Paper Mario: The Origami King is a 2020 role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch console. Following Paper Mario: Color Splash (2016), it is the sixth game in the Paper Mario series, which is part of the larger Mario franchise. The story follows Mario and his friends as he sets out on a journey to prevent the Mushroom Kingdom from being transformed into origami. To do so, Mario must free Princess Peach's castle from five decorative streamers that extend across the kingdom.
The Origami King features cross-genre gameplay, blending elements of action-adventure, role-playing (RPG), and puzzle games. Controlling Mario, the player explores a large overworld and fights enemies in a turn-based style that uses a ring-based puzzle system. In combat, enemies are scattered on a circle stylized like a dartboard separated into four rings and additional columns. The player can rotate the rings horizontally and vertically to organize the enemies into patterns that result in being able to clear them more quickly.
The Origami Kings development team emphasized innovation to a greater extent than previous games in the series. Anticipating an inability to satisfy every fan, Intelligent Systems gravitated towards creating entirely new concepts. Origami and confetti were used as new variants of paper-themed concepts. The developers changed the traditional linear gameplay to an open world format and used enemies uninvolved with the Mario franchise. Nintendo intended to announce the game at E3 2020 as part of the 35th anniversary of Super Mario Bros. (1985), but due to the cancellation of the expo, the game was revealed separately from the anniversary celebrations.
The game received generally positive reviews, with critics praising its writing, design, characters, music, and game mechanics. However, it was criticized for straying from the series' original role-playing style, as well as its cast lacking original character designs that previous entries had. Reception of the combat system was mixed, with some praising its innovation and others faulting its lack of difficulty and purpose. The game had sold three million copies by September 2020, two months after release, making it the fastest-selling game in the series and also one of the best-selling games on the Nintendo Switch. The game was nominated for three awards and was listed among the best games of 2020 by multiple critics.
Gameplay The Origami King is a cross-genre video game, containing elements from action-adventure, RPG, and puzzle games. The player controls a two-dimensional paper version of Mario and explores a linear open world designed to look like paper and cardboard. The player's goal is to destroy five decorative origami streamers created by King Olly, the game's main antagonist. Throughout the game, the player sets out to follow each of five streamers, which occupy wide open areas for exploration. These areas contain puzzles the player will need to complete to proceed.
Along the way, Mario can collect coins used to purchase items for use in combat, and hidden treasures to display at a museum. Among these hidden collectibles are Toads, which are either folded into origami or creased and crumpled. Mario can interact with non-player characters, some of which will join the player's party temporarily and can assist Mario in combat or interact with obstacles in the overworld. In certain areas of the game, Mario can use an ability known as the "1000-Fold Arms", that can tear back parts of the paper environment to reveal secrets. Mario can fill holes in the environment using a bag of confetti.
The player fights enemies using a turn-based battle system. When Mario encounters one or more enemies in the overworld, the game transitions to a battle screen. During battle, Mario stands at the center of a dartboard-like arena divided into four ring-shaped sections with 12 radial slots; each enemy occupies a different slot. At the start of the player's turn, they can slide the rings horizontally or vertically to position enemies so that several of them can be attacked at once. The player is allotted a limited amount of time and number of rotations. Once the player has finished shifting the enemies, they can attack with a hammer, which targets enemies in a two-by-two section of the grid adjacent to the center, or with boots, which target a one-by-four line of enemies. The player can use items with varying power to attack enemies, or increase their heart points. Their attack power is boosted during a turn if the number of enemies targeted is maximized. If the player needs additional help, any Toads Mario saves from being folded will either deal some damage or help with the puzzle by partially rotating the rings. The amount of help they provide varies based on how much money Mario gives them. Any remaining enemies will then attack Mario before the game switches back to the player's turn. If the player wins the battle, they are awarded coins.
Boss battles follow a similar pattern of ring-style combat but place the enemy in the center and Mario on the outside. Players can rotate the rings horizontally or vertically; arrows on the ground mark the path Mario is going to follow. Mario starts with the arrow placed in front of him and will follow the rings until reaching an endpoint, which are attack tiles or magic circle tiles. The player can activate battle tiles by passing over them, while magic circle tiles need to be activated by passing an "ON" tile. Additional items are scattered on vacant tiles, such as health points and coins. To defeat each boss, the player must follow specific rules. These vary depending upon the enemy Mario is fighting. For example, the Earth Vellumental has five exposed body parts, and Mario needs to attack each one and cause them to retract before being able to do major damage.
