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[64bitmodels]

I've been playing a lot of Paper Mario 64 lately and i adore this game, it's charming as hell from its visuals to its gameplay, chracters, environments and scenarios.
People seem to REALLY love Mario RPG and i frankly could never get into it, it felt clunker and slower than Paper Mario 64 gameplay wise, didn't have as much charm, and it didn't have the badge system, as well as the complete lack of 3d environments which was a major blow as those were honestly the best part about Paper Mario's visuals- the environments werent just top down like a lot of RPGs, they were fully 3d with actual platforming, puzzles, and enemies to fight rather than random encounters. It's been a hot minute since i played SMRPG though and opinions can change. TTYD is regarded to be the apex of the Paper Mario franchise (I played it and it's basically just Paper Mario 64 but improved in every single way, i love it even more) so despite me liking PM64 a lot, TTYD is the choice in this poll. Go wild.

 

[NotMyProblemAnymoreCunt]

Super Mario RPG

Not this Paper Mario shit

 

[Sleepwalker]

TTYD and its not even close

 

[Knightime_X]

Definitely Paper Mario 1 and 2 (ttyd)

 

[StateofMajora]

If you say rpg, you're nostalgia tripping.

TTYD is the best game mechanically but, paper Mario 64 is the best. It's just incomparably charming.

 

[64bitmodels]

If you say rpg, you're nostalgia tripping.

TTYD is the best game mechanically but, paper Mario 64 is the best. It's just incomparably charming.

TTYD can't replicate the charm 64 has, but i feel it replaces it with a wittier, more dark, edgy humor that fits in more with the time it released in. Paper Mario 64 induces nostalgia and makes me go "awww" while TTYD genuinely makes me laugh at points. I'd say the latter approach is better
Also, TTYD overall has this more grander, not necessarily cinematic but more adventrous feel. the soundtrack especially helps with this as it basically goes from simple, sampled cute mario tunes to full on orchestral compositions (which is due in a large part to the GCN just being a more powerful system than the n64) You feel more like you're actually on an adventure with Mario TTYD whereas PM64 feels like a pop up childrens book (which isn't a bad thing, that's literally what the entire game is meant to be aesthetically)

 

[jaysius]

I wish Nintendo would stop treating Paper Mario like some rejected lab rat that they don't care about what happens to.

The last 3 Paper Marios(3DS,WiiU, Switch) have been pure shit, the latest one is a slight return to okishness.

Why the fuck can't they just make another one like the Wii one or a TTYD sequel?

 

[TexMex]

Mario RPG was great. Especially at the time.

But TTYD is a fundamentally better game on nearly every level. A true 10/10.

 

[TexMex]

I wish Nintendo would stop treating Paper Mario like some rejected lab rat that they don't care about what happens to.

The last 3 Paper Marios(3DS,WiiU, Switch) have been pure shit, the latest one is a slight return to okishness.

Why the fuck can't they just make another one like the Wii one or a TTYD sequel?

Agree on WiiU and 3DS. Origami King was a huge letdown but I won’t say it’s pure shit. The visuals, music and presentation are incredible. But man, that battle system coupled with the lack of XP really, really hurt.

 

[StateofMajora]

TTYD can't replicate the charm 64 has, but i feel it replaces it with a wittier, more dark, edgy humor that fits in more with the time it released in. Paper Mario 64 induces nostalgia and makes me go "awww" while TTYD genuinely makes me laugh at points. I'd say the latter approach is better
Also, TTYD overall has this more grander, not necessarily cinematic but more adventrous feel. the soundtrack especially helps with this as it basically goes from simple, sampled cute mario tunes to full on orchestral compositions (which is due in a large part to the GCN just being a more powerful system than the n64) You feel more like you're actually on an adventure with Mario TTYD whereas PM64 feels like a pop up childrens book (which isn't a bad thing, that's literally what the entire game is meant to be aesthetically)

I wouldn't say ttyd is wittier. The original made me laugh just as much, as well.

I put way too much thought into this over the years, lol..

