Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling

Really good Paper Mario-inspired RPG game. I had initially played this game back in 2020, though I dropped it at the time for whatever reason. I decided to finally see the game through, and while the game is a bit long for my taste (though, any game longer than 8 hours is a bit long for me nowadays), I had so much fun regardless. The gameplay is split between exploration and turn-based combat. I really enjoyed exploring the game world; there were fun discoveries around every corner, and the game often encourages re-exploring previous areas in order to check out paths/secrets that were previously inaccessible to you. The game world also does a great job at creating a sense that it's "lived in", with many NPCs seemingly having their own little lives and goals that make them feel like actual characters and not just vehicles for expository text. The combat was also quite fun. The three party members you unlock are fairly well balanced with their abilities, while still being varied enough to encourage some strategizing in how you approach different combat scenarios. Medals and ability upgrades add further variety to each party member. I haven't 100%'d the game (and I doubt I will), but just a casual playthrough on Hard Mode was in and of itself a very enjoyable and rewarding experience. Not sure what Moonsprout Games are working on currently, though I think I heard any future plans for Bug Fables are temporarily on the backburner in favor of pursuing other projects. Hopefully they return to this series at some point in the not-too-distant future, but I'm excited to see what they'll do next.

✔ decent combat system, which focuses on making every move meaningful at the cost of every encounter being a small puzzle that has to be dealt with in a specific way (each character can do something special, which exploits enemy vulnerability) ? turn-based combat heavily relying on QTEs ? simple/childish writing ✘ utter lack of any hook: story-wise or character-wise or combat-wise ✘ starts well with a few meaningful combat encounters, each with different combination of enemies, but then the starting dungeon starts dragging on for no good reason ✘ nothing interesting to find/explore. just consumables ✘ annoying UX decisions (very limited inventory - why can't I easily use a healing item that just dropped and instead have to go through my inventory to use another one and make some room and pick it up then? this happens all the time) 🛈 actively played maybe 3 hours 🛈 never played Paper Mario

A true true love letter to the original two Paper Mario games. Dare I speak for my own preference, I may even prefer bug fables over those games. Bug Fables takes the Paper Mario formula and improves upon it with more dynamic gameplay and more challenging battles. The game is packed with charm, and the amount of side content is staggering. The game gives you an optional hard mode that you can toggle on or off from the start, which I left on for the whole playthrough. I found this to be the perfect difficulty level for me, but the option to toggle at any time is very nice. The story was intriguing throughout, and I was sad to see it end when it did. I would recommend fully completing this game, as I never got bored, even with the mountain of side content. Any Paper Mario lovers will love this game, as long as you truly love Paper Mario for the game it is and not just the nostalgia.

OUUHHH... bug fables.... this game is AMAZING, I love the style and the overall way the game makes me feel bro.. the music top tier... the drawings, the character designs, the story the side content. the little conversations they have bro.. ITS SO GOODD ITS SO GOOD IM SO SAD WHEN IT ENDS BRO.... the gameplay is amazing too like ouug... I might be bad at the turn based rpg mechanics but GOD IS IT SO GOOD, i love the paper mario ispo across the game its just ooughghg... i like it i need more bro.. NEED MORE, the writing is well done too.. really excited for whatever the devs have for another game

