Paper Mario: The Origami King

Turned it on, sat back and let the awesome writing roll over me. A lot of the dialogue is fairly standard stuff but the little jokes slotted in are so full of heart.

Just past the first two major bosses and while the ordinary battles take a bit of pushing (once you are levelled high enough, lower level enemies can be defeated instantly so that's nice) the boss battles are a lot of fun.

That said, I do miss the ordinary RPG battle systems from the previous Paper Mario games I've played but as far as a breath of fresh air goes, this is a winner.

The biggest stumbling block for most people I'd imagine is the battle system, it's very unusual.

It's a cutesy game, somewhat hand-holdy and extremely colourful. Extremely pretty in parts and the paper theme is very strong in this, money being cardboard, Paper Macho for large and strong Papier Maché characters and loads of arts and crafts aspects (colouring pencils, rubber bands, card tubes, chicken wire etc.

Yeah, it's a lot of fun! It's definitely got all the charm of the previous games. I dunno about anyone else, but I like the battle system, I like figuring out the movements to align the enemies for the best attack possibilities!
Some of the ones in the battle lab have me stumped though! Going to keep at them...

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Not exactly, the player character doesn't appear to level up and only the battle system is turn based and, even then, it's more of a mini game system.
Call it an action adventure, I suppose.

So is it closer to a Zelda game than a traditional turn-based (J)RPG? I appreciate that the battle system is obviously turn-based, but it's the actual adventuring bit that's more important? This was the reason that I loved Super Paper Mario and if feels closer to that, then sign me up.

CiDeRmAn wrote: »

Not exactly, the player character doesn't appear to level up and only the battle system is turn based and, even then, it's more of a mini game system.
Call it an action adventure, I suppose.

Action adventure with turn-based battling and some RPG elements? You get permanent health upgrades through exploration and as your health increases, so does your strength (characters comment that 'you've gotten a bit stronger since you increased your health'). Equitable weapons as well but they break after a while, not too bad as you find weapons around and two fights will usually give you enough cash to buy a new one with each major area having a shop.

holly_johnson wrote: »

This game is SO much fun! I watched a couple of Twitch streamers play it and I knew I had to buy it. Bought it on Sunday and have been playing solidly since. As a casual gamer I think it’s great coz I’m not very good at video games. The dialogue is very witty and the characters are beautifully designed. Love it!

My favourite part so far are the little coffee shops in the 'dungeons' and the arts and crafts bosses. So much heart in the game.

I think I'm nearly finished the game now. It's great, so much charm and for the most part very enjoyable.

I'm a bit sick of the mini game onslaught at the moment though, that's my only criticism of the game.

Played the first part this morning (up to finding Luigi). Loving it so far.
Not sick of battles (yet!) but I already know I'd prefer an XP/leveling system.

Just finished it at lunch there, tense final battle, barely ate any of my sandwich until I was done. Multi-stage as only a Paper Mario final battle can be but well balanced.

Back I go to Animal Crossing to chill out as the last hour or two of Origami King is so fast and tense. Haven't felt momentum in a game like that in a while. I might go back to it before too long and see if I can seek out some of the treasures and Toads I didn't find and the last health upgrade but I can definitely see myself starting it anew again in the future.