VideoGame I'm not even a Paper Mario fan, yet I love this game!
I never touched a single Paper Mario game in my life, with the sole exception of TTYD, but my potato PC and glitchy emulator prevented me from enjoying the experience, and I abandoned it before I completed the first chapter. I did watch the videos of the game, though.
Initially, after discovering this game through TV Tropes (in the Complete Monster cleanup thread), it filled me with curiosity, but not enough to make me want to play it. Eventually, at the summer of the past year, I decided to give the game a go. And I'm so glad that I did!
The gameplay is mostly inspired by Paper Mario, with each of the three main characters having distinct skills that allow them to solve puzzles and fight the enemies. There is also the Medal system (inspired by the badge system of Paper Mario) that allows you to equip medals to alter character stats, give them new abilities, and etc., allowing you to come up with many different playstyles that would suit you best. There are also lots of puzzles in the overworld, some obvious, and some quite subtle, requiring thorough analysis and inspection of the environment to figure out how to solve them.
Even there, the gameplay actually innovates on its predecessor: besides the fact that you play as three characters at once, you can also relay turns between them anytime you want (instead of using a specific skill for that), swap their position, giving a damage boost to whoever is in front, and every character can tattle instead of the specific one. There is also the fact that, through the most of the game, there is no permanent damage / defense upgrade (excluding the rare stat-enhancing berries), so you must carefully strategize and calculate how much damage you do per turn and how quickly you can defeat an enemy.
The writing in this game is great! All characters have their distinct, lovable personalities, there are also some clever jokes and humorous writing, and tons of sidequests where you help people around, but there's still an actual overarching story that will get you invested. The plot itself is fairly simple; you must find the Everlasting Sapling to earn the favor of your queen. For that, you must find all the artifacts that would lead you to it. While it does sound like an Excuse Plot, you later learn that you're not the only one who is after the Sapling; Wasp King, the Wasp Kingdom's tyrannical ruler, also craves it, and he will do anything to get it. And eventually, the base plot outright changes from "find the Sapling" to "stop the Wasp Kingdom". (spoilered just in case)
If there are any flaws to list, I'd say the graphics need some polish and the beginning is quite slow-paced, but I personally don't mind it. I mostly focus on pros than cons.
I'll say that again; you don't even have to be an old-school Paper Mario fan to enjoy the game; it's just a bonus for nostalgic pleasure, so even if you're not one, there's nothing preventing you from enjoying it, so if you want to give it a go, go ahead!
VideoGame A brilliant tribute to Paper Mario.
Made by Panamanian studio Moonsprout Games, Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling is an indie game closely modelled after the first two games in the Paper Mario series. If you dislike the direction that the Paper Mario franchise took after those first two games, I think you'll find that Bug Fables is a worthy successor.
Set in a fictional world of talking bugs, the plot revolves around Team Snakemouth, a trio of bug adventurers: Vi the plucky bee, Kabbu the heroic beetle, and the mysterious moth sorcerer Leif. Together, the set out to recover the Everlasting Sapling, a long-lost treasure that can supposedly bestow immortality on whichever bug possesses it. The game first seems like a lighthearted treasure hunt, but both the party and the player will soon realize that they're on a far greater adventure than they could've imagined. The characters are all lovable: Vi is cocky without being hateful, Kabbu is hilariously over-the-top gallant, and Leif is charming as a tough guy with a soft center.
The gameplay is quite similar to the first two Paper Mario games. The characters are 2D sprites in a 3D overworld with some platforming elements and puzzles to solve, and each character has certain special moves to help them get past obstacles. Battles are solved in a simplified RPG style, where the player has to perform certain action commands to make attacks do the most damage. The main difference is that, unlike Paper Mario, where Mario and one of eight partners can be in the party at once, all three members of Team Snakemouth are in the party the entire time, and can all fight at once. This creates some very interesting new twists on the traditional Paper Mario gameplay style.
The world of Bug Fables is wonderfully fleshed-out, filled with interesting lore and a multitude of likable NP Cs. The main plot is fairly straightforward and the villain is a bit underdeveloped, but there are enough twists on the usual formula to keep it interesting. In addition, there are dozens of fun sidequests to complete and optional bosses to fight, as well as two overarching quests where Vi and Leif have to face up to their troubled pasts. All this comes together to create a very satisfying gaming experience.
On the downside, Bug Fables isn't always as bright and colorful as Paper Mario was. The autumnal Golden Settlement is gorgeous and the technologically-advanced Bee Kingdom is unique and interesting, but too much of the latter half of the game is spent in murky caves, dungeons, and swamps. Sometimes the creepiness is a good thing, such as in the final area or Leif's secret level, but other times it's a bit monotonous. I know they're bugs, but couldn't things be a little less dismal?
But on the whole, Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling is great, and a definite must-play for anyone who misses the gameplay style of the first two Paper Mario games. It isn't quite as lighthearted as those games, but it recaptures a great deal of the magic.