Bad Game Design - Super Paper Mario & Color Splash 

Hope you all enjoy the new Bad Game Design - it takes a special game to don that title. I always try to take the perspective of "how could it be better" not just "it's a bad game". I like to cover games that mean a lot to me, so the future of Paper Mario was a good topic for this. I hope you know that it all comes from a place of love and that I definitely don't hate these games - I tried to be as level-headed as possible and offer solutions for the problems I had. I ask that you watch the whole thing before making sweeping judgments, and that we have good constructive talk here in the comments. I love you all, and appreciate the kind feedback - this was probably the most I've ever put into a video before. Enjoy!

"I never got under 30 HP" *shows footage with 28 hp*

Super Paper Mario isn't bad design, it's just not the game many people wanted. For what it is, it's awesome.

"I never got under 30 HP in my entire playthrough" *instantly shows footage of having less than 30 HP*

"SPM, if you take away music, story, and design, then what do you have?" -Some commenters on gameplay in SPM Me:.... 1/4 of a good game?

super paper mario may not be my favorite mario game in terms of gameplay, but the story and amazing music is what makes it one of my favorite games of all time

I notice that so many people seem to miss the point about Super Paper Mario. It's not meant to be a continuation of the core Paper Mario games. It's a blend of the Super Mario Bros style of gameplay - the 2d/3d platforming that is inherent in literally EVERY game with 'Super Mario Bros' in the title' - with the Paper Mario character style. Essentially, it's meant to be a spinoff of the spinoff of the main series (and could've developed into a spinoff series in itself if it had been better received). This is why all of the spinoff Mario games don't have 'Super' in the title anymore - it's specific to the platformers, and seeing it in the title specifically tells you to expect that style. Comparing it to the RPG Paper Mario games doesn't really work, any more than comparing, say, TTYD to SM64 does.

Princess Peach does not have an umbrella… She has a parasol. Anyone can use an umbrella, but only those with royal blood mixed with a level of eloquence matched only by their own grace can make a parasol work. ⛱

okay yeah super had relatively weak gameplay but that STORY

In my personal opinion, Count Bleck is characterized incredibly well. Sure, some may see him as a generic villain with absurd goals. I see him as a tortured soul corrupted by the pain of loss and the freedom of power. And the game seems to recognize this, never truly antagonising Bleck. This is just one interpretation of Count Bleck though.

Super Paper Mario's music is so good. The Evil Count Bleck's intensity makes him seem like such a menacing boss. Floro Sapien Caverns' wacky percussion mixed with its mysterious tone makes just fit so well. Percussion in general was just done so perfectly.

I've always said since Super Paper Mario came out that if it just wasn't branded as a Paper Mario game and instead been named as its own spinoff it would have been much better received and probably could have started its own series.

"Criticizing Game Design Crashes Paper Mario"

Super paper mario is actually one of my favorites. I enjoyed the mix of a platformer and story'based game. It's one of the few games I actually got into and aimed to complete instead of losing interest not even halfway through.

Imagine this. A Paper Mario game with the difficulty of PM, combat/sidekicks of TTYD, story and writing of SPM, music of SS, and the visuals/comedy of CS.

The way Super Paper Mario plays with the 8 hearts linearity made me love it. Even if at first the act structure seems to break up the action, the sammerguy chapter changes everything. The final three chapters feel like they defy the plot they have set up in such a way that the game ascends higher than it seems the game will go. The way the story changes the gameplay that could be beginning to get stale is what makes the game so special.

Super Paper Mario is a master piece in my opinion. I enjoyed the first game and Thousand Year Door a lot, but the story in SPM has just gotten me hooked. I read every bit of dialogue and finished the game in a couple days just to see what happened next. The end scene with Tippi and Count Bleck made me sob full on tears, this game is a 10/10 for me.

It's kinda telling that the story of Color Splash involves sucking out all the life from characters.

