Soleron said:
Rule 2 is, if you introduce a new gimmicky thing and people LIKE it, but people also like the original, keep both as seperate series. So people who like Sticker Star can get more Sticker Star. And it doesn't fuck with my original Paper Mario. Like NSMB vs Galaxy. |
Who is "people"? What determines whether "people" do or do not like something? How many "people" does it take liking something to keep it, or disliking something to eschew it -- one? or one million?
Who decides whether or not Sticker Star IS original Paper Mario? Let's go back to your former post. What is changed in Sticker Star? What is kept?
Content: Levels -- changed. Obviously.
Content: Enemies -- new enemies are a rarity in any Mario game.
Content: Story -- Mario games, even of the Paper kind, aren't exactly known for their compelling stories. But what they are known for that fits this category is their excellent writing, especially the witty dialogue. I would say that the clever humor is one of the defining characteristics of the Paper Mario series (and of all Mario RPGs); luckily, Sticker Star has it in spades.
Content: Music -- does it not have original music? Destructoid, at least, praised the game's score heavily.
Content: Graphics -- as with story, there is little leeway here. The paper-themed aesthetic is another defining characteristic of the series, probably the one thing above all else that makes the game stand out in a sea of JRPGs. In terms of visual fidelity, there isn't much more that can be done. The game looks great, and I don't think this is something you want to change?
Gameplay: Genre -- Sticker Star is a JRPG. I don't know what else to say about it.
Gameplay: Controls -- Surely you would accept some new controls in the transition from a GameCube controller to a 3DS? A little touchscreen implementation wouldn't hurt anything, would it? Anyway, you still use the analog stick to move around, the buttons do pretty much the same stuff, right? The controls haven't changed dramatically as they did when Zelda moved to DS?
That just leaves the mechanics, so let's get right into it. What mechanics does Sticker Star share with the first two Paper Mario games, and where does it differ? Well, the hub world of Sticker Star is pretty irrelevant. Imagine going to a fast travel screen every time you leave an area in the first two games, and you've got Sticker Star's hub world. It doesn't actually remove content or mechanics from the game.
Next, the actual overworld; there aren't any random battles, right? You still explore a paper-themed overworld crawling with Mario baddies who will attack you on sight. You solve paper-themed puzzles using the abilities or objects you've attained, engage in some very light platforming, and when you make contact with an enemy you are taken to a separate battle screen, where that enemy can turn out to be multiple enemies.
So, battles. They're still turn-based. You select your next move from a menu, some moves are more powerful than others, but have restrictions placed on how frequently you can use them. Once you have selected your move, you attack. If you correctly trigger the action command, a staple of the series, you can increase the damage you deal or decrease the damage you take (or receive some other benefit).
Like I said, it's a JRPG. It has standard JRPG mechanics. You (or some others) might feel that the partner system is absolutely essential to the Paper Mario series, and any game that does not feature Mario taking turns fighting alongside another character cannot possibly be a "real" Paper Mario game. I disagree. I believe the core elements of Paper Mario are the paper-themed aesthetic, the trademark humor (often also paper-themed), the adventure gameplay elements (again, often paper-themed...notice a trend here?), and JRPG battle system tied together by the implementation of action commands, a mechanic that rewards skillful timing, making the battles more engaging than your typical turn-based affairs.
Sticker Star has all of these things. It is a real Paper Mario game. It does not "fuck with your original Paper Mario." Your N64 cartridge and GameCube disc are right where you left them, un-fucked-with. This is a new game with the same heart that does a few things differently. Maybe you have found that the things removed in the transition were the real reasons you were playing the first two games. If that is the case, I wonder whether there wouldn't be other RPGs out there that would suit your desires much better than any Paper Mario game. If I spit into a room full of JRPGs I guarantee it would hit one that had a party system and that rewarded your victories with experience points. Those things did not set the first two Paper Mario games apart from others in the genre, and that is likely one of the reasons Nintendo doesn't feel bad about cutting them out of some installments.
