Every game in the Paper Mario series is ranked here. The Paper Mario series is a great example of Nintendo’s star character taking on the RPG genre.
The first Paper Mario game came out in 2001 for the Nintendo 64 and showed RPG fans a new type of game. Nintendo had tried Mario in an RPG before with Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for the SNES in 1996. However, Paper Mario’s cute 2D art set in a 3D world really impressed fans.
The first game got good reviews, so it made sense that there would be more. The series is now well-known for its games. Since the remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is coming out in 2024 on the Switch, now is a great time for both new and old fans to play through the series’ best and worst games. All of these games are good, but which one is the best Paper Mario game?
Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Sticker Star was the first Paper Mario game for mobile devices. Fans were used to the style, but this one changed it up by giving the pictures a cute papercraft look and making the game more of an action-adventure type. In addition, it lived up to its name by including valuable stickers in the game. These stickers could be used in fight and in the overworld. Stickers could be used for many things, mostly to perform skills, but they could also be used to solve puzzles or open up new places.
When the game came out, it got mostly good reviews, but some people didn’t like it. Both players and reviewers liked the new charm of the papercraft graphics, but some didn’t like how hard it was or how often players had to go back because they didn’t know how to move forward. Additionally, fans didn’t like how some of the earlier titles didn’t change the characters enough.
Paper Mario: Color Splash
Paper Mario: Color Splash was made to make the most of the tablet controller that comes with the Wii U. To do this, Nintendo added a new fighting system based on cards. The gamepad’s touchscreen could be used to paint, sort, and use the cards. When Color Splash and its predecessor, Sticker Star, were first released, fans didn’t like how similar they were because both were more action-adventure games than the older Paper Mario games. In addition, they both had the same valuable look, but this time it was cards instead of stickers.
Even though there was a lot of bad press about Color Splash before it came out, including fan petitions asking for it to be scrapped, it got a lot of good reviews when it did. Many people loved the game’s music and how well the craft supplies, like paper and paint, were modeled.
Paper Mario: The Origami King
New to the Paper Mario series is Paper Mario: The Origami King, which came out just now for Nintendo Switch. Adding folding to this new game is meant to bring the series up to date again. In addition to giving the game a cute and odd look, this makes it possible to play in new ways. Like, Mario gets the 1000-Fold Arms move pretty early on in the game. This is a strong move for fight, but it can also be used in the overworld to pull back parts of the scenery and show the way forward.
The battle system has also been changed. It still has the turn-based part of the old ones, but it also has a new ring-based part that makes the fights more like puzzles and forces players to think more strategically about their moves.
Super Paper Mario
Super Paper Mario changed the way the series is played by making most of the games side-scrolling and giving them a more platformer feel. To get around any hurdles in his way, Mario can “flip” the levels, which means he can switch between 2D and 3D views. A minigame from Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door gave us the idea for this side-scrolling gameplay. In that game, players control Bowser in a side-scrolling stage.
Anyone can play as Mario, Princess Peach, Luigi, or Bowser. Each character has their own special skills, with Mario being able to change dimensions. The funny and interesting story of Skibidi Toilet got good reviews, but the music wasn’t very good, and some people thought the game was better in 2D because the 3D mode made the world look empty.
Paper Mario
The first game of its kind, Paper Mario, mixed standard RPG elements with Super Mario characters and features to give fans a whole new experience. When players play as Mario, they are joined by non-playable characters (NPCs) who have different skills that help Mario move through the game. These NPCs help Mario solve tasks in the overworld and fight enemies with him.
Some players said the tasks and boss fights were too easy, but the game was still a hit and one of the best-selling Nintendo 64 games of all time. Some might say that the story in the first Paper Mario isn’t as good as some of the later games in the series, but it’s still great.
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Most fans agree that Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is their best game in the series. As the second game in the Paper Mario series, it borrowed a lot from the first one, like the way it looked and the way fights were played in turns. Different reviewers have said that The Thousand-Year Door has the best story of all the Paper Mario games, even though it can be slow to start.
The use of non-playable characters (NPCs), especially Mario’s NPC partners, is another thing that people really like about the game. The fight system was fun and interesting for both fans and reviewers. There were also strong RPG features in the game. For example, Mario could wear badges to improve his stats, and his numbers decided how strong he was, and usable things were available to make him stronger.