Super Mario Series

[Spark Of Spirit]

Yep, I think NSMBU is about as far as they can go with that visual style.

Nintendo and Sega should make that Mario/Sonic platformer so we can get a whole bunch of new settings. 

[talonmalon333]

The final boss themes are great tracks in both cases, but the fights themselves are just too daunting. To this day, I still haven't brought myself to beat Cackletta's final form in SS; it's just way too damn long. Either I'm not doing something right, or it really is that hard, but whatever the case I still have yet to beat it. I probably never will, either (haven't even touched that game in years).

...and music is about the only thing Partners in Time has going for it. Really, really weak game IMO.

I don't know. I think the length just makes those battles more climactic.

As for Partners in Time as a whole, it was my personal favorite of the Mario & Luigi games. Maybe if I played all three of them again, though, I'd see what you guys mean. But as a whole I'm not a fan of the Mario RPG games other than the first three Paper Mario games... I actually think Super Mario RPG is a pretty standard game with nothing noteworthy about it, except the music.

[talonmalon333]

Actually, I think I'll list the issues I take to the other Mario RPG games, and why I prefer Partners in Time to them.

For Super Mario RPG, I found the level design to be pretty standard and rather underdeveloped, the pacing felt rushed until the final stretch, the battle system was just typical "do as much damage as you can to enemy with no real strategy", the story was meh, and the characters and villains were just forgettable (even Geno).

For Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, I remember thinking whole switching between the brothers and Bowser system to be tedious. The battles dragged way too long, with you having to make Bowser suck up monsters thus forcing the brothers to fight them (basically, a battle within a battle) before Bowser can actually continue the fight. I also think the mini games were incredibly grating. They seriously made me want to just shut the game off.

For Superstar Saga, I actually don't have much to say for this one. It just didn't have too much going for it, so it kind of fell in the middle.

[Spark Of Spirit]

The battles dragged way too long

I never spent long in any battle in that game. And the bosses rewarded me for using bro moves in certain ways that it made them rewarding to fight. Also, didn't you say not long ago that the long battles were why you like PiT? That was the game were about every battle was too long. Also the Bowser and Bros battles were not common at all and were mostly saved for a few boss battles.

Maybe you should play them over.

[talonmalon333]

The battles dragged way too long

I never spent long in any battle in that game. And the bosses rewarded me for using bro moves in certain ways that it made them rewarding to fight. Also, didn't you say not long ago that the long battles were why you like PiT? That was the game were about every battle was too long. Also the Bowser and Bros battles were not common at all and were mostly saved for a few boss battles.

Maybe you should play them over.

The "long battles being climactic" comment was directed at the final battles. I was fine with those being long, but not with many other fights. I actually don't remember most of the fights in PiT being too long. As for BIS, maybe it wasn't every fight that wore out its welcome, but I do remember it happening frequently in the final stretch of the game. I remember there being a lot of regular enemies that led to Bowser and bros battles in the final parts of the game.

... Or maybe I should play them again. It's been years. But I do think my criticism of the BIS mini-games stands.

[Foggle]

Whoa, I just found out GTA V came out today

wut

[talonmalon333]

Please don't tell me GSF was talking about a GTA game in the freaking Mario thread.

[Foggle]

Please don't tell me GSF was talking about a GTA game in the freaking Mario thread.

And it's not actually out yet, either!

[Avaitor]

Are they back to Liberty City in V?

I think my problem with the franchise is that I just don't like that place.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

No, V does not take place in Liberty City. It'd be pretty lame if Rockstar recycled the same city that they used in the previous GTA game, and they have enough sense to never use the same city twice in a row. Also, to be fair, when they did do Liberty City in GTA IV, it was much different and upgraded from what it was like in GTA III, though I'm still not a fan of the game, myself.

Honestly, if Rockstar ever was to redo and upgrade an older city that they used, I wouldn't mind a new Vice City game, then. That was honestly my favorite one, personally, but maybe that's because I love Scarface and all of the other 80's movies references in that game.

[talonmalon333]

Please don't tell me GSF was talking about a GTA game in the freaking Mario thread.

And it's not actually out yet, either!

Yeah, looks like it won't be out for another few months.

Man GSF, you're on a role lately. You know that?

[talonmalon333]

Being that we're on the topic of GTA (thanks to gunswordshit), I agree with Ensatsu that Vice City was probably my favorite. Though maybe alongside III.

[Avaitor]

I just really liked Vic City and San Andreas, but III and what little I played of IV do nothing for me.

[Commode]

Vice City is my favorite one too.  III is alright, if only for nostalgia purposes, since it was the first one I(as well as many others)played.  San Andreas is where the series lost me though.

[Foggle]

I like Vice City's aesthetics and story, but the controls feel extremely clunky to me (this problem may just be on the PC version, though). I had a lot more fun with San Andreas and 4.