New Super Paper Mario Wii screens (in our favorite ratio)

Since its announcement at E3 2006, Super Paper Mario has made a format shift and still managed to keep a suspiciously low profile. It's a game that has been developed in the shadows, with only occasional flashes to give the poor gaming press anything to write about. At last, though, Super Paper Mario is coming out into the open. Nintendo today confirmed an April 19 release for Japan, which means that Super Paper Mario (like the Wii itself) is going to debut in North America. The new 16:9 screens here show how beautiful the game has become and, although Wii Remote functions are yet to be properly explained, Famitsu reports that Peach's umbrella can be used to access secret areas. (Here come the Super Mario Bros. 2 flashbacks.) We're intrigued to see how Super Paper Mario can flit from 2D to 3D at the press of a button and retain some sort of consistency. America can discover on April 9 whether Intelligent Systems' ambitious project has succeeded -- and more importantly, find out whether Bowser ends up marrying Peach. The horror.

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[Image credit: Famitsu]