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Paper Mario: Color Splash Hands-on Previews - "a far better game than Sticker Star"
- Thread starter maxcriden
- Start date
Milly Osworth
Member
Damn it looks good.
God, this series is in a desperate need of a reboot. Really not liking the direction they've chosen 
I really hated Sticker Star and while this game is gorgeous and seems to have more personality, there are still a lot if things I don't like. Generic NPCs (mostly basic Toads) and a boring, gimmicky battle system that still lacks RPG elements.
Maybe next time
I really hated Sticker Star and while this game is gorgeous and seems to have more personality, there are still a lot if things I don't like. Generic NPCs (mostly basic Toads) and a boring, gimmicky battle system that still lacks RPG elements. Maybe next time
Maintenance
Member
That's a really, really low bar.
Bowser's a great character, him being the villain is fine by me.
The Koopalings on the other hand look as bland and boring here as they are in the main Mario games. Iggy has a character design that screams a funny personality, yet if you gave his dialogue in the chariot fight to another Koopaling nobody would notice because it's so devoid of quirks or style. The Shy Guy receptionist has a more defined personality and voice than Iggy for crying out loud.
Simbabbad
Member
As far as I'm concerned, I've always found the variation of design in Koopas or Toads pretty lame, just like the attempts to, say, create an individual design and personality in Pac-Man's ghosts. There's something humorous in having a similar looking population having different behaviour, just like with the Smurfs.
Anyway, I'll resume avoiding these threads, they're just made of negativity about things people never touched and probably never will.
Anyway, I'll resume avoiding these threads, they're just made of negativity about things people never touched and probably never will.
-shadow-
Member
Even before I clicked that I knew not only who it was, but also what it would look like. I want another villian like Bleck! ;_;
I love Bowser and the Koopalings, but only if they have a personality going along with them. Bowser has ranged from boring and uninspired to absolutely amazing over the past few years and so have the Koopalings. Hell they're amazing in Paper Jam Bros. where they bicker back and forth and you can actually have Wendy and Roy end up duking it out out if you dodge the correct moves and their dialouge is great. It's just that they never seemed to bother with creating a set personality for the characters and it shows between the different products.
Agent Gibbs
Member
better than sticker star? so were talking a kick to the guts over a kick to the groin then?
mrmickfran
Member
Sticker Star was absolute garbage, so that's not saying much.
Game is gorgeous af though.
But the gameplay still isn't hooking me.
Game is gorgeous af though.
But the gameplay still isn't hooking me.
Its disturbing me that she sees absolutely nothing wrong with what she said at the end of your second quote from her. Has she literally gone batshit?
Yep. Those threads always end up being "i don't like the game i've never player because...". Very annoying, but at least this game is still not having the treatment that fed force did.
Judging games based on pre-release footage is common, especially when most people haven't had a chance to actually play the game yet. There's no publicly available demo or beta for Color Splash. What else are people supposed to judge the game on?
It only seems to become a problem when talking about Nintendo published games.
People have explained multiple times over multiple threads why Sticker Star was not a good game. Obviously most of us haven't played Color Splash, but it seems to be taking directly from Sticker Star even if it has fixed some of its issues, like paint meter being a reward for battles.
I'm pretty confident the majority of people that enjoyed the first two games HOPE that this one ends up being very good, what reason is there not to? But If this game turns out to be pretty similar to sticker star without addressing most of what people disliked about it, I hope people keep complaining, maybe we will get a FE: Fates situation where the developers actually went back and addressed most of the complains the playerbase had for the previous game.
Idk, calling something "way better" in comparison, denotes a fairly obvious jump in quality. Where in a common conversation has someone used the phrase "way better" and meant the thing was still "bad".
Five Guy's is way better than McDonalds's burgers. Whatever you think of the quality of McD's burgers aside, Five Guy's burgers are good.
GabeTheGrouch76
Member
Agreed with this. I do think there have been some definite positive changes in writing and gameplay mechanics with Color Splash; but with how much the game is still tied to what Sticker Star established (combined with the interviews with the developers stating they have no interest in going back to the style of the first two games), I think these changes by IS are more akin to throwing fans of the earlier games a few bones to try and quell their complaints, rather than the studio re-assessing their handling of the Paper Mario IP.
And for those who wanted a proper return to the first two/three games in gameplay and narrative, that simply won't be enough. "Fool me once" and all of that.
