09-09-2008, 01:36 PM
I think I like SMRPG more than the other Mario RPG games. And not just for the nostalgia factor. SMRPG gives us characterization not just in party members, but in supporting cast, too. Booster, Valentina, Dodo, Croco are all busting with characterization. The Paper Mario series was never very deep and there was never much of an idea of a threat. The characters are all very flat and there only to serve the purpose of getting Mario closer to the last boss.
In Mario RPG we are derailed, given subplots, and we grow to care about the characters. Geno and Mallow still have legions of fans today because of this. Where is the Lackilester fan club?
Thousand Year Door came closer to the SMRPG idea by giving us at least one party member who wasn't flat (no pun intended) abnd boring in Vivian. Even Rawk Hawk was more interesting than characters like Koops or Yoshi Kid.
The M&L series definitely has personality, but lacks plot. Fawful is a perfect example of this. He's a fun character with not much to do. I haven't played M&L2 yet, but I don't know how much interaction you can get from an all-mute cast of playable characters. At least Bowser, Peach, Geno, and Mallow were there to bounce off of Mario in SMRPG and PM has the partners to a lesser extent.
Another small thing that annoyed me is that the PM series never gives you a very fleshed-out battle system.
It's all Mario-centric while SMRPG had all five characters on equal footing. Regulating the battle system to just one character seems lazy and takes away from my experience with both PM games.
Just my two cents.
In Mario RPG we are derailed, given subplots, and we grow to care about the characters. Geno and Mallow still have legions of fans today because of this. Where is the Lackilester fan club?
Thousand Year Door came closer to the SMRPG idea by giving us at least one party member who wasn't flat (no pun intended) abnd boring in Vivian. Even Rawk Hawk was more interesting than characters like Koops or Yoshi Kid.
The M&L series definitely has personality, but lacks plot. Fawful is a perfect example of this. He's a fun character with not much to do. I haven't played M&L2 yet, but I don't know how much interaction you can get from an all-mute cast of playable characters. At least Bowser, Peach, Geno, and Mallow were there to bounce off of Mario in SMRPG and PM has the partners to a lesser extent.
Another small thing that annoyed me is that the PM series never gives you a very fleshed-out battle system.
It's all Mario-centric while SMRPG had all five characters on equal footing. Regulating the battle system to just one character seems lazy and takes away from my experience with both PM games.
Just my two cents.