Miracle Reviews some games she played

[YoshiFlutterJump]

Personally I always preferred M&L's more action-oriented battles to Paper Mario's more simplistic combat. Also no Paper Mario partner could ever hold a candle to Luigi

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

The benefits of peril is largely situational in most gameplay and relies strongly on superguard though, so I don't think going into peril is really a common strategy in most playthroughs of Paper Mario.

I guess the decision between guard and superguard adds to a risk benefit strategy but can't you argue that Mario & Luigi has some instances where you can either counterattack or dodge but are reliant on reaction time and maybe the window between the two have different risks/sweet spots? Isn't reading cues, something unique to Mario & Luigi, part of the strategy? And there are some enemies that also like to screw around with your options, such as Sharkbone/Sand Cheep hiding (Sharkbone has you jump to evade it while Sand Cheep can hit you if you try to jump to evade it, but you don't know what pops out until seconds before it hits you), and they shuffle their positions if they survive the turn.

Not sure about the item argument. Paper Mario's limited inventory means you just can't afford to replace your valuable syrups, mushrooms, life mushrooms (later in the game) with other kinds of items like Super Gel; there's mostly no reason to use Fire Flower, Dizzy Dial, or Sleepy Sheep because they take up slots and reserving syrups for FP attacks that do more damage anyway is better use of those slots. You can try to use recipes to clear up space but I don't recall the game being too demanding of item compression that necessitates use of those items I mentioned there. I've played other games that emphasize more on strategic item use like Chocobo Mystery Dungeon and I don't think Paper Mario has ever been that demanding as those.

 

[MiracleDinner]

The benefits of peril is largely situational in most gameplay and relies strongly on superguard though, so I don't think going into peril is really a common strategy in most playthroughs of Paper Mario.

it's basically the holy grail of speedrunning ttyd alongside blimp ticket skip and palace skip and all that, that's how speedrunners always kill the shadow queen with very few level ups. and they use a boo sheet so they don't need to rely on a superguard.

I guess the decision between guard and superguard adds to a risk benefit strategy but can't you argue that Mario & Luigi has some instances where you can either counterattack or dodge but are reliant on reaction time and maybe the window between the two have different risks/sweet spots? Isn't reading cues, something unique to Mario & Luigi, part of the strategy? And there are some enemies that also like to screw around with your options, such as Sharkbone/Sand Cheep hiding (Sharkbone has you jump to evade it while Sand Cheep can hit you if you try to jump to evade it, but you don't know what pops out until seconds before it hits you), and they shuffle their positions if they survive the turn.

m&l dodging may have some amount of strategy but i'd definitely say ttyd has more, whereas m&l is more about getting used to the timing, and in some attacks, reaction times. although some of them can be cheesed by pressing A and B at the same time so it doesn't matter if it hits mario or luigi.

Not sure about the item argument. Paper Mario's limited inventory means you just can't afford to replace your valuable syrups, mushrooms, life mushrooms (later in the game) with other kinds of items like Super Gel; there's mostly no reason to use Fire Flower, Dizzy Dial, or Sleepy Sheep because they take up slots and reserving syrups for FP attacks that do more damage anyway is better use of those slots. You can try to use recipes to clear up space but I don't recall the game being too demanding of item compression that necessitates use of those items I mentioned there. I've played other games that emphasize more on strategic item use like Chocobo Mystery Dungeon and I don't think Paper Mario has ever been that demanding as those.

i'm not really experienced with rpgs outside of paper mario and mario & luigi, and i would kind of agree that the item limit means that lesser items don't get a chance to shine, but they at least do so in the early game when you don't have access to the better items. i'd at least call it more interesting than just bounce bros, splash bros * 20, max syrup * 2, repeat

 

[MiracleDinner]

Late because I was too busy (and admittedly some laziness) yesterday.

Super Mario Land (1)

Moveset/Controls/Etc.: Unfortunately this has grown to be quite outdated. Similar to Super Mario Bros. (1), jumping on enemies doesn't give you additional height, the screen can't scroll backwards, and there's only one powerup not counting the star. However, the superball flower at least has uniqueness barring Super Mario Maker 2 so props to that. The enemies in this game are kinda bizzare but honestly that's not bad: it has a unique touch to it which never came back. The bosses aren't just Bowser, they're actually unique ones with their own attacks, but work on the mechanic that you have to kill them with balls or dodge them and hit the kill switch. Another good thing is the submarine and the sky pop: they're a nice change of pace, appearing in one level each and playing identically. So, yeah, it's got some unique stuff you won't find elsewhere, but it's still very much outdated. I give like the gameplay elements 5/10.

