Have I ever told any of you readers how much I love bugs? No, I’m being serious with this one. For all the pesky mosquitoes, killer wasps, and spiders in the world you can stumble upon some cute little critters. Dragonflies, stag beetles, bees, caterpillars, ants, and many more. Bugs are nice and you’d be surprised with what they can do. Ants build underground colonies and are quite busy workers. Bees help pollinate the flowers we see bloom during the spring. Caterpillars will eat, turn into a cocoon, and have the chance of either turning into a beautiful butterfly or a moth which feeds off of cloth. Then there’s the dung beetle who eats sh*t and turns into small clumps. Not exactly a fun bug to be around, but it’s funny when you say this statement out loud to a classroom full of fourth graders. Anyways, I really love bugs despite not knowing everything about them. I wouldn’t cuddle with a bug in the same way as a cat, but they're cute and incredibly marketable to younger children. It’s a great way to get them into biology and soon transform them into the next big scientists for mankind
Bugs are adorable. My favorite bug is the ladybug, because they are completely harmless and the nicest ones to be around. I love bugs. Bugs, bugs bugs bugs bugs. Bugs! With that opening sequence out of the way let’s move onto the main topic of this review. Bug Fables, a small indie RPG developed by Moonsprout Games and published by Dangen Entertainment in late 2019. The game began development back in 2015 and was originally going to be called Paper Bugs for how the entire world was made of papercraft and the characters looked like they were drawn into thin sheets of paper. More notably, the reason why it was called Paper Bugs was because it drew heavy inspiration from the earlier Paper Mario entries. For several years now, Nintendo fans have been complaining with the direction of the Paper Mario franchise. The first two were easy to understand turn based RPGs, and then the next one was a platformer with light RPG elements. Then they went for a card game, then another card system but your attacks could be powered up, and then finally they threw their hands in the air and made a puzzle like combat system. Yeah, Paper Mario seems to be really confused on what it wants to be. The devs of Paper Bugs wanted to recapture the greatness of the first two Paper Mario games, and they got to work on a spiritual successor.
They opened up a fundraiser, met the funding goals within a few weeks, and slowly formulated their project. Dangen Entertainment were willing to help publish their game as long as they signed a few business contracts, and around 2018 they changed the title from Paper Bugs to Bug Fables to help the project stand out on its own instead of living in the shadow of its main inspiration. Taking influence is great and seeing a game carry on the essence of a classic shows there are still those who care. However, there are times when too much expectation is thrown onto a spiritual successor. When fans want it to be exactly like the original and influencer to the point the developers are struggling to find out what to do with their product. It’s better to form an identity of your own, and that’s what Bug Fables does. It’s a cute little adventure about a team of quirky bugs embarking on an epic adventure to find an ancient relic. For the rest of this review I’ll be refraining from comparing Bug Fables to its influencer. Not just because it seems unfair, but because I don’t have experience with the older Paper Mario titles.
Bug Fables was finally released during the last quarter of 2019 and luckily it was received well. It didn’t get nominated for any awards and obviously didn’t hold a candle to other indies from the year like Outer Wilds or Disco Elysium, but it was really well made and the devs made sure it was polished to a shine. Bug Fables became loved by many and currently sits with an overwhelmingly positive score range on Steam. All was going well until controversy between Moonsprout and Dangen Entertainment came out. Turns out Moonsprout was tricked into signing a contract that allowed Dangen to take all fundings made from the game. None of it would go to Moonsprout, which was extremely unfair seeing how they worked on the game for four years. This controversy is what discouraged some from buying the game even though they wanted to support Moonsprout. How has any of this controversy have to deal with me and Bug Fables? Absolutely nothing, but I’m here to tell you to play the game to show Moonsprout that we want to see more of their work. I absolutely loved my time with this game and think a lot of people will enjoy what is on offer. Today we’ll be talking about why I extremally love Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling and why it deserves your attention.
Story
Let’s shrink down in size and travel to the whittle old land of Bugaria. Full of bugs and wildlife alike, but among the landmarks established none are quite as great as the mighty Ant Kingdom. Ruled and founded by Queen Elizant I and eventually passed onto her daughter, Elizant II. The Ant Kingdom has made treaties with surrounding kingdoms and townships. Encourages exchanges and traveling between places, and provides protection through knights and traveling warriors. Yet, what makes the Ant Kingdom special is their drive for knowledge. To look into ancient artifacts from long ago. One artifact the Ant Kingdom has spent decades searching for is the Everlasting Sapling. A magical seed they believed when consumed will grant you immortality and powers unlike any other. However, it’s been decades now and what feels like a promising gift was transforming into a chase for a myth. Disbelief was beginning to arise until recently.
