If you could make a Paper Mario game, what would you put in it?

[THE END]

PLEASE. FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS FOR IDEAS, SO IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE IDEAS, DON'T COMMENT. WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, LET'S-A-GO!
Imagine you were in charge of a Paper Mario game. Now, as always, you would like to put all of your ideas in the game. If you could, what would they be?
Put them down in the comments.

 

[Blue]

PLEASE. FIRST OF ALL, THIS IS FOR IDEAS, SO IF YOU'RE NOT GOING TO GIVE IDEAS, DON'T COMMENT. WITH THAT OUT OF THE WAY, LET'S-A-GO!

Bup!
Well, I would make an adventure like game. With humor charm and proper partners. And unique characters. And I would put in a battle system more like Origami King. But yeah. Also better hints. And better money management for in game. But no EXP.

 

[THE END]

Bup!
Well, I would make an adventure like game. With humor charm and proper partners. And unique characters. And I would put in a battle system more like Origami King. But yeah. Also better hints. And better money management for in game. But no EXP.

Thanks! I think Origami King is better than Sticker Star and Color Splash.

 

[Ray Trace]

Paper Baby Luigi would be in it.

 

[THE END]

Paper Baby Luigi would be in it.

Ok

 

[THE END]

I would return Paper Mario to its roots. More about it tomorrow.

 

[Mcmadness]

If I made a Paper Mario game, I'd probably get yelled at.

 

[Mount Wario]

Make Bowser the antagonist and make him great again is what I'd do.

 

[Teedgee]

i would do several things, such as:

-making it look like color splash/origami king. those games look friggin gorgeous
-no backtracking. some of it would be ok, but making it a twilight trail/general white level of backtracking is a no no.
-exp. i would enjoy an rpg without exp, but i definitely think exp would give more reason to battle

and with that, there's also NEW things i could add:

-give mario more personality. i know origami king and color splash did that but he's still not expressive enough
-more status effects. sure, you have burn, dizzy, and also stone from the first paper mario, but more of those would give battles a lot more variety
-another playable character in their own small adventure (sure there's the peach intermissions in paper mario 1 and 2 but you just kinda walk around in those). maybe luigi or toad or yoshi

 

[MiracleDinner]

i think just having interesting story and original characters without completely losing the charm the first three games had is first and firemost what matters to me. i have ideas about gameplay as outlined in a post i made a while back,

Field gameplay which is basically like 3D Land/World but with some RPG elements mixed in (kind of like SPM but permanently in 3D and better executed). Battle system more or less what TTYD had but with a few tweaks e.g. I didn't really like the trash throwing thing, and Super guarding just got kind of boring as it didn't involve any strategy, it was just kind of practise but even with exceptional practise you'd almost inevitably fail sometimes. Look at impossible mode. I'd also like the option to turn the battle system off if you get me, since running around when you're doing stuff getting into a fight unintentionally can get a little frustrating. TTYD sort of had this with the Bump Strike (or whatever it was called) badge, but that only worked against enemies that were much weaker than you and was pretty hard to obtain in the first place. Obviously bosses would remain compulsory, but it'd be interesting to have a few which opt out of the turn based system. Brobot 1 in SPM was really creative in a way that TTYD's system couldn't replicate, sadly they just made it too easy.

but really, so long as i find the gameplay ok at least, it doesn't matter what direction they take with it. i haven't played sticker star, colour splash, or the origami king so i can't say for those, but i've any%ed all of the first three and i really liked the gameplay of ttyd and spm, as for pm64 i liked it considerably less but still definitely more than just tolerable.

artstyle - ideally just a modernisation of ttyd artstyle but colour splash / origami king is also fine, i admittedly am not a fan of how the last three games are so obsessed with the paper concept tho

 

[Chair]

It would probably be normal, and by normal I mean:
-Not any any unique character designs (Idk why everyone wants unique designs like for example what's the problem with toad designs they just look f***ing normal)
-Just a normal adventure, you know, just some extra gimmicks, and not over complicated story, just a normal one.
-And well of course, it would feature our boi, Mario, and his partners would have good character development (and you know by character development I don't mean they just visit their house somewhere in the game)
And really, that's about it.