Not only would I say the original is the best, I put money where my mouth is because I've played the og at least twice as many times.

It's one of those, the whole is more than the sum of its parts. Because looking at each part objectively, yeah ttyd is best, but overall it just doesn't feel as good.

 

[SegaShack]

Super Mario RPG. Love the music, characters, and art style. It's a perfect RPG for me. Paper Mario tries too hard to be funny. I really liked Thousand Year Door but Mario RPG is top tier.

 

[64bitmodels]

I put money where my mouth is because I've played the og at least twice as many times.

i beat PM64 in like 2019 or so while i still haven't beaten TTYD (i actually got pretty close on the wii u, but then i stopped playing. I still have that savefile on the SD card though)
really comes down to the fact i take a long time to beat games and now i just randomly decided to replay PM64 instead of replaying TTYD and getting that off my bucket list.
from what ive played of TTYD though everything just clicks better. the battle system is more elaborate, the visuals look better (though honestly not by THAT much) and the music is much, much better. i can actually take it more seriously as a game and enjoy it for what it is, while one 1/5 of my enjoyment from PM64 is driven by pure nostalgia (i played PM64 first and never even touched TTYD until last year so that might explain it) Both i honestly feel are perfection but if PM64 is perfection than TTYD broke the barrier.

 

[StateofMajora]

i beat PM64 in like 2019 or so while i still haven't beaten TTYD

Bruh.

At least let the honeymoon pass before deciding, lol. Heck you haven't even got through the wedding.

But yeah, the battle system is inarguably better in the sequel.

Visuals, definitely not, 64 looks very unique and not so pristinely, computerized I guess for a lack of a better term. That said, ttyd is still very appealing.

The soundtrack, I have to disagree as well, ttyd does sound more exciting but my favorite tracks are in the og.

Anyway, when I think about playing something comforting, 9 times out of 10 I'd choose 64. I hate saying it's nostalgia (it partially is, of course) because that makes it seem like I'm not judging them both by their merits, but I never have to convince myself something is a classic, it just hits me as such.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of ttyd.

 

[Nautilus]

Super Mario RPG. And it's not even close.

 

[PhaseJump]

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling and it's not even close.

 

[AV]

Side question: when the hell is SMRPG getting added to Switch Online? Getting bored of waiting, might just play elsewhere. Wanna do that before I touch the Paper series.

 

[TransTrender]

Super Mario RPG and it's not even close.
Paper Mario?

 

[ckaneo]

64

 

[kanjobazooie]

Paper Mario 64 > Super Paper Mario > TTYD >>>>> Mario RPG

 

[BlackTron]

Side question: when the hell is SMRPG getting added to Switch Online? Getting bored of waiting, might just play elsewhere. Wanna do that before I touch the Paper series.

Massive holes like this are why I gave up trying to do everything Nintendo's way, it's impossible. This is a top SNES game for me, really THE most useful one to have on Switch, and it's not there. Even though I pay for their stupid service.

But to answer OP's question, early Paper Mario games are pretty cool. Whether you like N64 or GC better is a toss-up. I get the nostalgia and charm of the original, compared to bigger scope of TTYD. But when Paper Mario came out I thought it was pure garbage compared to Mario RPG which is up there as one of my favorite titles OF ALL TIME. I still think so. Paper Mario is just a good game. Mario RPG stands with Ocarina of Time, Melee, Starcraft, Halo 1 as one of the most indispensable titles ever. I don't consider it to have ever really gotten a sequel, Paper Mario is something else entirely. To be fair, I never really got into the GBA or DS Mario RPGs yet, maybe I should try, but the mere idea of "Mario & Luigi" isn't that impressive compared to the OG where your party gets characters like Bowser and Geno.

It's the perfect example of why I want a Switch, a classic Nintendo RPG that I could now have on a handheld or dock, except 5 years in and it's still not there, this is why I'll have to eventually hack a Switch (or buy a different hardware). And yes I own an original copy of the game in the box and the SNES classic, Nintendo are just failures at everything.

