Since around July or August, Nintendo has announced a new Mario & Luigi game, which is actually a crossover between the Paper Mario RPG's and the Mario & Luigi RPG's. Are you hyped, or not hyped?
I was hyped at first, hoping they would do something right...But now that feeling's gone after seeing more of the game. I'm actually not expecting anything great from this game at all. Why, you ask? Well, that's a long story, so if you don't want to hear me ramble, skip down to the "tl;dr" and you'll see why.
As a kid, I loved Super Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. They were my first Mario RPG games, not counting SMRPG:LotSS. I will be explaining what I think of each game in both franchises, then give my opinion on the upcoming crossover.
Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64 was the start of it all, which had the same plot, but actually made it interesting. The fact Bowser wanted his wishes to come true and stole the Star Rod and imprisoned the Star Spirits showed that Bowser had some sort of intelligence. While I'm usually not okay with "Save Princess Peach!" type plots, I let this one slide because they actually did it right. A spectacular game overall.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door also had the same "Peach is kidnapped" plot like it's preceedor, except it adds a treasure hunt story in there too. Because seriously, who doesn't love that? The gameplay is fun, but the battles are a little on the easy side, especially with all the gimmicky stuff in these battles. This game is great, but WAY overrated, at least in my book.
Super Paper Mario was hated by most because "ooh, it's not a REAL rpg game like ttyd!", but those people are nitwits to not enjoy a game with a deep story like this one. Sure, it's not turn-based combat like before, but look on the bright side: The story's very deep and emotional! Outstanding! I wish Mario was known for this, not that stupid "Save the Princess!" cliche...
Paper Mario: Sticker Star...Ugh, don't even get me started. This was a complete trainwreck, and a spit on the face to all of the old-time Paper Mario fans like me. It's clear to me this game was aimed for LITTLE kids, but ironically, the puzzles are almost impossible to solve without walkthroughs. And yet, Nintendo STILL praises this game, and neglects the others! What the fuck?!
Okay, now onto the Mario & Luigi series. As I said before, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was my first M&L game in the series, after seeing a bit of it on YouTube. I knew I made the right call, because this story is really great, and quite deep and complex for a GBA game. Classic game overall, love the charm it has.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time also had the "Save Princess Peach!" cliche, but just like PM64 and TTYD, it adds a twist to it to make it more interesting: In the past, there's an alien invasion, known as the Shroobs, and gets kidnapped by their leader there, so Mario & Luigi (and their infant selves) must travel to the past to stop the invasion, save the future, and Princess Peach. Plot's REALLY dark, but I love it.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story was the first time EVER since SMRPG where you could play as Bowser in an RPG game. This game also has Fawful as his own antagonist, along with his minion Midbus. This game was fun, hilarious, and had a great charm overall. I do wish there would have been something else to awaken the Dark Star than Peach...What is she, fucking key to everything in the universe?!
And last, but not least: Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. This game takes place in a mystical island where if Luigi sleeps on stone pillows, Mario can enter his dream world to save the Pi'illo people on Pi'illo Island, formerly Pi'illo Kingdom. Oh, and Princess Peach gets kidnapped by Antasma/Bowser, big surprise. Cool game, but it gets ridiculously hard at times. To me, this game is the weakest one in the series, at least for now.
So, I've had loads of fun and joy with all the wonderful and not-so-wonderful stuff...And then we're here. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. I was excited, but am not anymore, and there are several good reasons to back up my disappointment.
First off, the game copies the entire engine of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team AND Paper Mario: Sticker Star, the worst of the two games. Right now, it's like the two games and NSMB had a baby, and it came out ugly as fuck. We've got lackluster worlds/areas, and a lackluster story, too.
Speaking of stories...The story so far is about how Luigi accidentally drops the book to the Paper Mario world, releasing Paper Mario, Paper Peach, Paper Bowser, and other enemies and creatures, but not Paper Luigi, because everyone hates Luigi. The two Bowsers fight each other at first, but are then willing to team up, and kidnap their respective Princess Peach. So then, Mario, Luigi, and their new friend Paper Mario must travel across the land to save the two Peachs from the two Bowsers and send Paper Bowser and everyone else back into the book.
First off, where the HELL do people get the Paper Mario book in the Mario world? It feels really stupid and out of place, and makes no sense whatsoever. Secondly, this is basically the same plot as "Bowser kidnapped Peach, go save her.", except they had to do it TWICE. That makes it even LESS original, if you ask me...
Next thing, is that there seems to be no new enemies, characters, areas, or even anything new from Mario & Luigi or Paper Mario. Just paper enemies from Sticker Star, and generic Toads. Every enemy or character is copied from Super Mario, Sticker Star, or even Super Mario 3D World. Even the bosses and Papercraft bosses are basically the classic enemies in the Super Mario series!
Seriously, this is really worrisome to long-time fans like me. This feels like it's just going to be a cheap crossover that adds nothing new to the series, just basically the same thing again. And of course, Princess Peach kidnapped again! When are they ever going to stop making her being kidnapped? Probably never, following their logic. Why don't they just make her playable in the M&L series for once? Trust me, it's a perfect idea! I don't care what anyone says.
tl;dr: I'm not excited for Paper Jam because there doesn't seem to be anything NEW to it, it seems to add fuck all, compared to the other games. Not Sticker Star. You know what Nintendo needs to do? Make Peach playable for once in an RPG, for crying out loud! Bowser got this treatment, why should Peach be any different?
Anyways, there you have it. That is why I am not excited for Paper Jam. I could be wrong, and they could have something big planned, but my expectations are LOW, as of now. I'm still getting it, to see how good or bad this game is.
