Paper Mario: The Origami King – Likes & Gripes

⚠️SPOILER WARNING⚠️ 

Best since Thousand-Year Door... but still not Thousand-Year Door.

Likes

• Ring-based combat system is engaging.*
• Open world (mostly).
• That writing.
• Olivia is arguably the best main partner in a Paper Mario game ever.
• Hidden Toads (and nice references). 
• The more strategy-based boss battles are a nice change of pace to normal battles. 
• Vellumental battles and abilities.
• Bobby (and his entire story arc).
• Confetti doesn't feel overly used as a gimmick, unlike the paint and stickers of Color Splash and Sticker Star.
• Nice to revisit previous areas if you're going for 100% completion.

Gripes

• Time limit on battle puzzles; I get why, but geh...
• Forgettable main villain with majorly lame motive.**
• Seriously? Stationery tools as bosses?***
• To say they "brought back" partners, from a classic Paper Mario standpoint, is a big stretch.****

SCORE: 4/5

*While personally engaging for me, the ring battles are hit-or-miss. And when they're a "miss", the experience goes just about down the drain.

**Missed opportunity for an interesting Frankenstein-ish story.

***More on this in a future Thoughts post about where the series is still at.

****On the other hand, partners provide a nice fail-safe if you botch a battle puzzle. At least, most of the time.