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Paper Mario: The Origami King

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Just completed this in around 40 hours. It's probably my favourite new game I've played in the last 12 months, and definitely my favourite of 2020. Haven't gone for 100% but I almost certainly will with the help of some of the helpful accessories. Speaking of which, I appear to have missed some of these and I have no idea how. I also don't really get how I missed some toads/blocks/treasures after feeling like I explored each area thoroughly, so I'm looking forward to going back and finding them.

The criticism around the 'battle' system is a bit misguided, in my opinion. You get coins and confetti for doing them, both of which you need constantly throughout the entire game. Coins more so. I also had a much better appreciation of the battle system as I progressed and found it to be used in more unique & clever ways. The bosses in particular are excellent. There are so many surprises to be found in this game and the gameplay is much more varied than it appears at first.

As this was my first ever Paper Mario game, I would kill to play some more titles in the series now. Does anyone think there is much chance of Color Splash launching on the eShop in a couple of years? Or even getting a full boxed release?

Edited by Tim B
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10 hours ago, Tim B said:

As this was my first ever Paper Mario game, I would kill to play some more titles in the series now. Does anyone think there is much chance of Color Splash launching on the eShop in a couple of years? Or even getting a full boxed release?

Hard to say. It got a lot of criticism because it wasn't an RPG. It kinda flopped. And now that Intelligent Systems have just upped and made a new entry, my guess would be that the chances of it happening are slim.

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Got this for my birthday last week. Been enjoying it so far - the world is an absolute delight. Brilliantly scripted. I'm onto the third streamer...

Spoiler

Through the desert and into Shroom/Snift City

The battle system, though, is what's dragging it down. The puzzle stage is just a chore. And the lack of variety in battles is becoming very dull. Lining up enemies around the circle in different arrangements could have been really unique if here was a variety of attacks or strategies you could take, but no, it's line them up in a straight line for jumps, or a square for hammers. It's becoming a grind. Sure, maybe have those formations for Mario's attacks, but it would've been nice if you had a party with different attacks/formations to consider too. It's disappointing your temporary allies only have one attack, which they control, and from my experience so far, fail to hit 75% of the time. 

Luckily it's not damaging the level of fun I'm having too much... a couple of recent little highlights in the writing/plot:

Spoiler
  • The Paper Macho Donkey Kong and Samus masks :D 
  • Toad in the hotel in Shroom City, his dialogue about being there for a presentation about buying Pyramids!
  • Bobby the Bob-Ombs death - I mean, I know a Bob-Omb's purpose is to explode... but having him straight up commit suicide to save Olivia was DARK for a game kids will be playing!

 

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Really wasn't expecting THAT in a Nintendo game :eek:

Just beat the fourth streamer this morning. 

For me, the game is a lot more memorable than Colour Splash, which I also loved, but at the same time the writing isn't quite as witty, and it's a tad simplistic in terms of platforming/puzzles etc. That said, I think it's an absolute joy to play. The battle system isn't bothering me at all, I actually quite enjoy the puzzle aspect of it and you don't actually run into that many enemies. You can also one hit kill a lot of them in the overworld later on anyway. One of those games that I really don't want to end.

Edited by Ronnie

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I really dislike that the game makes its puzzles easier without a choice if you fail them twice. 

At least just ask me if I want it to be easier. I could have just misstep or something. 

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Just cleared the fourth streamer and on to the next. I think the game gets better and better as we go, but it was quite dull in the beginning and everything was just... easy. Now the battles are getting tougher and if you don't line them up, it's always 20-30 damage as a minimum. And lining them up correctly is really hard sometimes, especially within the timeframe.Could do with more times to try out different things.

I do find the platforming a bit hard, though, as it seems hard to gauge distance correctly sometimes due to weird angles and characters being paper.

The dialogue is not as good as previous games, however, I really enjoy what the Toads say when I find them and Olivia is funny because she is so naive and unexperienced in life. Her remarks are really funny at times.

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I am really enjoying this game but I am not a fan of the battles. I just find the puzzles beforehand a nuisance and can’t wait for them to be over. I feel the total oppersite for the boss battles though which I really like.  Story wise i really like it, not as much as TTYD but it’s been great so far. I just got done with chapter 3 and I honestly never expected *that* to happen, it was nicely done as well as being pretty sad.

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Spoiler

Is it just me or is this minigame Jeopardy quiz really, really hard? 

Got 30, 30, 50 points in Races, Ninjit shuffle, races respectively. But those scrambles, tried both 30 and 50 points and failed miserably. Never got around to try the bathmat ones, unfortunately. I'm good at math. 

 

Edited by MindFreak
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6 minutes ago, MindFreak said:
  Shy guy finish last (Hide contents)

Is it just me or is this minigame Jeopardy quiz really, really hard? 

Got 30, 30, 50 points in Races, Ninjit shuffle, races respectively. But those scrambles, tried both 30 and 50 points and failed miserably. Never got around to try the bathmat ones, unfortunately. I'm good at math. 

 

Yeah it was much tougher than I thought it would be. 

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Just finished this.

Fantastic.

Highly, highly recommended. Every act is better than the last. Quite an emotional/epic finale too.

