however its mediocre none the less.
  2. livelovelaugh22
    Mar 24, 2020
    5
    I saw some people love M&L PJ, and honestly, good for them. I wasn't one of those people, but let's jump in. The story is average, gameplay average, soundtrack was OK, and the characters and boss fights were boring. They used the same environments from previous games, and they stole more than they gave. The dialogue is sometimes humorous, but that is few and far between. They had so manyI saw some people love M&L PJ, and honestly, good for them. I wasn't one of those people, but let's jump in. The story is average, gameplay average, soundtrack was OK, and the characters and boss fights were boring. They used the same environments from previous games, and they stole more than they gave. The dialogue is sometimes humorous, but that is few and far between. They had so many things they could mash up with the M&L series + Paper Mario, but they failed to capitalize. Graphics were ok, but the game was the most average and boring stuff in a long time. Not bad, and not good.… Expand
  3. Adambalm
    Oct 8, 2016
    7
    Im very dissapointed in this game. Im not saying its bad heck its still a good game. But compared to the others this one is very lackluster.

    Cons:The enviroments in this game are all places we have already been to. Grassland, desert, snowland etc. In the previous games they were all locations that we have never seen before. The paper toad missons I dislike so much that whenever I can I    Im very dissapointed in this game. Im not saying its bad heck its still a good game. But compared to the others this one is very lackluster.

    Cons:The enviroments in this game are all places we have already been to. Grassland, desert, snowland etc. In the previous games they were all locations that we have never seen before. The paper toad missons I dislike so much that whenever I can I skip them. Also the bosses... All the bosses here are all ones that we have fought before in previous mario games. While yes there were recurring bosses in the previous games as well like bowser Most of the bosses were still original enemies.

    Pros: With the inclusion of paper mario I like the battles alot in this game. Also enemies in previous areas get more stronger as you do so they don't become overly easy. The music like the previous is absolutely beautiful. Paper bowser can also finally talk again. And the battling I belive is one of the best in the series.

    Overall I would still recommend this purchase full price nontheless the flaws.    … Expand
  4. NMFreed
    Feb 7, 2016
    6
    When Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam was announced in early 2015 for the Nintendo 3DS, we were all left just a little bit confused.

    The title, which crosses over the two Mario role playing game series, Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi, is fun, sure, but it loses its focus in trying to streamline game play with new and innovative ideas. This is where Paper Jam folds. The premise is simple    When Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam was announced in early 2015 for the Nintendo 3DS, we were all left just a little bit confused.

    The title, which crosses over the two Mario role playing game series, Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi, is fun, sure, but it loses its focus in trying to streamline game play with new and innovative ideas. This is where Paper Jam folds.

    The premise is simple enough: Luigi, being the not-so-smart guy he is, accidentally opens a book portal to the Paper Mario dimension, releasing Bowser, his son and plenty of goombas, koopas and shy guys into the Mario & Luigi world. Of course, this also includes paper versions of Peach, Bowser and Mario. But not any of the awesome supporting characters that make the Paper Mario games so great. More on that later.

    We’re then introduced to the central conflict of the game, and it’s sort of lame. For two game series that have prided themselves on engaging villains, lengthy story lines and nostalgic callbacks to the original Mario role playing game, Paper Jam doesn’t seem to get it. Here, paper Bowser and regular Bowser team up, kidnap Peach and attempt to rule the world. Great. Also, Bowser Jr. and his counterpart seem to lead very sad lives.

    But, as with all Mario titles, we can’t always look so closely at the story. And in this entry, the game play is where things work just a little bit better.

    The general combat is a great improvement over 2013’s Dream Team. Though we’ve lost the ability to stack tons of Luigis on top of each other, we get some great mechanics in the form of power-ups, items and more. When Paper Mario is brought into the fold, things get even more exciting, albeit a bit complicated.

    Paper Mario has the ability to copy himself and attack with them. It’s a gimmick, sure, but it works, and it makes the grinding battles go by that much faster. Speaking of fast, the game sports a fast forward button, allowing players to speed up cutscenes and text bubbles, a welcome addition. You can also skip tutorials if you’ve played a game in the series before.

