...I wanted to like this game. I really did. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
I'm pretty sure everyone knows precisely what's wrong with this game already, so I'll try to keep it short. First off, the story is almost nonexistent. It's just another "Bowser kidnaps Peach" story. Even worse, I had the bar set very high thanks to Super's story. I can't blame Miyamoto for this because Intelligent Systems had the option to ignore him.
Of course, it's not just crap by Paper Mario standards. This is easily one of the most disappointing Mario games I've ever played, if not games in general. Now, let's get into the gameplay!
On the overworld, it's all standard stuff. It's okay, but not as good as a mainstream game. But Paper Mario games are all about the battles, right? Oh yeah, right, the battles SUCK. Everything you do in battle is decided by consumable items, causing several attacks to become Too Awesome to Use. Then, you have the Things, which turn the game into an Inventory Management Puzzle made worse by the Overly Long Fighting Animation with each one. Worse, there's no reason to fight average Mooks because there's no experience point system of any kind. All you get is coins and stickers, and both of them can be found in greater quantities in the levels themselves. Worse, there's no option to skip your turn. This forces you to either waste a sticker or use the closest thing to the "skip" option: The "flee" button, and you'd better pray it fails, too.
Now, the characterization issues. Almost every NPC is a generic Toad, a point that's almost memetic nowadays. Bowser is a Silent Antagonist as well, isolating fans of his personality. The one original character, Kersti, is an obnoxious Jerkass who exists only as an Exposition Fairy. She's useless for the opposite reason most are hated: Being unhelpful. This becomes especially apparent in the later levels, where she whines about how paper fares in a certain environment rather than actually helping you.
Probably the only thing that didn't make me cringe was the soundtrack, although people who don't like jazz will be isolated. Also, only a select few tracks are that memorable in the first place.
So, take all that away, and what are you left with? Graphics. JUST. GRAPHICS. The damn thing is a pretty piece of trash and nothing but.
Why did IGN give this of all things an 8.3/10?!
...I wanted to like this game. I really did. Unfortunately, that's not the case.
I'm pretty sure everyone knows precisely what's wrong with this game already, so I'll try to keep it short. First off, the story is almost nonexistent. It's just another "Bowser kidnaps Peach" story. Even worse, I had the bar set very high thanks to Super's story. I can't blame Miyamoto for this because Intelligent Systems had the option to ignore him.
Of course, it's not just crap by Paper Mario standards. This is easily one of the most disappointing Mario games I've ever played, if not games in general. Now, let's get into the gameplay!
On the overworld, it's all standard stuff. It's okay, but not as good as a mainstream game. But Paper Mario games are all about the battles, right? Oh yeah, right, the battles SUCK. Everything you do in battle is decided by consumable items, causing several attacks to become Too Awesome to Use. Then, you have the Things, which turn the game into an Inventory Management Puzzle made worse by the Overly Long Fighting Animation with each one. Worse, there's no reason to fight average Mooks because there's no experience point system of any kind. All you get is coins and stickers, and both of them can be found in greater quantities in the levels themselves. Worse, there's no option to skip your turn. This forces you to either waste a sticker or use the closest thing to the "skip" option: The "flee" button, and you'd better pray it fails, too.
Now, the big problem with the gameplay: The Guide Dang It!. The game withholds almost every useful bit of information from you, almost forcing you to use a guide or walkthrough. This becomes especially problematic during the boss fights, which all boil down to "pick the right item to win". Almost every one of them is ludicrous without abusing their weakness, and if by chance you do so without, the game has your helper yell at you for wasting so many stickers.
Now, the characterization issues. Almost every NPC is a generic Toad, a point that's almost memetic nowadays. Bowser is a Silent Antagonist as well, isolating fans of his personality. The one original character, Kersti, is an obnoxious Jerkass who exists only as an Exposition Fairy. She's useless for the opposite reason most are hated: Being unhelpful. This becomes especially apparent in the later levels, where she whines about how paper fares in a certain environment rather than actually helping you.
Probably the only thing that didn't make me cringe was the soundtrack, although people who don't like jazz will be isolated. Also, only a select few tracks are that memorable in the first place.
So, take all that away, and what are you left with? Graphics. JUST. GRAPHICS. The damn thing is a pretty piece of trash and nothing but.