Topic: Paper Mario NX

Paper Mario hasn't had a good game since Super Paper Mario on the Wii back in 2007. The series is looking to be skipping the Wii U and Paper Mario's two 3DS appearances are in a bad game and as the gimmick of the worst Mario & Luigi game.

So will Paper Mario return to console glory on the NX? Think about it: Sprites resembling Sticker Star's artwork, return of unique partners and a new villain, battle system from Thousand Year Door improved even further, full HD, possible Dimentio appearance, return of Merlon, Merlee, Merluvlee, etc, Bowser as a funny side villain or anti-hero, Luigi in a major talking role.

Events of Sticker Star retconned out of Paper Mario canon, only its art style remains (with the Goombas and Koopas and Hammer Bros., etc returning to their old Paper Mario designs)

Discuss the possibility of a true Paper Mario 4 (5 if you insist on counting Sticker Star) on the NX here.

Pass. I want Mario RPG 2 and I want it developed by Square. No more Paper Mario.

I'd like to see Super Paper Mario 2. I just can't sit through the turn based battles of the older games. I literally couldn't get through the 2nd level of TTYD without getting bored of the battle system.

That's not to say they are bad, turn based single-player battles just aren't for me

I'd rather have the art resemble the one from the first two PMs, not Sticker Star. The different look of the enemies gave the game a special, cartoony look that I am still missing. You can keep Paper Mario, Paper Peach, Paper Toads and so on but without the enemies looking like they did in PM1 and 2, it's just not the same. Overall, I doubt that PM will return to its glory. Something has to wake Nintendo up from its "Everything has to be clean and simple so literally a toddler could play the game" fantasy first. But I guess most people are just too lazy to think so they buy these mind-mumbling games.

What I need from a PM game, and I've said that many times before, is 1. an unique story that takes us to places we haven't been before (and by that I mean, having a desert area is okay but just make it unique in its own right, not the typical desert we've seen in every Mario RPG since Inside Story; 2. interesting and unique characters. I'm talking the Pianta Mafia, Gombella, Vivian, Hooktail - like taking the normal Mario cast and put them into wacky situation and give them PERSONALITIES; and 3. a story where the main focus is not a quest to Bowser's Castle and save Peach. Saving Peach may be a plot point but not the main focus. Just let me go from area to area and collect some stuff. Once in like four, five years, you can do a sequel for sequel's sake, Nintendo! Same with F-ZERO. Who cares if it feels the same? Once in like half a decade, that's all fine.

If a PM comes to the NX probably depends on how successful the system is. But it certainly won't live up to the first two games, maybe to SPM. That's something we just have to wait for. For a trailer or the full release.

I'll split my post in two because if I keep it as one, it'd be too long.

On the matter of a Paper Mario NX, though, I was working out an idea of mine a few months ago, an idea for a new Paper Mario game, to be precise: Paper Mario A Star Scissor Tale

As the story, for a RPG that is, is pretty long and complicated, I'll just tell you the basic gist, alright?

