Paper Mario: The Origami King

 Switch
User Score
7.0

Mixed or average reviews- based on 1769 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,103 out of 1769
  2. Mixed: 269 out of 1769
  3. Negative: 397 out of 1769
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  1. KaS36
    Jul 19, 2020
    9
    Great soundtrack
    Amazing visuals
    Interesting environments

    My only gripe with it is the battle system and the fact that there's no incentive to battle, but the rest of the points more than make up for it. EDIT: 2 years later and the game grew even more on me. 9/10!
  2. Enkely
    Jul 18, 2020
    5
    A very cute game. But, the combat is so wrong. Actually you will be avoiding combat all the time because it's not funny at all. And the worst part it's that you will not gain anything besides some coins. No experience points nor anything. The game is a missed opportunity...
  3. LunchBox33
    Jul 18, 2020
    6
    PROS
    - Good adventure game
    - Beautiful game
    - Creative fight mechanic
    - Cool Boss Fights

    CONS
    - Not an RPG
    - The hole fighting mechanic is completely useless
    - "Partners" if you can call them that, are pretty much useless
    - The First part is horribly slow and painful

    CONCLUSION
    - It's a okay mario ADVENTURE game
    - It's not a Paper Mario Game since paper mario games are RPGs
  4. Radd11
    Jul 18, 2020
    9
    I really liked this game. 9/10 without post game. I like puzzles and I like the battle system, but I thought that the battle system needed a bit more depth. However, I still love it. I know people call this Color Splash 2, but personally I hated Color Splash. No offense to those who like it, but I personally didn't. I hated the backtracking, I didn't like the bosses, the battle system wasI really liked this game. 9/10 without post game. I like puzzles and I like the battle system, but I thought that the battle system needed a bit more depth. However, I still love it. I know people call this Color Splash 2, but personally I hated Color Splash. No offense to those who like it, but I personally didn't. I hated the backtracking, I didn't like the bosses, the battle system was okay. I think that the redeeming factor of that game was the world and the final boss. So I did not like that game, but I really liked Origami king. Why? I think the puzzles were 10 time better than they were in color splash and the world and characters were outstanding. This game has so much more vibrant with different scenarios all the time. Some puzzles might be a bit irritating, but they're very minimal. I thought this was a great game. This is probably an unpopular opinion, but right up there with TTYD. TTYD had an amazing battle system, and a semi-bland world. Origami King has a controversial battle system, but a 10/10 world. Great game and I definitely recommend it. This might one of my favorites if not my favorite paper Mario game… Expand
  5. 01052004
    Jul 18, 2020
    10
    Good Game, Its a Paper Mario Classic with a good adventure, that game its so beatyful
  6. Valleyofquacks
    Jul 18, 2020
    2
    No badges, no exp, no unique characters or playable sidekicks, lame "puzzle" battles. +1 point for beautiful artwork and +1 for a beautiful soundtrack. Please let someone else design the battle system and quests. Perhaps team up with square enix again?
  7. Gnificent
    Jul 28, 2020
    7
    While this game may not be the complete return to form that many fans of the early installments in the series may have hoped for, I still found game mostly enjoyable. The writing is pretty good, and managed to make me laugh more then I expected. The visuals are quite nice and the environments are well done, and fun to explore. The music in this game is fantastic, easily one of the bestWhile this game may not be the complete return to form that many fans of the early installments in the series may have hoped for, I still found game mostly enjoyable. The writing is pretty good, and managed to make me laugh more then I expected. The visuals are quite nice and the environments are well done, and fun to explore. The music in this game is fantastic, easily one of the best parts of the game.

