So, let’s dive into this with a little quick and dirty history lesson. Paper Mario is a series that began in August 2000 in Japan, and February of 2001 in North America. (So it’s been around for a while.) Of course, Mario is out to try and rescue Princess Peach from Bowser, and Bowser’s also made himself invisible. Mario and friends must solve puzzles and defeat enemies in a turn-based battle setting to be able to eventually beat Bowser.
Origami’ed Peach!Paper Mario: The Origami King is the newest entry to the franchise, having come out on the Switch last month. Princess Peach still needs rescuing, but surprisingly it’s not from Bowser this time. King Olly and his Folded Soldiers have invaded; the origami characters have imprisoned most in Toad Town and have turned them into Folded Soldiers as well. Bowser gets folded into a square and Mario rescues him and meets King Olly’s sister, Olivia. Olivia gives Mario “1000-Fold Arms” that can help manipulate the environment.
The 1000-Fold Arms are a pretty cool mechanic; I like the extra reach in doing different things to the environment. Confetti also plays a role in the game. King Olly wreaks havoc on Toad Town and ends up ripping the castle off its foundations and bringing it somewhere else. Paper confetti is strewn everywhere, and Mario’s able to collect it to patch holes in the environment to get to new places and collect hidden items. (It’s like paint in Color Splash.)
I’ve been playing off and on for, I’d say probably ten hours. Overall, I enjoy the game. The different environments I’ve come across look great, Olivia is a great sidekick, and the game has my kind of humor. However, I can’t decide if I want to keep playing.
Turn-based strategy games and I don’t always mix, but the turn-based combat in Origami King is something else. Mario gets put in the middle of a ring and has a short amount of time to group the enemies up in either a straight line or two rows of two. For me, that combat adds nothing to the experience, and it’s making the game more of a grind than it should be.
It’s obvious that the team at Intelligent Systems put their love and passion in the game. It’s funny and original, the characters are great, the design is beautiful, I just want absolutely nothing to do with the combat.
