Back in the year 2000 (or 2001 if you weren’t in Japan), Nintendo released a quirky RPG Mario game for the Nintendo 64. Paper Mario told a very typical story of Bowser kidnapping Peach and Mario racing to her rescue, but with many twists. It was an RPG, so there were turn-based battles and lovable party members. There was self-aware humor and surprising heart in the script. Oh yeah, everything was also made out of paper.
The levels of Paper Mario and even Paper Mario himself could fold and flutter for both aesthetic and gameplay purposes. It was a charming and inventive series of games. Then it got too charming and inventive for its own good. That’s where Bug Fables comes in.
After the first two Paper Mario games scored some success, Nintendo decided to make more. Unfortunately, the developers decided to experiment rather than stick to the RPG style. The following games kept the series’ trademark humor, but changed genres or focused on things like the Wii U’s touchscreen to create gimmicky gameplay. Fans have long been asking for a proper RPG addition to the series, but Nintendo insists on being “innovative.”
When Bug Fables releases later this year (on Switch, PS4, and PC), it might just give Paper Mario fans what they’ve been asking for.
