Paper Mario: The Origami King Who would have imagined that the series gave birth in the 2000s at home Nintendo would continue to evolve to survive time, coming in style in 2020. Let's talk about paper Mario, a saga of titles dedicated to the mustachioed plumber that could almost be defined as a “niche”, due to a play system not exactly in line with the other works of the Japanese house. However, with extreme class and enthusiasm, Nintendo is ready to finally offer us the definitive version of Paper Mario: The Origami King, a title that we have already explored through our specific preview.
We finally had the chance to try the game thoroughly, discovering its strengths, features and weaknesses. There was no lack of space to retrace an evolution that lasted 20 years with the mind, able to have its say on today's market, increasingly fierce and overbearing towards the deserved space dedicated to projects suitable for all ages. So let's see what Paper Mario: The Origami King has shown us in its dozens of hours of gameplay, all experienced through the continuous potential of Nintendo Switch.
Origami or zombie?
With its peculiarities related to the theme of paper, the world of Paper Mario: The Origami King is presented under a flamboyant perspective. However, the initial phases are marked by nefarious events, which act as a context for the whole story. For the occasion of a happy anniversary at Peach's Castle, the Mario brothers set off with Luigi's kart towards the place. However, the place appears desolate, and as the protagonists enter it they have to deal with bizarre and sinister events. The princess, for her part, seems not to have control of her body and is therefore macabre and aloof. The same lures Mario into a trap, making him meet with some henchmen who carry out shady operations.
The plumber manages to escape by a hair, and thanks to the help of origami Olivia arrives outside the castle. But there is waiting for them Olly, Olivia's brother and architect of the misdeeds that the kingdom has suffered. The strange creature has turned all subjects into origami without heart, ready to destroy the kingdom and all the inhabitants. Similarly, Olly manages to steal the princess's castle and protect it with giant ribbons. Mario will have the task of dissolving them, with the ultimate aim of bringing everything back to normal. Olivia will be a truly essential companion, as it will allow us to fully understand the game world and its mechanics, accompanying us step by step throughout the adventure.
This will be divided into two distinct phases of gameplay, both equally valid, which evolve together with the more and more interesting plot, which is able to involve any type of public who wants to embrace the fairy world of the work. We are talking primarily of an exploration sector, crowned by the presence of an extremely large map, but divinely connected through strategic shortcuts and points for rapid movement (represented by the iconic tubes of the series). In addition, the paths are also animated by battles against enemies, which will practically not fail.
Kaleidoscope
The work presents a variety of truly unimaginable situations, which color the experience making it lively.
To advance towards the numerous tapes to be eradicated, the mustachioed plumber will have to venture into maps more varied and inspired than ever, gradually discovering tons of secrets. The strength of Paper Mario: The Origami King's open map is its accuracy; this is capable of leave the players speechless thanks to the infinite ideas of the developer. From the dozens and dozens of Hidden Toads, to Tears to be arranged through the appropriate Confetti, the infinite paths to follow are always full of small puzzles to solve, with a nice and fun character. In fact, there is no lack of fantastic dialogue lines scattered here and there, able to very often snatch a smile from the user. Self-irony has always been a strong component of the Paper Mario saga, and in this case, thanks to the theme jokes he manages to stand out more than ever, except for some sporadic translation errors.
The scenarios have a level of detail outside the norm, observing them well they offer some glimpses iridescent, which observed from a different and more careful perspective hide a quantity of secrets at first sight unimaginable, which will gradually become easier to find as you advance in the hours of play. The interaction allowed is truly immense, and every little visual incongruity can hide a unique object to be discovered. It will not be only the player who will evolve in the search for a thousand collectibles because as we already know Paper Mario: The Origami King is configured as a full-fledged RPG, with the mechanics related to the statistics that are not - like everything else - particularly difficult to understand. In fact, the work wants to be finished with the right level of difficulty, without ever offering too complex "obligatory" puzzles, which the player can, however, search for in completing the scenarios.
For their part, the enemies certainly do not leave the iconic plumber alone, wandering around the levels and trying to stop him. Although in the early stages it is not easy to reach the game over, which brings the gang back to the last saved point visited, in the advanced stages of the work death could be more frequent than expected. Fortunately, Mario is able to power up as he progresses through the campaign, not through a level system, but with unique items and better weapons to use during battles, as well as occasionally with sporadic increases in maximum life. However, the combat system does not only provide good preparation, but also one speed of reasoning joy-con in hand.
In fact, this cannot be properly defined as turn-based combat, since the initial phase is configured as a real-time interaction with the scenario. It will be possible to move the various boxes that make it up vertically and horizontally, in order to place the enemies in an orderly manner and defeat them by obtaining an additional bonus. By unleashing the blows with his weapons, Mario can be helped by the player with very precise quick time events, which significantly increase or decrease the damage based on the user's skill, and therefore allow to win the victory of battles that are difficult to overcome. As the hours go by, the continuous evolution of the system and objects, together with the perennial breath of fresh air that the game world provides, allow you to heavily cushion the inevitable sense of repetitiveness of the battles, which is nevertheless in their maximum splendor through the numerous bosses present in the work.
Paper Mario: The Origami King and the hybrid console
On the technical side, Paper Mario: The Origami King is mostly stable, but shows evident drops in framerate in some sections.
Interfacing with Paper Mario: The Origami King, the user receives an on-screen avalanche of magnificent colors, one more heated and intriguing than the other, which are essential to identify with the history of the world of the Mario brothers. The Nintendo Switch therefore comes to life with a very special magic, whether you take advantage of the portability of this or you want to connect it to a TV, not particularly losing the accuracy of the image in this last case. The game keeps for most of the time i Fixed 30 frames per second, however, stumbling along the way with moments of extreme latency. The details on screen do not particularly justify this technical lack, but the problem is not particularly incisive for the purposes of the games. An interesting factor concerns the possibilities of the console and the joy-con, which they allow peculiar interactions during matches (although touch functions were not used even where possible). In addition, the battery of the console holds up very well the weight of the games, discharging extremely slowly and allowing prolonged gaming sessions.