Plot
Princess Peach invites Mario and Luigi to an Origami Festival near her castle in Toad Town, which has mysteriously been abandoned. When they enter Peach's Castle to find where everyone went, they discover that she has been turned into origami and brainwashed by King Olly, a sentient origami figure. Having met a similar fate, many of Bowser's minions have been transformed into origami enemies called Folded Soldiers. Bowser has been folded and stapled into a square. Mario rescues Olly's sister Olivia (who was imprisoned for her betrayal) and eventually Bowser, and the three attempt to escape. However, Olly wraps the castle in five multicolored streamers and rips it off its foundations, transporting it to a nearby volcano. Mario, Olivia, and Bowser barely escape but a streamer strikes them, causing them to separate. Landing in Whispering Woods, a forest near Toad Town, Mario and Olivia find many of the Toads have been folded into origami by the Folded Soldiers. They rescue Luigi, who sets off to find the key to Peach's Castle.
Mario and Olivia must follow and destroy each streamer until they reach the end. At the end of the red streamer, they discover Colored Pencils, a member of Olly's "Legion of Stationery", a group of six anthropomorphic office supplies working for him, five of which guard each streamer. The two head to unravel the blue streamer, and along the way, they meet an amnesiac Bob-omb without a fuse that Olivia nicknames Bobby. Celebratory fireworks are launched after they defeat Rubber Band and clear the blue streamer, causing Bobby to regain his memory.
The three head to Scorching Sandpaper Desert to unravel the yellow streamer but soon encounter Olly, who blocks the path with a giant boulder, trapping Olivia under it. To save her, Mario and Bobby travel to the ocean liner The Princess Peach, where Bobby retrieves an item which is later revealed to be a fuse. He lights it so he can sacrifice himself to destroy the boulder pinning Olivia. A distraught Olivia breaks down, but Mario is able to cheer her up.
After defeating Hole Punch, Tape, and Scissors, clearing the yellow, purple, and green streamers, they rescue Bowser from Scissors before the three head to Peach's Castle. Luigi returns, sadly claiming he could not find the key, but soon discovers that it was stuck in his kart. As they enter, Olly refolds Peach's Castle into the Origami Castle; the trio, excluding Luigi, traverse through it, defeating Stapler and returning Bowser to his original form.
The three confront King Olly, who reveals he has folded 999 paper cranes, one away from the 1,000 needed to grant him ultimate power to create his origami kingdom and turn all Toads into blank paper. He says that his hatred of Toads comes from the Origami Craftsman who created him by using a forbidden "Fold of Life" technique, which Olly himself later used to bring Olivia to life. However, the Craftsman wrote words on Olly's paper, which Olly took as a disrespect of the art. A fight ensues, and Mario, Olivia, and Bowser defeat Olly.
As he dies, Olly apologizes for his actions. Olivia reads the writing on his body, which reveals the Toad was only giving Olly his blessing to rule as King. Olly realizes his mistake, and at his request, Olivia folds him into the 1,000th crane after his death. She uses her ultimate wish to undo all the origami King Olly has folded, which includes herself. The game closes with a celebration of the Origami Festival.
Development
Intelligent Systems, the creators behind the earlier Paper Mario games, developed The Origami King. Tose contributed to design and audio. While Shigeru Miyamoto was involved initially with the Paper Mario series, producer Kensuke Tanabe claimed he was barely involved in its creation, and that Nintendo gave the developers "almost complete control" over the game's direction. Producers also included Atsushi Ikuno and assistant producer Risa Tabata. Masahiko Nagaya served as the lead director, who originally worked as an artist for Paper Mario: Color Splash. Lead designers also included Yukio Morimoto and Shingo Igata, programmer Tadao Nakayama, artists Isamu Kamikokuryo and Benoit Ferrière, and writer Taro Kudo. The lead composers and sound designers were Yoshito Sekigawa, Shoh Murakami, Yoshiaki Kimura, Hiroki Morishita, and Fumihiro Isobe. According to Eurogamer, Nintendo had intended to announce the game at E3 2020 as part of a presentation celebrating the Super Mario series' 35th anniversary.
Nintendo's Kensuke Tanabe, the game's producer, said he, "challenge[d himself] to create something new" by innovating different concepts than those used in other games in the series. He explained that The Origami Kings gameplay differed from Color Splash because he did not believe in repeating identical concepts from a previous game. He would use the same concept, but would develop it until it eventually reached its maximum potential. To establish a new non-Mario direction for the game, confetti and origami became The Origami Kings two major themes. Tanabe thought of paper-based ideas that had not been used in the series, and came up with origami, while Intelligent Systems had the idea for confetti.
Characters Since the release of Paper Mario: Sticker Star, new characters in the Paper Mario series could not be modified versions of existing characters, such as a change in age or gender, and any original characters had to have had no previous involvement with the Mario universe. Character designs went through a critical review by Nintendo's intellectual property team, although the designers were allowed to give Toads different outfits. On June 12, 2020, Nintendo released another trailer revealing partners that will join Mario on his adventure and help complete tasks, such as aiding in combat. Although the feature had remained absent from the games since Sticker Star, critics were still disappointed that the allies did not seem to have much functionality; some were hoping for partners that would help solve puzzles and progress in skill alongside Mario.