Jan 112021
I finished a few fantastic games to start off the year, and the first one I’d like to talk about is Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling.
After first learning about Bug Fables in 2018, I backed its Indiegogo campaign and waited for the game to release. Last year I finally started it and finished it this weekend.
So, did Bug Fables meet my hopes and expectations? Yes. Yes it did.
Bug Fables is very obviously inspired by the first two Paper Mario games. The art style, music, combat, and even the way you pick a stat to increase when you level up all made me smile just because of how much it evoked my fond memories of Paper Mario.
At the same time, it’s not just a Paper Mario clone with different characters. You play as Kabbu, Vi, and Leif, a trio of bug adventurers searching for artifacts in the land of Bugaria. All three are playable in battles, each with their own strengths and abilities. Little features like being able to swap turn order or pass your turn to a different character provide a lot of ways you can approach each battle, and there are also medals you can equip for a variety of effects.
The three of them are fully realized and developed characters, too. It’s not all just funny dialogue and banter; I really grew to like them – and the story even hit me with some unexpectedly heavy moments.
While the story starts out slow, with the trio searching for artifacts to help the Ant Queen find the fabled Everlasting Sapling, I found it to be pretty interesting as time went on. Bug Fables also has a fleshed out world to explore, plus tons of side quests, optional dialogue, and even a card mini-game.
I can’t praise Bug Fables enough. It’s full of charm and fun things to discover, and my only real criticism is that some of the field skills used to help with navigation and puzzles can be a little awkward at times.
It has so much more going for it than just Paper Mario nostalgia, but it also fills the void classic Paper Mario left behind. In fact, Bug Fables made me feel better about Origami King. Okay, Nintendo has decided for whatever reason that RPGs are too hardcore, so Paper Mario will probably never be an RPG again. That’s fine. I have Bug Fables now. A Bug Fables sequel is pretty much confirmed, and I’m more than happy to let this series give me what I’d hoped Paper Mario would become.
Bug Fables is fantastic, and it’s out now for both PC and consoles. If you love Paper Mario, you’ll probably love Bug Fables… and if you just want a fun, charming turn-based RPG, you’ll probably love Bug Fables too. Did you play Bug Fables? Share your thoughts on it in the comments!
I’m GOING to play Bug Fables this year (thanks to you).
Sooo I’ll get back to you on this.
Excellent! I hope you enjoy it.
“this year”
MORE LIKE AUGUST–SEPTEMBER 2023!
Anyway, I started Bug Fables expecting it to be a game that is serviceably in the style of the old Paper Mario games…
…I didn’t expect it to outright surpass them. But it’s incredibly engaging and smartly designed, much beyond my expectations of its indie developers with little development experience. You’d think they’d be designing games for a decade.
But they weren’t just making surface-level references to the PM games (though they did do that too), but they greatly understood those games’ design decisions and their system-level implications. And there’s a lot to consider with the precise low-number damage values and three party members (plus one, Chompy).
Though not having an equivalent to the Star Spirits/Crystal Stars abilities means that Medal Points (badges) are even more important than how they were in PM / TTYD; speaking as the guy who did a Let’s Play of PM64 Badgeless. I don’t think doing Medal-less would be possible or fun, for that matter. They clearly were pushing a Poisoned set as the meta with how many Medals they gave for it. I didn’t do Power Bounce strategies in PM / TTYD with P-Up / D-Down or Jumpman or Mega Rush, but I did do that with Vi’s multi-hit Beemerang here.
Anyway, the game has a great soundtrack and great writing and characters.
I’m glad you finally played it and enjoyed it! Now you see why I raved about it so much. Fingers crossed for an equally-good sequel someday.
Yes! 😀
It would be interesting if classic Paper Mario also makes a comeback as well.
Played and beat Bug Fables last year! I enjoyed it a lot, especially the hidden collectibles and secrets everywhere, the way the world was so fleshed out with all the different kingdoms and agendas. The humor was great too. And in addition to the sequel, they have already added a post-release addition of further quests that expand certain storylines, so who knows what they might add to the base game as post-launch content before we even start with the sequel talk…
I think I saw in an AMA about the update that they weren’t planning any more DLC, but I’m not positive about that.
[…] You know, I’m running out of pipe dreams. In 2015, I thought a TWEWY sequel and Bayonetta 3 were pipe dreams, but they’re both in development. In 2016, I added Dai Gyakuten Saiban to the list, and that’s happening. We got a new Layton game and another Paper Mario in the meantime, too (and my feelings toward Origami King softened thanks to Bug Fables filling that Paper Mario void). […]
[…] found Bug Fables to be an excellent game that satisfied my craving for a classic Paper Mario game while still having an identity of its own. […]