    The only big "problem" that I experienced was that the battle system in this game, for the most part, can get very old quickly. The puzzles get a bit too repetitive after a rather short time with them, and often after you solve the puzzle, and move to the combat phase, it gets a bit boring. The combat itself is rather uninvolved at this point. Except for the boss battles, all round those were my favourite fights. While the game might not be the RPG that the first installments were, this game holds its own charm and value and all in all was an enjoyable experience.
    If you're looking for TTYD 2 , this isn't it, but it also isn't sticker star/color splash all over again either.    … Expand
  8. EZrev2006
    Jul 31, 2020
    8
    pros:
    visuals
    story and characters
    puzzles and exploration
    music
    interconnected world
    bosses
    cons:
    battle system
    character design and enemy design
    no exp
  9. SuperkenGaming
    Sep 28, 2020
    7
    Paper Mario: The Origami King
    Know when to fold
    The Origami king is a bit of a tactical rpg meets platformer that of coure takes place in the world of Mario.. and boy is this the perfect love hat relationship game. In this game the Origami king has taken Peaches castle, wrapped it up in streamers and you with the help of the kings sister set out to unravel each ribben and tke down the    Paper Mario: The Origami King
    Know when to fold
    The Origami king is a bit of a tactical rpg meets platformer that of coure takes place in the world of Mario.. and boy is this the perfect love hat relationship game.
    In this game the Origami king has taken Peaches castle, wrapped it up in streamers and you with the help of the kings sister set out to unravel each ribben and tke down the origami king..
    For the most part I absolutely loved existing in this world, its so full of color, charm, and mystery… you have a bag of confetti that you throw over rips and tears, which earns you coin, there are hundreds of toads for you to find that can help you in battle.. for a price of course.. and you set off on this 30 hour long adventure, just doing fetch quests and back tracking, solving mysteries, finding secrets, on that note paper Mario the origami king is an absolutely amazing experience… its world, its characters, its charm I loved it… however… the combat system here.. which unfortunately shares the spotlight just as much as the exploration.. I absolutely hate… literally the worst combat system ive ever experienced in a game period, let alone and rpg, here your goal is to slide and turn enemies, line them up and then jump on them or hit them with your hammer, and take turns until you defeat them, these battles are so easy, and such a slog to get through that they really have no business being here and existing… I do sortve like this system for this games boss battles, that by the way the game is full of… but I just really cant stand them and theyre ultimately what made me walk way after playing for a little over 20 hours, which is about the second to last boss battle.. I just couldn’t take the monotony anymore… these battles literally ruined the game from me…
    I maybe could’ve withstood if he origami king wasn’t such a long game.. it just never wants to end with constant convoluted area after convoluted area, running around different sections of the map,collecting items to get to the main bos battle, which is fine, but for that to be the formula for literally every ribbon, it gets exhausting…
    While paper Mario the origami king drastically suffers from pacing issues, as it never gives you a break with jus an occasional straight forward ribbon, the charm and the world will have you hooked and lost in this world, wanting to uncover all it has to hide.. that is again until you physically cant take it anymore…
    id love to see the completion stats of this game.. because I absolutely loved this game for the majority of my time with it, and even I couldn’t muster up the strength to finish
    I give Paper Mario: The Origami King
    a 7.5/10    … Expand
  10. weskergamer
    Aug 17, 2020
    8
    A really fun game, i enjoyed it a lot even though i prefer ttyd, but i can say is the best one since super paper mario
  11. NathanBWrites
    Sep 29, 2020
    7
    A charming game with humour out the door. Beautiful visuals make for one of the best games on the Switch visually. However, it can be a bit boring at times, and a drag to play through. Despite a lot of the negativity this game gets, I thoroughly enjoyed myself all the way through until the end despite a clear lack of incentive in an XP system for example.
  12. CatsNGames
    Sep 16, 2020
    6
    Great writing, you can really tell a lot of passion was put behind this project. Absolutely ruined by ring battles, they are jst annoying and ruin the flow of the game
  13. SnarkyReviews
    Oct 26, 2020
    7
    While the graphics are gorgeous and offers a fun take on the classic game. This cant save it from the awful game play that is the battles. This was the only thing i didn't love about this game, it could have been done differently but the route chosen was poorly executed.
  14. WoodyPWX
    Aug 5, 2020
    6
    Beautiful game that would be fun, but horrible battle system breaks that all.
  15. tdebug
    Sep 20, 2021
    5
    Many puzzles are way to complex and some are just ridiculous. Not clever in any way, but just cheap complexity.
  16. EverFortune
    Aug 19, 2020
    5
    I'd like to give this game a spiteful 0 score, but it does have some good qualities in its visuals and writing. The battle system seems like it could be fun, but it gets really repetitive without the rpg system of getting exp or level ups. It just makes more sense to run away from fights than go after them so you don't use up your items or coins. They probably knew this which is why someI'd like to give this game a spiteful 0 score, but it does have some good qualities in its visuals and writing. The battle system seems like it could be fun, but it gets really repetitive without the rpg system of getting exp or level ups. It just makes more sense to run away from fights than go after them so you don't use up your items or coins. They probably knew this which is why some of the boss fights abandon the battle system and function as an action type play style instead. Those surprise fights were much more fun than the usual ring combat, and are largely the reason i am giving a more fair thoughtful review

