Paper Mario: The Origami King Review
There is to be a huge festival celebrating Origami right outside of Peach’s Castle. You and your brother, Luigi, are running a little late to the celebration. Upon your arrival something is terribly wrong, no one seems to be around, and as a hero always does, you have to investigate to find out what is going on, and to make sure the princess is safe. This of course is the tried and true story line of almost all Mario games, and so Paper Mario: The Origami King begins.
The castle shall be stolen, and it will be up to you, and your new origami friend, Olivia, to try to stop the destruction of the Origami King, Olivia’s brother. He as taken control of many of the enemies in the world and has folded them into origami copies that will seek you out and try to stop you from reaching your goal, saving the princess (oh course). Many areas in the game will appear with a metal frame appearance, you will need to use confetti that you will be collecting as you go along to make those places whole again. There are also hidden Toads throughout the game that you’ll have to free from origami shapes, holes, trees, etc.
Speaking of freeing Toads there is actually yet more collectible items in the game. There are the mystery blocks that are hidden throughout the game that you’ll have to find. There is also the trophies that depict different objects, enemies, or areas. On top of this being a Mario game there is definitely a completionist piece to the game. When you pull up the map, you will see percentage of Toads, Mystery Blocks, and Holes Repaired. This is actually the first game in a long time that I definitely put some effort in trying to get as close to 100% complete as possible. Sadly I did fall short, there were a couple of Mystery Blocks, and at least ONE FREAKING TOAD I just couldn’t find.
Now I know there will be those who yearn for that 100% but they know they can’t find everything if they don’t get a little help and I’m hear to tell you that there are items that can do just that. Throughout the game you’re going to have access to accessories that will give you more health, better defense, more time (I’ll explain in a second), help you find Toads (or Mystery Blocks, etc), and there’s also a couple of additional items, that have a battery limit to them, that will allow you to further hone in on what you’re trying to find. When combat occurs you will have to use at least one of two primary weapons, boots or hammer. There are of course your fire flowers, ice flowers, and mushrooms at your disposal as well.
Alright so lets talk combat. This is probably one of the most frustrating things in the game. There are actually two different types of combat that you’ll run into, the normal enemy combat, and the boss fights. In the normal combat you will find Mario in the middle of a circle that has 4 outer loops that can rotate, or you can also shift just a column. You will be given a finite amount of moves, and a time limit to try to line up all the enemies into a straight line or into a 2x2 grid. If you are successful you’ll get a damage bonus. You will then have to decide what type of attack you will attempt. If you choose the boots you’ll be attempting to jump 4 times in a straight line. If you choose the hammer you’ll be attacking a 2x2 grid. There are a wide range of boots and hammers out there and with the exception of the starting boots and hammer they all have a certain durability to them (so you’re going to need to stock up on those often). Now as for the boss battles, the boss will be in the center circle and you will be attempting to create a set of instructions that will get you into attacking position. You will have to navigate using the arrows that are placed on the different rings, you will have a limited amount of turns as well as time, and you are trying to aim for some sort of attack. Honestly I really enjoyed this mechanic over the normal enemy one.
Here’s the thing, this is a Mario game, its polished, it gives you the awesome feeling of being Mario and saving the day yet again. There’s nothing more that I really have to say. If you’re a Mario fan, you’re going to get this game. You probably already have this game, but if you don’t do yourself a favor and get it, right now.