While not a blockbuster success likeAnimal Crossing: New Horizons, Nintendo’sPaper Mario: The Origami Kinghas been mostly well-received by fans and critics. Despite concerns about moving away from the original design of the series,The Origami Kingcarved out its own niche with puzzle-based gameplay that complimented its strong writing. Nintendo has even set up crossovers like aPaper Mario-themedTetris 99Maximus Cupto accompany its release. However, many are still upset thatThe Origami Kingis not a “true” successor to titles likePaper Mario 64andPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
Those games have stood the test of time as entry-level RPGs with engaging action commands, diorama worlds, and unique inhabitants to fill them. SincePaper Mario: Sticker Star, the series has downplayed introducing new races and emphasized the paper-craft nature of their worlds. Yet, the fan community behind the original games are prevalent enough that calls for aThousand-Year Doorport were trending on TwitterwhenThe Origami Kingreleased. As such,The Origami King’s positive reception could mean good things for the return of those older titles.
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Why The Origami King is Good for Paper Mario Remakes
They could appear as remakes or remasters, a la titles likePokemon Mystery Dungeon: Rescue Team DXandThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening.Paper Marioremakes could piggyback off the assets or engine ofThe Origami King— adjusted to work more with traditional RPG elements. Given the currentPaper Mariospotlight, it would make sense for Nintendo to capitalize on its older properties, especially with lingering rumors aboutremasteredSuper Mariogames coming for the series' 35th anniversary.
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Why The Origami King is Not Good for Paper Mario Remakes
There is one big detail going against the prospect ofPaper Marioremakes.
The shift in design forPaper Mariogames fromSuper Paper Marioon Wii toSticker Staron 3DS was blatant. It wasn’t untilThe Origami Kingthat fans finally had a good idea as to why this shift occurred. Leading up to the game’s release, Series Producer Kensuke Tanabe said in an interview thatPaper Mariodevelopers have strict rules to followregarding how older Mario entities can be altered and how new races can be introduced. Thus the franchise has moved away from unique partners like Lady Bow the Boo and Vivian the Shadow Siren.
Unfortunately, that does not offer fans a lot of hope regarding the possibility ofPaper Mario 64,The Thousand-Year Door, andSuper Paper Marioreturning. Nintendo does not seem interested in expanding the bizarre universe ofPaper Mariothe same way as it used to, even ifThe Origami Kingtakes steps in the right direction with individualized partners like Bobby the Bob-omb and Professor Toad.
This is a shame for fans of the classic games, but it is even more tragic for younger audiences and Nintendo Switch fans who may want morePaper Marioafter finishingThe Origami King. Preservation is also important to consider, as it becomes harder to access games likeThe Thousand-Year Dooras Nintendo moves away from the GameCube era and backwards compatibility on the Wii and Wii U. Given how much buzz the original titles receive, even spawningPaper Mario-inspired independent games likeBug Fables, Nintendo should consider opening the door to those older games.