    I will say that I do like the way currency is handled in this game, it initially feels pointless because you get so much, but it turns out that you will be spending all of it if you're playing the game to its fullest. the game also has a function similar to the korok seeds in zelda breath of the wild, with the toads. it becomes a little minigame to find all the creative ways toads are hidden in the world. This started off as fun, but after maybe like 8 hours into the game, I didn't really like it anymore. It needed to provide a better benefit than it did to motivate you to find them

    All in all, i thought the game was good-ish but does not live up to the experience that is paper mario the thousand year door    … Expand
  17. harpwn
    Jun 22, 2021
    6
    The battle system is trash, it also lacks meaningful depth. Levels, abilities and gear would have been objectively better.
    Otherwise the game is good but I wish they had just gone further with things.
    There are lots of areas but by the time you are near done you really want to move on, going back for collectables doesnt appeal to me. The characters are kind of interesting at times but    The battle system is trash, it also lacks meaningful depth. Levels, abilities and gear would have been objectively better.
    Otherwise the game is good but I wish they had just gone further with things.
    There are lots of areas but by the time you are near done you really want to move on, going back for collectables doesnt appeal to me.
    The characters are kind of interesting at times but they dont stick around or contribute meaningfully at any point. You dont get to choose which one is with you either so it all just feels... meh

    The fetch quest nature of the story made it feel very tedious and drawn out, but then every so often something really off-piste happens and you are left wondering why that didn't happen more often. Prime example randomly you are just in a massive open ocean area and told to explore.
    Fighting the "Vellumentals" didn't appeal at all, especially as I only got to use their powers when it was given to me in special battles.

    Please...

    RPG battle system with levels and gear
    Collect and pick companions to fight with you
    More detail in the world, side quests and humorous interactions    … Expand
  18. IIIAHMIII
    Feb 16, 2021
    7
    Wonderfull story and beautifull designed worlds. The music also really lives up to the hype en i had a good couple of laughs. To bad the battle system is only fun during bosses and a drag to to against normal enemies. This was after the wii version the worst battle system i have encounterd. To bad cause this game had the potentional to stand next to the thousand year old door. And for theWonderfull story and beautifull designed worlds. The music also really lives up to the hype en i had a good couple of laughs. To bad the battle system is only fun during bosses and a drag to to against normal enemies. This was after the wii version the worst battle system i have encounterd. To bad cause this game had the potentional to stand next to the thousand year old door. And for the love of god LOSE THE TOADS.… Expand
  19. TheButchersNail
    Sep 29, 2020
    5
    The exploration is fun, and the environments ooze charm, but this feels like Baby's First RPG. The combat is tedious because of it's simplicity, and your companion character pops up to explain every single thing you encounter.
  20. AuthorityBottle
    Oct 5, 2020
    5
    i don't really like the battle system in fact i hate it because its annoying and i can't solve it. i actually prefer if they made it easier because of the puzzle hard for me and not everyone is good at puzzle and this kind of puzzle is your way fight against them is frustrating. Every fan thinks something new is better but something new can be bad too. I don't find the game fun and yeahi don't really like the battle system in fact i hate it because its annoying and i can't solve it. i actually prefer if they made it easier because of the puzzle hard for me and not everyone is good at puzzle and this kind of puzzle is your way fight against them is frustrating. Every fan thinks something new is better but something new can be bad too. I don't find the game fun and yeah some the jokes makes laugh but i feel paper jokes is going to get dull. The world are just pretty and thats it. It doesn't feel adventure to me. The story is not very good, its just sucks. i don't care about olive or bombs , there isn't really something to care about them, there just annoying to have. The dialogue sucks too. The music is the only thing that is better. The boss fight isn't really cool or awesome.… Expand
  21. cyklopPL
    Nov 22, 2020
    6
    Wasted potential.

