Also, I think they're going too far with the whole paper concept. The first Paper Mario was called "Mario Story" in Japan, so I'm not sure why they called it "Paper Mario" everywhere else, because the game doesn't have much to do with paper. The art-style seems to be based on a pop-up story book (which is probably why it was called "Mario Story"), and the characters are paper-thin, so maybe that's how they got the name. TTYD started to take the "Paper Mario" name more literally by incorporating paper-gimmicks into the gameplay in the overworld. But Sticker Star removed those mechanics, and instead made the entire world out of paper and cardboard, and pretty much all the characters acknowledged that they were made out of paper. To be honest, I think the whole paper/cardboard aesthetics is pretty bland. Something about just seems lifeless to me. When I look at the previous games, everything seems so lively, especially in TTYD. I think this is because the worlds have the same art-style as the characters. The worlds in Sticker Star and Color Splash don't match-up with the characters at all, and the Thing objects just make it worse. Anyone else feel this way about the SS/CS art-style?
Having really liked the Boggly Woods and the Excess Express chapter in TTYD, with that rocky desert landascape that always gives me a sense of peace and joy, I funnily disagree, excpet on the Things that are deliberately totally out of place.
TTYD had amazing art direction, with some parts, like the Moon, Riverside station and the Great Tree, that wanted to reach levels near poetry in how they amazingly well directed. But in itself, the elements used were pretty "standard" 3D obejcts that definitely had little to do with the characters that were flat. Remember that the flat characters were indeed forced on the team by the N64 hardware.
Case in point:
and this
You can see how amazing the landscape is, but it's not that the developers used an amazing workflow and style for creating 3D objects that Color Splash miss, quite the contrary: if you look at the staircases, they're pretty standard. It's just that the art direction was so amazing that, even when using an "ordinary" workflow for creating pretty "standard" 3D objects, the designers were able to put them together and create an incredible final effect.
I don't think the cardboard principle of Color Splash is a step backward in any way, as it makes even "boring" elements stand out a little, while being somewhat connected to the characters that are made of paper.
And honestly, I don't think the art direction of Color Spalsh is that bad either, it probably doesn't aim as high as TTYD does, but I can tell you that I definitely don't despise this rocky desert nor do I consider it a generic setting. Seeing it was heartwarming for me, even though the music is a country one and there's not an abandoned station to explore with some modern elements melded with an architecture of the early XX century.
@TomJ
I'm not saying it's perfect, nor am I saying that people have to like it. Dislike I'm fine with, different strokes and all that, but people speak of it as if it's the devil incarnate for trivial reasons. I didn't like Lone Survivor, but I'm certainly not going to call it a bad game (it was well programmed, I encountered no bugs when I played through). When people treat a game like an affront to their very being, as if it somehow hurts them, is when I say they should be getting their head checked.
I haven't played any PM games, but my limited experience of others' complaints about Sticker Star are that at least 75% of them equate to "It's different to TTYD".
An 8/10 game can still be an 8/10 game even if you were disappointed by it personally.
From what I've seen/heard of Sticker Star, a metacritic score of 75 seems entirely appropriate. A polished game from a leading developer, but lacking enough depth to make it great.
Color Splash is evidently a step up from Sticker Star, so it's current metacritic score of 79 doesn't seem at all unreasonable to me.
Once the internet gets going with a hysterical narrative, it takes a lot to slow it down. I guess there's an immediate sense of collective power in getting the pitchforks out before you've had a chance to think what it is you're angry about. People wanted to hate this game from the offset, and I'm still convinced that a decent proportion of the people angry at the game for not being TTYD are too young to have ever played TTYD.
Not that I can be too smug in sitting around and saying "I told you so" - I didn't. There have been legitimate, well-voiced concerns amongst the hysteria, and some of them do seem be relevant to the end product. Mainly, the battle system not being quite as dependable or tactically satisfying as the originals (although apparently a big improvement on SS).
But it's been clear for a while that the game has enough inventiveness and heart that it would waste its own existing potential if it turned out heavily flawed, rather than just be a forgettable waste of an entry in the series.
My main question is that - given I'm away for 5 weeks on Wednesday - whether I should bother picking it up and playing until then - or whether to wait and get it cheaper on return. The latter sounds more sensible, but... I really want to play it! It's not as fun when the rest of the world has had its fill.
I'm genuinely interested in this game. I have some other stuff on my backlog though, so I won't be playing this at full price. Perhaps it'll be available for 20 bucks or so before nx arrives. If not, it'll be one of those almost great games I'm probably going to miss out on.
i'm getting this game tomorrow. I got a good discount on it so I'm not paying full price. it will be here tomorrow sometime and I have all weekend to play it and watch my sons play it.
Want: Harvest Moon: One World, Story of Seasons: Pioneering Town, Super Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury
Finished the Alola Dex.
Now playing New Horizons, Wrath of White Witch and Sword
@Tsurii Got a similar experience trying Super Mario RPG... just lost all interest in continuing past the harbour because nothing interesting ever came from the plot or the characters, despite being "new" (I still fail to see the appeal behind Geno. He is about as bland as a fantasy RPG character gets).
Super Mario RPG was probably my first in the genre shortly after it came out. A friend had rented the game or owned it. I don't remember exactly. However, at the time, Geno was awesome for no more than he looked cool. It was also very novel at the time to play as Bowser, especially with the Hurly Gloves. This game was more of a gateway drug than anything. I do agree that the plot isn't super complex now, but that's after 15+ years of playing different RPGs.
You know you haven't used your Wii U in quite a while when it takes you about ten seconds to realise you've been spamming the B button, waiting for Toad to continue talking...
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Topic: Paper Mario: Color Splash - OT
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