u/Busy_Hat9554

Been a while since we've had one with a blue background. I think the last one was Shibooka.

I'll start, and I don't know if this is a hot take or if it's going to get me exiled from the community forever, but I have to say it: Bowser's implementation in this game is atrocious. Easily the worst in the Paper Mario series, and maybe even Mario in general.

I know Sticker Star completely removed his personality, which sucks, don't get me wrong, but at least he has a reason to be in the narrative of that game, which in my eyes is the bare minimum. Bowser in TTYD is like a character in an Illumination movie where they do literally nothing for most of the plot before doing one thing in the climax and having the writers say "well because they did that one thing, they're actually a key character," when really, anyone could've done it.

Yes, his segments can be funny, but what's the point if it doesn't contribute to the plot in any way? Outside of these intermissions, his presence just isn't felt in this game; the X-Nauts don't really react to him searching for the Crystal Stars (outside of the Chapter 5 intermission, but that gets quickly forgotten about,) and not even his own troops, who are roaming the overworld, say anything about him. It's especially egregious in Chapter 6. We just saw the X-Nauts disable TEC and take Peach away in a very dramatic moment, then he comes stomping in and completely ruins the tension. I know he's the most iconic Mario villain, and he can be an amazing character when utilized correctly, but I just think including him in this game the way they did was a bad idea.

And now we have enough partnerojos for our first Idol Arc!

I'm not making that.