    + beautiful graphics + characters + level design + jokes + origami + length of the game - lack of character level up/exp - battle system Review of this game is so sad. This would easily be a 9/10 or 10/10. The world is beautiful, characters are lively and entertaining. Levels are great and jokes in between funny. The length of the game is also very good, 5x    Wasted potential.

    + beautiful graphics
    + characters
    + level design
    + jokes
    + origami
    + length of the game

    - lack of character level up/exp
    - battle system

    Review of this game is so sad. This would easily be a 9/10 or 10/10. The world is beautiful, characters are lively and entertaining. Levels are great and jokes in between funny. The length of the game is also very good, 5x call of duty campaign. However there are two things that are wrong with this game:
    - lack of character level up (gaining experience). There are only like 4 types of the same weapons (weak, normal, strong, the best), and thats basically it. No character development at all apart from equipping weapon and accessories (with a few better versions available)
    - the battle system. Using the rings is fine for 20 minutes, but afterwards gets repetitive and boooooring. Align the characters in a straight line for the jump attack or in a 2x2 group for the hammer attack. And that is it. Repeat this in every battler (ok, apart from boss battle). This is so boring and frustrating. Does not matter if this is a combat in your 1st playtime hour or 25th, the battle will look the same. Extremely boring.

    That is very sad, as the battle system is very important in this game. As mentioned all the other parts are great. The world looks great, levels are well designed and characters funny. However, the repetitive and shallow combat ruins the game experience, as the combat is with us from the beginning till the end of this title.

    6/10    … Expand
  22. ManWhoGames
    Aug 13, 2020
    5
    The closest this game comes to being enjoyable is when it reminds me of the first two installments of the franchise. In every category except for nostalgia, this game is a sporadic smattering of half-assery. The combat is as fun as those small plastic maze puzzles they hand out at dentists' offices, the story is nonexistent, and the original characters are as forgettable as they areThe closest this game comes to being enjoyable is when it reminds me of the first two installments of the franchise. In every category except for nostalgia, this game is a sporadic smattering of half-assery. The combat is as fun as those small plastic maze puzzles they hand out at dentists' offices, the story is nonexistent, and the original characters are as forgettable as they are irritating; the days of the likes of Admiral Bobbery are apparently long behind us. The next time a game comes out where the boss battles amount to literally hitting a pair of scissors with a hammer, I'm going with my first instinct.… Expand
  23. mario1892
    Aug 4, 2020
    6
    I'm a huge fan of Paper Mario series, this one has an incredible soundtrack, amazing visuals, but lacks of the vibe the 1st and 2nd one had with the combat system =(
  24. agarza24
    Aug 15, 2020
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Pros-
    Fun Characters
    Great dialog
    Beautifully crafted worlds Cons-
    Boring,Tedious battle system
    No upgrades or skill progression
    Frustrating boss fights
    No rpg elements    … Expand
  25. GoPackGo817
    Aug 15, 2020
    5
    This is the first game review I have ever written in my 20+ years of gaming. I grew up playing Paper Mario from the original to Thousand Year Door. This is a HUGE disappointment. The story of the game is good and they created a really neat world BUT the combat (if you can call it that) is horrible. The other Paper Mario games were more RPG's than anything else and thats a major reason IThis is the first game review I have ever written in my 20+ years of gaming. I grew up playing Paper Mario from the original to Thousand Year Door. This is a HUGE disappointment. The story of the game is good and they created a really neat world BUT the combat (if you can call it that) is horrible. The other Paper Mario games were more RPG's than anything else and thats a major reason I liked them. The combat in this game is not even combat, it's a puzzle. There's no XP, No skill tree, no ROG elements what do ever. Thanks Nintendo for taking a dump on this franchise with ghe combat system. It's really too bad too because I love the story and the humor is great throughout but I can't give this game anything above a 5 in good faith… Expand
  26. Rei_Reviews
    Aug 17, 2020
    6
    Too many coins with no reason to spend them.

