Paper Mario Series

[shiny charizard master]

While I'm still utterly bitter about this...game; I say we look to the future instead of crying over the past. So let's see a little life in here!

We got a fancy new home console, DYING to have games on it, and we have a game series dying to be used to its fullest potential. What would you like to see in a Paper Mario U game?

Aside from obvious stuff, like a return to the old turn-based system with items and badges and leveling up and partners, I wouldn't mind them bringing back some of Sticker Star's sticker elements. Replace badges and items with stickers. Yeah, you heard me right. Think about how a badge-stickers system would work. You "apply" them to yourself for their effects and can "peal" them off later and replace them with others. It would be one of those cutesie details that shows off the PAPER of the Paper Mario series, but doesn't beat you over the head with it, as 90% of Sticker Star's jokes do. You can still solve world puzzles with your sticker items, like using one of those good ol' Courage Shells ( which is just a regular Koopa shell, but you use it to boost your defense) on a Koopa without a shell, or stuff like that. A simple touch, but by no means the absolute focus of the game (blahblahblah referring to Sticker Star again).

And for the love of all that is good, do not use that boring, overused, trite Mario Bros 3 overworld. It is a relic - a darned RELIC from an older time - a time where games simply did not have the space to develop hub worlds. Galaxy 2 didn't need it. And although you can argue that 3D land was homage to MB3, and that all FOUR of the NSMB games are a homage to MB1-3, it has no place in Paper Mario. JUST NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I beg, nay, I command for a proper world in the next Paper Mario game. *pants*

...Soooo yeah. Any other ideas in mind?

[ParaChomp]

...Soooo yeah. Any other ideas in mind?

Paper Mario and Paper Luigi.

[Grim Heaper]

While I'm still utterly bitter about this...game; I say we look to the future instead of crying over the past. So let's see a little life in here!

We got a fancy new home console, DYING to have games on it, and we have a game series dying to be used to its fullest potential. What would you like to see in a Paper Mario U game?

Aside from obvious stuff, like a return to the old turn-based system with items and badges and leveling up and partners, I wouldn't mind them bringing back some of Sticker Star's sticker elements. Replace badges and items with stickers. Yeah, you heard me right. Think about how a badge-stickers system would work. You "apply" them to yourself for their effects and can "peal" them off later and replace them with others. It would be one of those cutesie details that shows off the PAPER of the Paper Mario series, but doesn't beat you over the head with it, as 90% of Sticker Star's jokes do. You can still solve world puzzles with your sticker items, like using one of those good ol' Courage Shells ( which is just a regular Koopa shell, but you use it to boost your defense) on a Koopa without a shell, or stuff like that. A simple touch, but by no means the absolute focus of the game (blahblahblah referring to Sticker Star again).

And for the love of all that is good, do not use that boring, overused, trite Mario Bros 3 overworld. It is a relic - a darned RELIC from an older time - a time where games simply did not have the space to develop hub worlds. Galaxy 2 didn't need it. And although you can argue that 3D land was homage to MB3, and that all FOUR of the NSMB games are a homage to MB1-3, it has no place in Paper Mario. JUST NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO. I beg, nay, I command for a proper world in the next Paper Mario game. *pants*

...Soooo yeah. Any other ideas in mind?

Going along with the sticker stuff, how about items which affect you like Volt Shrooms and Repel Capes be stickers as well? They would only last for a couple turns or until the end of the battle, but I would think that would be another nice mechanic.

Also, I want a Shy Guy partner. PLEASE NINTENDO!

[LimeSoda]

I know some people have said they really enjoy the paper aspect, but come on Miyamoto, your decision to focus on the sticker aspect just ruined the game. When a game becomes too gimmicky, which is the stickers, it's ruined for me. Majority of us don't buy Paper Mario because it's literally Paper Mario, we buy it because it's a Mario RPG!! Miyamoto doesn't realize this I feel. If they stick with Paper that's fine, but I think making another RPG like The legend of the 7 stars would be a great, and good investment.

[shiny charizard master]

Going along with the sticker stuff, how about items which affect you like Volt Shrooms and Repel Capes be stickers as well? They would only last for a couple turns or until the end of the battle, but I would think that would be another nice mechanic.

