Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling

Genre: Turn-Based RPG

Players: 1

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Review:

Bug Fables is a family-friendly Turn-Based RPG that many have celebrated as a spiritual successor to the earlier games in the Paper Mario series, featuring a similar style, similar gameplay, and a similar light-hearted sense of humor. Given that many have been disappointed with the recent entries in the Paper Mario series, fans of those games have welcomed Bug Fables with open arms.

I have to admit, I didn’t plan on reviewing this game so soon. I usually wait for a good sale before buying a game. However, with all the great word-of-mouth this game has been getting, and with multiple people asking me to do a review of this game in the comments, I decided to bow to peer pressure just this once and actually review a game in a timely manner for a change. Just don’t expect this to be a regular thing, okay?

To be perfectly honest, I was never the biggest fan of the Paper Mario games. I liked them, found them to be charming and fun, but they never quite “hooked” me like they clearly did so many others. So whether you liked the Paper Mario games or not, you can let that inform your reading of this review.

And make no mistake, this game very clearly is inspired by Paper Mario in everything but its theme and story. The way the world and its characters are constructed out of hand-drawn artwork pasted onto flat polygons (supplemented with a few cel-shaded 3D objects) is a clear indication of this, with characters even flipping around as they turn the same way Paper Mario’s characters do. The odd thing is, this graphical style doesn’t really have any point within the context of the game’s themes or story as far as I can tell – it’s mainly designed to look this way specifically as a call out to fans of the Paper Mario games. This game also doesn’t make use of this style in the same sort of fourth wall-breaking ways as Paper Mario does – characters do not, for example, fold themselves into paper airplanes. Not that they need to, of course, it just makes this art style something of an odd relic of the games this game was inspired by rather than something integral to the game itself in any way.

That aside, the presentation here is good, but not in a way that’s going to blow anyone away. The characters look interesting and unique, the environments are colorful and inviting, and overall the game looks nice, but this certainly isn’t a graphical showpiece. The music, also, is pretty good RPG-esque fare, and suits the game well, but I can’t say that I found it to be especially memorable. I will make note of this game’s sound being particularly amusing, though – when characters speak, each speaks with a different tone to go along with their words, and I felt these low beeps actually do a decent job of imitating buzzing noises, which seemed like a nice touch.

However, while much of the presentation didn’t bowl me over, one area that did impress me is this game’s writing, story, and characters. Right from the start, when you’re introduced to two of the three main characters in the game, you instantly get a good feel for their personalities, as well as the unique world they find themselves in, something that’s halfway between A Bug’s Life and a typical medieval JRPG. In fact, it’s pretty clear soon after you meet all three of the main characters that each has a back-story following them we’re sure to learn more about later, and the interplay between these characters is, I feel, one of the highlights of this game.

When it comes to the gameplay, again, this game’s Paper Mario-esque roots are made very clear, in everything from combat that has players using timed button presses to add power to attacks and defense, with the different characters’ abilities all requiring different inputs. These characters all have unique abilities that can be used outside of battle as well, and many of the puzzles you find in dungeons revolve around these abilities.

Another similarity to the Paper Mario games is the Medal system, which is much like Paper Mario’s badges, allowing you to customize your characters with different stat bonuses and abilities, or even to enable a “hard mode”. And again, when players level up, they’ll get a choice between an HP boost, an TP boost (this game’s version of shared MP), or extra points to assign medals.

When it comes to things this game does that are unique, probably the most noteworthy thing is the way that this game balances its three main characters, who each have a different specialty to contribute to battle, and are all equally important to the story.

Having said that, I kinda’ wish this game didn’t feel as tied down to the Paper Mario formula as it seems to be. The bug-themed world is an interesting one, and I feel like more could have been done to realize that world if it didn’t all need to be paper-ified. What’s more, this game also tries to copy Paper Mario’s platforming elements, and they’re kinda’ terrible here. Also, the constrained level design isn’t something I’m particularly enamored with in RPGs that use it, and especially with a theme of bugs, I would have thought it’d be much better to go with a massive world that makes you feel, you know… small. Instead, things often feel claustrophobic, even in outdoor areas.

In the end, I really like Bug Fables. The combat is good, and the options for altering your party to your own personal tastes are nice, much as it was in Paper Mario. And this game does manage to make a name for itself with its unique and wonderful story and characters, who are the real reason to play this game more than anything else. For those simply wanting a good RPG to play, this definitely does the trick. However, while others celebrate this game being a successor to the classic Paper Mario games, I can’t help but feel like the desire to make this game like those ones may have at times limited this game’s design and kept it from being something even more unique.

tl;dr – Bug Fables is a family-friendly Turn-Based RPG made in the style of the first two Paper Mario games, featuring similar gameplay and presentation. The RPG elements here are solid, and the game’s story is wonderful, with some truly memorable characters. However, I feel like the desire to make this game like Paper Mario kept it from striking out on its own, with elements like platforming that simply aren’t very good. This is still a superb RPG, though.

Grade: A-

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This game has been nominated for one or more of eShopperReviews 2020 Game Awards:

Runner-Up: Best RPG/Action-RPG

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