Paper Mario: The Origami King

Paper Mario: The Origami King is a NON-RPG adventure game that was released on July 17th, 2020. This game is the sequel to the heavily criticized Paper Mario: Color Splash on the Wii U, and is part of the Modern Paper Mario Series, which consists of Sticker Star, Color Splash, and now The Origami King.

Identity Crisis?

So what went wrong with the series? The producers really changed some elements that were crucial to Paper Mario’s identity: No RPG Elements, No EXP for battles, Toads everywhere, No Partners, and paper-thin storylines. But does The Origami King have any of these traits? Well, both yes and no.

Firstly, Paper Mario: The Origami King is NOT an RPG. Sure, it feels like it’s trying to be one, but it doesn’t have the core concepts. Experience is totally absent. In typical RPGs, you battle to get EXP to level up. Here, you battle to get coins and confetti to solve puzzles to get… more coins. Since grinding isn’t a thing, enemy encounters often feel annoyingly in the way.

The Battle System

The battle system involves lining up enemies in a row or 2×2 pattern. Doing this basically makes fights extremely easy. You select your weapon and time the button press to deal damage. It’s satisfying at first but easy to master and can feel overpowered. It’s the most subjective part of the game—I don’t think it ruins the experience since battles aren’t as frequent as other titles, but it does take getting used to.

Partners & Characters

Partners can join in battle, but they aren’t integrated very well. They attack on their own, so you don’t control them like in previous games. Sometimes they even fail! Since the game encourages you to defeat enemies in one turn (Turn 1 victory), you sadly rarely see your partner actually attack.

The entire game feels inconsistent with partners. For example, Professor Toad has an overworld ability (digging), but others are just there for dialogue. That said, the characters like the Office Supplies bosses are actually a lot more interesting than I expected!

Atmosphere & Writing

If you’ve seen the trailers, you know this game has some creepy vibes going on. This is awesome! It reminds me of the darker tones in The Thousand-Year Door. The writing is brilliantly done. It doesn’t rely too much on paper puns and actually features some humor catered towards adults and long-time gamers. The visual presentation is top-notch. The paper aesthetic is fully realized here—creases, folds, shadows. I personally like the look of this game even better than the older titles.

Verdict

Overall, Paper Mario: The Origami King is a fantastic game. It may not be the Thousand-Year Door sequel we were hoping for, but it is something special in its own right. It does most things right, despite its problems with combat. That’s why I recommend the game.