and key items in a submersible. The radial battles are
repurposed several times during an entertaining late-
in-the-day game show interlude. A visit to a trap-filled
house of ninjas is followed by a stage show involving a
cameo for another Mushroom Kingdom alumna, and a
quick-draw shootout. You’ll even find a chain of coffee
shops, where minions kick back to discuss the issues of
the day – such as whether Goombas or Shy Guys are
Bowser’s preferred underlings. In a series known for
variety, this takes some beating, while the contiguous
world ensures that, by the end, you feel like you’ve been
on a long and fulfilling journey. Even the sporadic pop-
culture references are well-judged: nods to Brooklyn
Nine-Nine and Arrested Development, to name but two
examples, are made to work as jokes in their own right.
There is an overabundance of riches here, and we’re
not even talking about the questionable in-game
economy. The Origami King is generous to a fault with
ideas, introducing new wrinkles to its battle system
right to the end, some of which you’ll wish had arrived
sooner. And it wouldn’t be a Paper Mario game without
a few patience-testing twists, though there’s nothing as
infuriating as Color Splash’s steak battle, nor anything
that wastes your time as much as Sticker Star’s single-
use gimmicks. Like many of its predecessors, The
Origami King marches to an eccentric rhythm at times,
but in a challenging year, you’ll struggle to find a game
that strives so consistently to put a smile on your face.
Yes, there are holes in this world. But by the time Mario
and Luigi ride off into the sunset, it’s everything
around them that you’ll remember.^8a heart or two or a string of coins. And then there’s the
1000-Fold Arms ability, which gives Mario a pair of
concertina-like limbs, with which he can flip or pummel
opponents. These are used outside battle to peel scenery
away, revealing a variety of secrets (and, yes, tearing off
a perforated strip in one go is every bit as satisfying as
it is in real life). But it’s here they’re implemented most
effectively – assuming you turn off the wonky, and
thankfully optional, motion controls – since they
provide a cathartic finish to the trickiest fights.
It’s here, too, that The Origami King is at its most
thrillingly strange and inventive, particularly in the later
stages once Olivia has gained the ability to transform
into four elemental beasts (in keeping with the game’s
love of papery puns, they’re known as Vellumentals).
Beating them in the first place involves navigating
a route between smouldering feathers or negotiating an
ice maze, with one very specific path to the finish. Then
once you’ve obtained these new guises, you use them
in battle against Olly’s stationery-themed lieutenants.
When Mario fails to defend himself against a giant
hole-punch, you need to retrieve his face from the field
of play, else you’ll have to win with a depleted health
bar. A tape dispenser needs to be, well, dispensed with
before you can get your hands on the sticky customer
encased within. And to defeat the magnificently-named
Jean-Pierre Colored Pencils The 12th, you need to find
a way to contain its sharp-nibbed missiles.
Much of what comes between these set-pieces is
equally memorable. You engage in realtime battles with
giant papier-mâché versions of familiar enemies. There’s
an island-hopping treasure hunt on an open ocean that
recalls The Wind Waker, where you visit locations
scribbled by NPCs on your sea map, dredging up loot
FUN GUYS
No doubt some will complain
that The Origami King’s biggest
optional aside once again
involves rescuing a variety of
Toads scattered across the
world. Yet they’re often
inventively hidden: some have
been folded up into origami
cicadas, birds and beetles, while
others you’ll find rolled up and
posted into holes in walls.
Amusingly, one is only visible
when you peer through
a telescope’s viewfinder, its
face appearing in leering
close-up. Your main incentive
to seek them out is to
repopulate Toad Town: over
the course of your adventure,
this empty hub steadily
becomes a bustling delight. And
it’s a joy to see them pack out
the bleachers around the
battlefield, voicing their
admiration for the 1000-Fold
Arms’ “raw, wiggly power”.We’re pleased to see Snifits taking a well-earned break at this lavish hotel.
You’ll occasionally be invited to take a load off, too: stop by an empty
bench, and you can chat with Olivia while your HP is fully replenished