Super Paper Mario

The game that started the site and continues to inspire it...

(the following taken from the Super Paper Mario wikipedia page)

Game Info

Super Paper Mario is a platform/role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems, a division of Nintendo. Originally developed for the Nintendo GameCube, it was released for the Wii. It is a combination of the previous Paper Mario titles and Super Mario Bros. titles. Unlike the RPG-style gameplay of previous Paper Mario games, the game combines platforming gameplay, RPG, and puzzle elements. It is the third game in the Paper Mario series.

Plot

In light of a recent kidnapping of Princess Peach, Mario and Luigi head to King Bowser's castle to retrieve her, only to find that Bowser wasn't responsible for it. It is then revealed that the true kidnapper is Count Bleck, a sorcerer who wields an ancient, prophetical tome called the Dark Prognosticus. In addition to Princess Peach, he kidnaps Luigi and Bowser, along with all of Bowser's army. The Count then employs the hypnotic powers of his right-hand woman, Nastasia, and forces the marriage of Princess Peach to Bowser in order to, as the Dark Prognosticus foretells, unleash a destructive power known as the Chaos Heart. Count Bleck uses the Chaos Heart to open an interdimensional rift known as "The Void", which will eventually grow large enough to engulf the entire universe.

Mario meets a Pixl, a type of fairy, named Tippi, who has come in search of Mario for he matches the description of the Hero, described in another prophetical tome called the Light Prognosticus, who is able to halt the impeding doom of The Void. In order to banish the Chaos Heart and reverse the destruction, the Hero requires the eight Pure Hearts, artifacts created from genuine love. Mario then sets out on his quest with Tippi at his side, as well as the other three heroes (Peach, Luigi, and Bowser), to gather the Pure Hearts and stop Count Bleck and his minions from obliterating all existence.