Why the Land of the Cragnons is one of the best chapters in SPM.

[Scarlet Pairo]

I've seen many people hate on this chapter, mainly because of Flint Cragley and all of his dialogue. I don't quite get that.
The Land of the Cragnons, Chapter 5 in Super Paper Mario, is one of my favorite chapters in the game. Here are the reasons why.

The Cragnons
Many people complain about them, because they're too stupid I guess? I think they definitely are unique characters, they even turn into Floro Cragniens when brainwashed by the Floros. I think they make for likeable characters. Now let's get to the elefant in the room: Flint Cragley. I loved his whole showtime attitude, it's generally a trope I'm a fan of (insert Mettaton reference here). His team also mocks him behind his back, it's actually quite hilarious.

Theme
The theme this world is going for is pulled off really well. The aesthetic is charming, the enemies are exotic (my favorites are the Muths, the Stone Buzzys, Putrid Piranha Plants and Floro Sapiens), the landscapes look pretty good and overall the location is perfect. I loved when you jumped into a mountain in the background. The story was also better than that from Chapter 4, which literally only went like "Long ago, my mom wanted me to lead you here. Yep. That's all. Also, I pretend to die now so I can build up a bit of drama for this Chapter, only for me to be revealed as alive when you beat the game!"

Music
The music is, in my opinion, one of the best aspects of this world. It perfectly encaptures the whole prehistorical vibe. Don't even get me started on the OST for the Floro Caverns!

Floro Caverns
By far the best part of this chapter. Not only does the cool prehistorical world get amazing caverns, which give a real sense of place, but it also features so many memorable moments. Riding the minecarts in the dark depths of this cave system is more fun than it should be, especially since you can flip to view the ride in 3D. The darkness you see there, especially in 3D, makes it feel even more isolated and give it even more sense of place.

Floro Kingdom
The whole royal family, their history, their design, their cavern... everything about the Floro Sapiens and their kingdom is great in this game. The whole backstories were strangely intriguing, and I also loved the attention to detail in the treasures room before the throne.

 

[Waluigi Time]

I didn't realize Flint Cragley was unpopular? I have no problems with this chapter aside from the terrible block "puzzle".

 

[Scarlet Pairo]

aside from the terrible block "puzzle"

I agree. Having to note down a combination of thirty block jumps is a bit tedious.

 

[Mcmadness]

It's as dull as the rest of the game.

 

[Scarlet Pairo]

It's as dull as the rest of the game.

*Angry Cragnon noises*

 

[Ray Trace]

I mean I think people hate this chapter because of that terribly designed block puzzle which requires copious back-tracking

This isn't the 1990's. We shouldn't be forced to get a pencil and paper to write down combinations or otherwise you're fucked. And it's not even a simple combination like say, the 5 numbers in Zelda: Majora's Mask.

The Cragnons themselves are ugly but they're at least thematically ugly with the rest of the game so...yay?

I do actually like the Floro Sapiens designs though, they're pretty appealing and one of the better designed characters in this game. And at least the story between the two is decent, where the Floro Sapiens aren't complete monsters.

 

[Paper Mario]

5-1 is next to 2-3 as the worst levels in the game due to their absurd puzzle solutions. But the rest of the chapter is quite nice imo. Not the best in the game, but far from the worst either. One of the stronger chapters in regard to contained plots, but pretty uneventful in regard to the main plot. Other than the O'Chunks fights and Dimentio testing a sprout on him that is. Good plot twist. This chapter is kind of the opposite of chapter 4 in that it only has one bad stage, whereas 4 only has one (ok one and a half, Planet Blobule isn't as bad as the floating levels) good stage.

 

[Sir Pentious]

Wait a McFucking second Squirps didn't die?!? Spoilers smh man

 

[Paper Mario]

IIRC you don't have to wait till the end of the game to find that out. If you go back to chapter 4 at any time he rejoins you so you can still shoot things.