A green horned beetle by the name of Kabbu begs the heads of the Explorer’s Administration to allow him to become an explorer and embark on epic journeys for the Ant Kingdom. The heads won’t allow him to do so, because every explorer part of the administration works with a team. Kabbu does not have a team meaning he can’t embark on dangerous quests and if so it's suicide. Suddenly an outburst breaks in the room and Kabbu catches sight of a young bee arguing with another administration head. Vi, an energetic child who has traveled far from home to become what she has always dreamed of. Vi is denied since she’s young and way too immature for their liking, but then Kabbu strikes a deal. He’ll take Vi in as a partner. That way he has a team to become an official explorer, and Vi doesn’t get kicked out for screaming her head off. The heads of the administration agree and send them off on their first big adventure.
The two explorers travel to a nearby cave west of the Ant Kingdom and are told an artifact lies within it. Something related to the search for the Everlasting Sapling. This quest is important and the two make haste. As they traverse deeper into the cave a terrifying spider closes in on them and forces them to fall in deeper. They then stumble upon a blue coated bug ensnared in webbing and manage to free him before the spider engulfs them all. Kabbu and Vi struggle to find a way out of the cave, but then the blue coated bug speaks. His name is Lief and unlike any other bug they have encountered it turns out he has the ability to wield magic. Lief decides to work with the two other explorers to get out of the cave, and quickly they become a formidable trio. Battling foes and defeating the spider which harassed them earlier. The artifact Kabbu and Vi were sent to find turns out to be real and they bring it back to Queen Elizant II.
The queen is impressed with what the unlikely friends have achieved, and with her loyal subjects make a huge step forward into finally uncovering the location of The Everlasting Sapling. She sends the three to find more artifacts and together they do so. Unfortunately, Lief has some ugly information to unveil. He has been trapped in the cave for several decades and before he was put into slumber he served under Queen Elizant I. He also states what Elizant II says about her mother is not entirely true and there must be something driving her to carry on a search her mother desired. Not only that, but members of the Wasp Kingdom are beginning to attack other adventurers and they seem to be searching for the artifacts the Ant Kingdom are after. A race has been initiated for the Everlasting Sapling. These three must overcome overwhelming odds to find the artifacts and prevent a gift of immortality from falling into the wrong hands.
Gameplay
Bug Fables may not contain the complexity and compelling systems of numerous other RPGs, but still manages to be fun thanks to how easy it is to pick up. You explore the world, solve puzzles, pick up items to use, grow with experience, and fight foes in turn based combat. Yes, this is a turn based RPG. A lot of gamers dislike turn based combat due to the amount of waiting and lack of control. I’m here to say turn based combat is actually great and Bug Fables manages to great fights. While there’s no build variety and customization limits down to charms, what you do have are three characters who all have their own abilities and quirks. Vi attacks from afar using her beemerang, and she targets any foe and flying enemies. It’s best to knock down flying enemies so that the other two bugs can attack them since they have grounded attacks. Kabbu does a considerable amount of physical damage to ground foes and can even break through heavy defenses. However, he is unable to attack other enemies besides the first one in front of them. Finally there is Lief who can target any foe using a pillar of ice.
When it comes to performing an attack you must perform them correctly. Whether it’s releasing the down button at the right time, stopping an arrow when it goes over the green area on a timing bar, or pressing the right button that pops up on screen. Doing these actions correctly will give you full power for an attack, but if you fail to perform the action correctly you get half the amount of damage that could have been done. Our three heroes aren’t just limited to their most basic abilities. They also have skills which can be performed using Talent Points. These skills ranged from dealing more damage to an enemy, healing your team, or buffing a party member. Some actions will require more correctly performed button presses, and the more powerful attacks consume more TP. You also have items that can be consumed once to apply effects, and there’s even chefs you can visit to concoct better consumables for battle.
When it is time for the enemy to attack you are given the chance to block the damage they deal. Time your block correctly and you can either limit the damage to half or potentially negate all the damage. Blocking at the right time can also prevent characters from being inflicted with status ailments which are a hassle to cure during hectic moments. Everytime you win a fight you gain Exploration Points which are the experience points of this game. Gain enough and you can level up your party. Three choices are given during the level up screen. Increase every party member’s maximum health bar by one point, increase the TP bar by three points, or the maximum medal bar by three points as well. Medals are the charms you can equip in the menu screen to give characters special traits or stat boosters for battles. It’s not as complex as something like Hollow Knight , but it is a system you occasionally have to check on.
