The follow-up to the divisive Paper Mario Sticker Star is here, and defying all expectations, Paper Mario Color Splash is a must-own for Wii U owners. Its wit and charm are second to none, and it has some great mechanics. While it has certainly deviated from its origins on the Nintendo 64 and the GameCube, this game really stands on its own.
The story is pretty basic. Prism Island is an island in the Mario universe whose color is being sucked away (in some cases, literally being sucked away by Shy Guys with straws). The culprits are Bowser and the 7 Koopalings, and it's up to Paper Mario and the sentient paint can Huey to save Prism Island.
However, it is not the overarching story that serves as the main draw in this game. Rather, it's the brilliant little moments throughout the more narrow story beats. For example, at one point relatively early in the game, there is a particularly brave-sounding Toad who intends to set sail on an adventure to the ends of the world. Shortly thereafter, you find that he has become shipwrecked pretty close to the harbor from which he set off on his quest. A group of other Toads are standing on the pier making fun of him. Mario saves him by placing a gigantic fan behind him to blow him back to solid ground, and the gigantic fan rises up from the ocean in appropriately epic fashion. There is another moment where a Toad is hosting a game show on a beach, but it turns out he is scamming people because he cheats, and when Mario and Huey call him out on it, he gives up... but insists they cannot tell anyone. These are two simple examples of the sorts of humorous moments throughout the game.
One of Paper Mario's greatest successes, then, is its localization. People craving a localized release of Mother 3 should really turn their attention to this title. Nintendo's Treehouse localization team did an incredible job with the writing. There are a lot of games that attempt to be funny, from big-budget titles like Borderlands to a host of indie games. However, very few companies can nail the tongue-in-cheek tone of the humor in some of Nintendo's titles, and I would hold up Paper Mario Color Splash as a perfect example of localization done right.
The gameplay in Paper Mario is different from prior titles in the series. Paper Mario and Paper Mario: Thousand Year Door, on the N64 and GameCube, respectively, were more traditional RPGs. Super Paper Mario became much more of an action game, and Paper Mario Sticker Star introduced something resembling a card battle system. Color Splash uses a straight-up card battle system, but it does it very effectively. People who suggest this game is Sticker Star 2 in an effort to insult it are mistaken; this game is very much an improvement over the formula in the often-derided Sticker Star. In combat, you can select a card. Some cards are painted, others are not. Cards consist of allies (Koopa Troopas, Shy Guys, etc. who will fight for you until defeated or until the battle ends), attacks, items, and special moves. If you elect to paint an unpainted card, it will amplify that card's move's power.
***Pro Tip: Hidden in the options menu is an option to change the mechanics to permit both buttons and touch controls. Choose that option so instead of having to touch the Wii U GamePad's touch screen during every. single. battle., you can just press the A button and push up on the D-pad or the stick. It makes battles a lot quicker.***
One criticism is that bosses are more puzzle-based than they test your skills. There are items in the world that you can make into cards. These items will one-shot bosses, so the test is more in finding them and knowing to use the items than in displaying a degree of combat prowess. It is also noteworthy that there is not an experience system in this game. You "level up" by increasing your HP and paint capacity and by finding stronger cards. The emphasis in this game is much more on the environmental puzzles and exploration. Combat is just another puzzle to be solved in many cases, but beating enemies in combat is helpful for purposes of increasing your paint capacity and HP. Because enemies are on the world map, most combat encounters can theoretically be avoided, but battles are generally quick and painless.
Speaking of painless, the game is pretty easy. Some of the puzzles are really good and well-designed, but a player with any fundamental understanding of basic RPG gameplay is unlikely to struggle at all. My counter to the difficulty issue is that it the game succeeds on its merits with its smart writing and fun gameplay.
The world map is pretty big, but this most certainly is not an open-world RPG. Actually, this game is best described as the Paper Mario version of Super Mario 3D world in a lot of ways. Each area is called a "course," and your goal is to collect a star from the course. Upon doing to, you have completed the course and will be sent out to the map. There will usually be more than one star in each course, so you will have to return and go for the other star(s) you missed the first time. In that sense, this game is very reminiscent of recent 3D Mario series outings. To advance the overall plot, you generally have to collect stars and put certain events into motion, often by interacting with and assisting NPCs. Additionally, the paint mechanics play a huge role, as one might expect. All throughout the world, there are spots that require repainting, so you can hit them with your hammer and Mario will paint them. Certain flowers and other foliage will release paint when struck by the hammer, and that will refill your paint supply. Completionists will love the fact that there is a percentage counter for each course that shows how much of the course has been repainted, so players can go back into the courses and find the elusive spots that need repainting. It's an entirely optional activity, but one which adds to the overall package.
