Upon learning there was a Paper Mario game on the Switch I knew I wanted to play it. Despite wanting to play it I put it off because of the immense amount of criticism it received at release. This criticism, like most criticism the series has received since The Thousand-Year Door, is that the combat system isn't that of a traditional turn-based RPG. I decided to check it out anyway and see for myself if the hate it receives is warranted.
In Origami King you play as Paper Mario, unsurprisingly. You arrive at Princess Peach's Castle to find that she, and a large number of the Mushroom Kingdom's inhabitants, have been folded up into origami by the evil King Olly (aka the Origami King). The castle, with origami Peach still inside, gets ripped from the ground by some colorful ribbons which transport it far out of Paper Mario's reach. It is up to you to destroy the ribbons, defeat King Olly, save Princess Peach, and return normalcy to the Mushroom Kingdom.
Though the overall story is a bit lackluster, the writing throughout is fantastic. The Paper Mario series has always been known for its humor and Origami King truly shines in this regard. The conversations and interactions are well written, funny, and quite honestly some of the best I have ever seen in a Nintendo game. I had a smile on my face throughout and found myself laughing out loud far more than I had expected to. The writing really is that good!
As for the gameplay, it is broken up into three main styles: exploration, enemy battles, and boss battles. The exploration segments work as they do in any game of this style: you walk around, talk to world's inhabitants, find collectibles, etc. Each world was unique from one another (and the designs were fantastic!), and each was filled with interesting characters to interact with and a few simple puzzles to solve. I honestly found each of the game's world to be a joy to explore.
The enemy battle segment of the gameplay is where Origami's main criticisms comes from. Rather than traditional turn-based combat the battles are mini-puzzles that take place on a circular grid. Paper Mario stands in the middle of this grid and your goal is to line up the enemies in specific formations (either a line of 4 or a 2x2 square) by rotating and sliding the grid, and then attacking these groups of enemies. This is simple enough, but things are made a bit trickier due to a time limit and a move limit per turn. Solving a puzzle correctly allows you to do more damage to your enemies and earns you more coins at the end of the battle. Like with other Paper Mario games there are still bonuses achieved when you time your button presses at the right time when attacking or when being attacked, which made the combat feel a bit more engaging than it would have been otherwise. Early on in the game I found the battle system to be pretty confusing, but after a few hours I got accustomed to it grew to really enjoy it. For those that struggle with the combat there are a few ways to make it a bit easier (accessibility options, unlockable accessories, using coins to help solve the puzzle or to give you extra time), which I thought was a nice touch (though the accessibility options aren't unlocked until a few hours in, which I thought was an odd decision on Nintendo's part).
The third gameplay element is the boss battles. These battles work similarly to the regular enemy battles but instead of Paper Mario being in the middle of the circular grid he finds himself on the outside edge of it and the boss is in the middle. The grid for these battles is littered with a number of unique panels that need to be utilized effectively to ensure victory. The grid panels include arrows to direct your movement, upgrade panels (extra turns, double damage), treasure chests, attack panels (used to damage the boss), as well as a few others. When it is your turn, you shift and rotate the grid to create the most effective path to the boss while collecting power ups and other goodies along the way. Damaging a boss is rarely as simple as just getting close to it and attacking it though. Each battle is unique from one another, requiring different tactics to finally take it down. Working to determine what tactics were needed to take down each boss was immensely satisfying! I consider these battles to be a real highlight to the game. Nintendo should be applauded for how these were handled.
One thing to note about the game's battles is that they do not reward XP but rather you earn coins. Lots and lots of coins. These coins can be used for a number of purposes in the game: buying new items (attack items, collectibles, health upgrades, etc.), buying additional time in battles, or buying assistance in solving a combat puzzle. You earn an absolute ton of coins throughout the game, which I thought was a bit odd, but having so many in my possession made me rarely feel like I shouldn't use them. Shop has a shiny new item I want to buy? Sold! Struggling with a combat puzzle? Sure, I'll spend a few hundred coins to get through this easier. I feel some sort of an XP system in addition to the coins would have been nice, but what is here is not bad by any means.
One more thing worth noting: I feel that the pacing in Origami King was pretty much perfect. The overall length of the adventure was spot on (not too long, not too short) and the time spent in each of the game's worlds never overstayed or under stayed its welcome. This may not be a major point of contention for some gamers, but I thought I would point it out still.
As far as graphics go, Origami King is one of the best-looking games on the Switch. Nintendo did an absolutely fantastic job with this game's art style, using an arts and crafts aesthetic that works incredibly well and gives the entire game world such a unique feel. Nintendo is no stranger to using this type of design in their games (Kirby's Epic Yarn, Yoshi's Wooly World, Yoshi's Crafted World, etc.), but I feel Origami King pulls it off the best out of all of them. Each of the game's worlds are legitimately unique from one another, each with their own looks and graphical elements that really make them stand out. I was always excited to see what the next world had in store for me. I honestly can't say enough good about this game's graphics. Wow, just wow!
I am not normally huge into a game's sound design, but I was thoroughly impressed by everything on show in The Origami King. The sound effects worked well enough and they were fitting for this style of game. But the soundtrack... oh the soundtrack! The music was simply beautiful and really added to the atmosphere of each of the game's world's and fit the aesthetics so well. The music was so so good!
I was honestly incredibly surprised by how much fun I had with The Origami King. I almost ignored this game entirely because of the hate the game receives, but I think most of that hate comes from people who haven't even played it or who never gave it a fair shot. The game has an entertaining story, humorous writing (some of the best I have ever seen from Nintendo), fun gameplay (especially during those boss battles!), incredible graphics, and a fantastic soundtrack. Fans of the Paper Mario series owe it to themselves to at least give this a try and decide for themselves if they like it or not. I think most of them will be pleasantly surprised if they do. Highly recommended!