    The game’s newest feature comes in the form of giant papercraft mech battles, courtesy of the displaced paper Toads. These battles have you piloting a mech in real time and taking out other giant-sized papercrafts. It’s really fun, actually, but why is it here?

    In recent years, the RPG roots of the Paper Mario series have taken a backseat to innovative ideas like this one, but it was only a matter of time before the Mario & Luigi series caved as well. It would be nice to see things like this in a wholly original title, and have these RPG series focus on great story and awesome characters like literally anyone from Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Hey, it is kind of cool to see Nabbit from New Super Mario Bros. U, though.

    Overall, Paper Jam is a solid foundation bogged down by its own innovation. The watercolor art is stunning, Mario and Luigi are still hilarious, but we need more than a few pancake jokes and Toad-catching minigames next time, Nintendo.

    - Nicholas Friedman, Denton Record-Chronicle    … Expand
  5. SuperMatt777
    Jan 24, 2016
    7
    Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam was just as I expected it to be; rich in gameplay, but paper flat in story and character. Covering the positives first, the battle system is great as it usually is. The addition of Paper Mario means you need to pay extra attention to enemy attacks and you need to stay alert at all times to ensure all three characters stay alive. Paper Mario’s unique jumping counterMario & Luigi: Paper Jam was just as I expected it to be; rich in gameplay, but paper flat in story and character. Covering the positives first, the battle system is great as it usually is. The addition of Paper Mario means you need to pay extra attention to enemy attacks and you need to stay alert at all times to ensure all three characters stay alive. Paper Mario’s unique jumping counter attack is very useful, but at the same time can cause some slip ups in timing when combined with the other two Bros. It's a level of challenge that I greatly respect. The special attacks are great as well, adding in a few new ones to the mix of a few returning, which strikes perfect balance. The enemies themselves are a bit of a mix, but the positive thing is that they’re attack patterns make for excellent and challenging battles. Some great examples are the paper enemies and their real world counterparts and how it’s interesting how the real world enemies use their paper forms for attacks. The boss battles are incredibly challenging and very fun to play through, with almost everyone being unique and challenging. Even the two giant Pokeys, who are hands down the most unimaginative bosses, have such a stellar battle. While the bosses themselves follow in the same path as the enemies where they’re all just characters we’ve seen in main games, they are for the most part interesting choices, especially ones like Petey Piranha, King Bob-omb, King Boo and the Koopalings, who I’m actually kinda glad to see return and get actual dialogue. The interactions between the real world and paper world characters is humorous, which ties in with the game retaining a charming sense of witty dialogue, which is always appreciated in a Mario & Luigi game.

