This game is in no way the return to form I hoped it would be, but it was a pleasant surprise regardless. It's hilarious in a way that I never thought a Nintendo game would be, and the story is quite good on its own merits. The gameplay is fun, with a lot of little secrets and whatnot to find in the world, and the battle mechanic gets a little old by the end, but I liked it for the most part.

But man, I don't know why they don't design original characters for these games anymore. It's not quite as bad as Color Splash, where everyone is a different color Toad, but outside of the main antagonist and your partner, everyone (iirc) is an existing Mario character, with no unique features at all. To be fair, the origami enemies are a new design, but they don't have any personality since they're all just expendable enemies. And I get why the bosses are office supplies - it's paper, get it?!? - but when I look at that and look back to Tubba Blubba and Hooktail, I shed a tear. Original characters add so much charm to games like this, and Nintendo just refuses to do it at this point. I don't get it! To be honest, the office supply bosses are personified very well, but I'd still have preferred them to be... not office supplies.

I had a great time with this game, but I'm sad at how close it was to being amazing.