Also, I want a Shy Guy partner. PLEASE NINTENDO!

Oh, yeah. Definitely all the items. The items being stickers should just be a cute gimmick, nothing huge. Just a subtle nod to the paper aesthetics. I really liked, say, the spike hat sticker in SS and how you applied it directly to Mario for usage. That could apply to, say, the stone cap or repel capes or whatever. You just attach the sticker and BOOM, a funny visual effect and item activates. I should probably add that we should be allowed to use items outside of battle again. Whose insane idea was it that we can only use healing items IN BATTLE?! That drove me absolutely MAD.

Also, on the topic of a Shy Guy partner (which would be freaking awesome, by the way) this video of pre-release stuff still makes me sad. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CCSzzARPjLc

Basically, the chain chomp functioned like Kooper and Koops. And because demos usually show early in the game stuff, and following the original formula, THAT MEANS THE SECOND PARTNER IN THE GAME WAS GOING TO BE A FREAKING CHAIN CHOMP!!!! Do you know how COOL that would have been? But I digress on that point.

Another thought that came to mind about partners is actually being able to customize them to a degree. One way I thought of this was like with the Hammer/Fire/Boomerang Bros. A Bros. class of Koopa joins Mario's team at some point in the game, and you can, essentially, equip him with a weapon of choice, be it Hammers, Boomerangs, or...fire...somehow. The standard goomba partner (just as another example) could start with the tattle book and be a normal goomba, or equip the spike hat, instead, and act as a spiky goomba, or equip wings and become a paragoomba. So many posibilities. x_x

[ParaChomp]

Nobody's down for Paper Mario and Luigi? The problem is that the game needs originality in its gameplay which Sticker Star delivered but it clearly wasn't to everyone's tastes. That's it, how do we make something old fresh?

[The Great Butler]

Personally I like the game and feel that it is quite good, but was a disappointment as a Paper Mario title. Most people who talk smack about the game are the ones who wanted a game playing more like PM: TTYD.

Not even; I enjoyed Super Paper Mario too and I would have gladly taken another game with its gameplay. Even without a story it would have been more engaging than this one.

[lolipiece]

Personally, if a next Paper Mario game has partners, it should have species that haven't been used.

We don't need more repeats. Especially for Goomba's and Koopas. We've had two and three of those, respectively, and that's more than enough.

Maybe a Toad?

Nobody's down for Paper Mario and Luigi? The problem is that the game needs originality in its gameplay which Sticker Star delivered but it clearly wasn't to everyone's tastes. That's it, how do we make something old fresh?

That sounds too much like the Mario and Luigi series...

Or are you implying some sort of combination of the two series?

[marioluigifan05]

More disappointing than even SPM (for the record, I actually liked it, just not more than the other two)? That must be pretty bad.

I'm borrowing it from a friend this weekend, so I should be able to play it then.

[AuraChannelerChris]

More disappointing than even SPM (for the record, I actually liked it, just not more than the other two)? That must be pretty bad.

I'm borrowing it from a friend this weekend, so I should be able to play it then.

SPM wasn't an RPG completely but a platformer that was actually fun.

SS is an RPG, but not a good one.

[ParaChomp]

Or are you implying some sort of combination of the two series?

Exactly, taking elements from both series and melding them into one game.

SPM wasn't an RPG completely but a platformer that was actually fun.

SS is an RPG, but not a good one.

I loved Super Paper Mario! Heck, I acted out every bit of dialogue with funny voices while playing it for the second time (don't ask). I would love another title like that but maybe taking a bit from New Super Mario Bros? I don't know. Yeah, Sticker Star's sticker mechanic is so iffy. Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time used item based battle and it was great but it had a level up system with multiple stats along with multiple combatants who's lack of presence could severely affect the battle. Sticker Star wasn't bad at its core but all the infuriating sticker based puzzles were horrid along with the massive amounts of backtracking.

At least there's the upcoming Mario and Luigi title to look forward to. Hope it's good.

[KillerDraco]

Nobody's down for Paper Mario and Luigi? The problem is that the game needs originality in its gameplay which Sticker Star delivered but it clearly wasn't to everyone's tastes. That's it, how do we make something old fresh?