Levels: Good but very short. The ones that are there are good quality, have a nice range of platforming challenges etc. although I would mention that they are not generous enough with breathing room and powerups. One thing that is rather odd is that due to the way invisible checkpoints work in this game you can die and then skip a challenge you never completed, honestly this is not a major flaw though. Some things like riding on boulders were pretty cool although a bit dull. It's actually pretty nice that there's an optional challenge at the end that lets you get more 1-ups or the superball flower and the minigame isn't just luck but good timing and observation. However, the game forces you to start at square one if you lose all your lives, which it isn't that hard to do, but thankfully the 3ds has restore points. And yeah - the game is very short, only having 12 levels. TWELVE. Levels get a 4/10.

Presentation: At least for once it's not Bowser kidnapping Peach. The game has a unique story, Tatanga kidnaps Daisy, and Mario has to go to and save her. Speaking of which, this game did mark the debut of Daisy. However, it still isn't a very good story: it's essentially just Super Mario Bros. with Peach replaced by Daisy and Bowser replaced by Tatanga, and is hence an extremely shallow story. The scenes of fake Daisy's were kinda cool though and the ending scene was nice. The game's graphics are of course very dated, being very pixellated and being monochrome. And the music was actually alright, the ending theme is actually really good (though it didn't make my Top 100 list), however the selection is kinda limited. The presentation gets a 4/10.

Conclusion: It's a nice game which has a nice feel to it and there's still something to be had out of the experience. But unfortunately, it is still a very outdated game, and is easily trumped by say NSMBDS, and is held back very much by its shortness. I'm going to give it a recommendation but I definitely wouldn't expect a lasting or strong love for the game. Verdict: 5/10.

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

You think there should be a modern remake for it?

 

[MiracleDinner]

You think there should be a modern remake for it?

i'd say it's a low priority. honestly i think it'd be hard to modernise it without taking away it's original spirit, like, either they make it super short or they have most of the the levels in the remake never having appeared in the original game. also, i'd be interested to see what nintendo do with the artstyle without the limitations of the game boy, but honestly it would most likely look something like new super mario bros u deluxe

 

[MiracleDinner]

Super Mario Bros. (1) vs Super Mario Land (1)

Convenience/Portability: SML1: Although you can own SMB1 on the 3DS, you're probably more likely to own it on Wii VC, Wii U VC, or Switch Online.
Controls: Tie. In terms of external controls, the hardware you use to control the game, I'd say they're both pretty much couldn't be better, and as for inside the game I wouldn't say there's a significant difference in overall quality.
Gameplay elements: SML1. The superball flower has only appeared in SMM2 since SML1 and the game has plenty of unique enemies that haven't really returned, whereas SMB1 had enemies which sure back then were original but now are worn out. Plus all of SMB1's bosses were pretty much the same, which wasn't true of SML1. And SML1 had the sky pop and the submarine too.
Multiplayer: SMB1. Even though I'd consider it a weak form of multiplayer as it is just taking turns to attempt the level with a different sprite, and with seperate life/coin counts, it at least was existent in SMB1 unlike SML1.
Length: SMB1, having over twice what SML1 had.
Balancing: SML1. I wouldn't call myself either really skilled or really unskilled at Mario but I found SML1 kinda hard but doable whereas SMB1 was sooo hard I died so many times in the last four levels, I never would have been able to finish the game without save states. I guess warps would have made SMB1 take less time, but then I'd be missing over half the game.
Postgame: Tie. IIRC they basically just do the same thing, you can try to clear the game again but with ocassional changes to increase the difficulty.
Extras: Tie, they both had none.
Level design: Tie. I mean, I thought they were both fairly well designed but nothing ever stood out to me as being remarkably good.
Graphics: SMB1. It has colour. You could say SML1 is classically black and white, but when it comes to classic graphics SMB1 still wins.
Story: Tie. The story the two games use is literally exactly the same: some evil dude from this place comes along and curses people and tries to marry a princess who doesn't want to marry him, Mario comes along defeats the leader and saves the people and the princess. And that's it. But...
Characters: SML1. Although the only real characters are Mario, Daisy, and Tatanga, at the VERY least it isn't Peach getting kidnapped, and isn't Bowser doing the kidnapping, so it has a touch more originality.
Music: SMB1. SML1 had perfectly decent music, but SMB1 just has all those classic tunes that never stopped getting used. I personally didn't include any tracks from either game on my Top 100 List but I did consider SMB1 Overworld and SML1 Credits. But I think SMB1's OST is generally liked more and I can see reason why.
Dialogue: Tie, there was negligible amounts in either.

