I cannot describe how much I loved this game. It shines in so many ways, it possibly far outshines the Wii itself. In a vivid universe that as closely related to the classic Mushroom Kingdom as Illidan Stormrage is to the Night Elves, it's another scenario that opens with Bowser attempting to gain power. Beating a dead horse for the fifty-eighth time, yes, but it quickly escalates beyond just big old King Koopa.

Though the game is primarly two-dimensional (even in 3-D mode everything is flat and moves on planes) the graphics are rendered in a way that says the programmers didn't give a damn about realistic rendering and simply tried to make something that was their own. The same can be said about the plot, dialogue, controls...virtually the entire work is a game designer's wet dream. Interesting and original uses for the game mechanics are used at every opportunity. For instance, Mario has the ability to "flip"--that is, switch from a 2-D world to a 3-D one. Say there is a wall in front of you; if you "flip," you might see that the wall is only two-dimensional, and you can pass around it to a room that was otherwise hidden.

This goes far beyond hidden areas. Most boss fights require you to flip to certain things--one boss fight can only be finished by jumping on the boss's back, of course requiring a flip to climb onto what is an otherwise 2-D character. Little things, such as Mario breaking into little blocks and being sucked through piece by piece into pipes, are entertaining. Perhaps the most amusing addition was the invincibility star, which in this game summons an army of inch-high 8-bit Marios at your feet, who take the hits for you. It is very hard to play the game with this Mario Shield and not collapse into a giggling heap.

As I said, the plot eventually extends beyond just Bowser, who as in previous Mario RPG games joins your party partway through when he discovers he's been usurped. Many characters join up, such as "pixls" who function as secondary abilities which are made neccesary to advance through certain areas (such as "Cudge," an aptly-named sentient hammer needed to bash through large blocks of apparently-mispoured cement). In every way I can think of the game exercises great imagination and is easily the best game I've played in years.

The game even has some replay value in it, in the form of certain stages being replayable after the finish, as well as the Pit of 100 Trials, which I have yet to survive all the way through. And if nothing else, one thing infinitely enjoyable about this game is the dialog, which is all the funnier if you are a veteran Mario fan...just trust me and play it, you'll see.