    Pros: - Toads that have brilliantly written dialogue that is both witty and funny - Vast and diverse environments - Challenging and interesting boss mechanics Cons: - A battle system that is pointless, tedious and doesn't prepare you for the latter parts of the game. - Poor design decisions, especially in the latter half of the game    Too many coins with no reason to spend them.

    Pros:
    - Toads that have brilliantly written dialogue that is both witty and funny
    - Vast and diverse environments
    - Challenging and interesting boss mechanics

    Cons:
    - A battle system that is pointless, tedious and doesn't prepare you for the latter parts of the game.
    - Poor design decisions, especially in the latter half of the game that made it feel like a chore to play.
    - Bosses that have little relevance to the overall story - the bosses are understandable from a design perspective but the main bad character's motivations wouldn't lead you to believe he would use them as minions.    … Expand
  27. Vostok
    Sep 2, 2020
    5
    Very polished experience. The story is brilliant, funny, and unexpectedly dark and somber at times. I do see a valid critique against the combat system, there were times where it felt tedious and unnecessary. And because there is no real experience system the intended reward system feels confused. Overall as an experience it is memorable and delightful.
  28. Resetto
    Sep 19, 2020
    7
    I really wish that I could give this game a 10. It has so much that it’s doing right, but the RPG system with no EXP is terrible, and the regular battles take long.
  29. Mdgamer
    Nov 2, 2020
    5
    This game should have been an 8/10 experience but the stupid ring puzzles were such a slog that I can't say I had fun during any of the later boss fights. The game made me feel like I needed to be a mathematician just to beat the ice Velumental. It's too bad because the world itself and the characters and the humor and the music are delightful. They had to nintendo the game with a stupidThis game should have been an 8/10 experience but the stupid ring puzzles were such a slog that I can't say I had fun during any of the later boss fights. The game made me feel like I needed to be a mathematician just to beat the ice Velumental. It's too bad because the world itself and the characters and the humor and the music are delightful. They had to nintendo the game with a stupid gimmick. Like I said this game could have easily been an 8 but I stopped having gun so it gets a 5… Expand
  30. NCL209
    Dec 3, 2020
    5
    5/10. Too many Toads.

    Nah but seriously this game would've benefitted a lot if they just had a normal RPG battle system with levelling up and partners, and if they had unique characters just like the first two games.
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Awards & Rankings

66
#66 Best Switch Game of 2020
2
#2 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2020

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 116 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 87 out of 116
  2. Mixed: 29 out of 116
  3. Negative: 0 out of 116
  1. Ninty Fresh Magazine
    Dec 21, 2020
    70
    The Origami King is a game greater than the sum of its parts. It reaffirms Nintendo’s status as king of innovation, even if the folds don’t quite align. [Issue #2, p.66]
  2. Universo Nintendo
    Dec 16, 2020
    95
    Paper Mario: The Origami King arrives on Nintendo Switch with very high quality graphics, a pleasant soundtrack and a plot full of very good humor, typical of the Paper Mario series. Among countless places to visit, bosses to win, and puzzles to solve, the game can be considered one of the best in the franchise.
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  3. Hey Poor Player
    Oct 29, 2020
    70
    Paper Mario deserves better. The prestige of a Final Fantasy veteran appropriating his magic onto a handicraft world deserves better. The unforgettable wit and lovable cast expanding Mario lore deserves better. And we know that Intelligent Systems can do better than committing themselves to a misguided identity crisis.
    Read full review
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