Mario & Luigi Paper Jam (Come On And Slam)

I'm not sure how my December schedule is game wise so for now it's good that I know of one thing I'll get.

Though it's funny that when the release day was announced Australian people kicked up a stink (I find it weird) that we get it 4 days after you lot

I'm surprised Nintendo's still releasing it over where you are this year -- that's Yokai Watch, Xenoblade X and Paper Jam Bros. out within a week!!!

I'm not really excited for this. Just seeing the world map and general tasks makes it seem like Dream Team Bros 2, but with even less meaningful stuff to do. I'm sure what is there is decent, but I really fear that it'll spread itself too thinly again and feel unsatisfying to play through as a whole.

Can Alphadream please make something new, Nintendo?

Were not getting Yo-Kai till next year & vice-versa for the yanks who have to wait for Paper Jam.

Yeah and with that release schedule over here I have to wonder what the catch will be

Even though I haven't beaten dream team bros I am quite excited for this after seeing it again.

As up for this as I ever was. I'll be asking for it for that there end-of-year gift-giving festival that there is.

The trio moves look even better, the jump style's adorable, the plot is suitably ridiculous... I'm very up for this indeed!

I don't usually flag up pre-order bonuses unless they're particularly appealing, but I really like this one. You're not really missing out on anything if you don't pre-order, but it's a very nice touch.

TriPo, but I got this in my stocking and am hyped to start playing it! Anyone else got their hands on some brotherly papery goodness?

I have also got this and will be firing it up today. Looking forward to it!

First thoughts: it's more Mario & Luigi, but it feels much smoother than DTB (thank goodness). Some laugh-out-loud chuckles along the way. Why are desert levels always vaguely disappointing, though?

I will be spending some of my Christmas money on Jam. Until such time, merry adventuring!

Do it, Zero! In the meantime, I'll talk the game up as much as possible.

I want to be very cautious about talking this game up too much. I remember doing that to DTB, which I then turned very sour on due to its slow pace; and while the R-button fast-forwarding is awfully welcome, the pace still isn't rocketing along. And I wouldn't want to have to work through the generic desert bit again.

BUT. The pacing does seem better than DTB. There are none of the awful 2D bits. Paper Mario adds some new moves to the traditional roster. The paper/non-paper interactions are pretty special in places (there's a particular moment between Peaches recently that made me giggle). And the second boss was tough.

I'm enjoying this.

Going by his twitter lately fronkhead seems to be nearing the end of this & seems to be really really enjoying it.

Tell 'im to bloody well come on here and talk about it then!

Mind you, he also liked DTB quite a bit if I recall correctly. I didn't so much.

I think there was many things he wasn't a fan of in DTB.

Hello!

I am rather enjoying this, and I'm just at the final boss. I thought Dream Team Bros outstayed its welcome, wasn't very well put together (felt like 5 big, separate chunks that were each 8 hours long) and wasn't very funny. Luckily Paper Jam Bros. fixes these problems.

As Balladeer mentioned, the pacing is better this time round. To the point where I rarely use the fast forward button in cutscenes. I like how you move from location to location fairly quickly on this, and if you do have to hang around it's usually because of something that adds a little variety to the mix, like a cool minigame (I won't spoil any of those), or the Paper Toad missions.

It can feel safe at times, particularly in the first half, but even its most mundane moments usually have flashes of inspiration where you can tell Alphadream really enjoyed putting this one together.

