Paper Mario: The Origami King Review (with spoilers)

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Paper Mario: The Origami King is the sixth installment in the Paper Mario series. It was released on the Nintendo Switch worldwide on 17 July 2020. The game follows Mario, who opposes an evil army of origami characters known as Folded Soldiers. They are ruled by the Origami King, King Olly.

This was my first experience with the Paper Mario series, and the ring-based system used to solve puzzles was a pretty interesting and novel way to play a game. Some gamers have said that it is a bit repetitive and pointless, but I think it's a relaxing way to play a game for the first time. 

Your brain does not overwork itself trying to solve complex puzzles, and you have fun while following along the storyline (which by the way was pretty nice). The motion controls are relatively easy enough compared to the likes to Mario Odyssey or Zelda, so it's the perfect game for a first timer too. 

Oh and did I mention that the animation and art transition is simply beautiful? The way Olivia transforms and folds herself into an elemental is a treat for the eyes!

So back to the game's storyline.... In order to bring back the world to its original form, Mario together which his new friend, Olivia travel throughout the Kingdom to defeat the Folded Soldiers and their overlord, King Olly.

The battle ring system might be rather repetitive at times, but getting those coins for shopping and confetti to fill up the holes was a motivation. It did help that the battles with the big bosses were more challenging and different from the usual. Instead of sliding the boss into position, you have to create routes for Mario to follow so that he can step on buttons to activate abilities to trump the bosses. 

Depending on the direction he can turn certain abilities on. Once turned on, he can use the special abilities. The challenging part is that you need to get him to land on an attack icon to deliver a devastating blow. Miscalculating your movements or land on the wrong button might be a regular occurrence and Mario might not be able to attack.

There are 5 streamers (big bosses to defeat): Red, Blue, Yellow, Purple, and Green.

[Paper Mario Walkthrough Guide] -> this was a life saver clearing some of the challenging stages.

The journey to each streamer leads to a different part of the kingdom and simply exploring the areas are a visual treat. Along the way, they pick up a Bob-omb with amnesia, whom Olivia names Bobby. He helps in some battles and is really handy to have around. 

What I was not expecting was him sacrificing himself to save Olivia after he regains back his memory. I was totally not expecting that. I thought it was a happy feels game... till Bobby blew himself up. I did get quite attached to that little bomb. 😭

After getting over my virtual grief (for about a month), there were some quirky characters which also grew on me. The Professor, who is a Toad who can dig up coins and treasure! If only I had someone like this in real life, my bank account would also be plush.

In addition, Olivia, whom some (experienced) players might find irritating as she pops up to guide Mario (the player) to certain points in the game; too much hand holding they think. However, if this is your very first game, she is the perfect guide and to be honest, I kind of grew fond of her as we travelled the Kingdom defeating the foes. Just like Bobby, I was totally not expecting her (pointless) end. Yes, you read that right... she "died". 😭😭😭

Of course they have an alternative or true ending, but both King Olly and Olivia are shown as origami people in their origami castle and it's up to you to imagine they are happily ever after. 

Verdict: 3.5/5

After 55+ hours invested into this game and after reaching the ending, I can say this game started out as a fun narrative with plenty of exciting locations and ended up a little bittersweet. As I progressed along the story, I started to get attached to the characters that when I realized they were no longer, it left a virtual void in my virtual heart. 💔

Because of what happened to Bobby, it took me awhile before I could continue on and complete the game. While I enjoyed the mechanics, gameplay and adorable paper animations, the ending could have been better. For a children's game, the theme starts out fun and cute but ends on a heavy note with a badly worded wish which ruined everything (for me).

Happier times with Bobby 

Also, the whole premise was a little weird: a Toad who is so good at making origami folded the antagonist, Olly, and using a forbidden technique gives him life only for his creation to turn on him. Olly is Olivia's brother, but he is the one who folded her and used the same technique to bring her to life. So instead of being Olivia's brother won't he considered more like a father? But no, he is her brother.... who then goes on to cause havoc to the Mushroom Kingdom and Olivia aims to set it right as it originally was, sacrificing herself in the process.

A little google search also turned up some depressing news that as cute as the Paper Mario Series sounds, the endings are always "bad". The accompanying "new" characters never survive and must always sacrifice themselves for the greater good (of the storyline).  I mean.. like why though? 

Does it have to have that morale to the story in order to make it a good game where such a (pointless) sacrifice is needed? 

Life is already riddled with it's own challenge's so why would someone knowingly want to pay to play a depressing series which is disguised as adorable is beyond me. I am not against bad endings, they just have to make sense to be good. 

At the very least they could scripted the game better, and given it a more satisfying ending which makes more sense. Then again, maybe that is why they included the alternate "happier" ending which still was lackluster. 

Why do the accompanying mascot characters of the Paper Mario Series always have to sacrifice themselves for the greater good even if there could have been a better ending? Just because they will not have their own game series does not mean they have to be "killed off". They could happily live in their virtual worlds and avoid such needless "deaths" with the right smart choices.

Paper Mario: The Origami King might be the game for you if you like the bizarre charm found within Mario's world and love participating in puzzles. Also if you can stomach the not so satisfying ending.  I would have loved it if the ending was more conclusive and obviously not just means to an end with the wrong choice of words and a whole lot of naivety on Olivia's part. 

Under S$60 at Shopee

Have you played Paper Mario: The Origami King yet? If so, what are your thoughts about it? Let us know in the comments below!