Idea for a main antagonist in Color Splash: The villain is a huge mean guy who is stealing paint from others because he is leaking his own paint, essentially bleeding out, but when you confront and defeat him you find out he simply has a rip on his back through which his paint is leaking, after patching it up the antagonist feels embarrassed they caused so much trouble and escape, this becoming an outlaw fugitive, you then have to chase them around the world. Later, when you find and corner him, he tells you he's looking for a lost treasure to give to the people he inconvenienced aspayment for his crimes, the rest of the game is you looking for this treasure with him as a companion.

I enjoyed the story The game play The music And I will defend super paper Mario forever

I think super paper Mario wasn't supposed to be a direct sequel to the first two but it's own type of mixed game

I personally see the pixels as the curses. While Peach, Bowser and Luigi the Patners.

A

Super Paper Mario. BAD? *cries in corner*

I disagree that adding turn based combat would "fix" SPM. I really think that's your nostalgia talking. I did agree though that the platforming could be improved, especially for the boss fights.

I remember playing Superstar Saga for the very first time when I was in elementary school, and I was blown away by the creativity from the enemies and NPCs. It's so lame to see Nintendo rely on vanilla, cookie cutter characters from the main series now. Paper Jam was the same way, and I found it so freakin dull. Even using Bowser as the villian, like c'mon. Part of the reason I'd look forward to the new Mario RPG is seeing what kind of awesome new enemies we'll get to see. That's a big reason I loved Super Paper Mario so much, it's got my favourite cast of villains in the entire series. I kept seeing them in that room, talking to eachother during the chapter intermissions. I wanted to get inside that castle and see Mario on that screen so bad! Same for Thousand Year door, finally getting to the Moon base and exploring an area you've only got to see in snippits as Peach was so freakin cool. I guess even the first game does that too! There's something amazing about teasing the final area over and over during the intermissions where we see the villains. Sticker Star and Color Splash don't do that from what I remember, and I think it's another big reason why I felt no drive to get to the end of it.

“Mostly random” there’s LITERALLY TWO PEOPLE in front of the temple that tell you what to do.

Disclaimer: I have a lot of nostalgia for super paper Mario and am probably biased. With that out the way. I really do not understand why everyone hates on super for not having a full on turn based system. I get it’s ‘different’ but why is that bad. Hell I played thousand year door and super for the first time very close to each other and didn’t miss the turn based system at all. Sure there are still problems with the game, I agree the menu is cumbersome and the pixls have no personality. But you said you wanted party members with personality well what about peach and bowser and occasionally Luigi? I think the charm of the original party members from 64 and thousand year door are carried through here. I still think people are too harsh on this game especially with the story. Yes I know it is often the most highly praised thing about it, but everyone says “as yeah I agree super’s story is as good as/ on par with the others”. Frankly that is untrue. Super’s story is so much better than the others, it is deep and complex with underlying dark themes yet 64 and thousand year door just do the collect the 8 things cliche and do nothing outside it expect possessing peach for one fight in thousand year door. Also I get super has the collect 8 things trope as well but it constantly weaves the story in between that leading to an incredibly climatic battle. I mean at the end of thousand year door the final boss is some evil demon lady that gets introduced out of nowhere and 64 is just bowser is a bad get him. But with super, you fight this big evil bad guy built up throughout the game using and incredibly powerful dark object, then one of blecks henchmen literally possesses Luigi, a beloved character, transforming him into a monster. Look rag on colour splash and sticker star, but stop roping super in with the bad games because it’s a bit different

12:32 I personally think that Sticker Star was the Paper Mario game that stripped any and all originality from the characters. Sure, Color Splash copy and pasted the same visual designs, but the dialogue you get from the toads and other NPCs makes them all feel so unique personality wise.

To me, comparing Super Paper Mario to Color Splash is just nonsense. Super Paper Mario is a departure from the original two entries, but it's still a well made and excellent gaming experience. Color Splash is just an abomination, plain and simple.