Verdict: This was surprisingly difficult actually. But I think I'll say SML1. It has its disadvantages next to SMB1, the main one being its length, but I think that its originality in enemies, the superball flower, the shoot em up levels, and well I don't think I mentioned but it has original locations and all too rather than just overworld/castle/underground/underwater/night, overall I think SML1 holds up a little better than SMB1.

 

[MiracleDinner]

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Whilst the first Super Mario Land tends to be seen as outdated it seems generally agreed, and I would see why, that its sucessor holds up substantially better.

The gameplay elements for one are much better than before. Sadly the sky pop is gone but we had actual swimming mechanics this time and the bubble in that one level, plus the space levels with antigravity so all is not lost. The enemies here are a lot closer towards traditional Mario which despite taking away some originality makes the game more familiar for fans of later games. The screen can now scroll backwards, which is a massive plus next to SML1, but I mean by modern standards that's more or less expected. The course elements actually have a decent amount of variety to them, a total of seven different bosses, the tree sap, the bell as a proper checkpoint, bonus mini games after each level. And the bunny powerup, which was cool but also broken especially since apparently spamming A enough lets you float in midair. So yeah I think it's pretty good and a remarkable step up from its predecessor but by modern standards isn't exceptional anymore. I give 7/10.

The level design is fairly well done, whilst myself I didn't play the bonus courses much I think it's something most people will appreciate. There are around 30 levels this time I think, which is decent, but still a major limitation next to modern Mario games. But yeah as for the content of the levels they use the elements they're given pretty well, they have good platforming challenges and have different spins on things and all. I'd just point out a few things which I'd argue could have been handled a little better like the final level having no checkpoints whatsoever. The level design gets a 6/10.

The story of this game is actually not saving a princess for a kidnapping, it marks the debut of Wario and Mario taking his castle back. It doesn't hold a candle to Paper Mario or Galaxy 1 or probably Sunshine either but I'd say it's at least a minor nice thing. The game has no dialogue in itself though, the story is just found out from things like the instruction booklet or the eShop description etc. The graphics are not ugly but of course very outdated and still limited to monochrome. The music is actually pretty nice but the selection remains fairly limited. The presentaiton gets a 5/10.

One thing I'll note since I didn't say it elsewhere: the game doesn't have any extra stuff like minigames or a postgame at all.

In conclusion, it's really impressive a game like this could have been build for the Game Boy and there's no question this one is a major step up from SML1. Whilst it definitely hasn't aged that well, I'd still say it remains decent today. Verdict: 6/10.

 

[MiracleDinner]

Super Mario Maker (Wii U version)

I've had a ton of fun with this since getting in it January and tons of other people did too despite the console's poor sales.

I have little way to structure this, but essentially, there are two parts to the game: making your own levels and sharing them, and playing others' levels.

Making your own levels is actually really fun. I speak as someone who's always loved creative games, but I'm absolutely not alone in that: 2D Super Mario games are popular and there are so many people overjoyed to finally make their own levels. There's a lot of things to play with and not only can you actually simulate official 2d mario levels pretty well but make your own "traditional levels": those that are meant to feel like they could have been from an official Mario game but weren't. But there are also lots of other types of courses you can make, even including music - @Nastasia made this in the game and I think that's cool. that being said, the editor does have a lot of limits and things which really could have been in the game but weren't. Super Mario Maker 2 greatly improves this, albeit apparently at the cost of a less intuitive editor.

Playing other people's levels is actually a blast since it's never ending and can be pretty interesting. Sure there can be like troll levels but you can search plenty of cool levels online so doing the 100 Mario isn't even compulsorary. But if you do, most people like the good more than the bad, even if some levels are better than others. Plus you can skip. Also I believe Nintendo set up algorithms so that the stars things helps make sure people are more likely to get good levels, but also gives new ones a chance to shine. And the bookmark site helps lots.

So what's my verdict on Super Mario Maker for the Nintendo Wii U? I'd say Super Mario Maker 2, whilst I've never played that myself, is probably the more recommendable experience, but for those, including myself, who are unable to for any reason: the Wii U original remains in its own right a truly phenomenal experience: being able to use an official game with an easy editor for a console, not having to mod games, and being able to make your own is one I can easily recommend and you'll probably have a ton of fun. And sharing them with the world is magical. Verdict: 9/10





With that, I'm pretty much at the present so this will probably be it for this thread: though there's still so many to try so I'm going to post my thoughts on games as I finish them on this board. Thanks for reading.