Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling

Bug Fables: The Everlasting Sapling is a role-playing video game developed by Panamanian independent studio Moonsprout Games and published by Dangen Entertainment. It was released on November 21, 2019, for Microsoft Windows, on May 28, 2020, for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One, and on July 1, 2021, for Amazon Luna. Taking inspiration in art and gameplay from the first two Paper Mario games, the game's plot centers around three bugs (Vi, Kabbu, and Leif) as they search the mythical land of Bugaria in pursuit of the Everlasting Sapling, an item capable of eternal life. Along the way, they meet rival teams, past traumas, and other roadblocks hunting for the titular sapling. Bug Fables received positive reviews from critics, who praised its characters, combat system, presentation, and amount of content, but criticized its control issues.

Gameplay
The gameplay of Bug Fables is heavily inspired by that of Paper Mario (2000) and its sequel, The Thousand-Year Door (2004). The player controls three characters: Vi the bee, who uses her boomerang for multi-hit attacks, Kabbu the beetle, who uses his horn for single-hit attacks, and Leif the moth, who uses ice magic to freeze enemies. When exploring the overworld, these characters can use their unique abilities to traverse the environment, solve puzzles, and find secrets, with more abilities unlocking as the game progresses. Enemies are visible on the overworld and can be either engaged or avoided. Combat is played in a turn-based format which makes use of small minigames similar to Paper Mario, as the player must time button presses to maximize the efficacy of their moves, or to take less damage from enemy attacks. The party also shares Teamwork Points (TP), which are used for special attacks, as well as Medal Points (MP), which are used for equipable medals that can enhance certain attributes, grant resistance to status debuffs, or unlock special moves. Upon winning a battle, the party is awarded Exploration Points (EXP); earning enough EXP will increase the party's explorer rank, where the player can choose to increase their HP by 1 per member, or TP or MP by 3. At certain ranks, the party will learn new moves or gain boosts to their stats or inventory space.

Setting and plot
Bug Fables takes place in the land of Bugaria, which is revealed to be entirely within the backyard of an abandoned house. The land is populated by intelligent insects, who gained sapience following the extinction of humans in an unspecified cataclysm. The land of Bugaria is separated into kingdoms, each ruled by a different species of colonial insects: Ants to the center, Bees to the West, Termites to the South, and Wasps to the North. The land also includes features such as a vast desert (contained in a sandbox) and a lake (a puddle formed from a leaky hose).

The land is also home to strange relics and ruins left behind by the first group of insects to gain sentience: Roaches. One such legendary relic is the Everlasting Sapling, said to grant bugs eternal life. The Sapling is hidden however, but it is known that a collection of artifacts can be used to find it. Queen Elizant I arrives from a faraway land, establishes the Ant Kingdom, and searches for the Everlasting Sapling until her life's end. Following this, her daughter, Queen Elizant II, takes over and establishes an Explorer's Association to fund expeditions to find these artifacts, and eventually the Sapling.

Hearing of this story, Kabbu and Vi arrive in the Association, and form an explorer team, to achieve their common goal of exploring Snakemouth Den. Along the way, they meet a moth trapped in a spider's web, free him, and narrowly escape from the spider. The moth, Leif, learns of his newfound ability to use ice magic and knowledge of the Roach language, and joins the two as a fighter. At the end of Snakemouth Den, the team finds one of the ancient artifacts, but taking it triggers a trap that floods the room, and they are attacked by the spider once more.

After defeating the spider, the gang is washed out, but are pulled up near the Ant Kingdom. From there, the trio (now dubbed Team Snakemouth) goes after the rest of the artifacts, and look for answers regarding Leif's past — namely his magic and his past, where he was part of a scout team working under Queen Elizant I.

Development
Bug Fables was developed by independent Panamanian developer Moonsprout Games, made up of Panamanian writer and programmer Jose Fernando Gracia and Brazilian programmer Marcio Cleiton Jr. The two had initially met on a Pokémon Nuzlocke forum. The game started development in 2015 and was tentatively titled Paper Bugs until its final name was revealed in January 2018, alongside an IndieGoGo campaign. A playable demo was also released. Bug Fables '  gameplay and aesthetics were inspired by the first two Paper Mario games, as the developers felt the later games strayed too far from those games' formula. Other role-playing games which influenced Bug Fables include Persona 5, Tales of Zestiria, Golden Sun, and Xenoblade Chronicles. The game was developed using Unity.

Reception
Bug Fables received generally favourable reviews. Praise was directed to the game's level design, combat, and writing, which were positively compared to the early Paper Mario games. Another highlight of the game according to critics is the art style which was both "pleasant and simple". However, some critics felt that it did falter in its platforming sections. In addition, certain puzzles were cited as quite hard to accomplish due to the 'flat' artstyle, mostly with Vi's boomerang.