The Super Paper Mario & Luigi RPG Retrospective!!! (ft Yoshi) (Reply #1 on: October 19, 2019, 04:41:39 pm)

The Mario RPGs have always been close to my heart and even served as my introduction to RPGs. We first met on one fateful Easter morning when four year old me found a certain N64 cartridge box on the table. My family was incredibly poor growing up so I didn't have many games (my N64 having belonged to my mom, who exchanged her SNES and all her SNES games to get it), so not only was this a HUGE DEAL to be able to own a brand new game, but it was also one of the only games I owned in an age where I had to otherwise rent games from the Blockbuster across the street. And so, I played it A LOT.

* lol you have no idea how hard this was to set up. it didn't even turn out that good smh sticker star you reflective idiot
** also i apologize in advance because as you'll learn later (spoilers!) this set up is just for show and i will not be using half of these systems
*** not only did i forget some of my yoshis but i also left the fury road dvd out? guess thats part of the retrospective now??
**** please don't tell anybody that i left sonic adventure 2 in the gamecube

Ever since then, I've bought every Mario RPG around release and it remained one of the series I was constantly looking forward to. I still remember walking down the hall of our building with a copy of TTYD and telling my mom how excited I was to find out the story. I remember semi-marathoning all the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi games leading up to Paper Jam's release, which was a crossover I always wanted deep down but never dreamed would become a reality. And a little more recently, I remember going to the local Walmart on Colour Splash's release day and paying 92 whole smackaroos (thanks canadian dollar!) for a game I was silently worried about but kept a positive attitude for.

As you can see, not only is there a pretty large gap in my memory, but it is particularly lopsided regarding which of the two Mario RPG series I remember more. You COULD consider this foreshadowing for how this retrospective will turn out and what my opinions on certain games will be, but I do also have to admit that around 2008-9 (between Super Paper Mario and Bowser's Inside Story - more specifically after Super Smash Bros Brawl released lol) I fell into a gaming funk/depression where I had trouble enjoying games enough to beat them. It would be several years before I dug myself out of this and as a result, Bowser's Inside Story and Dream Team were among those that fell into the abyss of The Backlog. Sticker Star would be the only Mario RPG from that time period that I vanquished while it was still new. Whether or not it was me or actually the games' own fault for being uninteresting is something that may be revealed during this retrospective...

So anyone who knows me probably already knows which games in this series I like and dislike. My memory on most of these games is honestly still pretty fresh due to the pre-Paper Jam semi-marathon I did in 2015 and early 2016. But could my opinions have changed since then? And what about the games I never got around to replaying and/or beating?

Since this is a pretty iconic series, let's make this retrospective a little bit more... EXTREME...?

* are the sprites i used on each side perhaps FORESHADOWING? you probably already know the answer.

I will be cutthroat. I will not be a wishywashy little baby. I am going to make a very BOLD claim and announce that my current opinion is that the number of "good" games across this franchise are in the minority. Yes, this series I (and many others) love is actually comprised of mostly mediocre and - dare I say! - outright [i]bad[/i] games. I imagine this is a statement that would get me obliterated in any circle where more than five people would be reading my content - especially once the identities of those "bad" games are revealed. I won't reveal them now, but I'll tell you when my opinion on a game has changed due to this playthrough.

Now, dear reader, I must inform you that everything above was written in 2019. I tried to kickstart this retrospective back then and although I finished the first game and made a lot of cool assets, I didn't get very far into the write-up before I lost the drive for it. Instead of making the same mistake twice, this is going to be a more "casual" approach to a retrospective. My plan is the following: I'm going to document or collect any thoughts I already have for these games. And then in the future, if/when I replay (or beat for the first time in some cases) any of these games, I'll make a fuller write-up. I have no intention to finish this retrospective soon or to play the games in order. We're just throwing things at the wall and seeing what happens.

For reference, here is the list of games to be covered in this retrospective and how much experience I already have with them as of 2025.

1. SUPER MARIO RPG - Beaten once in 2019
2. PAPER MARIO - Beaten and 100% countless times; I probably play this at least once every other year
3. MARIO & LUIGI: SUPERSTAR SAGA - Beaten and 100% many times but not as much as Paper Mario; also beaten the 3DS remake
4. PAPER MARIO: THE THOUSAND YEAR DOOR - Beaten at least twice and 100% once
5. MARIO & LUIGI: PARTNERS IN TIME - Beaten at least once around release date
6. SUPER PAPER MARIO - Beaten 2-3 times; most recently in 2015-6
7. MARIO & LUIGI: BOWSER'S INSIDE STORY - Beaten once in 2016
8. PAPER MARIO: STICKER STAR - Beaten once 100% the year it came out
9. MARIO & LUIGI: DREAM TEAM - Never beaten and unsure how far I am in it; haven't touched in almost a decade
10. MARIO & LUIGI: PAPER JAM - Played at least one sitting when it came out; never beaten
11. PAPER MARIO: COLOUR SPLASH - Beaten once 100% when it came out; am currently replaying it
12. PAPER MARIO: THE ORIGAMI KING - Beaten once when it came out
13. MARIO & LUIGI: BROTHERSHIP - Currently playing

I also have a few other games that qualify as "Mario RPGs" - those are the Mario sports games on Gameboy and GBA. I am not sure if I will include them, but they might end up being bonus games. In 2019 I actually intended to include the relevant Switch games too, but I've sold them since then because I got so bored of them lol.

These games are popular enough that I will avoid talking about the usual stuff like plot or gameplay (unless something really sticks with me) and instead focus on the nitty-gritty of why I feel a certain way about these games. There might be graphs. Chapter-by-chapter breakdowns. Very specific comparisons between entries. Some of these games make me feel like I'm crazy in evil and sinister ways and I need to scream it to the sky.

WORLD MAP & LEVEL DESIGN
Does the game have a world map? Are all the areas connected? Is the map nice to look at? Is it symmetrical or asymmetrical?

Do the areas feel good and natural to travel through? Is there biome diversity? Unique settings you wouldn't find in any other game? How about unique path placement / level progression for each area you visit? Backtracking and fast travel situations??

COMBAT SPEED
How long and how much effort do certain attacks take? Are they really worth it? What is the damage output vs enemy HP ratio as you progress? Are there any unbearable enemy/boss gimmicks? Is fighting even worth it most of the time?? Is it worth it to AVOID fighting?

REFERENCES TO PAST GAMES
Are familiar characters and setpieces woven into the game while providing a unique twist? Or is it overused and/or uninspired to the point of the novelty wearing off?

ARE THERE YOSHIS IN THE GAME
there's nothing more important than this.

As for how I'm actually playing these games... that'll be left up to destiny. I'm sure most of them will be original versions or played through NSO when possible. But who knows! Maybe one day I'll shell out for the TTYD remake. Or the SMRPG one! I personally don't think the version will have a large impact on my opinions so I'm not going to worry about playing certain ones or playing "all" the versions. Who cares.

anyways byeeeeeeee