Poll: Super Mario RPG vs. Paper Mario (gaming advice)

[remnant_phoenix]

I played the first Paper Mario not too long after it first came out and I liked it a lot.

Now, so many years later, I'm taking a crack at the SNES classic Super Mario RPG.

So far, well...it seems too similar to Paper Mario to be super interesting. The things that stand out as different are for the worse, such as how in Paper Mario the second-to-second gameplay, whether you're in battle or out of battle, moved along at a very brisk pace. SMRPG feels slow and clunky in comparison. I want to know if this game is still worth playing. I've Googled other threads on other sites but when people talk about this topic they don't really go into WHY they like one game over the other.

So, if you wouldn't mind enlightening me, what is it that you like about either (ideally both) game(s)? The writing, the humor, the characters? If you've played both, which one has better writing, better humor, and/or better characters?

 

[Samtemdo8_v1legacy]

The first 3 Paper Mario games has the best story and more vatiety.

Mario and Luigi Super Star Saga is the only good one.

Super Mario RPG has the best gameplay of the RPGs.

 

[WeepingAngels]

It would be more accurate to say that Paper Mario is too similar to Super Mario RPG as that was the first and Square deserves the credit you are giving Intelligent Systems. The best Mario RPG is The Thousand Year Door which is basically an improvement to Paper Mario 64. SMRPG is basically a Squaresoft game set in the Mushroom Kingdom. I don't know what else to say.

 

[Saelune]

I played and beat Paper Mario when it came out, which was a time when I rarely beat games, let alone RPGs, so that says something about the game. I never played Super Mario RPG, first cause I didn't play most SNES games having never owned one, but also the game looks...ugly. Paper Mario though has a great theme and still looks good today. I suppose its kind of ironic that SMRPG looks bad on a old system that most games still look good, while PM looks good still on a system that tends to not have aged well visually.

I also suppose I like that Paper Mario seems more steeped in a Mario world than RPG. Was cool seeing goombas, koopas, and boos in new ways. I may one day play RPG, due to my unending goal of playing every relevant game ever made, but its low on my list.

 

[Igor-Rowan]

I'll have to go with Super Mario RPG, the game was so memorable that all of the partners, villains and even NPCs stuck into my memory since then. The Mario & Luigi has the best humor and the best battle system and Paper Mario have the most compelling stories, but forgettable characters.

Super Mario RPG also had the most pefect balance of dark and light-hearted Mario stuff, with characters using guns (Geno), to heart warming story arcs like Mallow's parents. The 2.5D was pretty unique and is still playable.

Super Paper Mario is actually my favorite of them all mainly because of Luigi, but I hardly consider it an RPG, so Legend of Seven Stars it is

 

[WeepingAngels]

I played and beat Paper Mario when it came out, which was a time when I rarely beat games, let alone RPGs, so that says something about the game. I never played Super Mario RPG, first cause I didn't play most SNES games having never owned one, but also the game looks...ugly. Paper Mario though has a great theme and still looks good today. I suppose its kind of ironic that SMRPG looks bad on a old system that most games still look good, while PM looks good still on a system that tends to not have aged well visually.

I also suppose I like that Paper Mario seems more steeped in a Mario world than RPG. Was cool seeing goombas, koopas, and boos in new ways. I may one day play RPG, due to my unending goal of playing every relevant game ever made, but its low on my list.

I think they both look good but I think SMRPG looks better, it has this plastic toy look that I like.

 

[Saelune]

I played and beat Paper Mario when it came out, which was a time when I rarely beat games, let alone RPGs, so that says something about the game. I never played Super Mario RPG, first cause I didn't play most SNES games having never owned one, but also the game looks...ugly. Paper Mario though has a great theme and still looks good today. I suppose its kind of ironic that SMRPG looks bad on a old system that most games still look good, while PM looks good still on a system that tends to not have aged well visually.

I also suppose I like that Paper Mario seems more steeped in a Mario world than RPG. Was cool seeing goombas, koopas, and boos in new ways. I may one day play RPG, due to my unending goal of playing every relevant game ever made, but its low on my list.

I think they both look good but I think SMRPG looks better, it has this plastic toy look that I like.

It looks very muddy to me. In context of the time, its impressive, cause it looks like it could be an early N64 game, but well, early N64 games don't look so good now.