Edited by Ronnie
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On 17/07/2020 at 1:23 PM, Dog-amoto said:

Well, my order for this from Currys has totally disappeared. I had a pending transaction on my online banking for a while which then disappeared. I’ve had no dispatch email from them, nor have they taken my money. I only ordered from them because I got it for £38 but I shan’t be doing it again. I’m not too fussed about getting the game on release date as I likely won’t play it for a few days. But wondering whether I’ll receive Schrodinger’s parcel is kinda annoying. No response from their customer service channels either. So now I’m left wondering, do I order this from elsewhere only to find they take the money out after I do, or do I just wait about??

Tl;dr - don’t order from Currys. 

Well, an update on this. I got fed up in the end and bought it digitally a couple of days after I posted this. I eventually got through to Currys on the phone to make sure they cancelled my order. The line was terrible, could barely understand what she was saying. She put me on hold and I got cut off. Piss take. 

Anyway, had an email from them a couple of days ago (the first one I’d received from them after the order confirmation) to say that my order had been lost in transit and they were sending a new one. The charge never went through on my card so I’ve received a physical copy of this for free. At least I hope so anyway, can’t see them charging my card now. It’s the least I deserve after all this fuck about. 

Still never ordering from them again. 

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19 hours ago, Ike said:

And the game suddenly turns into Wind Waker.

Yeah. And later, it gets even more obvious. 

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4 hours ago, MindFreak said:

Yeah. And later, it gets even more obvious. 

I think I reached what you're referring to, and it really does. I'm expecting Tingle to show up any moment. 

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Just completed this game fully (?) with a star mark on every single area after 35 hours.

I really had a blast with Origami King! :D Went into it with no expectations whatsoever, and in the beginning I was a little bit like "meh, it's alright". But the story, the dialogues and the world got better and more interesting as the game went on. Towards the end it turned out amazing! Like others said, the battle system is kinda a "love it or hate it" thing. For me too many of the battles seemed pointless, and too often (even more towards the end) I couldn't wrap my head around how to arrange the enemies. Also, while many seem to love the boss battles, they where also not really my thing. I often felt lost and had no idea what move to do next. I know that is the point of these battles, but to me it sometimes felt frustrating. But well, the battles were not so bad to ruin the game for me. :p

The only thing left on my save would be the trophies. For most of them I would've got no idea how to get them, if I didn't ask the internet.

Edited by ThiophenSJ
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I just watched @Dcubed do the fifth streamer boss.

Spoiler

He got hit with "Final Cut". Jesus Christ, how horrifying! The Scissors are not so fun when it's you getting the snip.

That said, it's nice that Paper Mario actually learned something from his adventure in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam.

I was thinking this game was lacking a horrific way for Mario to die. But there it is. But is it more horrifying than in Color Splash?

I think Color Splash is more nightmare inducing, once you realise those Shy Guys are always there waiting for Mario to get knocked out.

Also @Dcubed, I think that might be another way to get a Mingy Jongo style unavoidable death! Does it count?

 

Edited by Glen-i
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Finally beat the game! Time for a shameless plug...

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Click the picture to see my review for the main site

Overall I think it's a very interesting game.  There's a lot more I can talk about with it, but obviously I didn't want to bog down the review with too many nitty gritty details and spoilers.  It's really very odd overall, and I found it actually quite a challenge to review.  There's a LOT of things I absolutely love about this game, but there's also a lot I hate.  It's not the slam dunk that Color Splash was for me, but there's a lot going for it too.

A very weird & experimental take on Paper Mario that hits as often as it misses. Well worth playing for those good bits though!

 

Also.  Can we just talk about this...

Spoiler

Z2wjNKP.jpg

That's fine.  I didn't need to sleep anyway.

Holy Jesus Hell! They really snuck some stuff past the censors with this game! :o I love it! :D 

Also, I bloody love the musical numbers, and the Non-Standard Game Overs in this game (yes I deliberately tripped them; I couldn't help myself! - Though Color Splash did have more of them mind you).  The Legion of Stationary are just great though! Loved every moment with them! :D 

Edited by Dcubed
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Can I complete areas 100% as I come across them or do I need to come back with new gear for some of them?

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3 minutes ago, Tales said:

Can I complete areas 100% as I come across them or do I need to come back with new gear for some of them?

You can get pretty close to 100% for all the areas as you go through the game but some Toads/? blocks are almost impossible to find without a specific bit of gear. There's also a treasure chest you have to come back to near the end of the game that I can specifically remember.

I'd say I got 90% of the collectibles by the time I got to the final boss, and then did an hour or two of clean-up.

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Hot damn! This soundtrack is HOT FIRE!

Just some of my favourite tracks :D 

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Great choices!

The Velumental boss theme is outstanding. 

Heart Island may as well have been a Wind Waker/Zelda track, I guess that was the point. 

Loved Snif City and Toad Town/the theme tune itself too.

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Finished the green streamer section and I hated it. The lowest point of the game for me, turned me off from 100%ing it because I don't want to play a certain mini game(s).

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1 hour ago, Ike said:

Finished the green streamer section and I hated it. The lowest point of the game for me, turned me off from 100%ing it because I don't want to play a certain mini game(s).

Shy Guy? If so, yeah, that's quite understandable. There should be some strategies to get through it, though. 

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