Paper Mario: The Origami King has brought the RPG franchise to the Nintendo Switch, in an entry that oozes charm and humor, which has an intriguing battle system that is let down by its simplicity and lack of progression.
The story of Paper Mario: The Origami King involves the Mushroom Kingdom being taken over by King Olly, the titular Origami King. Olly has transformed many of the kingdom's residents into origami figures, including Princess Peach. Mario manages to avoid being turned into an origami figure, but Peach's castle is separated from its foundations by five massive streamers. Mario has teamed up with King Olly's sister, Olivia, in order to destroy the streamers and save the kingdom from their origami fate.
Arts & Crafts
Paper Mario: The Origami King is a turn-based RPG set in a huge colorful world made from art supplies. The visuals of the game are stunning, with the cartoon paper world being a treat for the eyes. The same is true of the origami foes and hulking 3D bosses, all of which are bursting with personality. The soundtrack is equally amazing, with a mixture of remixes of classic Super Mario Bros. tunes and toe-tapping new songs. It's not hyperbole to say that Paper Mario: The Origami King could be the best-looking game on Switch.
There are some battles in Paper Mario: The Origami King which involves bashing enemies on the world map, but the bulk of the fights in the game use the ring combat system. The battles take place on a massive segmented set of rings. It's the player's job to move enemies into a straight line or a two-by-two square within a certain number of moves. If they do this, then they will gain an attack bonus during their round. The ring system is a great concept and lining up the enemies can be fiendish at times. The problem is that it's often too easy, especially as the player can spend coins to increase the time they have left to take their turn.
The boss battles are far more interesting, as they start Mario outside of the ring, and the player has to line up a series of arrows and icons in Mario's path so that they can strike the boss' weak spot. These battles have a ton of creativity and they are easily the highlight of the game. It's just a shame that the regular battles don't have the same level of depth. The regular battles quickly become monotonous, due to their ease and the lack of options. Paper Mario: The Origami King would have benefitted from a bigger selection of weapons and special moves in order to shake things up and keep the player invested. As it stands, lining up enemies in the same manner each time quickly grows tiresome.
The other major issue with Paper Mario: The Origami King is the lack of an experience point system. The only benefit to completing random battles is coins, but these can be found everywhere in the overworld. The game would have greatly benefited from a level up system and special abilities, instead of finite items. In the end, the combat system feels functional, but its simplicity and lack of rewards stop it from living up to its full potential. Paper Mario: The Origami King tries to replace the experience points mechanic with coins, which can be used to buy extra time or bribe the toads in the audience of the battle arena for items, but this doesn’t amount to much when coins are so plentiful.
Be Still, My Paper Heart
With all of that being said, the allure of Paper Mario: The Origami King is in its writing and exploring its world. The dialogue is hilarious and each resident of the Mushroom Kingdom is ready with their own zingers whenever they show up. The game is broken up into massive areas that encourage exploration, There are toads hidden all around the game world and Paper Mario needs to solve puzzles in the environment to free them, which often involves hitting things with his hammer. Paper Mario: The Origami King is a collect-a-thon in its purest form and searching its world for secrets is always a joy. The only downside is the Confetti mechanic, as Paper Mario has to fill in holes with the landscape with confetti in order to receive coins or access new areas. This mechanic quickly grows tiresome and filling the bag becomes a chore in some areas.
One minor issue with the game is the motion controls. Olivia gives Mario the power to influence the landscape by creating massive arms that can fold or tear the world around him. The Joy-Cons seem to struggle with these movements, and it's advised that the player switch the motion controls off in the menu.
Paper Mario: The Origami King is a game that is full of charm and wit, with a world that is so fun that it makes you want to explore every corner of its colorful landscape. The combat system lets it down (outside of the boss battles), but it's more of a grind than a nuisance. Paper Mario: The Origami is a great game despite its flaws, and it's a return to form for the series.
A Switch copy of Paper Mario: The Origami King was purchased by TheGamer for this review. Paper Mario: The Origami King is available now for Nintendo Switch.
Paper Mario: The Origami King
Paper Mario: The Origami King is a mixed-genre game that was launched in 2020, bringing the Mario subseries to the Nintendo Switch for the first time. In it, Mario and Luigi aim to save the Mushroom Kingdom from the nefarious King Olly.