 

[remnant_phoenix]

It would be more accurate to say that Paper Mario is too similar to Super Mario RPG as that was the first and Square deserves the credit you are giving Intelligent Systems. The best Mario RPG is The Thousand Year Door which is basically an improvement to Paper Mario 64. SMRPG is basically a Squaresoft game set in the Mushroom Kingdom. I don't know what else to say.

In terms of credit, yes, Paper Mario is too similar to Super Mario RPG. In terms of my experience with the games, I currently feel the opposite way because I experienced Paper Mario first. I wish I had played SMRPG before Paper Mario; if I had, I wouldn't be having this problem.

 

[Glongpre]

Tried playing the others, and I couldn't get into it because I had already played the amazing Superstar Saga. Best mario rpg ever made. Just a step above everything.

 

[WhiteFangofWhoa]

Paper Mario for all of the above, especially TTYD. SMRPG was a bizarre blending of genres nobody saw coming, but looking back it definitely seems dated after the advances made in subsequent games.

However, the more traditionally turn-based mantle was passed back to Mario and Luigi during Super Paper Mario, and unless Colour Splash changes this formula I would consider Bowser's Inside Story and Dream Team to be superior to any Paper Mario after the first two.

 

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

I'm a huge fan of Super Mario RPG. It nailed classic RPG, while also being a fun mario story with some slightly darker elements here and there with the invading Smithy army.

Then again, I'm super partial to it because that was the game that made me become a MASSIVE bowser fan. It showed me that he wasn't a pure irredeemable villain, something that future mario RPGs have reinforced. The guy just wants some damn respect and keeps being treated like a chew toy.

It also had Geno, who is pretty darn cool.

The first two "real" Paper Mario RPGs are good too. The original is a nice fun lighthearted romp, and the second has so many creative little twists that I love it. The fun little things in the combat system or with the partners is great too.

...And yes, as you might expect, I love Bowser's Inside story as well. XD

 

[go-10]

you want me to choose between Legend of the Seven Stars, The Thousand Year Door, and Super Star Saga? What kind of monster are you?!

 

[william1657]

#1 - Super Mario RPG
#2 & #3 - Paper Mario/PM:TTYD
#4 - Super Paper Mario
#5-#X - Mario & Luigi
#X+1 - Sticker Star

I just didn't enjoy the M&L games that much. They were never that BAD (except the giant fights), but they weren't that good either.
...but everything I'd read about Sticker Star just made it sound terrible. I never actually played it.

 

[Fappy]

Super Mario RPG is my all-time favorite game, so my opinion is fairly biased. I liked Paper Mario, but never really got into it. The uniquely bizarre atmosphere and characters from the first Mario RPG are a lot more compelling to me than anything that's come after.

 

[MeatMachine]

Super Mario RPG is my all-time favorite game, so my opinion is fairly biased. I liked Paper Mario, but never really got into it. The uniquely bizarre atmosphere and characters from the first Mario RPG are a lot more compelling to me than anything that's come after.

This.

It's clear to me that Super Mario RPG was a SquareSoft RPG with a solid Nintendo theme, and managed to bring out the best of both worlds. Paper Mario games were mostly pretty cool, but they felt entirely Nintendo, rather than like a collaboration between two great companies.

Super Mario RPG has it's unique flaws compared to the rest, but it's unique identity truly sets it apart from the rest for me.

 

[Hero of Lime]

I adore the first two Paper Marios, TTYD being my favorite Mario RPG. Super Papaer Mario, despite some real flaws, is still great to me. Sticker Star...I'll just keep that 12 page rant to myself.

I'm just hoping that Color Splash is decent. I have my doubts, but they may take all the near universal criticism that Sticker Star received to heart. I hope anyway. Paper Mario as a series of games is like modern Sonic at the moment. They keep trying all these new things, but they just don't work as well as the older ones.

In general, I've really enjoyed the Mario and Luigi games, having played the first four so far. They never reached the amazing status of the first two Paper Mario games to me, but I like them.

I played and enjoyed Super Mario RPG too. But it didn't really get me going like Paper Mario did. Great game though.

 

[Brandon Lowdermilk]

I like paper mario more than super mario rpg