Finally, Paper Mario is a very aesthetically pleasing game. From a visual perspective, this is probably the high water mark for the series. The paper cutout characters all look perfect, and there is a lot of subtle lighting which makes the characters look even more like physical pieces of paper. The graphics are very bright and colorful, and the game is a very cheerful, pleasant game to behold. Likewise, the music is excellent. Like other recent Nintendo first party games, the soundtrack is also mostly live music, which makes a difference. There are the expected arrangements of certain Mario series mainstays, but the original music is also highly enjoyable and always fitting.
Those who were hoping for Color Splash to return the Paper Mario series to its RPG-centric roots will, frankly, be disappointed. However, I would recommend not dismissing this game for increasingly distancing itself from its beginnings. Paper Mario's history has shown a willingness to depart from established formulas. The series began as "Super Mario RPG 2" on the Nintendo 64, but its development and the introduction of the paper aesthetics and gameplay gave it a very unique identity. Color Splash is a game that encourages exploration of its environments and interaction with its characters. I started this review praising the localization, and I want to end on that note. This is one of the best-written, funniest games available today. If its subtle, sarcastic, and ironic sense of humor is appealing to you, there is a lot to love for this game. Wii U owners are all too familiar with the overall lack of games on the console. I'm pleased to say that if this is one of the final first party Wii U games, at least it is ending the console's life on a high note. Color Splash is different from Paper Mario 64 and Thousand Year Door, but different does not always necessarily mean that it is inferior. Color Splash is a great game in general. Do yourself a favor and check it out!
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From the manufacturer
A Colorful Mystery is Afoot on Prism Island
Paper Mario: Colour Splash
Game details
A mystery is afoot on Prism Island - and only Paper Mario can solve it by restoring the island's vanishing colors with his new Paint Hammer and the powerful Battle Cards up his sleeve. These fresh layers of strategy, along with the hilarious action adventure gameplay the series is known for, make this one of the most colorful Paper Mario action-adventure games ever.
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A hilarious action-adventure game set on mysterious Prism Island. The Paint Hammer lets Mario restore the drained color of Prism Island. Color in colorless spots to solve puzzles and search for clues. |
Revive Toads who have been drained of their color. New Battle Card system. Cleverly use Battle Cards during puzzling battles to defeat enemies. |
Summon objects with Things cards. Use Enemy cards to summon allies. The new cutout feature allows you to extract areas from environments to overcome obstacles whenever possible. |
Reviews with images
Fun Filled Adventure
Vast improvement from the previous game in the series, Paper Mario Sticker Star.This time there's a level up system so you do not have to avoid enemies all the time. Also common cards (as oppose to stickers) are purchasable via in-game coins/currency. Coins are very abundant if you participate in the Ro-Sham-Bo tournaments so you don't have to worry about not having enough cards. There is resource management involved though as you can only hold a certain amount of cards in your inventory until upgraded thus a recommend re-stalking on cards after each level. Also paint is a factor now as painting cards helps deal more damage and certain cards uses specific color of paint.Battle interface is a bit troublesome at first as there's a lot of steps involved to initiate an attack. But after a while, you grow used to it as in later levels you soon realize you have to manage your resources well in order to progress smoothly through a level or defeat a boss.To initiate an attack you have to:1. Scroll/swipe through a list of cards2. Click Card Ready3. Paint the card4. Click Paint Ready5. Flick up the cards6. Look up at TV screen to initiate attackSome steps can be improved for faster battling, but after a while you get used to it.Step 1 could be simplified to have cards grouped in columns depending on type. If you take too long deciding or finding a card, an enemy can steal a random card from youStep 2 and especially 4 is unnecessaryStep 3. Thought it was useless at first, but you dont' have to paint the card all the way if you can think you can defeat the enemy with less paint, thus saving your resourcesStep 5 and 6. Aside from the choosing and painting cards this could be done on the main screen, making for a great off-TV game play instead of having to use both TV and gamepad. But overall, the gameplay doesn't drag the game down as you'll get used to it after a while as it becomes second nature.Careful timing still present like in past titles as you have to hit a button at the right time to do additional attacks or block the enemy attack for half damage takenLove the visual of this game, very good presentation with the character's animations and use of paper and paint aestheticScript is well done also, a lot of laugh-out-load (LOL) moments (Sample screenshots to follow). The plot is very generic, but the dialogue among characters us very fun, natural and creative. A huge highlight in my enjoyment of the game.Overall you get over two dozen hours playing the main campaign with tons of collecting to do after. One of the best Mario games to date
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on October 10, 2016
Reviewed in the United States on February 19, 2017
Vast improvement from the previous game in the series, Paper Mario Sticker Star.
