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Gamecube, Switch (remake)
// July 18 2024, 3 min read, #review #gaming
The Switch version is so close to the Gamecube version that I'm counting this as a backlog game 😎 I was maybe about five to ten hours from the end of the Gamecube version when I just never picked it up ever again. I don't know why. But I did finish the Switch release!
The various Mario RPG series have always been some of my favorite, with Super Mario RPG itself being perhaps my least of the three different RPG series. It's really good, I just didn't grow up with it. Mario and Luigi is a fantastic series. And Paper Mario.. well, used to be. When Nintendo put Paper Mario 64 on the switch I immediately played through the entire thing. I was so stoked when they announced a proper remake of TTYD. It's the second Paper Mario game and perhaps the best.
gem.lizsugar.me: Super Mario RPG
gem.lizsugar.me: Paper Mario 64
Right off the bat you notice that this game leans far more into the paper aesthetic as a gameplay mechanism than 64 does. Which I quite enjoy. It's really silly and I think adds some needed absurdity. It's a gorgeous game on either platform tbh, but the Switch visuals really knocked it out of the park. Though I do have to wonder, why is so much of the scenery paper shiny?? Paper is a typically matte medium.
I definitely prefer the battle system in TTYD over 64. You have more options with your partners and you have to manage their hit points now too. I won't say 64's battle system was simple, but it was pretty easy to master. I think that TTYD adds _just enough_ to make it something more without becoming overwhelming. It's still a pretty straightforward system though and that really allows the rest of the game to shine as you won't get bogged down by weird battle mechanics like other RPGs.
The humor is pretty top notch especially for longtime fans of the Mario series. I think they modified some of Goombella's Tattle descriptions for enemies. From what I looked up they sound more like the Japanese Gamecube release, which is great because it really riffs on the goofiness of the entire Mario franchise. Which was something my wife, a long time Mario platformer fan, loved as she watched me play TTYD. All of the side characters and party members are really well written. Reading dialogue is super fun just as is using Goombella's Tattle ability both inside and outside of battle.
The world is pretty big in this one, and one major complaint of the Gamecube release was all the back tracking you had to do for certain quests, side or main. The Switch releases fixes his with a pipe quick travel system they inserted into the Rogueport sewers. This one change really cut down on the tedium of the original game.
My chief complaint is that they don't reuse the fucking amazing Bowser Theme from Paper Mario 64. That piece of music is just top notch, but in either release or TTYD, he just has his normal platformer theme without much flare to it.
Now that _does_ make sense because Bowser is just a side character in this story, whereas he was the final boss in 64.
Speaking of final bosses. Without spoiling anything, wow I didn't realize how dark this game got at the end – well for a Mario game anyway. Completely unexpected, and very much enjoyed.
I loved this game through and through and I'm really happy I was able to finish it this time around. Highly recommended!
This post will end here, as I'm absolutely pooped from going to the post office today and many nights of bad sleep. And I'm trying to keep these shorter than I have in the past :)
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