Count Bleck is 10x more memorable than TTYD villan

"i never really got below 30" 2 seconds later. 28/50

"Luigi becoming a brainwashed villain" Immediately shows a picture of Mr. L What a fool

But Super Paper Mario is LITERALLY AN ANIME

Super Paper Mario? Bad? NOT SCIENTIFICALLY POSSIBLE!

I just finished super paper mario and it was great

I'm surprised that the music wasn't brought up at all. I thought both game's soundtracks were the best out of the series, though that could just be me.

I feel like I'm the only person that had a good time with Color Splash.

* sees super paper Mario lumped in with sticker star * Me: “No by all means, you got something to say about my boy??”

I knew Super Paper Mario is going to be a departure from the series. That's why I didn't even compare it to other installments - I was divorced from what I was playing and seeing on screen and what past games were like. For me it's pointless to compare SPM to TTYD or the original, since it's so radically different. I'm mostly judging SPM on its own merits, it's a nice RPG-platformer hybrid and did exactly what it's supposed to do. That's the best we can do at this point.

The story, characters, and writing in super pm it's EASILY my favorite in the series

6:11 probably been said to death but pressing 1+2 opens the quick menu like the D-Pad did in TTYD

I LOVE Super Paper Mario but let's be real....the Story and Music is what makes it good, not the gameplay.

Grouping Super Paper Mario with Color Trash... No.

The way you so confidently state that turn based combat would be needed to make a game like Super Paper Mario good, while not realizing that that would require recreating the entire game in the process has always really bothered me about this video since I first watched it. You're basically just complaining that the game isn't the type of RPG that you want it to be, when it's clearly intended to be a platformer anyway.

idk, but i kinda liked Color Splash Monotone, but kinda fun with their puns and music

"Super Paper Mario is bad" *Proceeds to say good things about it* I forgive you

Thank you for bringing Under Hero to my attention.

“Rarely do you see a follow-up that doesn’t change the gameplay is any big way” *squints at the New super Mario series*

I loved Super Paper Mario's story. Seriously, in what other Mario game does Mario actually die, wind up in hell and work his way up to heaven. Come on, that's crazy. I personally like the non-turn based battling my, as i am not a huge fan of turn based battles, but the game would have been way more open. Color splash on the other hand...it needs to do away with the necessity of thing cards in boss fights. That is the literal reason that i stopped playing. I was on the stupid ludwig fight and didn't have the two items required and when i did, i used the wrong one. But if the game was open, if there were more detailed characters and enemies, the cards mechanic being special moves that you gain throughout, and have to use paint to charge; there was an actual level up system, and no thing cards, this could have been a much better game.

I clicked on this video admittedly pre-triggered by the fact that RU-vid dared show me anything with "Bad" and "Super Paper Mario" together in the same sentence, and I started the video expecting to hear the typical ignorant SPM hatred I've been so used to in my years of loving the game (and both its prequels). Thank you for proving me wrong right within the first minute. You aren't some normie clickbait game hater. You are (seemingly) an honest gamer who keeps in mind that these things are subjective and not only acknowledge that, but go out of your way to highlight the beauty of these games--even...less hopeful...titles like Color Splash--giving them an overall fair representation and reminding viewers that this is your own personal take on them. And with today's social media pressure, especially on RU-vid, being so honest and down-to-earth isn't easy anymore. I applaud you, seriously. I definitely see where you're coming from with a lot of your points regarding both games (and SS), and as if that's not enough, I absolutely LOVE that you took the time to speculate on what would make SPM even BETTER! That's something very few critics go out of their way to do, and even more proves how honest you are. The concept of merging the original battle style with SPM's gimmicks is FASCINATING and has me hyped now. If there's one thing I could recommend though, it'd be to try not to rush through games for these videos like you said you did this time. It's good to keep in mind that a pretty big part of the love for a video game also comes from the overall feeling of total time spent on it, followed by nostalgic value, etc. Taking it slow can really help you understand & feel for a game even better that you may not feel strongly about at first or by rushing through it. I definitely feel I wouldn't have enjoyed SPM nearly as much had I rushed it. I'm sure you felt getting sick and kinda tired cramming through these games. Of course though, I get that time management isn't easy at this level, and that's not your fault!! But it's just something to consider for your future reviews. Kudos for putting your nose to the grindstone and doing it. LASTLY!! Thank. you. For showing me Under Hero. I've got it downloaded and I'm hyped. REALLY hyped. It's not everyday I find something like this, especially based off of PM itself. That in a sense is beautiful to me, and Nintendo oughta see how they used to (and still do, but not so much with PM) go as far as to INSPIRE other rising game designers of the world. I came out of this video even happier that I watched it, actually. (though it might not have been so easy if I were a Color Splash fan lol) This is the LAST thing I expected to be saying coming out of this video, but...you just gained a sub, a Twitter follow, and a Discord member. You are the only person so far whose first impression I had was in criticizing something I'm so passionate about...and still managed to get me to like you at the end. If nothing else, that's solid proof that you're doing something right. I look forward to more of your stuff, sir.

