Paper Mario: The Origami King

Platforms

• Nintendo Switch

  Jul 17, 2020

  ---

  7.8

  playscore

  7.9

  72 Critics

  7.7

  551 Players

72 critic reviews · 21 community reviews across all platforms

Critic Reviews

• 

  RPGFan

  8.5

  I’ve played just about every Mario RPG, and I’ve reviewed six before this one, but Paper Mario: The Origami King is definitely the one that I’ve had the most difficulty figuring out how to score. The things that frustrated me about it (mainly the combat) frustrated me from start to finish, but I still had a good time with it, and even went back for a set of optional boss battle repeats after I had finished so that I could get an in-game trophy.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  Hey Poor Player

  7.0

  Wherever the answer lies, the point is this: Paper Mario deserves better. The prestige of a Final Fantasy veteran appropriating his magic onto a handicraft world deserves better. The unforgettable wit and lovable cast expanding Mario lore deserves better.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  ZTGD

  7.0

  Despite being charming and oftentimes funny with some great set piece moments sprinkled throughout, Paper Mario: The Origami King’s repetitive combat and dull sense of progression hampers an otherwise enjoyable journey.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  3rd-strike.com

  6.4

  Paper Mario: The Origami King is an amazingly beautiful game that will entice you in from start to finish but only if it was a game about exploring this massive paper and origami mixed world. Sadly, the game starts to show its many cracks when you actually start playing it. This is because of its slow progression, tedious battle system, annoying gear mechanics and sadly, the lack of a proper party which is somewhat a cornerstone of a basic RPG experience.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  We Got This Covered

  8.0

  Paper Mario: The Origami King does a great job of building upon the Paper Mario mythos, as the introduction of the Origami race makes perfect sense. While it’s not as grandiose as Super Mario Odyssey in scale, there is still an amazing — though oftentimes frustrating — experience to be had. The combat can be daunting, especially towards the end, but I would gladly endure those frustrations just so I can play through the story.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  GameSpew

  8.0

  You’ll have so much fun exploring its papercraft world and devouring every line of its sumptuous dialogue that you’ll just grit your teeth and persist through the battles you encounter, knowing full well that in a minute or so you’ll be back at the good stuff. It isn’t perfect, but Paper Mario: The Origami King has a huge amount of charm, and those with a keen sense of humour and adventure will find themselves effortlessly falling in love with it.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  Attack of the Fanboy

  8.0

  While it may not return to the heights of The Thousand-Year Door, Paper Mario: The Origami King is by far the best entry in the series in over a decade and gives us hope for the future of the series for the first time in awhile.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  Game Skinny

  9.0

  The game won't allow you to build a Final Fantasy-esque combat strategy of buffs, debuffs, status effects, and special skills. But in cutting all of that out, Paper Mario: The Origami King's battle system, at least as it applies to boss battles, may still scratch that itch. And hey, even if it doesn't, there's more than enough here to make up for it.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  Critical Hit

  7.0

  Maybe there’s another Toad in need of rescue, maybe there’s a whole stack of coins waiting to be claimed or maybe there’s an elaborate dance routine to engage in as a forest of singing trees drop some sweet harmony on you. There’s a lot of joy to be found in Paper Mario: The Origami King, but its shallow combat and monotonous nature makes for a glib experience that crumples under pressure.

  Reviewed on Switch

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• 

  Shacknews

  7.0

  The best thing I can say about Paper Mario: The Origami King is that it has some major problems, but the story is great enough and so worth experiencing that it's worth trudging through the negatives to experience it at least once. Like a lot of first-time origami projects, it starts rough, but it's worth seeing through to the end.

  Reviewed on Switch

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Community Reviews

About the game