Franz Brötchen;216775192 said:
Like how Metroid fans were told by some people with Tanabe's Federation Force to "accept the game for what it is"; and they did...by voting with their wallets and subsequently allowing the game to tank in sales.
I'm confident that won't happen to Color Splash (even given that it is a Wii U game), but I'm not expecting CS to be a high flyer in sales (by Wii U standards) regardless.
While it is a rather peculiar response, I think that's more of an unintentional goof or was a response that wasn't fully thought through on her part, rather than her speaking in earnest. Maybe giving interviews isn't necessarily Tabata's forte.
Bakkus
Member
Doesn't matter how much better it can be as long as it sticks with all the aspects people hated about Sticker Star. Every damn thing that was loved about the first two games, the type of stuff which really made Paper Mario distinct from the mainline Mario games has been removed. We're now stuck with creativity levels no bigger than the New Super Mario Bros series. And to top it all off the developers manage to insult the fans of the original direction in the interviews. The fact that they can seriously respond to criticism with stuff like "play the Mario & Luigi games if you want RPGs" Is absolutely asinine. It's like George Lucas levels of being out of touch.
My response will be to boycott the game and all it stands for.
My response will be to boycott the game and all it stands for.
Neat, thanks.
OniBarubary
Banned
Yeah, I'm good, thanks.
It's sounds interesting enough to give it a rent. I never played sticker star but the things I heard about it scared me far away from both that and this game. I'll at least have fun admiring the visuals.
I only played Super Paper Mario and couldn't care less about turn based gameplay, but it's sad what's happened to the characters.
I only played Super Paper Mario and couldn't care less about turn based gameplay, but it's sad what's happened to the characters.
mrmickfran
Member
Ninja Gaiden 3: Razor's Edge is much better than Ninja Gaiden 3. But in the end, it's still a polished turd.
There is an incentive to fight, getting paint and expanding your max. paint level. I like that there are no RPG elements here. The fights can be too numerous so just ignoring some enemies helps keeping the pacing fun.
I've never played the N64 game though, so no hard feelings from me. Not blaming anyone for being disappointed either.
I've never played the N64 game though, so no hard feelings from me. Not blaming anyone for being disappointed either.
If that's the case then don't play the N64 version, it's what made the series good for a lot of people.
TheSpaceBetween
Member
Fuck yeah. Sticker Star was second to only TTYD, so if this is even better, it's going to be awesome. I can't wait.
The series started as an RPG, right? I'll definitely play it at some point, people seem to love it so why not try it out. I also love Mario & Luigi and that is a full RPG already. Not saying that what Nintendo is doing here is the only way to go, just saying that I don't mind the lack of experience points and leveling up. Not once have I thought to myself "this would be better with experience points". It is kinda odd though that it still uses a separate fighting screen and attacks on cards. Maybe they should go all the way if they are so keen to differentiate it from Mario & Luigi.
momshotdad
Member
Looks incredible. I'll definitely be interested.
Lol, I see where you're coming from but if anything, this is an exception to the rule. You basically took a bad, broken game and compared it with itself with a few adjustments so now it's almost as bad and less broken. That and you're one of the few people who call Razor's Edge "much better" than NG3.
Do people not realize that the last, mosy-RPG heavy game in this series came out in 2004? That's nearly 12 years ago.
What exactly are you expecting out of this franchise anymore? There isn't a "traditional" Paper Mario style. More games in this series don't play like the original and TTYD than those that do. The series has gone off in several tangents now, and expecting or hoping Nintendo to double back to the original's gameplay, when it obviously doesn't seem to be hurting their pockets, seems foolhardy.
What exactly are you expecting out of this franchise anymore? There isn't a "traditional" Paper Mario style. More games in this series don't play like the original and TTYD than those that do. The series has gone off in several tangents now, and expecting or hoping Nintendo to double back to the original's gameplay, when it obviously doesn't seem to be hurting their pockets, seems foolhardy.
Franz Brötchen
Banned
Well obviously accepting developers' decisions isn't blindly buying everything. I am talking about the partially foul-mouthed hatred that is flooding especially Metroid and PM threads. Voting with your wallet is the way to go. But why on earth should any developer be encouraged to spend even a nanosecond in designing with catering to cry babies.
This is all I am saying: You don't like it, you don't buy it. You derail any discussion that should be formed by the game's own merits, don't expect any sympathy from a confident and therefore good developer.
Green Mamba
Member
Positive discussion only, basically.
