Austin Tyler

While I don't think any Paper Mario title since Thousand Year Door has met the standard of excellence set by the first two games, Origami King shows the that developers have refound their footing after the lifeless disaster that was Sticker Star. This entry to the Paper Mario franchise has more inspired character and set design and while the story is simple, it is memorable. The visual design is where this game really shines. In terms of writing the characters in the game lack the complexity and personality found in Paper Mario and Thousand Year Door, but the dialog is funny. While partners are back they are lacking in utility and are not really a strategic player. The new battle mechanics are a twist on the old stage battles from the first two installments of the franchise and while I initially found this change unique and entertaining it got tedious by the later stages of the game. The puzzles, mini-games, and paper macho battles are fairly entertaining and offer variety in the gameplay. In terms of difficulty I played through the game quite easily without buying accessories or items. There was nowhere in the game that I had to look up solutions. The ONLY place I got stuck was the third stage of the grab the rope game and I eventually had to play the easier version. The boss battles were surprisingly easy. The only one I didn't win on the first try was the battle with Ollie at the end and it was because Mario was way less responsive moving out from under the Thwamp than I anticipated. Overall this was a welcome installment in the franchise and a fun play. There was a lot of variety in the gameplay and the creativity of the designers left me thinking "that was neat" throughout the game. If I could improve two things it would be make the game slightly more difficult and provide more companion characters with greater strategic utility.