Screenshots and box art for "Paper Mario: The Origami King."
In “Paper Mario: The Origami King,” Mario takes on a host of origami enemies to help save the papercraft kingdom.
Screenshots and box art for "Paper Mario: The Origami King."
Screenshots and box art for "Paper Mario: The Origami King."
“Paper Mario: The Origami King” is available for the Nintendo Switch.
Welcome to the cute, flat world of Paper Mario.
Well, not exactly flat. While Mario and his friends are rendered as flat sheets of paper, the rest of the adorable papercraft Mushroom Kingdom is made of cardboard and folded paper.
It’s a bright and lovable place to spend some time, and for the most part, “Paper Mario: The Origami King” is charming, rich and fun.
Those new to the “Paper Mario” universe should know it’s more like an old-school “Final Fantasy” entry than the “Super Mario Bros.” you grew up with. There’s certainly plenty of busting bricks, collecting coins and jumping from one platform to another, but it’s not a series of levels you have to complete without taking too many hits from Koopas and Bullet Bills.
Those familiar with the “Paper Mario” series, of which this is the sixth entry, or games as far back as “Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars” will feel right at home exploring a large overworld and trying to foil the plot of Olly, the titular origami king.
But forget the gameplay for a second. This is an epic Mario story, and it is, forgive me, far from two-dimensional.
In this paper tale, Princess Peach invites Mario and Luigi to the Origami Festival, but upon arriving, they find things are amiss. Toad Town is ripped to bits, there are massive holes torn in the ground and everyone (including good guys like Peach and bad guys like Bowser) has been captured and folded to origami.
The culprit is King Olly, an origami boy who plans to fold the entirety of the parchment kingdom. Mario is joined by Olly’s origami sister, Olivia, to foil those plans, which involve tracking paper streamers to various corners, combating Olly’s origami minions and unfolding allies.
Along the way, there are numerous puzzles to solve, items to find and friends to recruit.
“Paper Mario: The Origami King” is clever and fun and often very funny. With a new enemy, Bowser and his minions turn into sort of zany, silly side characters, and Mario and his pals — especially the many Toad inhabitants of the kingdom — get to shine.
If you’re not into most RPGs, you’ll dig this Mario tale. Though it’s a lot like old-school role-playing games, it doesn’t feel like it.
Mario and Luigi head to the Origami Festival in the beginning of “Paper Mario: The Origami King.”
Unlike previous Paper Mario entries, this one has a mostly open overworld rather than a series of levels, though you won’t often return to any locales other than the central hub of Toad Town.
You’ll need to be observant and logical, following clues provided by allies and using powers such as the 1,000-fold arms (origami-folded arms that allow Mario to reach high places) to tear open walls and solve puzzles. You can hunt for Toads that are folded up and hidden throughout the game, and the little guys reward you with often funny and offbeat dialogue. They’ll also come to the arena where you do battle and help you out.
The game rewards you for exploring every little corner of the world, and it is full of charming mini-games that provide a welcome break from the combat.
Ah, yes, the combat. Battling the origami minions across the kingdom can get tedious and occasionally frustrating.
Rather than a traditional RPG combat system where you take turns battling it out with enemies, this game puts each enemy on a circular grid surrounding Mario. The grid rotates and slides, the idea being that Mario can move the enemies around the battlefield until he’s in the most advantageous position.
That freshens up traditional turn-based combat, but it also turns each combat instance into a complicated puzzle.
The early going isn’t so bad, as the solutions are fairly simple. But later, they become punishing. It’s like solving a Rubik’s Cube when you really just want to stomp some Goombas. At best, it slows down the game, but it sometimes made me want to avoid combat at all costs. I’d rather just skip another boring combat session and get to the next puzzle.
But the charm and cheek of the game is its most enjoyable element. Thankfully, you’ll spend more time exploring and solving puzzles and much less time engaging in monotonous combat.