• Bowser has made a pact with the main antagonist, only known as The Wizard, a member of an ancient race known as the Staronians, that are now living underground for a crime The Wizard commited centuries earlier. The Wizard, being a mere hat, has possessed Bowser.
• Mario and Luigi receive a letter from Professor Goomp that he and his assistant Goombonio have found an ancient article and asks the two plumbers to visit. Luigi, however, is still asleep so Mario leaves without him.
• Having almost reached the Professor's laboratory at the Sunshroom Meadows, Mario runs into a paniced Goombonio who informs him that the Professor has been kidnapped by Bowser and his minions, alongside the ancient artifact.
• Goombonio is Mario's first partner and an italian Goomba with a large ego who thinks he's better than Mario and Mario, in fact, is HIS partner.
• Mario and Goombonio reach the laboratory where a possessed Bowser has claimed the artifact, which turns out, are the Star Scissors, a Staronian tool The Wizard used to cut out the Stars from the night sky centuries ago.
• Bowser uses the Star Scissors to cut the planet in eight pieces with the plan of taking out his revenge on the underground-dwelling Staronians (as he's possessed by The Wizard who was turned into a hat for his crimes) and take the power he was looking for for all these centuries - the Star Crown, an artifact that was created when The Wizard cut out the stars, an object so powerful, it powers the entire planet in fact, a power that great, The Wizard wants to use it to remake the universe in his image.
• As Mario, Goombonio, Bowser and The WIzard learn from the Staronian Elder, however, the Star Crown is sealed inside a ball so strong, not even the Staronians themselves know how to open it anymore.
• Learning this, The Wizard has Bowser kill the Staronian Elder and the duo, alongside his minion retreats to the surface.
• Luna, the Staronian Elder's granddaughter, morns the death of her grandfather and asks Mario to let her accompany him as she wants to stop The Wizard.
• Back on the surface, Mario and company find Bowser and his minions who've realized that the chasm between the planet pieces is too great to travel between in any way, shape or form. Bowser then decides to look for a make-shift base while Mario and company return to the Lab.
• There, Mario learns of the Star Strings that helped keep the planet together. However, with the planet cut in half, Mario needs to find all Star Strings to sew the planet pieces back together. Goombonio decides to keep accompanying Mario as he wants to proof he is superior.

Continuing with my idea, here are some random bullet points:

• The first Star String is located at Frog Prince's Castle in a swamp near Sunshroom Meadows.
• Frog Prince was orginally a Goomba who believed himself to be better than King Bowser but was transformed into a frog by the Koopa King himself (prior to the story).
• Mario will meet a shy Boo who is known as the Curse of the Windmill, a rumor he himself spread around the area in hopes it would keep people away from him. He, at first, serves as a boss, but after realizing Mario is friendly and not bullying him like the other Boo, he decides to be more courageous as he helps Mario get his area's Star String.
• Peach will be a playable character with her own agenda. Her goal is it to find Toad Town's Star String but is eventually captured by Bowser jr., who stayed at home on his father's orders (mainly because The Wizard finds him annoying).
• Peach will be able to fight by jumping and using a frying pan. She would receive a partner, too.
• Peach eventually find her way through Bowser's Castle and finds the Star String in Bowser's room. There, however, she is attacked by Junior. Having defeated Junior, Peach uses the Star String to reconnect the Toad Town area with Starshroom Meadows.
• This, however, allows Bowser and his minions to return. Peach is then captured again.
• The Wizard eventually betrays Bowser and switches over to Kamek. He then proceeds to kill Bowser in a pit of lava (turning him into Dry Bowser, who, too, becomes a playable character). Bowser jr., in the meantime, is imprisoned by The Wizard alongside Peach. Junior then becomes a partner of Peach.
• Luigi, too, eventually wakes up (after Starshroom Meadows and Toad Town are reconnect). He proceeds to follow his brother across the planet but is always a few steps behind. Luigi is playable but he does not receive a partner. However, talking to NPCs as Luigi will give the player useful and powerful items for the Final Boss.
• Dry Bowser's levels are similar to Bowser's from PM2 but are more shooter-like as Dry Bowser uses Fire Balls to defeat opponents.
• The Final Boss is a Star Crown and Star Scissors-wielding The Wizard.

Yeah, that's it for now (unless I remember more). Also, I had the idea of a game show with Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser as its contestants. It would take place on an island far away from the Mushroom Kingdom and has Mario team up with other participants to solve tasks. I've never really developed the idea that much so yeah.

What about clu clu land nx?

Sorry if I am repetitive, but the directors of Super Mario RPG no longer work at Square. They work at AlphaDream, along with the executive producer of Super Mario RPG on Square's side. And, of course, Yoko Shimomura composes music for the Mario & Luigi series. If you want a true Super Mario RPG sequel, you should ask AlphaDream, not Square Enix.