I'd be more inclined to keep Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi as separate series. They both function very differently, so mixing them seems a bit... unnecessary. It seems like it'd be hard to find a middle ground, given Mario & Luigi opts for traditional stat-based damage, whereas Paper Mario tends to be more static and dependent on occasional upgrades. They're just opposite ends of the spectrum in my eyes.

Personally, I do hope that Paper Mario goes back in the direction of the original and TYD, though. I loved Super Paper Mario too, since the storyline was probably the most emotional of them all, but at the end of the day Paper Mario has always felt like it was meant to be an RPG series. The problem with Sticker Star was that it tried too hard to be innovative, IMO. They did try something new (which is more than you could say for something like New Super Mario Bros. games), but they tried too hard to the point where it came off as gimmicky. Plus, standard RPG elements were notably absent; there was no EXP system, so there was no incentive to battle, especially due to the finite nature of stickers. You were actually encouraged to skip battles, as you wouldn't suffer any real consequences from doing so. Plus, the fact that it de-emphasized the story, and the characters was just... not something you do in an RPG. The complete arbitrariness of the Thing Sticker system was the icing on the cake.

They tried, but it didn't work out. So, I'm just hoping that the next Paper Mario will improve upon the foundation that was laid, especially since the fans seem to be clamoring for a return to Paper Mario's roots.

[Zyon]

Paper Mario Sticker Star I was really excited when it was released, I've never played a Paper Mario game before. I heard all the negative response's it was getting before it's official release, I wanted start playing this game with an open mind verses having someone else's judgement decide how I see the game. For the most part it's a decent game but it's something I'm never going to play again. The first week playing was ok , but it got rather frustrating to play at times. I actually stopped playing it for a couple weeks because of it. The one thing I found the most frustrating is when your in a boss fight you'll usually need to use a specific Thing Sticker to do a decent amount of damage or even just progress at all during the battle. I remember fighting the first Boss and losing because I didn't have any Thing Stickers, as well I found myself stuck in other mini-boss/boss fights that need a specific Thing Sticker just to do anything. I actually found fighting the boss with Thing Stickers to be extremely easy, however I found it extremely difficult to fight then just using regular stickers.
Most puzzles I could figure out but there were some that you would never think of needing, in fact I found myself looking through the guide book more then I should have. Usually the game will give you some hints on what is needed in order to progress, or what would give you the advantage during a fight, however I felt myself just having to wing it most of the time just to figure out what I really needed then lose and then go off prepare and fight/solve a second time just to beat whatever it was it was both tedious and frustrating. The fact you could run from every battle without any negative repercussion was disappointing in fact it was something you sort of had to do to save your stickers for the boss fights most of the time.
Now I've finally beaten the game, unfortunately I'm going to be trading in Paper Mario Sticker Star for Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate when it's released.

[Iris Mist]

I really enjoyed SPM, it was challenging enough to keep it fun and interesting. SS started off as fun, but it got old pretty quick.

On another note, I just claimed Paper Mario on Club Nintendo, so I'll be playing it soon, for the first time. I wish I could find a cheap copy of TTYD to try it out too.

[KillerDraco]

On another note, I just claimed Paper Mario on Club Nintendo, so I'll be playing it soon, for the first time. I wish I could find a cheap copy of TTYD to try it out too.

Seeing you say this reminded me to check Club Nintendo (I hadn't lately), so I took the opportunity to scoop up Paper Mario for Nostalgia's sake.

And while it's still just as good as ever, I find myself spoiled on TTYD's gameplay improvements, and I miss them terribly. I find myself wishing Partners could focus or use items, and miss the bigger variety of badges! Oh well, gotta start somewhere, and it's still a nostalgiagasm.

[Torpoleon]

I really enjoyed SPM, it was challenging enough to keep it fun and interesting. SS started off as fun, but it got old pretty quick.

On another note, I just claimed Paper Mario on Club Nintendo, so I'll be playing it soon, for the first time. I wish I could find a cheap copy of TTYD to try it out too.

Hopefully Nintendo adds GameCube games to the Wii U's VC soon. TTYD is such a great game!

I played Paper Mario a bit recently and beat the Goomba King. Hoping to make some more progress one day soon!