I mean Color Splash could've been good without just being Sticker Star, the worst Paper Mario game. I would change these things. 1. All cards that you play in battle are returned to your deck afterwards. There are many things I would want to change to build around this concept. 2. Cards you use gain experience when you use them and they gain even more if they K.O. an enemy. When your normal jump levels up, all future normal jump cards are leveled up. Obviously, cards become more effective when leveled up. 3. Cards require paint based on their power levels. While a normal jump may only cost a bit of paint, a thing card will cost a lot. 4. You have cards that replinish paint and paint is required to attack. The cards that replinish paint do not cost paint, but they take up a turn and space in your deck. 5. You don't get to just have a gigantic hand of cards. You start with 5 cards in your hand and draw 2 cards a turn 6. Bring back badges. That's about all I need to say for this. 7. Create a wider variety of cards. Like a bunch of cards obtainable in different ways. Like you do some sidequest and an NPC awards you with a card that heals you equal to the health you currently have. Or you beat a boss and you get a card that is that boss's main weapon/gimmick like Lemmy's Ball or Wendy's Rings. 8. If you have a full deck, cards you pick up will instead be placed in your inventory rather than sit there on the ground. In your inventory, you can manage your deck by adding and removing cards. 9. Bosses don't require some special move just to beat it. Those moves would be useful against the boss, dealing extra damage, but they aren't required. 10. Make Bowser a character again. Not just some Villain. You know what I'm talking about.

Maybe Color Splash could have fared better if it was designed to be an actual deckbuilding game. Just an idea.

I don't like that the "paper" gimmick became the game. The first two games didn't over-emphasize the 2D style. It was simply a style to accompany a great game. It didn't present the characters as if they WERE paper, they just used a paper art style. Now the game is just a vehicle to carry the paper gimmick. I hate it. It went from a style to a definition.

when jumping on enemies in super.. did you... TRY SHAKING THE REMOTE >:0

since i’m a 2000’s kid, my first paper mario was super, and i just couldn’t get enough of the fun and incredible storytelling of super. the whole timpani and bluemiair storyline was spectacular if just for the music, and the whole sammer kingdom ark was incredible storytelling, along with the whole mr L setup at the end though i will agree, the controls are suuuuuuper clunky, the fights were mostly boring, and the pixels really should’ve had more character, i’d like to think super has its own charm that it brings to the table and i don’t know about colour splash, but the small amount i played of sticker star was unbearable thanks for coming to my ted talk

I love how People call Thousand Year Door a perfect game while ignoring it's bad qualities

Super paper mario should be praised for trying something new that might not work and/or sell as much.

The music of Paper Mario is also amazing. In all the games.

I’d be perfectly content if Nintendo gave us a remake of thousand year door with the color splash visuals and graphics.

imagine calling SPM bad for being linear when half of TTYD is backtracking

I never understood why you needed to swipe up on the gamepad to start your turn. If this game was a launch title and they were trying to hammer in the whole "Look! Two screens working together!" gameplay, it would make sense, but this came out so late into the lifespan of the console. The game is just obtuse all around.