 

[MagnesD3]

Paper Mario 64

 

[64bitmodels]

Massive holes like this are why I gave up trying to do everything Nintendo's way, it's impossible. This is a top SNES game for me, really THE most useful one to have on Switch, and it's not there. Even though I pay for their stupid service.

But to answer OP's question, early Paper Mario games are pretty cool. Whether you like N64 or GC better is a toss-up. I get the nostalgia and charm of the original, compared to bigger scope of TTYD. But when Paper Mario came out I thought it was pure garbage compared to Mario RPG which is up there as one of my favorite titles OF ALL TIME. I still think so. Paper Mario is just a good game. Mario RPG stands with Ocarina of Time, Melee, Starcraft, Halo 1 as one of the most indispensable titles ever. I don't consider it to have ever really gotten a sequel, Paper Mario is something else entirely. To be fair, I never really got into the GBA or DS Mario RPGs yet, maybe I should try, but the mere idea of "Mario & Luigi" isn't that impressive compared to the OG where your party gets characters like Bowser and Geno.

It's the perfect example of why I want a Switch, a classic Nintendo RPG that I could now have on a handheld or dock, except 5 years in and it's still not there, this is why I'll have to eventually hack a Switch (or buy a different hardware). And yes I own an original copy of the game in the box and the SNES classic, Nintendo are just failures at everything.

it's a SNES game, you could get it working on your phone, even if its not the most ideal. if push comes to shove you could get one of the very numerous retro gaming handheld out there designed to play games JUST LIKE mario RPG

I always thought there were far better SNES RPGs than Mario RPG- Final Fantasy 5, 6, and earthbound come to mind (that last one is a bit special to me since it inspired a lot of my favorite modern indie RPGs- you know the ones)
I don't really go in wanting to hate it, but the battle system is so barebones and i absolutely hate the isometric perspective. The visuals are well made and i think the story could be interesting, but it just feels like Final Fantasy with a Mario skin while Paper Mario is an actual true MARIO rpg, hence the reuse of well known enemies, characters, locations etc (which is ironic considering the names of both)
and it does all of this while STILL having a more creative aesthetic, better gameplay, actual 3d environments, superior platforming, and in the case of Super Paper Mario, far far far better writing (i will die on the hill that Super Paper Mario has the best story of any Mario game to date.)

as for Mario & Luigi... It's way less lame than you think it is. It's batshit insane. Trust me, you'll like it. There's less depth to be found than in Paper Mario but it does have the most creative and action-packed battle system of all the games you mentioned

 

[Ezquimacore]

Paper Mario, super Mario rpg is great but paper mario ttyd is better.

 

[brian0057]

Yes.

 

[Umbasaborne]

I really wish nintendo would go back to making mario rpgs again, shame traditional paper mario, and “mario and luigi” had to die. Rabbids games are fine, but not a replacemenr

 

[DGrayson]

Tangent: Wii U Paper Mario Color Splash isnt bad. Its not great but its a fun game. I played it with my son when he was 5-6 years old so maybe that helped.

 

[fart town usa]

Super Mario RPG. Love the music, characters, and art style. It's a perfect RPG for me. Paper Mario tries too hard to be funny. I really liked Thousand Year Door but Mario RPG is top tier.

Same.

TTYD is fine, but I prefer RPG. I like how straightforward it is, the music, art style, etc.

 

[xandaca]

Very different games. Personally I adore SMRPG, though that might be because it was the first RPG I played. The visuals have a diorama style which I find quite appealing - though this is apparently contentious - and the dialogue is often quite amusing and wry, setting the tone, albeit in a more subtle way, for Paper Mario games to come. TTYD has a lot going for it and is mechanically the best in the series - the additions to the combat over the original Paper Mario are superb - but the backtracking can get ridiculous and it retreads a lot of ground from Paper Mario. The increase in maximum badge points also makes the game far less tactical as you can equip every move you want, whereas in PM the limitation means you have to be far more selective. All three are very engaging and entertaining games, though only SMRPG has Bowser devising a haiku .

