Super Mario Series

[Foggle]

Damn, you guys are making me want to play TYD again... it's been at least 8 years.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I'm up to the last chapter now.

Eh, chapter 7 was too padded. It ranks with 4 as my least favorite chapter, but everything else in the game is pretty great. Honestly, as a whole, it's better than I remember it.

I highly recommend a replay if you're thinking about it, it has held up remarkably well.

[Spark Of Spirit]

So before I finish, I'll just show my new ratings:

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door
Super Mario RPG
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Paper Mario
Super Paper Mario (If you want to count it... or don't.)
Mario & Luigi: Partner's In Time

Now I'm really looking forward to the 3DS installment.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Which one was the N64 Paper Mario?

Also, I've never played a Paper Mario game in my life.

[Spark Of Spirit]

Which one was the N64 Paper Mario?

Also, I've never played a Paper Mario game in my life.

Oh, just normal Paper Mario.

I'm not sure if you'd like the series, but the Gamecube sequel (TTYD) is amazingly fun.

[talonmalon333]

I'd actually go...

The Thousand-Year Door > Super Paper Mario = Paper Mario >>> Partners in Time > Bowser's Inside Story > Superstar Saga

Not trying to be controversial, by the way.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I know you like PiT a lot more than I do, but you liked SPM and PM more than every M&L game? Other than the final boss of SS, I thought BIS and SS were fantastic RPGs.

You know what I'd like? A Paper Zelda game. Not to say I don't enjoy Mario, but Zelda would transition very easily to an RPG style.

[Dr. Ensatsu-ken]

Apparently, some people call the regular Zelda games RPGs, which I honestly don't agree with since they are straight-up action-adventure games, just with more emphasis on adventure than action (and honestly, I feel that we need more games like it in this day and age).

That said, I agree that Zelda would transition really well into an RPG. I don't usually like RPGs, but the Zelda series is one of the few ones out there that could actually pull off an RPG that I'm interested in (assuming that it was done right).

[talonmalon333]

Apparently, some people call the regular Zelda games RPGs, which I honestly don't agree with since they are straight-up action-adventure games, just with more emphasis on adventure than action (and honestly, I feel that we need more games like it in this day and age).

That said, I agree that Zelda would transition really well into an RPG. I don't usually like RPGs, but the Zelda series is one of the few ones out there that could actually pull off an RPG that I'm interested in (assuming that it was done right).

I'd say the old games, mostly LoZ and AoL (and a little bit of ALttP) were definitely RPGs. The original in particular, and they didn't have enough action-adventure conventions, such as puzzles, to fit that genre.

As for Paper Mario, E-K, I think there's a chance you might like it. It's kinda like Pokemon in that it's far more accessible than many RPGs.

I know you like PiT a lot more than I do, but you liked SPM and PM more than every M&L game? Other than the final boss of SS, I thought BIS and SS were fantastic RPGs.

You know what I'd like? A Paper Zelda game. Not to say I don't enjoy Mario, but Zelda would transition very easily to an RPG style.

I actually didn't think any of the M&L games were particularly memorable. I just had the most fun with PiT's battle system. And it had my favorite final boss of all the Mario RPG games. But on the other hand, Paper Mario 64 was just a very polished game in my opinion. And I loved Super Paper Mario's story and humor.

Also, I'm not a fan of the idea of the Zelda characters becoming paper.

[Spark Of Spirit]

I really like the Mario & Luigi battle system. It requires a lot of user input almost like a full out action game, and the last game even involves a lot of platforming skill to really succeed in battle. It seems like a more enhanced version of the SMRPG system. But I thought the PiT system was too cluttered overall and the story just wasn't very interesting.

Paper Mario 64 is a bit too simplistic and dry for my tastes. I really like it as a whole, but compared to TTYD, it's just totally outclassed IMO.

[talonmalon333]

I really like the Mario & Luigi battle system. It requires a lot of user input almost like a full out action game, and the last game even involves a lot of platforming skill to really succeed in battle. It seems like a more enhanced version of the SMRPG system. But I thought the PiT system was too cluttered overall and the story just wasn't very interesting.

The story in PiT was the least interesting of the three, I agree there. I just enjoyed using the team attacks with the babies. Also, I think battles in BIT got way too drawn out. In the end, it seems like every single one was...

-Fight starts. Enemies attack.
-Bowser inhales enemies. They end up inside him, and an entirely new fight starts.
-Mario and Luigi defeat those enemies.
-Fight returns to Bowser.

It was just tedious. And the mini games were grating for me. As soon as they'd alert me to one, I remember I'd be ready to shut the game off.

Paper Mario 64 is a bit too simplistic and dry for my tastes. I really like it as a whole, but compared to TTYD, it's just totally outclassed IMO.

TTYD definitely improved a lot. But I just think PM has excellent pacing. With the exception of a few parts, there's very little backtracking. TTYD laid it on thick. I like TTYD better, but this makes the comparison fairly close for me.

[Nel_Annette]

Eh, chapter 7 was too padded. It ranks with 4 as my least favorite chapter, but everything else in the game is pretty great.

You see clearly.  But really, all that running around to find the general, the overall shortness of the snow area and lack of story in it, and trekking around the moon just make the chapter feel rather... blunt to me.

When it comes to the M&L games, I like them alright. Superstar Saga was my favorite. I just like the pacing of the story and the characters the most in that one. Bowser's Inside Story is alright, but when I realized the final boss was the final boss, I was disappointed. The release of the Dark Star honestly felt like the halfway point of the game to me, not the end. Plus I just overall didn't like the levels in Bowser's body. As for Parters in Time, I don't remember much about it. I *think* I liked it, but it overall just didn't compare to Superstar Saga. I didn't really like how you could only visit the past versions of places, and not the present. I remember the humor being really great, though.

[talonmalon333]

I also think the pacing was a little out of whack in SS. The whole finale felt too drawn out. There's two "final dungeons".

[Spark Of Spirit]

The only thing I didn't like about SS was the thing they carried over to PiT, the annoyingly long final boss that takes WAY too long to follow. I honestly preferred the final boss in BIS a lot more for not being a total excitement drain.

As for PiT... Well, it's still my least favorite Mario RPG. The battle system didn't feel as simple as the first game, or as expansive as the third, it just kinda felt tacked on with the babies and the items. And the story just wasn't as exciting as the other two. Talon keeps mentioning TTYD's pacing issues (which I really only think are a problem in chapters 4 and 7), but PiT just isn't engaging at all to me.

But as for you guys who don't like TTYD as much as 64 or SPM, can you elaborate on why? I just think it does pretty much everything better than those two games.

[Nel_Annette]

I'll give Bowser's Inside Story this: the battle against Dark Bowser and Fawful has what could possibly be my favorite final battle theme of all time.