By all means give it a shot. The first two Paper Mario games have some of my favorite characters in the franchise. Super wasn't an RPG granted, but it's clear the devs cared a lot for the first two. I just don't get the same feeling from the new games. I'm glad people are having fun, I just can't help but feel bitter that it's at my expense.
Time to take a vacation my man.
Youve done all you could and explained in like 20 threads already about why Sticker Star isnt a very good game. Think its just time to let it go. If everyone wants to turn Nintendo discussions into echo chambers whether it be Federation Force or Color Splash then so be it.
Green Mamba
Member
When Super Paper Mario was released most people seemed to treat it as a spinoff of the Paper Mario series, a once off experiment before returning to form. Which is what Sticker Star sort of looked like when it was first revealed. It was, of course, anything but, but that was the general sentiment at the time. It's hard to believe it but even I was interested in Sticker Star before release and bought that turd day one. When Sticker Star was, um, unleashed upon the unsuspecting world, a lot of people felt it was a misstep (to put it lightly), and the Iwata Asks released at the time made it seem like it was created in direct response to fan feedback. So there was a general feeling that there was still time to actually right the ship for once. It's really only Color Splash that completely destroyed any future hopes, and the backlash you're seeing is caused in large part due to that.
At this point, I'm not expecting anything good out of this franchise anymore. Which is sad.
I definitely will. 😄
Never owned an N64 or GameCube so I don't have any nostalgia for those games.
NOLA_Gaffer
Banned
I adored every second of Sticker Star, so this one being better has me ridiculously excited.
Simbabbad
Member
The occasion to complain, I guess. Seems popular lately.
IMO, skip the N64 game. Paper Mario and TTYD are basically clones of each others, and you're likely to love the first one you play and get bored with the second. And since TTYD has much more to offer, it's the only one you need out of the two. No wonder they didn't stick to the formula, it got old with only the second game.
GabeTheGrouch76
Member
This statement can easily be applied both ways. People who fear about threads becoming echo chambers of endless complaining can be countered by those fearing threads being echo chambers of endless praise.
As long as people who are and aren't favorable about the game are actually focused on the thread topic instead of personal mudslinging, I don't see why any side has to supposedly leave for the sake of the other. It's a discussion forum, after all.
Astral Dog
Member
No much of a bar, but expected
SpookyBlackFish
Member
No, it is FAR better, they say. So it is a kick to the teeth.
Seriously, why do so many people doubt that Color Splash can simply be a good game? Sticker Star was no highlight, but for what it was, it was a good and interesting new attempt in the Paper Mario series. An entry that could be quite improved with the successor which is about to arrive.
Maybe Color Splash will be a shit game but if so, I don't think it would be just because the so much hated Sticker Star formula does not allow a good game.
If the Federation Force sales threads are any indication of whats to come with Color Splash then its gonna be a shit show.
VendettaRed07
Member
Wish I could say I was excited but I'm not.
I'm worried this will flop like Federation Force because this is another game Nintendo made that nobody was asking for.
Hopefully it will be better. But idk.
I'm worried this will flop like Federation Force because this is another game Nintendo made that nobody was asking for.
Hopefully it will be better. But idk.
It's a pretty looking Mario game, not an ugly Metroid game.
Well I mean, that didn't help Ultra Smash but I think Color Splash should do decently enough.
If it does flop, well, I guess "too bad" but I don't think it'd be all that concerning.
Astral Dog
Member
Interesting concept but they need to be fleshed out as enemies first imo.
VendettaRed07
Member
It isn't so much that the formula doesn't allow it to be good.. I think it's more that Sticker star, sort of like Federation Force, completely ran contrary to what people liked the series for to begin with.
I really liked Super Paper Mario even though I hated how they took out the turned based combat. But removing the story and interesting characters was almost unforgivable honestly.
I'd be ok with them messing around with the gameplay to an extent if it meant the "spirit" of the franchise with its interesting dialogue and diverse cast of characters were still around. But that doesn't seem like it will happen.
Not a particularly high bar to beat but I've grown slightly optimistic about this. Part of what contributed to Sticker Star's sales but high backlash was the fact that people saw an RPG battle system and thought Paper Mario is going back to roots after Super Paper Mario.
A merit this game won't be able to enjoy given that Sticker Star burned a lot of people on that idea, so here's hoping this will be good.
A merit this game won't be able to enjoy given that Sticker Star burned a lot of people on that idea, so here's hoping this will be good.
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