When Nintendo first collaborated with Square to release Super Mario RPG in 1996, fans were given an experience they could not have anticipated. Mario would enter the RPG genre alongside new characters like Geno and Mallow, in addition to Peach and Bowser, and fans loved what they played. After Nintendo and Square’s split in the late ’90s, Nintendo made their own successor to Super Mario RPG entitled Paper Mario. It was also a turn-based RPG that utilized timed hits and had a wonderful cast of characters as well. Nintendo followed up on Paper Mario’s success with a sequel on the GameCube entitled Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door that was considered one of the best Mario games of all time. Nintendo seemed to have a hit spinoff franchise on their hands and nothing could stop it.
Then came Super Paper Mario. Originally developed for GameCube then moved to the Wii, Super Paper Mario was a different take on the series altogether. Rather than being a turn-based RPG this time, the game was now an action-adventure platformer with a deep narrative and some RPG elements sprinkled in. This is not to say the game was bad in any way though as it was in fact a nice side game to the series. It has a large fanbase of its own and is still fondly remembered to this day as a great game. The game had some interesting gameplay ideas, and for a spinoff, is highly regarded. But the fact is that it did mark the series transition away from RPG and into what it has now become.
Paper Mario: Sticker Star was next and was originally to feature traditional RPG elements and partners but went through a massive change that saw the sticker gimmick being used for battle and the RPG elements drastically toned down. It was not well received but in the end it still became the basis for the series going forward. The next entry would be Color Splash on the Wii U, a title that while better received than Sticker Star and having a better narrative, maintained a lot of the direction from its predecessor and lack of the RPG elements fans wanted. When Paper Mario: The Origami King was announced for Switch, many hoped it would be a return to tradition, only to find this was not the case. The game still has a good narrative, but the combat system is unusual and once more it is not really an RPG.
It is clear Nintendo does not view the series as an RPG series anymore, but a lot of the ideas of the recent games have had a mixed reaction. The series has changed from its roots and needs to reflect that change. Rather than relying on turn-based combat still, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems should take the obvious solution and just make the series an action-adventure series with real-time combat going forward. A transition to narrative focused action adventure platformer may be what is best for everyone.
Super Paper Mario is still beloved, as I said before, and a game that was done in that style would be great. The narrative in Origami King is surprisingly well done, and while not on the level of Super Paper Mario, is much improved over the previous two entries before it. An action-adventure platformer that moves between 2D and 3D visuals, with modern innovations would be very welcome indeed, and I feel that titles like The Origami King would have been much improved by that style of gameplay.
The Origami King may have been moderately well-received, but I feel that it could have been a proper successor to Super Paper Mario, particularly with its gameplay gimmick, and as such was a lost opportunity. However, the series should take this direction for the future. Rather than pay lip-service to a past with ideas that end up holding back the gameplay, why not expand on the spinoff that fans loved and make a follow-up there? Paper Mario will continue on in the end, but it is clear the franchise is not what it once was and there is a good direction for the game to go in now.