Super Paper Mario was my 1st Paper Mario game, & my favorite on the Wii.

yknow, i kinda agree with his super paper mario improveme- "turn based combat has gotta come back" nevermind

I this spm is fine. I recently completed it and I loved it. I would even say that the battle system is above average. Hes basically saying the game isnt TTYD. I liked the change. Added more diverse game play and felt different. I'd rather have that then 5 games just like the first 2. Man even the mario as nd luigi series changed its game play because they new people would get bored of the Same things

This is what I think, there are 3 Paper Mario fans: A. Gameplay fans (1 and 2) B. Lore fans (1, 2 and 3) C. Overall experience fans (1, 2 and 3 and I think some w/ 5) I got enamored with Paper Mario because of B, because as a Mario fan, it's so fascinating to see how big is the Mushroom Kingdom outside of the blocks, pipes and enemies you usually see. The fact that they have elements like Goomba King and the Star Spirits somehow return in some manner in some games shows it's indirect impact to the franchise as a whole IMO. Then TTYD came and we see more Piantas and some not as used characters from the 1st game. We explore more worlds and we also finally got sent to space, and finally face the most threatening villain Mario has faced yet. And then came SPM, which shocked is with Bowser somehow marrying Peach, a multidimensional adventure, and arguably the best Mario story there is. In terms of game design, I'm fine with it being real-time battle. It still feels different enough from Mario platformers as the movesets are versatile, although I do wonder if having an FP system and having special attacks when certain actions are done would work. I'm OK with the four-part story structure, because it cleanly separates the story elements. It is also acts like easy Warp Pipes too when you finish those chapters. Also, there is EXP system, but more akin to Mario & Luigi/Pokemon, being that the next level will take more points than the last one so "grinding" is actually encouraged here. In terms of partners, I realize it's mostly put on the characters now and Tippi, where they're character interactions IMO weigh much more than what some single partner in the past games did. They also had Squirps, Cragley Ho and Luvbi to add character in some chapters too. Also, the villains here had some great spotlight compared to the two past games. Mimi being constantly in Chapter 2, and also the O'Chunks/Dimentio encounters being more felt IMO. So while the partners were gone, their function and side character roles are still IMO filled. Your versatility comment is a good point, where maybe you could choose either HP, FP or Atk. If they are going to get back special moves, maybe remove Atk and have HP, FP and BP. Badges could be a good addition to it, although I think with the real time combat, I think they will act as ways to provide special attacks for the player like Bros. Attacks in Partners in Time. I do agree drastic things added to 3D would be interesting, having its own pros and cons. I think a small thing that would make it more exciting is adding a timer IMO. With the void looming, maybe it can be unstable from time to time. A timer can show how long till the next instability occurs, where if you didn't finish the chapter by that time, you will get sucked by some portion of the void and return you back to a certain checkpoint in the chapter. That way you have to be efficient in your battles. Remove the health timer and add a main timer and I think that will improve the mechanics a bit. Overall, I think real-time battling is fine, and just needed some tweaking. However, I don't feel the game was slow, and flow felt very smooth to me most of the time. What I dislike in past games is if you want to do a sidequest that needed you to go through past places you may touch enemies and have to battle them to not lose coins and at least make some effort against them -- felt that badly when trying to find Hide-and-Seek Koopa in TTYD. Super is just playing with a First Attack badge always on but needing multiple hits. Also, I'm shocked you dislike the Brobot battle -- going to a space shooter was fun IMO.

