The Sticky, Paint-Soaked Fall of Paper Mario

Its always hard to watch a beloved series fall on hard times. Its even harder still when the problems holding it back are glaring and should have been as easy to spot as Godzilla stomping through a nitroglycerin plant. Alas, for one reason or another, crippling problems either manage to go unnoticed or disguise themselves as a games main selling point. Most often its a new feature that sounds exciting on paper, but winds up a disappointment in practice. Case and point, the slow yet drastic decline of the Paper Mario series.