Presented Without Commentary: Someone's Rendition Of Sonic Unleashed

Presented Without Commentary: Someone's Rendition of Sonic Unleashed

If I promise "special" questions, will you be more active on your blog?

If that's what you've been looking for, I can't help that QUITE as much as I would hope to. I do have a constant barrage of schoolwork that I need to get done, and that sorta gets in the way of me doing anything else (including keeping up my blog here). I try to update when I find something interesting and have time to share it. For example, I already have something I want to post sometime today, but when I'll post it is beyond me. I'm currently supposed to be doing school right now anyway.In short, I'll post when I can - special questions or not.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star

Oh, that's right, I have a blog now. I've been too busy playing the new Paper Mario to remember!

Speaking of which, Paper Mario: Sticker Star is a fun game, but I don't think it's quite a Paper Mario game. I've played through and enjoyed all three of the other games at least twice each (10 times for TTYD); I think I'm qualified as an expert in this field. So when I say that it's not much of a Paper Mario game, that means something is wrong.

Let me be clear: In its own right, PM:SS is outstanding. The battle system works quite well (even if there's no incentive to battle at all), the levels are expertly designed (help where's that darn fish hook), and the music is catchy (why don't we jazz everything). There are thought-provoking puzzles, there are clever boss battles, and there are little things thrown in everywhere that make me smile. The paper art style works well with the 3D effect. It's Mario with RPG gameplay and papery stuff, and that makes it a Paper Mario game.

But I played Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door first. You could say I'm spoiled. When I think of a Paper Mario game, I think of badges and partners and Flower Points and the audience. None of those are here. The levels are the generic NSMB tropes missing the flair of the interesting TTYD designs. The plot is an aside, replaced exclusively by the subplot and NPCs, who do a good job, but don't quite capture the feel of what I'm used too. It's not a Paper Mario game.

Again, and let me make this very clear: It's a Paper Mario game, not a Paper Mario game.

That doesn't disappoint me. PM:SS pleases me in other ways. I like Mario games; maybe that's why I enjoyed Super Paper Mario. That and the story, anyway. Since I'm looking at a Paper Mario game, of course I'd enjoy it. But in this case, there's always that piece of me thinking "this could be better."

Or maybe it's just Super Mario RPG.

I give it an 8/10. TTYD still holds my lone 10/10.

Words. Where did my words go.

I'll let the music speak for itself.

I felt like sharing this for whatever reason. (Isn't that how Tumblr works, anyway?)