A big part of why Paper Mario might leave you a bit cold is because of the awful pacing. After some of the best first levels –worlds 2-4 especially– in a long while, the game slams on the brakes dramatically. It's gaming whiplash in the purest form. Even the dialog, which becomes a major problem later on, is spot on during these beginning stages, churning out gold such as "You have earlobes of steel." or "I post on message boards about games I've never played!".
