

Mario Story (Japan) is basically Paper Mario before it was called Paper Mario—that same flat, artsy world where everything looks like it’s made of construction paper. You start off running around this little diorama town, talking to Toads who somehow have more personality here than in most Mario games. The turn-based battles feel weird at first (since when does Mario have HP?), but the timing-based button presses keep it from getting stale.
What really hooked me was how they sneak in little RPG mechanics—you’ve got partners with different abilities, badges that tweak your stats, and these weirdly intense boss fights where you actually have to think instead of just jumping on everything. The writing’s surprisingly funny too, especially if you take time to talk to random NPCs. It’s one of those N64 gems that aged way better than the graphics suggest.