I dont care what anyone says Super Paper Mario is the best Paper Mario why? *B O W S E R ' S A R M S* (Also I did the whole brainwashing thing with Masked Man)

Honestly, while Color Splash was very unappealing, there were a couple things that could've been done that would've made the combat at least workable, rather than a slog. Really, Color Splash was kind of a predecessor to what we think of as "deck-building" videogames, it just handled it the wrong way. A) Make the cards infinite use, but be MUCH more stingy with giving them to Mario. Unlock a few per Chapter, or make them very rare drops from enemies, or more common from especially tough enemies. B) Instead of just having you choose from your deck, have Mario "draw" a hand of cards - the number of cards drawn could be boosted by Badges or skills. C) Have Mario only be allowed to play a certain number of these cards, but make some cards work together to allow you to play other cards free, if they're in your hand, or increase the base number playable with Badges D) Possibly most importantly, let Mario modify the deck outside of combat, allowing you to try different strategies or synergies of cards. The basic concept of the combat *is* salvageable, but in both Color Splash and Sticker Star, making your entire ability to fight be based on one-use consumables just leads to annoying amounts of grinding while simultaneously making you pathologically avoid every single optional combat.

Everyone: talking about how good spm was Me, who loves color splash: ;-;

Super Paper Mario is actually my favorite Paper Mario game. However, I will readily admit that it is flawed, and agree with most of your ideas to improve it, with the exception of one. I don't think turn-based combat needs to return. Though it's not the same as the series' previous installments, I think the real-time combat of Super is actually brilliant. Also, as you yourself pointed out, it would be more difficult to innovate with the turn-based combat, and I don't think the idea of "boss weaknesses shown when you change perspective" is enough to justify ditching the massive improvements Super makes to the gameplay. Nobody walked away from Luigi's Mansion claiming that the Game Boy Horror had potential to be a central mechanic. That's just my opinion, though. This is still a good video.

I can't really agree with your conclusion that SPM should have been turn based. I think you're misreading what the game is at its core. It was always intended to be a platformer with RPG elements-- not the other way around. Flipping was a gimmick, not the main thrust. The main thing about the game was always "this one's primarily a platformer," hence the "Super" in the title. Changing it to turn based makes it a completely different game. Possibly a better game, but it's a fundamental concept shift. I think in order to truly fix it, you need to A) improve the platforming so it doesn't feel so stiff and awkward, and B) marry it with the Paper Mario elements in a more elegant way.

SPM is a 9/10 masterpiece ive plain through it 4 times now try changing my mind

So this could be a little nit-picky but I'm pretty sure that the "better" ones are more Paper MARIO and the more recent ones are more PAPER Mario.

Some hybrid between Super Paper Mario and TTYD is probably the perfect Paper Mario game.

What did I like about both of them? SPM: An antagonist with good intentions, fueled by grief. Really relatable. CS: Literally nothing

Yeah I don't care what anyone says. Super Paper Mario is brilliant. It's no TTYD, but that's probably the best RPG ever made to be fair.

6:50 That's not a fair criticism Did you even pay attention to the story in this game. One of the Merlin look alikes tell Mario and friends that they will be traveling through multiple dimensions and different worlds that are separate from each other so of course you're not going to see a bunch of different characters travel link two different towns all over the place because they physically cannot do so. Whereas in the other games it was one connected area rarely leaving the same continent maybe once or twice you would have to travel to an island that's offshore but otherwise they are all connected in previous games.

I personally really like super paper mario. its a pity you dont. but hey, I think I speak for both of us when I say that I dont like sticker star or paper splash very much

15:57 "You start at 50 health and I never really got below 30." - then instantly shows his health at 20. - is that an unplanned joke?

Since other games can do 2d real-time combat fine, it’s really weird to hear you say “SPM has to be turn based or it won’t be good” cuz like no there’s tons of games that do real time combat well.

"Super Paper Mario is bad" Me, alongside pratically an army: watch your mouth, bucko.