    However the game isn't perfect. With Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario being two of the most creative series in the whole Mario universe (minus Paper Mario: Sticker Star), it was a complete bust to see none of that creativity return, instead giving us generic enemies and locations we’ve seen before. The lack of creativity in those areas really bogs it down and gives a stale feeling to the game, despite the stellar gameplay. The characters is a huge thing, as they’re all just a bunch of generic Toads and they all come off as annoying due to their constant panicking and nonstop fear of everything. I know that’s how Toads are, but they took it way overboard in this game. But don’t think I’m criticizing the Toad’s behavior for no reason; the fact they’re like this leads to some tedious and annoying Toad chases where you have to hunt down Paper Toads. It happens so frequently that it just feels like filler. The storyline is another huge flaw in this game, as it’s just another Bowser kidnaps Peach, Mario beats Bowser deal, just with an extra Bowser and Mario. And using Paper Mario: Sticker Star as the base inspiration for all the enemies was a terrible idea as well, as Sticker Star is easily the weakest game in the Paper Mario series. So really, it’s only the gameplay that lives up to the series standards. The chase scenes with Nabbit and Paper Toads just feel like filler to make up for the lack of story and to make the game feel longer, when really the storyline is short and unimaginative with a few “get these characters” shoved into it. So overall I’ll give the gameplay praise for what it is and I’m not saying I didn’t enjoy the game, cause I did. It had charming and humorous moments that I greatly appreciate and a challenge factor that keeps the battles fun. But because the Mario team took two of the most stellar sub series there are and thinned it down to mainstream material makes the game look stale and unimpressive. So all in all, the game isn’t terrible and it’s still a solid entry to the series that no fan should miss, but long time fans may be disappointed by certain aspects of the crossover.    … Expand
  6. Ramon4567
    Feb 9, 2016
    7
    Veterans of this RPG series like me are likely to be aggravated by the amount of lack-luster recycled content, but for newcomers, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is loads and loads of fun. I didn't like Dream Team all that much, and I could say the same for Paper Jam. However, this game made LOTS of general improvements, both small and large, and I applaud the developers for finally having theVeterans of this RPG series like me are likely to be aggravated by the amount of lack-luster recycled content, but for newcomers, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is loads and loads of fun. I didn't like Dream Team all that much, and I could say the same for Paper Jam. However, this game made LOTS of general improvements, both small and large, and I applaud the developers for finally having the ability to dash in the game, as well as a fast-forward button for confrontations. I also love the new Battle Card system, which adds lots of strategy to the battles even if they do serve as a substitute to using items. As for the Papercraft Battles, I honestly found them a little boring (partly due to the music), and I would have rather had more Giant Battles, which were both difficult and very epic. The problems I had with this game were mostly already mentioned; Paper Jam simply plays it too safe with its content, failing to fully explore its massive concept. It isn't like Bowser's Inside Story or Superstar Saga in terms of mind-blowing ideas done completely well, but on the bright side, it plays like a charm. In conclusion, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is another hilarious and fun entry in the series, but if you came to expect more out of the mustachioed Italian plumbers, you might be disappointed and demand another game where you can play as Bowser.… Expand
  7. livinghero
    Apr 1, 2016
    7
    This game is super awesome! DEFINITELY the best Mario & Luigi game. The storyline was great with the 2 dimensions. The graphics are good. The characters are great. I also really liked the dialogue. Mario & Luigi Paper Jam is such a great RPG game and I would definitely recommend it to everyone.
  8. GamecubeLover
    Jul 20, 2016
    7
    Paper Mario is going downhill and putting paper mario and the real mario together is bland and terrible. The game has SO many glitches it makes sonic 06 look like the best game ever with no mistakes! Well there is a lot of glitches but there hard to do. The graphics and controls, and the levels I can accept but the game can get repetitive at so many points. In my opinion paper mario isPaper Mario is going downhill and putting paper mario and the real mario together is bland and terrible. The game has SO many glitches it makes sonic 06 look like the best game ever with no mistakes! Well there is a lot of glitches but there hard to do. The graphics and controls, and the levels I can accept but the game can get repetitive at so many points. In my opinion paper mario is going downhill heck even the main series of mario is running out of ideas!… Expand
  9. Raymanmago1265
    Jan 26, 2016
    7
    It is a good game the only thing wrong is the story that I found disappointing and silly, tedious search of the toads paper, the characters of pixelated paper and little low framerate, also lack the exploitation of Nintendo, it appears that the 3DS this as adornment because it is very annoying to switch to 2D and 3D several times as could be, hopefully in the next mario & Luigi fix those problems.
  10. Babode
    Sep 19, 2022
    6
    I dont hate this game, the battle system is repetetive but still results in great fun. Its just it can get really boring. especially the first part. i would buy Dream team or sticker star instead.
  11. AlbertBoris
    Oct 20, 2018
    7
    Although this is where the Mario & Luigi games start to get worse, it's at least not Sticker Star. I had some fun with it, the papercraft battles are very fun and Paper Mario made the battle system quite good. However, the lack of a good story and generic gameplay makes this game a bit disapointing. It's still a good-to-great game though that I can recommend you
  12. SuperInkLink64
    Dec 2, 2018
    7
    Even the weakest entry of the Mario and Luigi series is still a decent game. The battle system is as fun as ever, with now a THIRD character to control and perform crazy attacks with. The humor is still great as always. And the music is still enjoyable, although less memorable than previous entries. Where this game starts to lose me is its missed opportunities. Every. Single. Character. IsEven the weakest entry of the Mario and Luigi series is still a decent game. The battle system is as fun as ever, with now a THIRD character to control and perform crazy attacks with. The humor is still great as always. And the music is still enjoyable, although less memorable than previous entries. Where this game starts to lose me is its missed opportunities. Every. Single. Character. Is something we've all seen before, which is a foreign topic to the Mario RPGs. All the paper characters seem to just be solely Sticker Star based, and we know how much that game is LOOOOOVED. And most NPCs just seem to be differently colored Toads. While this won't bother too many people, fans of the series will feel a little disappointed. I still have enjoyed my time with Paper Jam, but I will agree with it being one of the weakest Mario RPGs.… Expand
  13. RedXTL
    Oct 28, 2019
    7
    This is a fantastic game for the mario & luigi series. There is a lot to improve on which shows in the game. Overall A Good game, not awesome but still good.
  14. BeeSting1
    Jan 1, 2021
    7
    An interesting change from its predecessors.