 

[MiracleDinner]

Idk why everyone wants unique designs like for example what's the problem with toad designs they just look f***ing normal

well i think they are great because i think it's interesting to bring new species to the franchise to give the game a distinct feel and make it stand out from other mario games. make it feel like its own thing and not just a repetition of the same mario world over and over. as long as they can have at least a little bit of marioiness in there and keep the special feel the first three games had

 

[Goombuigi]

- Luigi should have a bigger role, like in Super Paper Mario
- partners should have a larger role and be controlled by the player in battle, and EXP should be included in some form
- larger variety of characters, including enemy species, such as Goombas or Shy Guys, be NPCs, and have Yoshis in the game
- supporting characters should have some character development

 

[THE END]

So basically my version is:
-A good story (not simple, not complex) which includes backstory of some characters (ttyd style). I think SPM's story is too complex, at least it had a good story.
-Partners. I would definitely include partners, maybe one for each Chapter or Zone. I would also include more than 8 Chapters/Zones.
-Battle System. I would include the TTYD battle system with some tweaks. First, FP would be gone. I think it just gets in the way when battling. Second, you would choose an order (1, 2, 3) before attacking. That would add some strategy to the battle. Maybe Mario should attack first, then the partner, and finally Peach or Luigi, or first the Partner, then Peach/Luigi, and finally Mario.
-Original Characters. Im really tired of seeing Toad's face. Have you ever wondered how a Tanooki looks like in the Mario Universe, because we've seen Mario transforming into Tanooki but never seen a real Tanooki. Maybe the Hayven People, or a Rebel Lakitu. Those would be there.
-Original Places. We all know Moo Moo Meadows, Cheep Cheep Lagoon, and many others. But how about some original locations? Van'oa Desert, The Hayvens, Area 64, Fumpyl's Fields, Komie-Lummy Beach, The Golden Sea, Mount Neverest, Pix Woods, Mountey Mines, Temple Gyna, and many other locations would be great!
-A new antagonist. This is obvious, as Bowser has been the antagonist in 3 Paper Mario games. I'm not saying Bowser is bad as an antagonist, but a new face is really needed.
-Finally, more character depth, principally for Mario. I think characters need more personality and that doesn't exclude Mario. I would actually make him talk.
That's all. Maybe, someday, a fan game with these ideas would be released (Maybe).

 

[LeftyGreenMario]

Honestly if you guys really want to get hands dirty on a story or characters, it's probably a good idea to try to flesh out Mario, make him more responsive. It doesn't do his partners any favors if they can't strike a decent conversation with him. The partners just come off as commenting on what they're seeing but think about the dialogue potential if Mario offered a discussion rather than awkardly staring at characters. That being said, Mario's just not a good place for character or story honestly, though I can see more emphasis on funny dialogue.

Anyway my Paper Mario would probably include the likes of Wario, Daisy, Donkey Kong, Waluigi, Rosalina, etc all the playable spinoff characters. I'm not sure what kind of coherent world can tie these characters for. I'm sure there are funny scenarios that write themselves and involve these characters. I also like to see familiar locations. I mean, they created Neo Bowser Castle in a Mario & Luigi game, why make it completely different from Neo Bowser City in Mario Kart 7.

They do have to be choosy with what they include as long as it fits with the overall theme. It's not a good idea to just pile reference upon reference to previous games. That starts to get fanficky. Dream Team, for instance, just slapped Kylie Koopa and Popple in there, and they added so little it comes off as a cheap "remember me?" It could've easily went out of hand in Paper Jam, but they opted for just established Mario characters.

 

[Mcmadness]

-A new antagonist. This is obvious, as Bowser has been the antagonist in 3 Paper Mario games. I'm not saying Bowser is bad as an antagonist, but a new face is really needed.

I would point out we just got one of those.