Regarding Paper Mario, I think that first of all we're still doing the big mistake of evaluating Paper Jam for what it couldn't be: when two independently developed Mario RPG show the very same settings, the very same characters, mainly from the Super Mario series, and the very same villain it's clear that what we are seeing is a phenomenon that goes beyond the single game, and that will likely affect new games developed in this time frame as well. This also mean that asking for a new Paper Mario until the direction clearly changes cannot lead to anything other than another RPG without new characters, without new settings and with Bowser as main villain. And, of course, with as little original characters from the series as possible.
I would rather have a Paper Mario game with new characters and settings, so I will wait until I see clear signs that Nintendo changed its direction.
Regarding gameplay, I clearly like the TTYD battle system more than the others, although Sticker Star's system too can be easily corrected and made more interesting, through partners, leveling up, star energy and so on, and of course at this point Intelligent Systems might even try a new battle system anyway, since the last two Paper Mario games were greatly different in this regard. 2D sidescrolling with optional 3D could work for Super Paper Mario but that game was a of a different genre, for a pure RPG experience I still think the 3D environments of the first two (and of Sticker Star) work well. I'd be glad if like TTYD the developers cared about creating marvelous landscapes like Riverside Station or Boggly Woods. The paper aspects of Paper Mario can be and should be developed as well, I'd expect much innovation from these aspects. TTYD gave us many satisfactions in this regard, Paper Jam was clearly inspired by that game since many paper abilities returned and Sticker Star tried as well, although since I didn't play it I cannot say if these at least these aspects were well implemented or not.
And of course, paper Koopalings (that were announced in Paper Jam!)!

P.S.: for those who thinks that Koopalings and original characters, story and settings cannot stay together, remember that in Mario & Luigi:Superstar Saga, this actually happened!

I don't mind the Koopalings but usually they only appear if the main villain either is Bowser or is involved with Bowser's army (like Bowletta) Considering I like Mario RPGs the best when there's a new villain with their own minions (with maybe some of Bowser's army being brainwashed, but still some original enemies and minions too) I am not sure how to fit the Koopalings into my ideal plot without being a clone of their roles in Superstar Saga.

I also want new locations, the Rogueport region and the various dimensions of SPM were more interesting to me than the plain ol' Mushroom Kingdom seen in the original (which is still a good game btw) and the awful Sticker Star. If they insist on bringing back an old villain, rather than Bowser again I'd like it to be Dimentio or Grodus, both of which I assume would want revenge on Mario (even if they said Grodus was just a head, and so was Dimentio for that matter before he exploded, if Bowser can survive being sent into the sun then those two can come back and return to their original forms without much explanation)

If Intelligent Systems is given the ok to original characters and locations, I don't think they will bring back old villains. We didn't even see Jr. Troopa returning, it's mainly the common enemies that return, like the Amazy Dayzees, the Clefts, the Clubbas, the Ruff Puffs, the Koopatrols.
Remember also that in the second and third Paper Mario games Bowser is not the main villain, and that in the Paper Mario games where Bowser is the main villain the Koopalings aren't in, so I would rather see the "announced" Paper Koopalings as cameo, NPCs, minor bosses not related to the villain, playable characters in cutscenes, or just playable characters!

Does AlphaDream own Geno/Mallow IP?

The answer is no, they do not. So...you're gonna have to ask SquareEnix for that.

I'd like the series to return to the system from the first two games :3

By the way, AlphaDream and Nintendo did exactly that for Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and obtained those rights. So, M&L: SS is the second game to feature Geno. I guess that, before Square became Square Enix, AlphaDream and Square still were in good relationships with each other. I wonder if now, after Square Enix showed to be again open to Nintendo platforms, AlphaDream will manage to reintroduce Geno, Mallow or other SMRPG characters in the Mario & luigi series, or if they will be able to make a proper SMRPG sequel...