Paper Mario Never-Before-Seen Footage Found After 25 Years

screenrant.com:

Never-before-seen footage of Paper Mario, also known as Super Mario RPG 2 at the time, has been discovered after over 20 years. Mario has had several RPG series in his lifetime in different styles. Mario & Luigi take more of a traditional RPG approach in its gameplay style, while Paper Mario’s paper aesthetic has led to much gameplay variety.

Mario’s first RPG, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, is the only Mario title developed by Square Enix and is regarded as a cult classic. It stands out even from the many Mario RPGs that came after it. Following Super Mario RPG came the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series, though the latter series is currently in limbo with developers AlphaDream filing for bankruptcy. Nintendo did trademark Mario & Luigi in 2020 following AlphaDream’s bankruptcy, but whether this will lead to any new games in the future isn’t known.

Related: Super Mario RPG Deserves a 25th Anniversary Remaster

YouTuber Clasicos TV has now shared video footage of never-before-seen footage of Paper Mario (via GameXplain), which is believed to be around 20 years old. The video, called Nintendomania, features promotions of the Nintendo 64, and included in this compilation is a glimpse of early game footage of what would come to be known as Paper Mario. While the paper folded style is still present, the locations look drastically different than how their designs would be finalized. Elements from Yoshi’s Island such as Poochy and a faced mountain are also present.

Along with Mario & Luigi being in limbo, the most recent Paper Mario titles have been divisive to many fans. Many players miss the style of the older Paper Mario games such as the original Paper Mario and its sequel Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door