Paper Mario: The Thousand Years of Backtracking
Jokes aside (but not really), the game has a -lot- of charm that cannot be denied, and neither can the combat improvements over the original PM64. In spite of how much fun the actual experience of engaging with enemies is in this game, it is impossible to not be bothered at every turn by the absurd amount of needless backtracking where I'm literally doing nothing but walking around wasting time due to how levels and objects are designed and placed. QoL improvements and fast travel were major discourses prior to the game's release, but man, I'm not feeling it.
While the characters have a lot of charm, they all tend to overstay their welcome, and there's not enough character depth to warrant how much dialogue there is in the game, which I will gladly admit is a pretty fucking weird complaint given it's an RPG.
I was -constantly- drawing comparisons to the original SMRPG and its recent remake while playing this. SMRPG has a pace that is nearly unmatched, where you're constantly moving, doing something new, meeting a new character, doing a new puzzle or mini game, and never feeling like your time is being wasted.
All of that out of way, the game is fun, the gameplay is really nice, and this is Paper Mario gameplay at its best, even if PM64 is my favorite of the Paper Mario games. I will easily admit that SMRPG was a foundational game for me growing up, which is why I'm probably far fonder of it, and I'm sure TTYD is the SMRPG equivalent for a lot of folks 5 to 10 years younger than me, or people who didn't get into Mario RPGs when I did. It's fun and worth checking out, and should still send Nintendo a message about where the direction of this franchise should go.
Jokes aside (but not really), the game has a -lot- of charm that cannot be denied, and neither can the combat improvements over the original PM64. In spite of how much fun the actual experience of engaging with enemies is in this game, it is impossible to not be bothered at every turn by the absurd amount of needless backtracking where I'm literally doing nothing but walking around wasting time due to how levels and objects are designed and placed. QoL improvements and fast travel were major discourses prior to the game's release, but man, I'm not feeling it.
While the characters have a lot of charm, they all tend to overstay their welcome, and there's not enough character depth to warrant how much dialogue there is in the game, which I will gladly admit is a pretty fucking weird complaint given it's an RPG.
I was -constantly- drawing comparisons to the original SMRPG and its recent remake while playing this. SMRPG has a pace that is nearly unmatched, where you're constantly moving, doing something new, meeting a new character, doing a new puzzle or mini game, and never feeling like your time is being wasted.
All of that out of way, the game is fun, the gameplay is really nice, and this is Paper Mario gameplay at its best, even if PM64 is my favorite of the Paper Mario games. I will easily admit that SMRPG was a foundational game for me growing up, which is why I'm probably far fonder of it, and I'm sure TTYD is the SMRPG equivalent for a lot of folks 5 to 10 years younger than me, or people who didn't get into Mario RPGs when I did. It's fun and worth checking out, and should still send Nintendo a message about where the direction of this franchise should go.