In a surprise to many, Paper Mario: The Origami King was announced earlier this year to bolster the Nintendo Switch lineup in 2020, and fan reaction indicated nearly immediately that this was a good decision. For the uninitiated, Paper Mario is one of the hidden gems of the Mario empire, a series that has been reimagined and reiterated several times but has never lost the allure of its core concept - RPG-inspired gameplay and characters that aren't afraid to make fun of themselves. While the former quality isn't at the forefront of the paper plumber's newest journey, the latter returns with full force, and Paper Mario: The Origami King is the best way to experience the series yet thanks to its combat system and delightful story.
Paper Mario: The Origami King is set in the Mushroom Kingdom and follows Mario as he attempts to unravel the nefarious plot of the titular king, who has folded many of the kingdom's denizens into mindless soldiers attempting to convert everyone into origami. Mostly, the Origami King is an excuse to introduce an amazing aesthetic to the game, as the contrast between the traditional Paper Mario style and origami depictions makes for an attention-grabbing environment. Mario is joined by Olivia, the Origami King's sister, in the journey to defeat the evil Legion of Stationery, rescue the princess (and the castle, which has also been stolen), and get things back to as normal as they get in the paper variant of the Mushroom Kingdom.
Paper Mario: The Origami King maintains some of the RPG elements that fans have come to expect from the series, mainly in the sense that Mario can upgrade his kit with various items and weapons to help his performance in battles - which are also turn-based, though with a unique twist. Paper Mario: The Origami King features combat that is much more like solving small puzzles than the traditional interpretation of turn-based skirmishes. Mario has to organize his opponents prior to attacking them, with each combat featuring optimal configurations that will make them easier. This is done by rotating rings on the battlefield or moving enemies on a conveyor belt-like vertical shift, with the ultimate goal being grouping enemies in a straight line or in groups.
While this sounds simple, it adds a fun layer to Paper Mario: The Origami King that makes the smaller battles that populate the world much more palatable. It's genuinely possible to get through nearly every fight with full health if the player has the hang of the puzzle system, but that doesn't mean there aren't other elements influencing battles either. Players will still need to input timing-based commands during Mario's attacks - stomps, hammer swings, and the like - and timing them perfectly results in better damage.
Paper Mario: The Origami King also takes a page from Sticker Star in the way it builds out its game system. Paper Mario: The Origami King features no experience gain whatsoever, instead relying on introducing mechanics naturally through the game's story or better items and equipment through the accumulation of coins. While it seems bizarre to cut experience from what is very much still an RPG experience, it works for Paper Mario: The Origami King for much of the game - though, towards the end, it feels as though there could've been another progression system baked in somewhere to reward players for really exploring all of the game's content.
That content runs deep, however, and makes Paper Mario: The Origami King an enjoyable journey from start to finish. Each zone has collectibles hidden away for interested players, and the environments vary quite a bit, with each of them hearkening back to some of the series' most popular archetypal locations - sewers, dungeons, forests, and all the other classics are present here. Far from being boring, however, their imaginative design and deep, item-rich layout make them a pleasure to explore even if players feel like they've been through them countless times before.
The biggest selling point of Paper Mario: The Origami King is surprisingly not its fun puzzle battles or its beautiful world design, however. The Paper Mario: The Origami King story steals the show, with each character charmingly implemented as either caricatures of themselves or surprisingly deep representations of beloved characters. While Paper Mario: The Origami King is suitable for children, it also has a lot of witty, mature humor - something that's been present in the series in virtually all of its previous iterations, but shines here. It's not uncommon to find multiple sources of laugh-out-loud material in a single cutscene, and the way characters ooze personality through changes in facial expressions or small, 2D movements is fantastic. Even absent its enjoyable and replayable mechanics, Paper Mario: The Origami King would be recommended based on narrative alone.
That story leads to many of the game's side characters, who aren't permanent but leave a lasting impression on the game. They also help make sections distinct, as Paper Mario: The Origami King eschews chapter-based narratives in favor of world exploration. That being said, it would've been nice to have a more permanent party setup with various characters accessible throughout the story, as the actual combat itself can be easy to solve quickly when it's just Mario against enemies. Allies like Bobby the Bob-omb are great, but they don't factor in nearly enough to make them feel like they matter in combat, which is a missed opportunity given the popularity of allies in past versions of the series.
There's a lot of new elements present in Paper Mario: The Origami King, and nearly all of them work. The origami-based abilities of Mario don't feel like they factor in often enough early, but they expand and become more interesting as the game unfolds. Combat threatens to get stale as the player gets deeper into specific zones, but there's just enough that gets added or changed as progression moves forward that it stays interesting. There's a constant tension in Paper Mario: The Origami King between the game's core systems, which are designed to be simple and accessible, and the ambitious story - it's a long-ish game, and staying simple but compelling throughout is tough. Somehow, though, the game manages, with few stumbles.
Paper Mario: The Origami King is pound-for-pound the best version of the series yet. An endlessly enjoyable story, a unique take on combat that fuses puzzle-solving with RPG traditions, and a beautiful world full of adventure makes Paper Mario: The Origami King yet another must-play Nintendo Switch experience.
Paper Mario: The Origami King is available now on Nintendo Switch. Screen Rant was provided with a digital download code for the purpose of this review.