    Good - paper Mario's attack inputs and defend inputs is a fresh addition to the battle mechanics period instead of the same double jump timing that I'm super bored of after playing through all the Mario and Luigi games. - the papercraft minigame is quite a step away from the timing mechanics of the game, but it's still kind of fun. -    An interesting change from its predecessors.

    Good

    - paper Mario's attack inputs and defend inputs is a fresh addition to the battle mechanics period instead of the same double jump timing that I'm super bored of after playing through all the Mario and Luigi games.

    - the papercraft minigame is quite a step away from the timing mechanics of the game, but it's still kind of fun.

    - the new overworld abilities are fun to use.

    - sprinting around the larger world map is fun

    - having 3 buttons to control 3 characters makes this game more challenging.

    Bad

    - there was a block smashing minigame where I had to destroy blocks to save toads. On the big blocks I thought I had to time the triple hammer attack on the last hit, because it's the strongest hit which break s the big block. But in actuality I had to use Mario's hammer to stop the block. But how would I know that Mario's hammer would stop a block that is 10 times bigger than him? The logical method would be to time the last hit which is the most powerful. Because of this twisted logic the game used, I was stuck on this puzzle for a long ass time.

    - that part where you're supposed to guess which hammer bro has The medallion is stupid, because the hint they give is the location of the hammer bro near the m blocks in the back and right, but after having hit all the blocks, I don't remember which area has the m blocks and which area doesn't.

    - the toad mini games grow increasingly more annoying as I progressed in the game. The mini game surrounding them sometimes feel broken, like I feel I am approaching it correctly but the solution is actually completely backwards. They also become quite repetitive.

    - some of the attack animations of the enemies were hard to see when it came to the depth of the attack. This caused me to dodge with the wrong character because I wasn't sure who they were aiming for. This might be because I was playing on the 2DS.

    - Sometimes the papercraft mini games just feel extremely clunky. Maybe that's what it's meant to be, but it feels unfair at times.    … Expand
  15. Flounder
    Mar 30, 2022
    6
    Es ist ein sehr gutes und mittelmäßiges Spiel, das seine Zeit wert ist, aber nichts Großartiges.
  16. BaldursThones
    Apr 14, 2022
    6
    It followed the basic formula of all the other Mario rpgs but with less creativity.
  17. Pilest
    Jul 3, 2023
    7
    Gameplay wise I do believe this is the best in the series. Story wise it is mid. Also the giant battles suck. Goomba 6/10

Awards & Rankings

21
#21 Best 3DS Game of 2016
8
#8 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2016
2
#2 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2016

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 76 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 76
  2. Mixed: 26 out of 76
  3. Negative: 1 out of 76
  1. Gaming Nexus
    Mar 28, 2016
    80
    Mario and Luigi Paper Jam successfully mixes the two long-running Mario RPG series, but outside of a few new Paper-based gameplay surprises it’s the same solid, self-aware role playing experience you’d expect from the Mario and Luigi series.
    Read full review
  2. CD-Action
    Mar 4, 2016
    85
    Despite recycling Paper Jam Bros. never looks like a half-hearted effort. [02/2016, p.69]
  3. Pelit (Finland)
    Mar 3, 2016
    84
    Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros is an action-packed, varied and in places, amusing RPG with familiar Mario-faces. The story is pretty much nonsense, though. [Feb 2016]
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