Super paper mario is easily my second favorite one after TYD simply because of its story. SPM had a fantastic villain, hilarious writing, and actual twists and turns that actually keep you guess what's gonna happen. The gameplay is nothing to scoff at either, the real time isn't as deep as the turn based but if it had turn based combat it would slow the pace of the game to an absolute crawl just because exploration would have to be stopped for every enemy. Giving the partners actual characters IS a really cool idea but doing so in this case would shift too much of the focus off of the main cast and villain. The side kicks from TYD didn't add too much to that game anyway imo, I mean how deep of a character is koops anyways? My point is SPM is just as good as the turn based games that came before it, just in completely different ways.

Even if you don’t like color splash, it’s nothing on sticker star.

I love the structure of the video and how you gave suggestions to how these games can improve. I personally think that the story of Super Paper Mario caught me off guard in good way. I figured since they changed the mechanics to something simplistic, the story would be the same. But by the end I was floored by how crazy seeded and relatable of a story it. To the point where I actually had a few moments of anxiousness for characters in the story to have a happy ending and the sacrifices it took to get there. I think the lower expectation I had was what made it sweep me off my feet. Even without the boundless quirky characters that the first and second game have implanted throughout the world, the few characters that were focused on had incredible depth. I don't know if I would play Super again, because the gameplay itself was too simple to remain equally as engaging the second time through, but the story itself is super memorable

Lumping in super paper mario with color splash when they're completely different? I get why people think there is some elitism related to ttyd now.

Paper Mario Pro Mode is an EXCELLENT mod for the original Paper Mario that changes enemy and item placements, as well as some of the environments that makes for an interesting twist on the original formula. It rebalances the game geniusly, while keeping in mind what equipment you could have at any given moment. It's a bit of a pain to set up and get working on an emulator (or original hardware), but it is so damn good. I've had a blast playing it

as a storyteller, i am absolutely in love with super paper mario's story.

I don't quite agree with your hypothetical 'better' super paper mario. pulling back to turn based and tossing in even more characters sounds like a bad idea, especially in regards to writing and programming. Mario, Peach, Bowser, and Luigi play off each other very well, and adding more 'voices' to the hero's party would muddle the interplay between them and Count Bleck's forces. What it really needed was a whole bucket of polish on its interface, platforming, and 'battle' mechanics. If Super Paper Mario handled like a mainstream Mario title, with similar effort going into its platforming design both in 2d and 3d, it'd be a different, but fun sequel. however, we got very empty levels, a slow walk speed with no running, jank 3d controls, nonthreatening enemies, and a shitty menu. Its the kind of issues that wouldn't fly in any other mario title, but for some reason they let it ship with a gameplay loop that is criminally boring.

I can’t wait for Paper Mario: Origami King!

First thing: thanking you for warning me about the PM-like game. Secondly: i do mostly agree with your Super Paper Mario analysys. The battle gameplay is easily the weakest part, the puzzle gameplay is at wrost decent, and there is little variety of mixed characters, but everything else is pure gold. I particurarly love the way the game ends: in the previous two games the final battles were themselves good, and the cutscenes too, but there was a bit of Standard RPG/Anime Clichè, when everyone prayed for you when the boss revealed itself too strong and you gained POWA. Not that it was bad, but the resolution of SPM simply blows it out of the water. In SPM you are already losing: you only see a world direcly crumble to dust, but the Void is closer and closer (And it is implied that all the world that appeared in the cutscene of the final battle suffered at the end of the cutscene the same fate of the Sammer Kingdom; especially given that you see one of them being reborn in the ending), and so nobody can help you. And so how you get to win against the final bosses? How you get to power the magical artifacts to weaken them? The first time by the sense of camerandie that grew in your little group of oddballs (Mostly Bowser is the oddball, the other three are pretty friendly toward each other since before the beginning): nothing more than the odd friendship between a princess, two plumber brothers, and a oversized and tirannical turtle. Not seas of peoples praying for you. Only you four. The second time is very similiar, but still very different: this time is still four peoples, but they are radically different. Two lovers, the big bad and your fairy helper, separated by time and space and finally reunited, and two minions of the Big Bad, which have just discovered that he wasn't going to create the perfect worlds that he told them, but he was going to destroy everything. And yet, and yet. The lover understood why and forgave him, and the minions still had a whole lot of loyality to their master. And not blind loyality, but camerandie and friendship. And thus the Pure Hearts were rekindled. The third and last but certainly not least is a simple but heartfelt rekindling of old vows: finally the Fairy and the Count can marry each other. They waited for this for so long, and they might even not survive for much time, given that the Pure Hearts might take them away after all of this was done. But still, their love hasn't waned in all of this time. They changed more than anybody could expect, but their sentiments are still as pure and passionate as the last time they saw each other. And thus for the last but certainly not least time the Pure Hearts are awakened, and literally no more than a couple of peoples did it and saved everyone. A couple whose love trascended time and space...