 

[Ray Trace]

Make Wario a Mario antagonist again, that would be fresh. I mean, introducing a new villain is something literally every other Mario RPG does, people think it's fresh when it's one of the most vanilla things you can do in a Mario RPG.

 

[Vivian]

VS. Multiplayer.

 

[Sven Svennson.]

Make Wario a Mario antagonist again, that would be fresh. I mean, introducing a new villain is something literally every other Mario RPG does, people think it's fresh when it's one of the most vanilla things you can do in a Mario RPG.

Vanilla? Yes!

Bad at default? No!

But, yeah. A Mario antagonist being an old character would be very nice.

 

[Fawfulthegreat64]

How did I not post in here before

First and foremost, I'd tell the IP rules to just fuck off. Not like that of course, but I'd push as strongly as humanly possible to give the series the greenlight to be as creatively free as it was in the first three games, mainly in terms of characters & scenarios. For the gameplay, I'd build off TTYD's system instead of ignoring the fanbase begging for that a fourth time. I'd take real notes of criticisms from past games and I wouldn't try to justify brushing them off. The story would feature an original villain and have nothing to do with paper. The art style would basically be a crisper, modern take on TTYD's style. Nothing would resemble a handcrafted exhibit in real life, but rather a cartoony pop-up world that's very alive. Fanservice would be directed primarily to the previous Paper Mario games, like in TTYD and SPM, as opposed to mostly main-series references as in the modern games. But also I'd have nods to Super Mario RPG and the M&L games where possible, like how TTYD dabbled in Superstar Saga references a bit.

But most importantly the first point is my biggest concern. I firmly believe that the restrictions do nothing but harm to the series, and were a massive over-reaction to SPM being a bit more stylistically original and bold than the others (which in my opinion worked in the game's favor so I wouldn't have made changes in direct response to it anyway).

 

[Ray Trace]

Vanilla? Yes!

Bad at default? No!

But, yeah. A Mario antagonist being an old character would be very nice.

Most of the introduced villains tend to be either bland (Sir Grodus, Smithy, Antasma) or obnoxious (Count Bleck, Dimentio, Fawful to an extent), with the only villains I like are Shroobs and Cackletta. In my personal opinion, that is not a strong track record by default. I still stand by my point that making Wario a main antagonist for Mario would be fresher than introducing another new villain to either Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi. Hell, I'd be up for even making King K. Rool or Captain Syrup the main antagonist for a Paper Mario game, Mario crossing over with either Wario or DK worlds, world-building with their characters is something that hasn't been done before (or you can just straight up make a new RPG series starring Wario and DK and I'd welcome that as well but for this topic's sake let's keep it Mario).

 

[Waluigi Time]

Most of the introduced villains tend to be either bland (Sir Grodus, Smithy, Antasma) or obnoxious (Count Bleck, Dimentio, Fawful to an extent), with the only villains I like are Shroobs and Cackletta. In my personal opinion, that is not a strong track record by default. I still stand by my point that making Wario a main antagonist for Mario would be fresher than introducing another new villain to either Paper Mario or Mario & Luigi. Hell, I'd be up for even making King K. Rool or Captain Syrup the main antagonist for a Paper Mario game, Mario crossing over with either Wario or DK worlds, world-building with their characters is something that hasn't been done before (or you can just straight up make a new RPG series starring Wario and DK and I'd welcome that as well but for this topic's sake let's keep it Mario).

I disagree that just because it hasn't always been done well it shouldn't be tried at all, (and I'll fight you on SPM) but yeah, it would be cool to use already existing Mario villains that aren't Bowser for once. Give Wario time in the villain spotlight again, or bring back someone like Wart or Tatanga. Unfortunately there's not a whole lot to pick from since outside of the RPGs Nintendo is usually allergic to making main villains that aren't Bowser (or at least good ones, evil tennis racket anyone?).

