Paper Mario: The Origami King - Nintendo Switch

So the original Paper Mario for the N64 was a masterpiece. It was followed up by an even greater masterpiece for the Gamecube with Paper Mario the Thousand Year Door. These were both traditional role playing games. With Super Paper Mario on the Wii they went with a very different approach and although the gameplay was more of a puzzle platformer, it was still an okay game. But then came Paper Mario Sticker Star for the 3ds, and Paper Mario Color Splash for the Wii U. These games were apparently supposed to be “experiments” to try and keep things fresh, but they got rid of everything that made Paper Mario games good in the first place. Stickers and paint were consumable items but the game threw them at you constantly making it pointless that they were even disposable in the first place. There was absolutely no reason to battle because you got no experience points for fighting, defeating the entire purpose of an RPG. Sadly, The Origami King continues this now sad tradition of dumbing the game down so a wider audience of little kids can play it without needing any skill. Battles are still pointless, and only offer coins and confetti as a reward. You can get coins and confetti just from exploring the overworld so there is literally no reason to battle. If you do decide to battle, it’s tedious and unrewarding. The graphics are good as to be expected and the dialogue is well written. The game does a lot of things right. But there’s simply no incentive to play it when it’s this mind-numbingly dumbed down. You will never die. You’ll never run out of coins. And if you somehow are bad enough to actually need help, you can spend a few coins and the game practically hands you the answers. The game isn’t even listed as an RPG on the eshop, it’s listed as an action/adventure. If you want some cheeky dialogue and something pretty to look at, it’ll pass some time. But don’t go in expecting an actual Paper Mario game.

Show more