This game is everything I could have asked for as an avid Paper Mario TTYD fan. Bug Fables feels like a spiritual successor to the games I fell in love with as a kid, carrying the original Paper Mario formula in a direction that feels natural and nuanced.
There is so much to love here, and my desire to explore every nook never wavered. At first, I was put off by the choice of using bugs as characters, but I quickly found how wonderful and creative of a choice that was. The themes, worlds, and people you meet are all memorable because of it. Every character is special with unique dialogue and descriptions. I grew to enjoy the main trio's quips and personalities. The battle mechanics are sublime and exercise planning that I wish was in the original Paper Mario. There is so much that this game offers that I fell in love with.
There is very little I can criticize the game on. My only gripes are that the game is not all that challenging without Hard Mode (making Hard Mode a badge was genius and I enjoyed the extra challenge, but I never wanted to take it off after seeing how easy the game normally is), items become integral to difficult fights but the storage ant is never as accessible as it should be (only in towns? I get it, but having it a screen before a boss fight would have been very convenient and appreciated), and MP is usually the only thing worth getting during level ups (Paper Mario always had a similar issue, but I fear new players might not be accustomed to this considering how quick it is to reach the max level in this game).
Despite these minor nitpicks, I thoroughly enjoyed this game from beginning to end, accidentally completing most of it and dedicated another hour or so to finish what was left to get 100% completion. I wanted to get as much as I could out of this game. Now, it's on consoles for more people to enjoy. If you are a fan of the original Paper Mario or TTYD, do yourself a favor and get this game. If you have never played Paper Mario before, go play one of them first, see if you like it, and then give this game a try.

I'd give this game a 9/10 (a very close 10/10).

This game is everything I could have asked for as an avid Paper Mario TTYD fan. Bug Fables feels like a spiritual successor to the games I fell in love with as a kid, carrying the original Paper Mario formula in a direction that feels natural and nuanced. There is so much to love here, and my desire to explore every nook never wavered. At first, I was put off by the choice of using bugs as characters, but I quickly found how wonderful and creative of a choice that was. The themes, worlds, and people you meet are all memorable because of it. Every character is special with unique dialogue and descriptions. I grew to enjoy the main trio's quips and personalities. The battle mechanics are sublime and exercise planning that I wish was in the original Paper Mario. There is so much that this game offers that I fell in love with. There is very little I can criticize the game on. My only gripes are that the game is not all that challenging without Hard Mode (making Hard Mode a badge was genius and I enjoyed the extra challenge, but I never wanted to take it off after seeing how easy the game normally is), items become integral to difficult fights but the storage ant is never as accessible as it should be (only in towns? I get it, but having it a screen before a boss fight would have been very convenient and appreciated), and MP is usually the only thing worth getting during level ups (Paper Mario always had a similar issue, but I fear new players might not be accustomed to this considering how quick it is to reach the max level in this game). Despite these minor nitpicks, I thoroughly enjoyed this game from beginning to end, accidentally completing most of it and dedicated another hour or so to finish what was left to get 100% completion. I wanted to get as much as I could out of this game. Now, it's on consoles for more people to enjoy. If you are a fan of the original Paper Mario or TTYD, do yourself a favor and get this game. If you have never played Paper Mario before, go play one of them first, see if you like it, and then give this game a try. I'd give this game a 9/10 (a very close 10/10).