This is really a big part of my issue with how the Mario RPGs as a whole have been watered down to "protect the brand". Okay, fine, you don't want new off the wall stuff, that's fine. Then where's Wario and Waluigi? Daisy? Rosalina? Heck, the Kongs? Enemies that aren't the most standard, same old same old you could dig up? Why didn't a single Odyssey creation show up in Origami King? Even Toadette and Toadsworth, who would be on brand, haven't been seen in Paper Mario since TTYD when the creative juices were still allowed to flow. What about previous RPG creations, are those off the table or are they allowed since they already exist? There's so much more that could be done while still sticking to what the franchise already has to offer, but they just don't and we're stuck with a sea of Toads. Birdo is probably the only deep dive they've done.

 

[Ray Trace]

Unfortunately there's not a whole lot to pick from since outside of the RPGs Nintendo is usually allergic to making main villains that aren't Bowser (or at least good ones, evil tennis racket anyone?).

The rest of your post, yeah, agree to disagree on how I approach the creation of Mario villains, but this statement is a bit bizarre, since the reason most other nonRPG games don't get villains are like, the sports and party titles which when contexualized, aren't story heavy games? And honestly, for Mario Party? Bowser is amazing as a villain there, he's always perfectly suited for the job, because he has entertaining dialogue and has this hamminess and sadism only he could pull off. Only he can be petty to ruin the Mario Partiers vacation because they didn't invite him along.

Perhaps, new RPG villains can shake up storytelling a bit with their different personalities, if they are executed well. Fair enough. I liked the Shroobs and the alien invasion. However, I don't see what new villains would bring to the table in Mario platformers. Those titles have always been more gameplay focused than they are in narrative and I think it's pointless to conceptualize a new villain when first and foremost, they want to make a gameplay fun rather than who is behind the razorthin plot Mario platformers have anyway. From a dev point of view, it's wasted energy that could have gone to more practical purposes such as enemy variety and design, level design, and whatnot, especially since a new villain or a new narrative isn't what people play Mario platformers for.

 

[Waluigi Time]

The rest of your post, yeah, agree to disagree on how I approach the creation of Mario villains, but this statement is a bit bizarre, since the reason most other nonRPG games don't get villains are like, the sports and party titles which when contexualized, aren't story heavy games? And honestly, for Mario Party? Bowser is amazing as a villain there, he's always perfectly suited for the job, because he has entertaining dialogue and has this hamminess and sadism only he could pull off. Only he can be petty to ruin the Mario Partiers vacation because they didn't invite him along.

Perhaps, new RPG villains can shake up storytelling a bit with their different personalities, if they are executed well. Fair enough. I liked the Shroobs and the alien invasion. However, I don't see what new villains would bring to the table in Mario platformers. Those titles have always been more gameplay focused than they are in narrative and I think it's pointless to conceptualize a new villain when first and foremost, they want to make a gameplay fun rather than who is behind the razorthin plot Mario platformers have anyway. From a dev point of view, it's wasted energy that could have gone to more practical purposes such as enemy variety and design, level design, and whatnot, especially since a new villain or a new narrative isn't what people play Mario platformers for.

In hindsight, yeah, not much room for villains outside of platformers and RPGs, although the fact that a Mario Tennis game of all things got a villain shows they're willing to go beyond that on occasion. And you're right, a new villain in the main platformers probably wouldn't be all that interesting if the plots don't get any deeper, which while I would like them to, I don't see that happening anytime soon. Bowser is perfect for being the villain of Mario Party though, but now that he's playable they may have to reconsider that, I'm not sure if Kamek really has the "oomph" to take over that role.

 

[Koops]

I'd make it a good game

If we're being serious tho to really answer this you'd need to look into all games because somewhere, each of them has done something right. Yes, each and every single one has something going for them. Of course if we do this the end product would look most like Paper Mario 1, since I feel that's the one that has the single best consistent quality between battle system and exploration. exploration is also something the recent games + spm have actually done well (although it's inherent with spm because you have an ability that only kinda you know, changes how the fucking world looks) so you could take a page from that.

The single most important thing tho. Bring back the spin dash! I know you got it in your basement IS, you cowards. Put it back smh.