Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam’s two flavors jell into a sloppy sandwich

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam could have used a pair of scissors.

It’s an almost magical, Mario-meets-Mario adventure, and it had the potential to be one of the 3DS’s finest offerings. The comedic, cameo-filled tale brings together two of the plumber’s RPG franchises to near-great — but not perfect — success, creating a self-referential adventure that is not only a lot of fun but also suffers under the weight of new gameplay elements that don’t jam well with everything else.