Well... If they brought back partners and treated paint as a system like FP (which makes splashing paint on stuff something you wanna make less intense stat), the different party members could use combinations of the colors to supe up their attacks with elemental paint properties, like Red beats yellow beats blue beats red, or Orange beats green and so on. And have some bad guys drenched in paint, so not only do you have the capability to attack a weakness, the baddies could behave in a weird way based on what color they had taken on. I don't hate Color Splash, but it does have a lot of fixing it needs.

I really appreciate how unbiased and respectful you are with these videos. Good show! Personally, I loved SPM. Granted, that's coming from someone who hasn't played the other installments, so take it as you will. I admit it had its flaws, and you basically covered all of them in this video. I do think calling that an example of "bad game design" is a little harsh, though. It was tons of fun, and I think that, ultimately, that's indicative of good design choices. Of course, that's just my opinion.

If they released an HD remastered version of the first or second Paper Mario on the Switch, I'd buy it in a heartbeat.

I really do believe that the spoiler effect has a lot to do with your enjoyment, as well as many other people's enjoyment of SPM. Having SPM be the first Paper Mario game I played, I loved it, and I still love it. Of course it's not as good as 64 and TTYD, but when you're forced to look at it through the lens of "how does this compare to 64/TTYD", I can understand why it feels like a letdown. I really like that you didn't just sit here and shit on it for not being what you wanted, and actually looked at the merits the game has, but I can tell that if you were a much more cynical person, that would likely be your view. I totally agree with your ideas for how to make it a better game, and seriously, that sounds amazing, but it feels like a serious disservice to have it next to Sticker Star and Color Splash. Sticker Star is bad. Color Splash is mediocre. But I would say that SPM is great, but it's not amazing, like the other two. Another thing I would like to note is how you didn't talk about the music when you were speaking on the matter of aesthetics, and I feel as though music in a game is one of the most important components. The Paper Mario series has some really tight tracks. (Also, I would love nothing more than being able to have Flint as a party member. The world is really rich in SPM, and I feel bad not being able to experience it though the mechanics of 64/TTYD.)

5:46 I actually died 546 times to this guy, while at a friends house, and then i gave up because i was stubborn and didn’t want spoilers by googling how to beat it I don’t even remember the enemy’s name......

SPM isn't bad, just different. It's unique, and that's why I really love it.

SPM was my first paper Mario and I honestly can’t say enough about it. I loved every second, and to this day is still a favorite. I don’t know how my opinion would have changed if I played the others, but I like to image I’d still love it.

So I think it's risky to make negative content especially when you have such a positive focused channel, but I'm gonna be honest man I love Bad Game Design. I think there's an easy way to make this sort of content, bashing on the problems and just move along, but I really appreciate that you can talk about the good and the bad while so suggesting good ideas to fix the problems you had with it. I know the Paper Mario series has been quite the undertaking for you, and it's been really great seeing you cover them on your channel! Great stuff, dude!

9:00 i should mention there is a boss in chapter 7 that is fought in a turn based style but it is more like something like earthbound with you being in a first person view and just selecting options but that isn't really what you wanted, plus if you got a certain optional pixel he's easy

I really like Super Paper Mario... it was my first Paper Mario