i remember having so many fights with a friend in school about this game. they never played paper mario before, meanwhile i had, and seeing this game fall so hard from grace just sucked. it hurt so bad.
nobody stood out anymore, you had no partners, bowser didn't SPEAK... it was just sad. it was an alright game by itself, but the fact it's attached to PAPER MARIO of all things makes it just depressing. it's even worse when you look at its development history and learn you would've had partners and etc, but was changed because it was "too similar to TTYD."
this game makes me sad

i see why many love this game, and i recognize its historical value. i love how the game controls, for the most part, too. the levels are also pretty memorable and the music is excellent, though i will admit, this game doesn't stick to me very much.
perhaps i was born two years too late to be unable to really really appreciate this, but i'm not sure. i get levels confused a lot due to tracks being reused and theming being very similar occasionally. there are points where i'm not sure how i'm supposed to go about completing a task, too. overall, it's fun, but that fun doesn't last too long by myself. it's a completely different story playing hacks of the game, though. the things people do with this thing is insane, and i love the love people put into this game. in fact, the way i enjoy this game most is through a multiplayer modification. i get the most fun experience through it, working together to get stars or even competing against my friends.

other than that it's alright, i like it

very silly and fun! i love all of the endings, and it's always so fun to explore and go through them all. the narrator and stanley are a very silly pair and i love seeing them clash, get along, or just exist together in the same plane. unfortunately though, there's only so many endings i can go through before i realize, "well, what now?" i love the game, but it feels like there's not much to work with.
i will say though, the humor is very up my alley. it's unabashedly silly. i love the broom closet ending, it's my favorite.

i refused to play another modern paper mario game until things improved in the character department since sticker star. i had a few friends talk about how the series was finally good again, and i reluctantly gave it a try. i wasn't happy with color splash's over reliance on meta-humor and whatnot, so i was hoping maybe this time would be different. it was, just not in the way i was expecting.

a problem i have with modern paper mario is the lack of diversity. specifically, most characters don't stick out to me. not a single townie or "partner" npc really sticks in my brain the way 64, TTYD and SPM did. when i think of those three games, i think about the various characters you'll find in towns, some even reoccurring! TTYD has the traveling toad sisters and the rich bob-omb family, SPM just has a very memorable cast in general with very strong theming. unfortunately, i barely remember anything from anywhere from origami king. i want to, but, i don't. that being said, i do appreciate the step-up in theming. the desert town was nice, and i wish they pushed it further in terms of design, but that's all i got. that's honestly all i remember in terms of towns, too, actually. whoops.

i knew it was an issue in modern paper mario games, where you can avoid battles with NO consequence, and i was tricked into thinking it wasn't like that anymore. turns out, nah, it still is, and it's unfortunate. i skipped battles and suffered nothing from it. i want to be able to play the game and not feel like it's pointless, you know?

the story's alright. i only found myself invested at the VERY last chapter. everything else felt... really lukewarm. i remember almost NOTHING before the major turning point at the last second. it's unfortunate.

overall just... could be better, if they weren't holding themselves back.

god, i love this game. it has its issues, like others, but for some its issues might make themselves known more than usual.

it takes everything the previous game did and does it again, but with nothing holding it back. you love really dramatic, tense stories with emotional depth? this has the most compelling story in a paper mario game. you want silly funnies? this game's got that too! although, a bit less, since the focus is more on the story this time around.
the gameplay isn't the same as the previous iteration, which is unfortunate but understandable when you realize this was being developed on the gamecube, right after TTYD was completed. i can forgive it for adapting into a platformer with rpg-ish mechanics. it's still engaging and i still find it fun to navigate most of the time!
unfortunately though, there are some very big lows for this game. there are some parts of the game intended to be fun or silly, but just comes off as annoying instead. i was able to write them off easily, but it stuck with some and i can understand why. those moments are. something.
otherwise though, god. this game is tragic. i love it. i hold it close to my heart

this is THE paper mario of all time. nothing will top this and there will never be a paper mario like this one ever again.

this series is silly, serious, and super fun. this is one of the only RPGs i found myself being able to see through until the end. the whole time, i find myself preforming stylish commands and plowing my way through battles. i even look for them intentionally, which, after playing modern paper mario games after super, feels foreign to me.
everyone calls this game dark, and it's not an unearned title. the hub town has a noose in it. but it's also incredibly silly! there are a few fourth wall breaks, but they're so short and silly that they stick with me in a positive manner. i never feel pulled out of the world it presents me, because everything feels so grounded. i'm not reminded constantly that this world isn't real, or that there are no severe consequences because "its paper," no-- i'm instead given characters with depth, with families, with lives.
i could go on and on about what i love about this game, but i'll keep it short (besides, all of those details are on my site)-- this game defined a huge part of me and i can't thank it enough for that.

i played this game a lot as a kid. my first experience was renting it constantly from my local blockbuster knockoff, and i'm so glad i eventually got my mom to just buy it instead. i would not be the same without it.

i have sunken hundreds of hours into this game as a kid, and even as an adult i found myself doing the same. the characters are the most dimensional they've been in the series, and they're all so lovable. i really feel myself rooting for me and my partner. funnily enough, as an adult i found myself being a bit annoyed by them at first, but as they grew as a person, i found myself loving them and wanting to stay by their side no matter what. it made certain parts of the story really hurt (in the good way).
i never beat post-game until i was an adult, and i wish i had beaten it sooner. this game is just the gift that keeps on giving. there will never be another PMD like this.

i've never played a wario land game, but i saw my friends playing it and talking about it, so i gave it a shot. there are no regrets.
the controls took some getting used to, but good lord, i love how it feels. as many said, it feels like a 90s cartoon brought into a video game. it's unabashedly silly, too-- no over-the-top story, no Top 10 Moments That Will Make You Cry... there's hidden lore, but that's not really the focus of the game. the game wants you to go fast and have fun.

also, as an animator, i love the animations for this. they're so smooth, expressive, sometimes even snappy-- and i am so glad it's drawn the way it is