In Origami King you play as Paper Mario, unsurprisingly. You arrive at Princess Peach's Castle to find that she, and a large number of the Mushroom Kingdom's inhabitants, have been folded up into origami by the evil King Olly (aka the Origami King). The castle, with origami Peach still inside, gets ripped from the ground by some colorful ribbons which transport it far out of Paper Mario's reach. It is up to you to destroy the ribbons, defeat King Olly, save Princess Peach, and return normalcy to the Mushroom Kingdom.
Though the overall story is a bit lackluster, the writing throughout is fantastic. The Paper Mario series has always been known for its humor and Origami King truly shines in this regard. The conversations and interactions are well written, funny, and quite honestly some of the best I have ever seen in a Nintendo game. I had a smile on my face throughout and found myself laughing out loud far more than I had expected to. The writing really is that good!
As for the gameplay, it is broken up into three main styles: exploration, enemy battles, and boss battles. The exploration segments work as they do in any game of this style: you walk around, talk to world's inhabitants, find collectibles, etc. Each world was unique from one another (and the designs were fantastic!), and each was filled with interesting characters to interact with and a few simple puzzles to solve. I honestly found each of the game's world to be a joy to explore.
The enemy battle segment of the gameplay is where Origami's main criticisms comes from. Rather than traditional turn-based combat the battles are mini-puzzles that take place on a circular grid. Paper Mario stands in the middle of this grid and your goal is to line up the enemies in specific formations (either a line of 4 or a 2x2 square) by rotating and sliding the grid, and then attacking these groups of enemies. This is simple enough, but things are made a bit trickier due to a time limit and a move limit per turn. Solving a puzzle correctly allows you to do more damage to your enemies and earns you more coins at the end of the battle. Like with other Paper Mario games there are still bonuses achieved when you time your button presses at the right time when attacking or when being attacked, which made the combat feel a bit more engaging than it would have been otherwise. Early on in the game I found the battle system to be pretty confusing, but after a few hours I got accustomed to it grew to really enjoy it. For those that struggle with the combat there are a few ways to make it a bit easier (accessibility options, unlockable accessories, using coins to help solve the puzzle or to give you extra time), which I thought was a nice touch (though the accessibility options aren't unlocked until a few hours in, which I thought was an odd decision on Nintendo's part).
The third gameplay element is the boss battles. These battles work similarly to the regular enemy battles but instead of Paper Mario being in the middle of the circular grid he finds himself on the outside edge of it and the boss is in the middle. The grid for these battles is littered with a number of unique panels that need to be utilized effectively to ensure victory. The grid panels include arrows to direct your movement, upgrade panels (extra turns, double damage), treasure chests, attack panels (used to damage the boss), as well as a few others. When it is your turn, you shift and rotate the grid to create the most effective path to the boss while collecting power ups and other goodies along the way. Damaging a boss is rarely as simple as just getting close to it and attacking it though. Each battle is unique from one another, requiring different tactics to finally take it down. Working to determine what tactics were needed to take down each boss was immensely satisfying! I consider these battles to be a real highlight to the game. Nintendo should be applauded for how these were handled.
One thing to note about the game's battles is that they do not reward XP but rather you earn coins. Lots and lots of coins. These coins can be used for a number of purposes in the game: buying new items (attack items, collectibles, health upgrades, etc.), buying additional time in battles, or buying assistance in solving a combat puzzle. You earn an absolute ton of coins throughout the game, which I thought was a bit odd, but having so many in my possession made me rarely feel like I shouldn't use them. Shop has a shiny new item I want to buy? Sold! Struggling with a combat puzzle? Sure, I'll spend a few hundred coins to get through this easier. I feel some sort of an XP system in addition to the coins would have been nice, but what is here is not bad by any means.
One more thing worth noting: I feel that the pacing in Origami King was pretty much perfect. The overall length of the adventure was spot on (not too long, not too short) and the time spent in each of the game's worlds never overstayed or under stayed its welcome. This may not be a major point of contention for some gamers, but I thought I would point it out still.
As far as graphics go, Origami King is one of the best-looking games on the Switch. Nintendo did an absolutely fantastic job with this game's art style, using an arts and crafts aesthetic that works incredibly well and gives the entire game world such a unique feel. Nintendo is no stranger to using this type of design in their games (Kirby's Epic Yarn, Yoshi's Wooly World, Yoshi's Crafted World, etc.), but I feel Origami King pulls it off the best out of all of them. Each of the game's worlds are legitimately unique from one another, each with their own looks and graphical elements that really make them stand out. I was always excited to see what the next world had in store for me. I honestly can't say enough good about this game's graphics. Wow, just wow!
I am not normally huge into a game's sound design, but I was thoroughly impressed by everything on show in The Origami King. The sound effects worked well enough and they were fitting for this style of game. But the soundtrack... oh the soundtrack! The music was simply beautiful and really added to the atmosphere of each of the game's world's and fit the aesthetics so well. The music was so so good!
I was honestly incredibly surprised by how much fun I had with The Origami King. I almost ignored this game entirely because of the hate the game receives, but I think most of that hate comes from people who haven't even played it or who never gave it a fair shot. The game has an entertaining story, humorous writing (some of the best I have ever seen from Nintendo), fun gameplay (especially during those boss battles!), incredible graphics, and a fantastic soundtrack. Fans of the Paper Mario series owe it to themselves to at least give this a try and decide for themselves if they like it or not. I think most of them will be pleasantly surprised if they do. Highly recommended!
Slaking
1 year ago
While I still wish it was a turn-based RPG and thought it was a little up-and-down, moments of TOK really approach old-school (GCN lol) era greatness.