This time there's a level up system so you do not have to avoid enemies all the time. Also common cards (as oppose to stickers) are purchasable via in-game coins/currency. Coins are very abundant if you participate in the Ro-Sham-Bo tournaments so you don't have to worry about not having enough cards. There is resource management involved though as you can only hold a certain amount of cards in your inventory until upgraded thus a recommend re-stalking on cards after each level. Also paint is a factor now as painting cards helps deal more damage and certain cards uses specific color of paint.
Battle interface is a bit troublesome at first as there's a lot of steps involved to initiate an attack. But after a while, you grow used to it as in later levels you soon realize you have to manage your resources well in order to progress smoothly through a level or defeat a boss.
To initiate an attack you have to:
1. Scroll/swipe through a list of cards
2. Click Card Ready
3. Paint the card
4. Click Paint Ready
5. Flick up the cards
6. Look up at TV screen to initiate attack
Some steps can be improved for faster battling, but after a while you get used to it.
Step 1 could be simplified to have cards grouped in columns depending on type. If you take too long deciding or finding a card, an enemy can steal a random card from you
Step 2 and especially 4 is unnecessary
Step 3. Thought it was useless at first, but you dont' have to paint the card all the way if you can think you can defeat the enemy with less paint, thus saving your resources
Step 5 and 6. Aside from the choosing and painting cards this could be done on the main screen, making for a great off-TV game play instead of having to use both TV and gamepad. But overall, the gameplay doesn't drag the game down as you'll get used to it after a while as it becomes second nature.
Careful timing still present like in past titles as you have to hit a button at the right time to do additional attacks or block the enemy attack for half damage taken
Love the visual of this game, very good presentation with the character's animations and use of paper and paint aesthetic
Script is well done also, a lot of laugh-out-load (LOL) moments (Sample screenshots to follow). The plot is very generic, but the dialogue among characters us very fun, natural and creative. A huge highlight in my enjoyment of the game.
Overall you get over two dozen hours playing the main campaign with tons of collecting to do after. One of the best Mario games to date
This time there's a level up system so you do not have to avoid enemies all the time. Also common cards (as oppose to stickers) are purchasable via in-game coins/currency. Coins are very abundant if you participate in the Ro-Sham-Bo tournaments so you don't have to worry about not having enough cards. There is resource management involved though as you can only hold a certain amount of cards in your inventory until upgraded thus a recommend re-stalking on cards after each level. Also paint is a factor now as painting cards helps deal more damage and certain cards uses specific color of paint.
Battle interface is a bit troublesome at first as there's a lot of steps involved to initiate an attack. But after a while, you grow used to it as in later levels you soon realize you have to manage your resources well in order to progress smoothly through a level or defeat a boss.
To initiate an attack you have to:
1. Scroll/swipe through a list of cards
2. Click Card Ready
3. Paint the card
4. Click Paint Ready
5. Flick up the cards
6. Look up at TV screen to initiate attack
Some steps can be improved for faster battling, but after a while you get used to it.
Step 1 could be simplified to have cards grouped in columns depending on type. If you take too long deciding or finding a card, an enemy can steal a random card from you
Step 2 and especially 4 is unnecessary
Step 3. Thought it was useless at first, but you dont' have to paint the card all the way if you can think you can defeat the enemy with less paint, thus saving your resources
Step 5 and 6. Aside from the choosing and painting cards this could be done on the main screen, making for a great off-TV game play instead of having to use both TV and gamepad. But overall, the gameplay doesn't drag the game down as you'll get used to it after a while as it becomes second nature.
Careful timing still present like in past titles as you have to hit a button at the right time to do additional attacks or block the enemy attack for half damage taken
Love the visual of this game, very good presentation with the character's animations and use of paper and paint aesthetic
Script is well done also, a lot of laugh-out-load (LOL) moments (Sample screenshots to follow). The plot is very generic, but the dialogue among characters us very fun, natural and creative. A huge highlight in my enjoyment of the game.
Overall you get over two dozen hours playing the main campaign with tons of collecting to do after. One of the best Mario games to date
Images in this review
Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Customer
If this is the Wii U's final breath, it's a good one
Reviewed in Canada on October 28, 2016