bug

I'm amazed how much fun it was to go through the entire game, an experience which was worth all the time I've currently put into the game. The story is a good mix of wholesome, funny, and serious moments which also brings character development, and a little surprise here and there in. I really enjoyed how things developed and turned out, a few things I expected coming true, and some catching me by surprise. The graphics style will surely remind anyone who played Paper Mario to be inspired by it, simple yet charming and working for the whole game and what its based on. If you've played Paper Mario at some point, you know how the battles works in general with some enhancements and options to approach enemies in different ways. I've played on hard mode from the very beginning, the difficulty being noticeable with some bosses being a bit of a pain to deal with. But it was rather challenging over feeling that it was unfair or too harsh. The game offers you a lot to solve battles in different ways and options so there's more than just one solution or play style to beat bosses and challenges. The game has side quests and other things you can do aside of going straight through the story. And the moments I had the feel of "They didn't have to, but did it anyway." popped up four times in total on my end. And I do cherish what these moments and discoveries were. There's a ton of tracks the game has for the areas, battles, and any place you are, a lot being catchy and enjoyable without feeling annoyed. It never felt stale or bothersome to me at all. Negatives? I honestly have a very hard time to think about something what really bothered or annoyed me. I still have the post game to do a few things but I doubt there'll be something to give me negative feelings after so many hours. I'm not really counting that my controller didn't get recognized by the game, solving that issue with joy2key and just play like that. I may be late to the party with playing Bug Fables, but I can't recommend this game enough to anyone who loves RPGs, doesn't mind the simple graphics, and wants to have a good ride and experience with plenty of bugs of good nature. Play it, enjoy it, and I hope for a sequel or something related to the series at some point. ♥

怎么了⠀你累了⠀说好的⠀中文呢 我懂了⠀不说了⠀爱淡了⠀梦远了

I really wish that I enjoyed this more. Bug Fables does not try to hide that it’s a pastiche of the Paper Mario RPGs; in fact, I would say that it’s a selling point. While I’m 20 years removed from the last time I played a Paper Mario game and I’m not going to make further comparisons, I can still identify that the biggest selling point of the series is its charm. Bug Fables does not lack in that department. However, there are many aspects of the game that really bring the experience down. Like I said before, this game is incredibly charming. There was clearly a lot of love, thought, and care put into it. Despite being an indie production, the worldbuilding is incredibly fleshed out. There is a bestiary with over 90 entries which showcases how enemies fit in this place. There are several biomes, each inhabited by different bug species that have their own discrete societies. Dialogue is snappy and humorous, and avoids being expository and longwinded. It has a large cast of characters, all of whom have distinctive character traits. It’s led by Kabbu, Vi, and Leif, the main characters who make up the party for the entire game. I really have no complaints about its non-gameplay aspects. However, I get very annoyed when thinking about the actual gameplay of Bug Fables. Kabbu, Vi, and Leif are the only party members that you have access to, which severely hampers its variety. Combat is based around the trio: Kabbu can flip shelled enemies over, Vi can knock flying enemies down, and Leif can uproot underground enemies. It’s balanced around everyone staying alive so encounters can feel really unfair if anyone is knocked out. There’s an item limit that feels arbitrary and creates frustration because you can go through them pretty quickly. Foregoing typical RPG progression, you pick whether you’d like the party to have an additional HP (as in singular) per character, 3 TP (which acts as a shared mana pool) or 3 MP (which lets you equip medals) when you level up. It doesn’t feel like your characters get stronger as everything in the game deals single digit amounts of damage no matter how far in you are, including your characters. You can equip medals which help spice things up, but they don't help with how monotonous the combat feels after a while. There are problems outside of combat as well. Traversing the environment does not feel good so throwing in platforming, puzzle, and stealth segments don’t help and severely hinder the experience. Puzzles involving Vi’s Beemerang (of which there are many) particularly drew my ire, as aiming it is a straight up pain in the ass. There is a ton of backtracking in order to complete quests and the ability for some limited fast travel isn’t introduced until much later. The pacing of the game also craters midway through and I had trouble finding motivation to keep going.

This game is not what i had expected. I had initialy thought it to be a kid's game that you can finish it around 20 to 25 hrs. I am wrong. This game is a TRUE RPG to its core with all the secrets and the story to go with it. The characters are lovable and the dialogue are not written by school kids. The combat is refreshing but i do wish that i can get "stronger" haha. This game has customization that you need if you are playing on hardcore mode which means you cannot blast through everything. The items you bring, the medals you equipped and who to do what first in combat has to be put into consideration. This game really exceeds my expectation. There are still post game even after beating the final boss. This is a truly one of a kind experience and hope every RPG lover play this game. Rate 9/10