Box art of Paper Mario: The Origami King box art
Video games you can feel good about buying for your kids
Ring Fit Adventure
Keep them active during these cold winter months when nobody wants to go outside. The Nintendo Switch game combines fitness with an adventure game. Running through the world requires you to run in place. Powering up attacks on enemies requires different exercises. It's all done with a flexible ring and a leg strap that fit the Switch's motion-sensitive Joy-Con controllers.
Available on Nintendo Switch.
Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020
Featuring more than 30 sports competition modes, this is a party game with a little something for everybody. Play soccer, throw javelins, box, swim, surf or play table tennis. It's fun, it's fast and everyone can pick their favorite characters from the Mario and Sonic franchises.
Available on Nintendo Switch.
Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order
If your kid can handle a Star Wars movie, they can handle this game, too. There's no blood or gore, though there is frequent action full of lightsabers and blaster pistols. Set after "Revenge of the Sith," it follows a former Jedi apprentice who escaped the Emperor's command to destroy the Jedi Order. And it's pretty fun, especially for those of us who dream of wielding a lightsaber.
Available on PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One.
Untitled Goose Game
Put simply, you play a goose bothering the inhabitants of a small town. That's it. That's the game. You waddle around, accomplish different tasks and try not to get caught. It's a puzzle game. It's funny. And your kids will have an easy time playing it.
Available on Mac, Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One.
Sparklite
In this top-down, Zelda-like game, you must defeat the Baron of Geodia, who has taken the land's source of power, Sparklite, to use it for his own nefarious means. As the heroine Ada, you'll use gadgets and gear to defeat the monsters the Baron has bent to his will. It has a Super Nintendo-era pixelated retro feel, and though there's violence, it's all very tame.
Available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One.
Harry Potter Lego collection
This game collects two previous releases of Harry Potter Lego adventures, putting all seven of the books (and eight films) into one release. It's a massive amount of gameplay, and you can spend hours upon hours in and out of Hogwarts as your favorite Harry Potter minifigure. Lego games are largely about puzzle solving and jumping from platform to platform. They're absolutely made for kids: There's very little combat, it's difficult to fail and they're almost entirely visual, meaning even your young kids who can't quite read yet can enjoy them. (With an occasional little bit of help anyway.)
Available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Xbox One.
Mario Kart 8
Yes, this is the eighth version of Mario Kart. And yes, it's not unlike previous installments: Pick a character from Nintendo's slate of characters and race through a series of wild racetracks, all while throwing a variety of shells, bananas and bombs at your opponents. It's a fun and easy racing game to play, especially with the Switch's controllers, which allows you to steer by simply tilting the controller right or left. Kids can suddenly play it just as well as adults.
Available on Nintendo Switch.
Minecraft
The blocky, crafty game is all about finding raw materials and building things. And best of all, it's open-ended. Kids can do whatever they want: Build, explore, create and, if they feel like it, fight monsters. There's even an education edition for use in classrooms. It's great.
Available on just about every platform including mobile, consoles, computers and more.
Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and The Lion King
This two-fer from back in the Super Nintendo days was recently modernized for current gaming consoles. And it's fun. Both are relatively simple: In "Aladdin," you jump on platforms, swing a sword and fling apples to beat each level. It's much the same in "The Lion King," but y'know, as a lion. It also has a “watch the game” mode, perfect for kids who can let the game play through portions they can’t defeat themselves and hop in any time they want to play.
Available on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One.
NBA 2k20
NBA 2k20
Sports games like "NBA 2k20" (say, "FIFA20," "MLB the Show" and others) are always family friendly. Even the modes where you can take a player from obscurity into the majors simply involve playing the sport a lot and learning new skills. Hint: If your kids aren't super current on sports, you can save some cash by buying last year's version of their favorite sports game.
Availab on Nintendo Switch, PC, PlayStation 4, Xbox One.
kevin.coffey@owh.com, 402-444-1557
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July 25, 2020 at 07:05PM
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Paper Mario: The Origami King review: Cute game delivers fun and funny Mario action - Omaha World-Herald
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