At this point, there is little I can add to the conversation. This game is a masterpiece and one of my favorite games of all time. Having said that though, I highly disagree with the notion that the franchise needs to stick with the turn-based gameplay to be good. I have three reasons for believing this.
Firstly, if you include Super Mario RPG and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, this was the fourth Mario RPG in a row with the same gameplay and structure. It's likely the developers wanted to try out different kinds of strategic gameplay while still keeping the features that made Paper Mario unique from other RPG franchises (unique chapters, witty dialogue, and a straightforward goal). In fact, when this game originally came out, some people criticized it for feeling too familiar to Paper Mario 64, which already had a lot in common with Super Mario RPG.
My second reason is that despite my love for this game, it is not a flawless masterpiece. All of the Paper Mario games have issues. The backtracking in chapters 4 and 7 are obnoxious and it makes little sense for most partners in these games to keep following Mario all over the place or to not say anything unless you happen to have them selected. Good characters or partners in RPGs come from good dialogue and considerable screen time. In Paper Mario, however, the partners act like items in a Metroidvania, used to progress through otherwise inaccessible areas.
My final reason is that there have been good Paper Mario games that didn't use TTYD's gameplay. Super Paper Mario was a lot of fun and its shortcomings weren't caused by not adhering to its predecessor's gameplay, but rather not fully developing its own gameplay. It also helped that its story was perhaps the most complex of any Mario game to date. Paper Mario: The Origami King was similar. It rose above its flaws through powerful storytelling moments that I didn't think the developers were capable of.
My point is that Intelligent Systems has found ways to pleasantly surprise me with this series despite a lot of strange business and design choices. I am still very upset with Nintendo's restrictions on character designs. And yet, I still loved most of the time I've spent with Paper Mario. It doesn't matter that TTYD is one of my favorite games. What matters is that Intelligent Systems refuses to play it safe with the world's most successful gaming mascot. For that alone, they have earned my respect and I can't wait to see where they will take Paper Mario next.
Firstly, if you include Super Mario RPG and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, this was the fourth Mario RPG in a row with the same gameplay and structure. It's likely the developers wanted to try out different kinds of strategic gameplay while still keeping the features that made Paper Mario unique from other RPG franchises (unique chapters, witty dialogue, and a straightforward goal). In fact, when this game originally came out, some people criticized it for feeling too familiar to Paper Mario 64, which already had a lot in common with Super Mario RPG.
My second reason is that despite my love for this game, it is not a flawless masterpiece. All of the Paper Mario games have issues. The backtracking in chapters 4 and 7 are obnoxious and it makes little sense for most partners in these games to keep following Mario all over the place or to not say anything unless you happen to have them selected. Good characters or partners in RPGs come from good dialogue and considerable screen time. In Paper Mario, however, the partners act like items in a Metroidvania, used to progress through otherwise inaccessible areas.
My final reason is that there have been good Paper Mario games that didn't use TTYD's gameplay. Super Paper Mario was a lot of fun and its shortcomings weren't caused by not adhering to its predecessor's gameplay, but rather not fully developing its own gameplay. It also helped that its story was perhaps the most complex of any Mario game to date. Paper Mario: The Origami King was similar. It rose above its flaws through powerful storytelling moments that I didn't think the developers were capable of.
My point is that Intelligent Systems has found ways to pleasantly surprise me with this series despite a lot of strange business and design choices. I am still very upset with Nintendo's restrictions on character designs. And yet, I still loved most of the time I've spent with Paper Mario. It doesn't matter that TTYD is one of my favorite games. What matters is that Intelligent Systems refuses to play it safe with the world's most successful gaming mascot. For that alone, they have earned my respect and I can't wait to see where they will take Paper Mario next.