Listen, people, I know I have a... not so popular opinion on the partners. I'm probably one of these very few who think that having Mario playable by himself is a better thing, or even just having one mostly invisible partner. That way you don't always have to cycle between your party and that one partner gets development, which is probably what makes Huey such a good character. And I though that even tho SPM has a lot of major flaws the Pixls are actually one of its upgrades, which I've already talked about multiple times and I already said why I think that. But even then, party members are still a decent idea that should be reworked imo should IS want to put them in their next Paper Mario, if any.
So yeah. The way I analyse a party member's usefulness is not how many puzzles they are useful for, instead, that differs from game to game. For 64 and TTYD, that means whoever you always keep out for the battles. It's nice when a partner accomplishes something on the field but most of the time puzzles like that are situational, and it's unfair to rate a partner above the other JUST because the devs put more of this obstacle. There are some field utilities that surpass the other tho, so we'll get to that. For SPM, that just means the Pixl you use the most, again, outside of situational field utility.
Anyway, for 64, I'd say the best partner is Parakarry without a doubt. A very versatile fighter and even if his field utility is situational, the same can be said about anyone else in this game, except maybe Lakilester but he imo joins too late to really make use of this niche. Parakarry attacks enemies in the air with ease and can do the same to those on the ground. Bow can also do that and her field utility is arguably somewhat better if you're looking to avoid conflict, in fact I heavily debated whether she or Parakarry deserved the spot more. The thing is, Bow has such a great earlygame, since she can easily smack enemies for 4 damage, at base level. She starts off disgusting but she starts seriously falling off later due to a lot of enemies having defense, and Smack deals 1 damage four times, and her only other effective offensive move is the last one, meaning you gotta wait to get it, and while it's a really good move that deals 10 damage if the enemy has no defense, well there's still an abundance of enemies who do. So overall, Parakarry performs better and is probably the most optimal partner to keep out in 64.
I haven't played TTYD yet (I will soon), so we'll move on to SPM. And do I have something to talk about here. I love Carrie so fucking much. The other Pixls are good too and I like how some have multiple applications for their utility, but Carrie just easily takes the cake for me. From the moment you get her, she's probably going to be your most frequently used partner in the whole game. Not only does she trivialize spikes, but she also lets you move quicker (and those who find this game a drag would value this over anything else), and she's not bad for offense. It's way easier to jump on a spike enemy using Carrie than to set up Boomer here and make him explode. She mitigates any erroneous mistakes you may make by quickly jumping on a spiky enemy, and essentially acts like the "Spike Shield" badge in the earlier games, while also having the other mentioned abilities. She doesn't offer the same power that someone like Cudge comes with but she's more useful to have around. I made this choice without hesitation, but runner ups for best Pixl are Barry and Cudge. Barry joins a tiny bit after Carrie (though he's optional so blind players can miss him), and just like Carrie, offers a quick and great way to remedy your mistakes on short notice and does so arguably better than Carrie, but Carrie has more applications to her ability. Cudge is another really good Pixl but not only does he join late, but he's got problems in some situations, especially when using Bowser, since your hammer can simply just stop in its tracks because a brick was just above you, that and he can't be used on an enemy who's in the air. So yeah, Carrie it is. Now if Dashell joined really early, he might have a spot somewhere, because who WOULDN'T want to clear these levels quickly but, Pit of 100 trials... yeah. Most players, by the time they get him, have little to do in the game anymore. He is good for the Piccolo sidequest but most likely the two challenges that remain after you get him are the Dark Pit and Sammer's Kingdom, in which running is not the best thing you can do. Sammer's Kingdom is a huge opportunity for Barry to shine btw. Anyway, Carrie best SPM girl.
So, your opinions on the matter, good sirs?
So yeah. The way I analyse a party member's usefulness is not how many puzzles they are useful for, instead, that differs from game to game. For 64 and TTYD, that means whoever you always keep out for the battles. It's nice when a partner accomplishes something on the field but most of the time puzzles like that are situational, and it's unfair to rate a partner above the other JUST because the devs put more of this obstacle. There are some field utilities that surpass the other tho, so we'll get to that. For SPM, that just means the Pixl you use the most, again, outside of situational field utility.
Anyway, for 64, I'd say the best partner is Parakarry without a doubt. A very versatile fighter and even if his field utility is situational, the same can be said about anyone else in this game, except maybe Lakilester but he imo joins too late to really make use of this niche. Parakarry attacks enemies in the air with ease and can do the same to those on the ground. Bow can also do that and her field utility is arguably somewhat better if you're looking to avoid conflict, in fact I heavily debated whether she or Parakarry deserved the spot more. The thing is, Bow has such a great earlygame, since she can easily smack enemies for 4 damage, at base level. She starts off disgusting but she starts seriously falling off later due to a lot of enemies having defense, and Smack deals 1 damage four times, and her only other effective offensive move is the last one, meaning you gotta wait to get it, and while it's a really good move that deals 10 damage if the enemy has no defense, well there's still an abundance of enemies who do. So overall, Parakarry performs better and is probably the most optimal partner to keep out in 64.
I haven't played TTYD yet (I will soon), so we'll move on to SPM. And do I have something to talk about here. I love Carrie so fucking much. The other Pixls are good too and I like how some have multiple applications for their utility, but Carrie just easily takes the cake for me. From the moment you get her, she's probably going to be your most frequently used partner in the whole game. Not only does she trivialize spikes, but she also lets you move quicker (and those who find this game a drag would value this over anything else), and she's not bad for offense. It's way easier to jump on a spike enemy using Carrie than to set up Boomer here and make him explode. She mitigates any erroneous mistakes you may make by quickly jumping on a spiky enemy, and essentially acts like the "Spike Shield" badge in the earlier games, while also having the other mentioned abilities. She doesn't offer the same power that someone like Cudge comes with but she's more useful to have around. I made this choice without hesitation, but runner ups for best Pixl are Barry and Cudge. Barry joins a tiny bit after Carrie (though he's optional so blind players can miss him), and just like Carrie, offers a quick and great way to remedy your mistakes on short notice and does so arguably better than Carrie, but Carrie has more applications to her ability. Cudge is another really good Pixl but not only does he join late, but he's got problems in some situations, especially when using Bowser, since your hammer can simply just stop in its tracks because a brick was just above you, that and he can't be used on an enemy who's in the air. So yeah, Carrie it is. Now if Dashell joined really early, he might have a spot somewhere, because who WOULDN'T want to clear these levels quickly but, Pit of 100 trials... yeah. Most players, by the time they get him, have little to do in the game anymore. He is good for the Piccolo sidequest but most likely the two challenges that remain after you get him are the Dark Pit and Sammer's Kingdom, in which running is not the best thing you can do. Sammer's Kingdom is a huge opportunity for Barry to shine btw. Anyway, Carrie best SPM girl.
So, your opinions on the matter, good sirs?
