So with the remake of Bowser's Inside Story releasing shortly, I thought it would be fun to talk about the direction of the Mario and Luigi series. What we'd like to see, what we like, what we hate. So I thought I'd share my thoughts and maybe you can share yours.
My Loves:
1. The Combat System
I love love love the combat system! I think it's brill, it's hard to find other turn-based RPGs that emulate the engaging combat of this series. Not only do you have to monitor HP, Items, and Bro Points, but you have to pay attention to your enemies and their attacks so that you can figure out how to dodge or counter them effectively. It's radical. I wish other RPGs took that chance although I think indie RPGs are catching on (Undertale in particular).
2. The Writing
The writing is extremely witty and charming. It takes these generic characters (more on that later) and brings a little life to them. I love it.
My Dislikes:
1. The artstyle transition from sprites to the new engine
I hate the new engine so much. Hate it. The characters feel generic and unexpressive and I think it is nowhere more apparent than in the remakes. The sprites in Superstar Saga were gorgeous and clever and full of life, and to go from that, to these generic 3D models was such a let-down. It really feels like what happened with the NSMB games where we lost a lot of charm and creativity to generic environments and character designs.
2. The Characters and Plot
The running school of thought are that the M and L games are meant to replace the Paper Mario RPGs. So where are all the creative characters? Dream Team had some cool new characters before Paper Jam came out and gave us generic toads everywhere. Where did they go? Why can't we have more of them? I don't know if Miyamoto was the one who demanded Alpha Dream reign themselves in after Super Paper Mario's abstract art exhibit-esque characters but I want them back! Give us more Fawfuls and weird Pink and Yellow toads and new regions of the Mario world.
This leads me to the plot. The cool thing about the Paper Mario games is that they provided a clever plot with these characters that could even be genuinely touching at times with awesome side stories around people like Vivian or Admiral Bobbery or even Tippi the tutorial butterfly. If I'm going to be investing 20 or more hours into an RPG, I want a plot that goes beyond making me laugh sometimes into making me think or making me sad or hopeful. Now, even with the clever beats and bits found in Dream Team, we're back to Bowser kidnaps Peach, save Peach. Give Alpha Dream free reign to be creative! I think they can do it. Hell, I'd love to see them write their own unique IP and world.
But what do you think ERA? What would you like to see?
My Loves:
1. The Combat System
I love love love the combat system! I think it's brill, it's hard to find other turn-based RPGs that emulate the engaging combat of this series. Not only do you have to monitor HP, Items, and Bro Points, but you have to pay attention to your enemies and their attacks so that you can figure out how to dodge or counter them effectively. It's radical. I wish other RPGs took that chance although I think indie RPGs are catching on (Undertale in particular).
2. The Writing
The writing is extremely witty and charming. It takes these generic characters (more on that later) and brings a little life to them. I love it.
My Dislikes:
1. The artstyle transition from sprites to the new engine
I hate the new engine so much. Hate it. The characters feel generic and unexpressive and I think it is nowhere more apparent than in the remakes. The sprites in Superstar Saga were gorgeous and clever and full of life, and to go from that, to these generic 3D models was such a let-down. It really feels like what happened with the NSMB games where we lost a lot of charm and creativity to generic environments and character designs.
2. The Characters and Plot
The running school of thought are that the M and L games are meant to replace the Paper Mario RPGs. So where are all the creative characters? Dream Team had some cool new characters before Paper Jam came out and gave us generic toads everywhere. Where did they go? Why can't we have more of them? I don't know if Miyamoto was the one who demanded Alpha Dream reign themselves in after Super Paper Mario's abstract art exhibit-esque characters but I want them back! Give us more Fawfuls and weird Pink and Yellow toads and new regions of the Mario world.
This leads me to the plot. The cool thing about the Paper Mario games is that they provided a clever plot with these characters that could even be genuinely touching at times with awesome side stories around people like Vivian or Admiral Bobbery or even Tippi the tutorial butterfly. If I'm going to be investing 20 or more hours into an RPG, I want a plot that goes beyond making me laugh sometimes into making me think or making me sad or hopeful. Now, even with the clever beats and bits found in Dream Team, we're back to Bowser kidnaps Peach, save Peach. Give Alpha Dream free reign to be creative! I think they can do it. Hell, I'd love to see them write their own unique IP and world.
But what do you think ERA? What would you like to see?