Outside of combat you have a vast world to explore. There are dozens of characters to talk to, shops to purchase items from using berries earned from winning battles, and side quests to fulfill to earn more berries and maybe even charms. Occasionally certain areas can’t be navigated until you obtain new abilities to solve environmental puzzles. As the story progresses each party member’s skills expand and open up how much the world is on offer. Vi may unlock a remote control option for the boomerang which allows it to spontaneously rotate in one place allowing you to spin gears which activate contraptions. Kabbu may unlock the ability to dig underground and pass underneath objects, or charge through breakable rocks blocking the way. Lief can freeze enemies and water, turning them into platforms to move around and stand on, or create a force field to protect the party from enemies and navigate over surfaces they normally couldn’t stand on. The exploration and puzzle solving is great, and there are nice rewards to uncover if you go off the beaten path. Outside of the exploration and combat there isn’t much else to say. Side quests are basically item hunts, and boss battles will test your skills and preparation. It’s simple designed gameplay but challenging when it needs to be. Hopefully you can find the artifacts to locate the Everlasting Sapling and uncover the secrets of a past long forgotten.
Thoughts
I’m trying to keep this review story spoiler free as possible, but what I will say is that Bug Fables is an amazing game which I highly recommend. It does a lot during its fifthteen hour runtime, and by the end it’ll leave a strong impression of what lighthearted adventure you went through. There’s very little I have to complain about and if so it’s mainly just certain sections in the game being annoying, but these moments don’t last too long and the game keeps a consistent pace.
I already stated enough about the gameplay in the last paragraph, so I’ll keep my thoughts on it here simple. It’s nice to play an RPG that focuses more on your skills during combat rather than coming with an overpowered party and builds. Bug Fables is more atone to a JRPG and they are often known for lacking builds and customization. Yet, these games are more focused on making wise decisions during tough encounters and Bug Fables certainly does that. There are several strong opponents and bosses to face off against, and beating them by the skin of my teeth felt rewarding. I like how you actually have to pay attention to perform attacks successfully and the UI makes it clear what represents what. Overall the combat is superb. Exploration on the other hand is solid for the most part. Puzzles are intricately designed and it’s easy to figure out what leads to where as there are always signs you can read to know where a path leads to. Backtracking through the world can be annoying at times, and sometimes you just have places but enemies keep charging at you. Yet, this adds to the fulfillment of when you reach a township and you can unlock fast travel points which cuts down backtracking.
With gameplay out of the way let’s talk about the other elements of Bug Fables. The story is an aspect everybody might not like, but I absolutely adored. The writing is comedic, charming, and will leave a smile on your face with the amount of positive energy packed in. I was invested with the cast of characters and grew to love them as more background and history was dumped onto them. The lore of Bug Fables may not be compelling, but it’s engaging and good enough to drive you until the very end. I love the artstyle to this game and it can appeal to practically anyone. It’s cute, colorful, and the papercraft environments help special buildings and background pieces stand out. All the characters are recognizable and I love how it’s all depicted through bugs. I don’t know if I ever said this before, but I appreciate how Hollow Knight and now Bug Fables use bugs to unveil their story and world. It allows any type of audience to get into the game and quickly familiarize themselves with who is who. That and learning the theme of the game may be is easier to adjust to since it’s being told through bugs.
The soundtrack is quite lovely and unexpectedly during boss fights it became exhilarating. There are some killer rifts during battles and there was a point where I was wondering if this was a Mega Man X soundtrack due to how energetic it was. I also want to say that Bug Fables has a good difficulty curve. There’s one set difficulty and even though there’s a charm to make the game harder there is no way to make it easier. Yet, there weren’t that many points where I was truly struggling and it was the game’s fault. Usually if I was struggling it was because I came with a low amount of healing items or got bad at blocking attacks. Fights are pretty fair and even if they do get challenging they don’t space your face in repeatedly with a frying pan. Bug Fables is also the least grindy RPG title I ever played as there weren’t any points where I had to stop moving forward in the story and beat up enemies in the environment to jack up my stats.
Bug Fables is amazing and any other complaints I have are just the nitpicks mentioned before. There’s a section where you navigate a path covered in fog and if you go the wrong way you are transported back to the beginning. This is made worse with how you encounter enemy types who limit the amount of damage you can deal by a ton. Then there’s a section where you stealth around a giant eyeball monster and it gets pant sh*ttingly terrifying and frustrating. What else is there to say? Special skills to perform during battle are great, but I never felt heavily encouraged to use them or experiment. Half the time your most basic attacks are more effective and you want to save TP for healing the party. You are rewarded for taking your time, but that’s a good thing since turn based combat rewards you for being methodical. The game took me around fifthteen hours to beat. The online average is twenty-five hours and I do not understand how for other players it took that long. It’s fifthteen hours, but they were well spent. Each chapter never lags on too long and the developers had the decency not to bloat the experience. However, while it remained consistent and snappy I was ready to be done with the adventure by the end. Besides that, Bug Fables: The Everlasting is great. You get a lot of content for twenty dollars and even when you are done with the main story there are still adventures to be had. I’m so grateful I played this game, because it has quickly become one of the best indie RPGs I’ve encountered. In the end I going to give Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling a 9.5/10 for excellence at best.
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