Reviews are out.

Seems to be doing about what I expected. Some 8s, some 9s. Averaging 82.50% on GR at the moment. Actually Metacritic has way more reviews up and still close, around 81%.

Should we turn this into the official thread or what?

@Zero

Sounds about right for this series. I think it typically scores in that range, yeah?

Also...yes. This is basically the Official Thread, so we may as well make this...um, official. Officially official.

I'm so glad I programmed the shortcut to linking threads and games in. This used to be such a huge hassle! Now it is simply inputting two numbers and clicking a button.

So nobody played this game?! Or is it just that nobody's talked about it?

I rented it (from the library, natch!), and, not having played a Mario & Luigi game in quite a while, enjoyed the hell out of it! Man, these are such quality games. Cute, clever, and engaging. They expose other RPGs for the autopiloting bores that they are. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I stopped playing, vowing to pick the game up at the next cheapest convenience.

I mean, I'll still probably never open it, but...

@Anand
I beat it way back, but I'm pretty tired of the M&L formula now.
I haven't missed a release, so it's showing its flaws like mad.

I was also pretty disappointed in the crossover. There was some neat stuff, mostly with Boju and Boju, and a few great battles, but I felt like they could've done more somehow.

It's a good game, but I feel the formula needs a rest.

I'm a party pooper!!

@ploot
Srsly!

It's probably a matter of perspective. I haven't played an M&L game since the first one. And I didn't even finish that!

From that perspective, it just struck me as a super solid, charming game with a fun battle system. Easy and breezy. And refusing to use healing items kept the challenge level more engaging.

What do you think are the significant flaws of Paper Jam? And are you happy that the Paper Mario series has gone in a less RPG direction? It doesn't seem like too many people are, although folks generally seem to agree that the Mario RPGs are a bit played. Or maybe they don't. I dunno.

@Anand
Definitely a matter of perspective. In fact, there are many things this game does better than its predecessors (the lack of tutorials being a MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJOR plus).
The battle system hasn't really changed much in the M&L games, aside from new Bros. Attacks, and the sense of exploration hasn't been great since Superstar Saga (Bowser's Inside Story did a pretty good job though).

As for Paper Mario, I did not like Sticker Star much and I don't have high hopes for the next one either. Toss me into the "people who dislike the new direction" camp. This is mostly due to the lack of interesting characters though, as I feel the Paper Mario battle system was getting tired too (and a little too similar to the M&L games).

In short, I'm fickle sometimes. Which is in and of itself fickle.

Side note: I am so sick of Paper Toads. So very sick of them.

@ploot
I actually stopped playing Superstar Saga because, after taking a couple month break, I had no idea where to go, embarrassingly enough. So I guess I appreciate the lack of exploration! (That said, I never needed to draw a map for the original Metroid (and maintain that no one else needs to, either).)

I'm a bit Toad-ed out, as well, I guess. I did like the interaction between the M&L and Paper versions of everyone, though. I think the original Paper Mario had my favorite extra characters in a Mario RPG. I loved the folksy, personable takes on classic Mushroom Kingdom creatures. Like Lakilester! That game used the Mario lore, but in a less generic way. When it comes to the Mario franchise these days, though, I kind of get the feeling that Nintendo almost purposely aims for generic.

I finally got around to this game. I don't exactly love the Mario & Luigi series, but I heard this one alleviated some of the issues I had with the series. Mostly just the overall slow pace of the games is my main complaint. However, right away Paper Jam introduces a fast forward button for all the cutscenes. I used that a lot. Also I loved the introduction of the ability to run. Overall I felt like the game had less padding as well. From what I remember Dream Team got really bad about that especially late in the game.

I still kinda hate how the Bros. moves are mostly uninteresting minigames. Not to mention the fact that you're pretty much required to be perfect for them to be worthwhile. It's not always hard to do, but it gets tedious. Also the boss fights were infuriating. You get used to the timing on dodging normal enemy attacks because you fight them so much. But often in boss fights it's the only time you've come across that particular attack sequence. And if you mess it up you need to use items to recover health which just draws out the fight longer.

Like I said, I'm not a huge fan of most Mario RPG games after the original. But I have played and beaten them all, although I've never revisted any of them. With that said I feel like Paper Jam was one of the better games in the series. I'd probably put it behind Bowser's Inside Story but ahead of the other Mario & Luigi games.

I just beat this one. It's decent. The humor was there, the gameplay was there, but it got repetitive. Just about every NPC was a toad, and rescuing them was fun at first, but after having to do the same thing over and over, I was just over it by the time I finished it. Took me about 28 hours, and I dodged all enemies five times in a row aside from the dang Sombrero Guy.

Still, a good game. Worth playing, as are all of the Mario & Luigi games.

(SS > BIS > DT > PJ > PiT)