Things I like, then:

-The pacing. Closest the series has been to recapturing Superstar Saga's sense of a worldly journey.
-Level design is fantastic. I rolled my eyes when I got to Doop Doop Dunes, but the actual make-up of that desert was a joy to play through.
-Nabbit. There's a belter of a sequence in the final dungeon featuring him, and it's another thing that made the generic feel fresh.
-Paper Mario and combat: The paper mechanic is probably my favourite thing about the battle system this time round.
-Bosses. Not a single stinker-- and every new boss introduces a really fun, surprising variant to play with. Don't want to spoil these, but there's a lot to look forward to.
-Mushroom Kingdom. It's not easy to make the bland NSMB universe seem exciting, but I think this game does a good job of it, particularly when you consider Alphadream didn't make any original characters this time round, and had to work with characters not made for an RPG.
-Script. Actually funny, unlike Dream Team. Up there with what we'd expect from the series.
-The visuals. As usual, stellar spritework, but combined with much better use of 3D environments than Dream Team Bros. managed.

Things I didn't like:

-Mushroom Kingdom. The level design is great, and does a good job at bringing the NSMB universe to life. But it's still the NSMB universe, and you'll tire of the backdrops easily, and you know what's coming the second you see the world map.
-Ambition, or rather lack of at times. Like Dream Team Bros. you do get the feeling that you're playing through distinctly planned segments of game -- there's always a Papercraft battle at the end of every area, and you know there's going to be a Toad Town when you reach the next location, etc. Luckily you do travel around the world in a more unexpected pattern, which helps keep things less repetitive.
-NPCs' treatment of Luigi. I didn't find this particularly funny. There's a scene with Starlow in it which I thought felt off the mark.

Overall I'd rank it in the middle of the five Mario and Luigi games, behind Superstar Saga and BiS, and ahead of PiT and DTB.

I've still got the final boss to go, but nearly everything before it has turned out to be a pleasant surprise. I'm ashamed that I was so cynical about it earlier. This is a game that knows what it wants to do, unlike Dream Team Bros., which came across as a bit of a misguided attempt to make an epic RPG from the series, which ended up falling short of Paper Mario: TTYD, and Alphadream's PiT.

...and he doth appear! Welcome back ! I thought Luigi's treatment was part of the general high script quality myself, at least thus far. Never like Starlow though, prissy little stellar git...

And I actually preferred PiT to BiS, I think. I disliked the 2D sections that much, and felt that the world in general was a bit soulless.

Not too far in to this, past the majority of the desert segment (I think) and I'm enjoying it so far. Battled with Mario, Luigi and Paper Mario have made it feel a lot more refreshing, I really like the differences they've implemented with PM as well as the paper enemies, the paper craft battle I've had so far is good fun too.

I do however feel like I've been flung straight in to it with very little in the way of interesting characters and dialogue although I'm assuming that'll change as the story progresses. Also not a fan of the paper toad hunts, certain ones feel a bit flawed, either that or I'm not realising what I'm doing wrong sometimes.

I don't know that there are many interesting new characters. The best moments so far have focussed around Luigi (natch), the Peaches, the Bowsers, and I'm hoping for some additional characterisation around some other characters who, interestingly, have shown up. The Kameks and Bowser Jrs. are less interesting. Wish they'd brought in some other characters from the two worlds (the Beanbean people, Grodus etc.).

I'm not as fussed about the Paper Toad segments as I sometimes feel I should be. They're all different enough from each other to keep my interest, more or less.

I am hoping for some more variety in the bosses, though.

I'm in Gloomy Woods: minor spoilers:

Spent ages looking for a save box to headbutt/punch, so I did... I would have been late for work if I hadn't spotted that the option to save was on the touch screen all along!

Not only does it seem like the typical charm is in place but it looks to be much kinder on the player, if you can save anywhere. I approve of this.

Hooray, another person playing this! And someone who needs to read the manual. Let us know how it goes, Zero - this is a quality game that merits more discussion than it's got.

I really like all the Mario enemies I'm coming up against.  Bosses are looking a bit more varied too now.  All great stuff.

Not much to discuss from my end. It's just more Mario and Luigi which is fun to play but not mindblowing or anything. I think I'm outside the final boss door so will probably finish it today.

Has anyone tried using Amiibo with this yet?

No. *shudder* I've only just got Paper Mario into the team - I will try it at some stage, though. I thought you were the amiibo King, smurfy?