Now then, are you hyped for Paper Jam, or are you not? Why or why not?
I was hyped at first, hoping they would do something right...But now that feeling's gone after seeing more of the game. I'm actually not expecting anything great from this game at all. Why, you ask? Well, that's a long story, so if you don't want to hear me ramble, skip down to the "tl;dr" and you'll see why.
As a kid, I loved Super Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. They were my first Mario RPG games, not counting SMRPG:LotSS. I will be explaining what I think of each game in both franchises, then give my opinion on the upcoming crossover.
Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64 was the start of it all, which had the same plot, but actually made it interesting. The fact Bowser wanted his wishes to come true and stole the Star Rod and imprisoned the Star Spirits showed that Bowser had some sort of intelligence. While I'm usually not okay with "Save Princess Peach!" type plots, I let this one slide because they actually did it right. A spectacular game overall.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door also had the same "Peach is kidnapped" plot like it's preceedor, except it adds a treasure hunt story in there too. Because seriously, who doesn't love that? The gameplay is fun, but the battles are a little on the easy side, especially with all the gimmicky stuff in these battles. This game is great, but WAY overrated, at least in my book.
Super Paper Mario was hated by most because "ooh, it's not a REAL rpg game like ttyd!", but those people are nitwits to not enjoy a game with a deep story like this one. Sure, it's not turn-based combat like before, but look on the bright side: The story's very deep and emotional! Outstanding! I wish Mario was known for this, not that stupid "Save the Princess!" cliche...
Paper Mario: Sticker Star...Ugh, don't even get me started. This was a complete trainwreck, and a spit on the face to all of the old-time Paper Mario fans like me. It's clear to me this game was aimed for LITTLE kids, but ironically, the puzzles are almost impossible to solve without walkthroughs. And yet, Nintendo STILL praises this game, and neglects the others! What the fuck?!
Okay, now onto the Mario & Luigi series. As I said before, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was my first M&L game in the series, after seeing a bit of it on YouTube. I knew I made the right call, because this story is really great, and quite deep and complex for a GBA game. Classic game overall, love the charm it has.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time also had the "Save Princess Peach!" cliche, but just like PM64 and TTYD, it adds a twist to it to make it more interesting: In the past, there's an alien invasion, known as the Shroobs, and gets kidnapped by their leader there, so Mario & Luigi (and their infant selves) must travel to the past to stop the invasion, save the future, and Princess Peach. Plot's REALLY dark, but I love it.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story was the first time EVER since SMRPG where you could play as Bowser in an RPG game. This game also has Fawful as his own antagonist, along with his minion Midbus. This game was fun, hilarious, and had a great charm overall. I do wish there would have been something else to awaken the Dark Star than Peach...What is she, fucking key to everything in the universe?!
And last, but not least: Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. This game takes place in a mystical island where if Luigi sleeps on stone pillows, Mario can enter his dream world to save the Pi'illo people on Pi'illo Island, formerly Pi'illo Kingdom. Oh, and Princess Peach gets kidnapped by Antasma/Bowser, big surprise. Cool game, but it gets ridiculously hard at times. To me, this game is the weakest one in the series, at least for now.
So, I've had loads of fun and joy with all the wonderful and not-so-wonderful stuff...And then we're here. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. I was excited, but am not anymore, and there are several good reasons to back up my disappointment.
First off, the game copies the entire engine of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team AND Paper Mario: Sticker Star, the worst of the two games. Right now, it's like the two games and NSMB had a baby, and it came out ugly as fuck. We've got lackluster worlds/areas, and a lackluster story, too.
Speaking of stories...The story so far is about how Luigi accidentally drops the book to the Paper Mario world, releasing Paper Mario, Paper Peach, Paper Bowser, and other enemies and creatures, but not Paper Luigi, because everyone hates Luigi. The two Bowsers fight each other at first, but are then willing to team up, and kidnap their respective Princess Peach. So then, Mario, Luigi, and their new friend Paper Mario must travel across the land to save the two Peachs from the two Bowsers and send Paper Bowser and everyone else back into the book.
First off, where the HELL do people get the Paper Mario book in the Mario world? It feels really stupid and out of place, and makes no sense whatsoever. Secondly, this is basically the same plot as "Bowser kidnapped Peach, go save her.", except they had to do it TWICE. That makes it even LESS original, if you ask me...
Next thing, is that there seems to be no new enemies, characters, areas, or even anything new from Mario & Luigi or Paper Mario. Just paper enemies from Sticker Star, and generic Toads. Every enemy or character is copied from Super Mario, Sticker Star, or even Super Mario 3D World. Even the bosses and Papercraft bosses are basically the classic enemies in the Super Mario series!
Seriously, this is really worrisome to long-time fans like me. This feels like it's just going to be a cheap crossover that adds nothing new to the series, just basically the same thing again. And of course, Princess Peach kidnapped again! When are they ever going to stop making her being kidnapped? Probably never, following their logic. Why don't they just make her playable in the M&L series for once? Trust me, it's a perfect idea! I don't care what anyone says.
tl;dr: I'm not excited for Paper Jam because there doesn't seem to be anything NEW to it, it seems to add fuck all, compared to the other games. Not Sticker Star. You know what Nintendo needs to do? Make Peach playable for once in an RPG, for crying out loud! Bowser got this treatment, why should Peach be any different?
Anyways, there you have it. That is why I am not excited for Paper Jam. I could be wrong, and they could have something big planned, but my expectations are LOW, as of now. I'm still getting it, to see how good or bad this game is.
Now then, are you hyped for Paper Jam, or are you not? Why or why not?
Just so you know, I'm very active on the site anymore like I was before; I'm mainly on Discord now.