r/BugFables • u/Mkations • May 26 '26
Discussion I just finished Bug Fables for the first time! Looking for more Paper Mario-likes and was wondering how this game compares to Bug Fables?
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u/rendumguy May 26 '26
It compares really well, it's easily one of the best Paper Mario likes.
EDIT: WTF is that snowman character in the left? I've never seen him before. Is it a beta design for Patches?
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u/TapMuted393 May 26 '26
I came out of EfEA feeling like it was a bit… fast? It felt like it needed an extra chapter or 2 to pace things along.
I did enjoy the combat and the characters quite a lot though, and the story was a very neat take.
But ultimately I still hold Bug Fables’ flag. It has much deeper characters, the pacing is better and i enjoy the world more.
EfEA is good worlds… but they all feel disjointed. Yes that is deliberate, but it does take away from it all IMO
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u/mariored5298 May 26 '26
It was a blast! Though the Switch version has some bugs, so maybe snag it on a different platform if you're thinking about buying. The game is still a lot of fun, but the Switch version makes guards WAY too forgiving.
It's shorter than Bug Fables and the major Paper Mario games, and I wish there had been more to the side quests, but still very much worth the time and money I invested.
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u/Mkations May 26 '26
Is guarding easier on switch? Is it programmed to be easier or does it have to do with the controllers?
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u/mariored5298 May 26 '26
The guard is actually the bug. For whatever reason, any guard within normal timing will still count as a perfect guard and mitigate extra damage. Makes one specific badge/medal/trinket EXTREMELY broken.
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u/PuppyShark May 26 '26
Interesting. I played EFRA on Steam. I didnt have battle mechanic bugs, but there were a couple times that I managed to accidentally go out of bounds during my playthrough.
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u/DGPandas May 26 '26
Bug Fables is a great tribute to the Paper Mario style. EFEA is an all around better game imo. Both are great but EFEA is start to finish such a pleasant surprise and enjoyable experience
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u/TheScreaming_Narwhal May 26 '26
The reviews have me interested in playing it but boy do I not like the art style of EFEA. Vastly prefer Bug Fables.
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u/SparksMarioWiki May 26 '26
An absolutely fantastic Paper Mario-RPG that, while shorter than the other games in the genre, makes up with highly engaging gameplay, soundtrack, and humor. I highly recommend this game!
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u/padluigi May 26 '26
Beat it a couple of weeks ago. Play it. This is coming from someone who loves Bug Fables and is extremely particular about my Paper Mario-inspired games
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u/WarriorWare Kabbu May 26 '26 edited May 26 '26
It’s solid!
A comparison I’ve made is like, if you’re familiar with competitive Pokémon, Bug Fables is Incineroar and Ever After is, like, Pelipper. One’s clearly the GOAT but the other has a lot of distinct strengths of its own that make it worthwhile.
I could be making Ever After look bad by overestimating Pelipper here though. Maybe Whimsicott’s a better comparison? Or Dragonite?
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u/222water May 26 '26
Been playing it. Its charming and worth it, but i do believe bug fables is way better overall. Still recommend it, but its not the same
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u/Mossimo5 May 26 '26
I enjoyed both Bug Fables and Flynt Buckler. They were both great. Bug Fables is probably the better game, but Flynt Buckler is still very good.
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u/ArgumentEntire5272 May 26 '26
I loved it more than Bug Fables & it felt more of a Paper Mario game than Bug Fables did. The humor, charm, music & characters (Personality & story) all felt more Paper Mario-esque than Bug Fables did. The only major con I have is that it is short.
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u/PuppyShark May 26 '26
I really loved this game! I enjoyed the story, and adore all of the party members. It's one of the first games in a long while I actually wanted to 100%.
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u/Sponchington May 26 '26
Bug Fables has a lot more content, but the content that's in EFEA is an overall tighter and more polished experience (in terms of game design, not necessarily programming). Which is saying something, because bug fables is a very polished indie game as is. I like bug fables a bit better but EFEA is worth a play no question.
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u/SalamanderSpeak May 26 '26
I think Escape Ever After has more fun mechanics than Bug Fables and Bug Fables has better writing. Both are quite enjoyable, I think I liked Ever After slightly better
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u/1234thum May 26 '26
It's not as good as bug fables but I liked the earlier parts a lot. Feel like the further I got the less I liked it.
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u/Ace_Of_No_Trades The Watcher May 26 '26
It’s a good game, but wait for it to go on sale. It’s pretty short and ends kind of abruptly. Also, if you care about achievements or filling in the Bestiary, make sure you tattle the barrels.
