On April 9th, Mario and his friends from the Mushroom Kingdom will take over the Wii with the highly-anticipated Super Paper Mario. Originally slated as a GameCube exclusive, the technicolor 2-D game also combines clever 3-D and role-playing-lite elements that'll hold the attention of old-school Mario fans and Wii owners looking for a fresh gaming experience.

Like previous Paper Mario games, the Wii version retains the trademark tongue-in-cheek humor that's been a hallmark of the series. Nintendo and developer Intelligent Systems takes insidery pot shots at the Mario franchise, particularly during an amusing scene in which Mario arch-nemesis Bowser questions whether he should partner up with the plumber. The two then actually form an unlikely union -- after Princess Peach gets kidnapped, marries Bowser under duress, causing a huge rift in the universe -- to save their cartoony world from total annihilation.

The game's development crew opted to create something other than the standard 2-D platform game. While Paper Mario for Wii seems reminiscent of New Super Mario Bros. for DS, some role-playing elements and 3-D twists were thrown in for good measure. Players move characters around the world by holding the Wii remote horizontally. Jumping and consequently hitting blocks placed around the environment causes special items to appear, and gamers can off goombas, Bullet Bills and the Hammer Bros. by jumping on top of them.

Mario gains experience points after offing an enemy. On the flip side, getting hit diminishes his hit points (his overall health), but he can get it back by scoring more experience points and leveling up. Players can also bust special moves by shaking the remote, and solve puzzles using the controller as a virtual flashlight -- point it at the screen to light up hidden items and doors.

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