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Tangent: Wii U Paper Mario Color Splash isnt bad. Its not great but its a fun game. I played it with my son when he was 5-6 years old so maybe that helped.

Yeah, the issue with modern Paper Mario isn’t that they’re bad games. It’s just that it’s such a shame to see the series go from being a great, reliable RPG series to whatever the heck it is now. This odd, unreliable, meandering, genre-less series that has no idea what it is.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

Paper Mario, in general. SMRPG didn’t impress me, and I have a long-running feud with isometric platformers ever since Solstice. TTYD is the only Paper Mario I haven’t played, but judging by the others, I have no doubt in its quality.

Boo @ the people shitting on the later Paper Marios. If you didn’t like Color Splash you have bad taste, period. And no, the lack of Exp doesn’t make a RPG bad.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Paper Mario, super Mario rpg is great but paper mario ttyd is better.

Agreed. Gameplay systems-wise, TTYD is the pinnacle of Mario RPGs. We can all find specific things about it that may not be as great as things in other Mario RPGs, but overall I’d argue it’s really hard to make a case for how it’s not the best, most solid overall Mario RPG.

 

[Captain Toad]

I replayed RPG a couple years ago and it was nowhere as good as I had remembered.

Then, I played TTYD for the first time and it held up great despite me having no nostalgia for it.

So, I guess TTYD.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

I replayed RPG a purple years ago and it was nowhere as good as I had remembered.

Then, I played TTYD for the first time and it held up great despite me having no nostalgia for it.

So, I guess TTYD.

It’s a remarkably good game, and a solid RPG. Just everything that made the first one great, but bigger and better in every way, and lots of post-game content. I still remember getting to the end and finding out the game actually let you save after the credits and continue the game with the main story finished. And then there’s all this other stuff you can do. So cool.

 

[64bitmodels]

The increase in maximum badge points also makes the game far less tactical as you can equip every move you want,

i don't think the issue is the increase in badge points, moreso the fact that less badges are given to you throughout your play session likely because of how much longer TTYD is
it took me about an hour to get through chapter 1 in TTYD whereas i finished chapter 1 and 2 in under 1 hour and 30 minutes in 64, i had a shitton of badges i hadn't equipped while in TTYD every single badge in my inventory gets used purely because of how little there are. i dont doubt this will change since my previous ttyd playthough on the wii u had given me a lot of badges and a lot of fun but i'll have to see. Not exactly looking forward to beating chapter 2 for the gazillionth time, though (honestly felt like my least favorite despite how divine and beautiful the atmosphere is in that one)

 

[Lokaum D+]

TTYD, sadly the series died after this one

 

[DonkeyPunchJr]

Never cared for the Paper Mario games. They just feel like baby’s first JRPG to me. Like they stripped out all the stuff I enjoyed about the genre. Nothing about them grabbed me at all.

 

[cartman414]

Super Mario RPG

Not this Paper Mario shit

SMRPG felt a little too FF-lite. Not that that's necessarily a bad thing, but it didn't have its own identity.

 

[BlackProdigy]

Thousand Year Door

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[Dr.brain64]

ttyd but only because it's easier.

 

[64bitmodels]

Bruh.

At least let the honeymoon pass before deciding, lol. Heck you haven't even got through the wedding.

But yeah, the battle system is inarguably better in the sequel.

Visuals, definitely not, 64 looks very unique and not so pristinely, computerized I guess for a lack of a better term. That said, ttyd is still very appealing.

The soundtrack, I have to disagree as well, ttyd does sound more exciting but my favorite tracks are in the og.

Anyway, when I think about playing something comforting, 9 times out of 10 I'd choose 64. I hate saying it's nostalgia (it partially is, of course) because that makes it seem like I'm not judging them both by their merits, but I never have to convince myself something is a classic, it just hits me as such.

Anyway, enjoy the rest of ttyd.

i have beaten the game now
i'm posting just to say this