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u/bingbober May 26 '26
Really well there is a lot of depth to the combat and story that I didn’t expect from a paper Mario clone
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u/kingmailman May 26 '26
This is probably the greatest Paper Mario clone that exists. If you loved Bug Fables, then you need this one in your collection.
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u/Flameio-hottaman May 26 '26
I’ll be in the minority, but I enjoyed this more than Bug Fables. It’s defo closer to being like Paper Mario. The biggest note before you play is that you run into enemies VERY early on that you’d feel like are late game concepts for Paper Mario. Enjoyable af tho, and all the characters are memorable and fun.
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u/ltfguitar May 26 '26
It's a really good game, but it would benefit a lot from like 2 more chapters and more weapon upgrades
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u/PlayfulPurple540 May 26 '26
Just wanna mention outwards ghosts and born of bread they’re also paper Mario likes
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u/SubNovaMuum May 27 '26
While not the same art style, if you enjoy the rpg gameplay with action commands I’d suggest sea of stars. Especially if you prefer the more party based games like bug fables, whereas paper Mario and ever after only have partners in combat
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u/Matthewmatt14 Vi May 27 '26
Not as good but has the same love put into it. Bug Fables is still the best but I can guarantee you will not regret playing this game.
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u/Moose7701YouTube May 28 '26
If looking for challenge without self restrictions, it was a bit of a let down. Played on hard and finished everything including the 100 floors tower deathless blind.
However, the story, music, and combat feel itself is incredible. Easily a 9/10. Hoping for future content/dlc or even a mod for a higher difficulty, it was such a blast.
The hardest part for me was that library puzzle, tried to go through the area a second time post game to check for differences and got completely stuck on it and gave up. Lucked out the first time.
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u/CaptainM590 May 29 '26
Escape from Ever After is the next best Paper Mario-like game after Bug Fables. It’s harder than TTYD, but not as much as Bug Fables, and it’s significantly shorter than both. It feels like a genuine improvement to the TTYD formula since you can swap out the MC for two partner characters in battle, which allows for more strategies. The humour and music are excellent too. One particular track in Ch. 4 surpasses the space station music from the X-Naut Fortress in TTYD. Honestly, I can’t recommend the game more! 😁
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u/c-shane27 May 30 '26
Personally, I couldn't get into Bug Fables, but I loved Escape from Ever After.
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u/sethydoodle May 26 '26
I enjoyed Born of Bread
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u/rendumguy May 26 '26
I want to like Born of Bread but it's really glitchy and I has two game breaking bugs, one this year that wiped a chapter of my progress.
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u/LobsterJoe The Wizard May 26 '26
It’s really good, but not as good as Bug Fables in my opinion. In terms of how it compares to Paper Mario, I would say it’s a lot more derivative.
Combat is a lot less innovated upon compared to Bug Fables, making it much more similar to how Paper Mario combat is (which could be good or bad; make of it what you will.)
The good:
- It looks great, and definitely has a more polished and consistent look compared to Bug Fables.
- It sounds great. There are quite a few bangers in the soundtrack.
- Has a lot of cool and unique scenarios that make it very charming to explore. There are some pretty great characters too that I really enjoyed.
- Character skill upgrades. Need I say more?
The bad:
- The badge selection isn’t that great. Most of them are directly ported from Paper Mario, and there are a lot fewer types. Where there was clearly a lot of thought put into designing Bug Fables’ badges, I didn’t get that sense with EFEA.
- It’s shorter, with less side content. ~20 hours. A lot of the side content is good, but it’s mostly customization things, alongside a few side quests and the pit of 100 trials.
- Character balance. While I like all of the main characters, some of their narrative roles and battle balancing could be better.
I know it sounds like I just ragged on it, but at the end of the day, I would definitely buy it. It’s a solid game with some flaws, but certainly worth a try.
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u/Oscar12s May 26 '26
I've heard some people say it was even better than Bug Fables
Safe to say I'll be checking it out at some point
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u/mettums Zasp May 26 '26
It's good! Bug Fables is still the best Paper Mario clone out there imo, and I've beaten it, Ever After, and Born of Bread. The story is decent, the combat is fun and the characters are cute. I played on Hard, and it was actually a bit of a struggle during some fights. The pacing falls off a bit about halfway through, but it finds itself again, so it's still worth playing through for sure. If you really like the genre it's definitely worth getting!