The 'Shroom:Issue XXX/Monthly Mulligan
Hi, 'Shroomers! You should know I'm Ralphfan. This is my new section, the Monthly Mulligan. Many of you are probably asking, "what the hell is that?" in golf, a mulligan is a do-over. In this section, I'm gonna review a game, then say what can be done to improve it.
This month's game:
So much anticipated, so little in return.
Review
I had really high hopes for this game. I never played the original, but I played TTYD and loved it. The 3D concept was good, but it was more of a letdown than Fruit Stripe Gum. The extremely fun RPG-style battles were replaced with platformer-style fights. Boss battles weren't fun, and a lot of characters were immature. TTYD was a more mature game, and the places were so much better than Flipside, Flopside, and et cetera. Rogueport was fun because it had so much going on. In SPM, there's really nothing to do in Flipside and Flopside, and the Flip-Flop Folk are boring. The worst part was the romance thing with Timpani and Blumiere. Also, Pure Hearts? Is this a Disney animated princess movie? Come on! I can't think of many gamers who watch soap operas. I'm sure those that do loved it, but save the sappy crap for stuff like All My Children. Pixls were kinda dumb. Specifically Cudge's motto crap, Slim's stupid hillbilly redneck thing, and Thudley's girth point crap. Still, it was OK to play.
(This rating is different than the rating on my userpage.)
Gameplay: 6.5/10 Battle: 5/10 Graphics: 8/10 Storyline: 6/10
(Overall rating is average of individual ratings.)
Overall: 6.375
Mulligan
Here's where I say what can be fixed to improve the game.
3D
In TTYD, some of the enemies have an alternate version, such as the Hyper Goomba. They have a lime-green body and purple shoes. Not only are their attributes higher, they can also charge during a turn rather than attack. By charging, their attack goes up for a couple turns. Eventually, Mario and his partners find badges that give them the ability to charge for 1 FP. This could've been done with 3-D. It would've cost Mario and Co. a certain number of FP each turn. Also, attacks on enemies still in 2D would be harder to pull off.
Star Points
Why no SP? They were creative, and it gave some purpose for the s***ty trial Stew. Just a good gameplay tactic.
Other
The characters are just too immature. Make them somewhat intimidating, like TTYD. If a Squiglet beats the crap out of you, not only do you suck, you were beaten by a little cartoon drawing. If Bonetail or someone intimidating beats you, it sucks, but at least you got beat by something that wasn't invented by a three year-old girl.
Next month: Mario Super Sluggers!
