After its brief tease earlier in the year, we finally got a good look at Paper Mario: Color Splash thanks to the Nintendo Treehouse Live broadcast from E3. We saw aspects of the story and gameplay, with the segment ending with some rather entertaining (and creative) sequences.
Key details include the lack of formal 'XP' points, but evidently HP and paint gauges can be increased through other means. As expected you use a new companion - Huey the paint can - to bring colour to the world; we also saw some battles, in which ability and attack cards are selected and painted on the GamePad before the conventional timed button presses to execute moves. Toads play a big part in the story, and after a slow start in the demonstration we did see some flashes of creativity, including a fun-looking cameo by the dragon from Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, along with some other neat moments.
A lot of this is captured in the E3 trailer below, so check it out and let us know what you think.
Comments 175
Yay! I missed the stream... time to see if my opinion changed....
Edit
nope....
I'll just buy it for the heck of it. I mean, it's no TTYD 2, but at the very least for me, it looks fun.
Well, Paper Mario is screwed.
end my life
Well... Zelda was good so
This game is almost to random
And Sticker Star 2. Well, at least i get to keep my money then.
The 3DS one was as fun as actually collecting stamps.
Looks like a cross between Sticker Star and Super Mario Sunshine...and I don't know how I feel about that.
Well, its an improvement over Sticker Star at least, even if it's following the same formula. Some genuinely funny moments here and there, and the game looks beautiful.
Part of me is willing to give it a try, but at the same time I don't want to support this direction for the series, because the better they sell, the less and less likely we are to go back to the routes of the series.
Having watched the treehouse stream, they basically repeated all the grave mistakes of Sticker Star.
All of them.
Did anyone else died a little inside when they Morton as a boss? Are they just not able to think of creative boss designs anymore?
I'm... just tired of ranting about this. I'm just glad we know what this game truly is. So I just won't buy it and forget about it, voting with my wallet is arguably a better tactic then crying in a comment section.
It looks stunning and vibrant and the story looks like it's full of humour. But I don't expect it to be anything less than crucified in here.
Really angry at Nintendo for not understanding what made the Paper Mario series worthwhile to begin with.
@EarthboundBenjy Go wash your mouth out and have a read of the Community Rules while you're at it. Thanks.
EDIT: Lol whoopsie, apologies for saying naughty words. The entire offending sentence was removed, but let me write my sentiment again:
This looks just like Sticker Star's malarkey all over again.
Really hoping by the time the NX is closer to being drawn out we can expect Nintendo to do more/better with their franchises to appeal to the 'gamer' market over the 'casual'.
Zelda looks amazing.
@DiscoGentleman I think its appropriate actually.
Sticker Star was an absolute bore fest gameplay wise. And frankly, no new coat of paint (no pun intended) could make up for that.
It looks like sticker on 3ds ... I love this !!!! It looks amazing and beautiful ... This is exactly what I need from Nintendo !
It's weird that the same ppl who are excited about crappy poor indie games and willing to pay 15$ for it are hating on this game and not looking Forward
The fact they acknowledged in an interview that Mario & Luigi is their RPG serie and not Paper Mario says it all...
Sad day for Paper Mario fans...
Clearly not TYD, but they didn't try to be like it. It seems like a solid development from SS; say what you will about the battle system, but that entry had some very creative/charming moments and levels. From the footage, the humour is still there, and that's key to the franchise as well. Nobody can complain about the art style or music either. May need a little push to get me to buy it, but I'm optimistic!
@JTMnM Zelda does look amazing. It restored my hope that Nintendo is still willing to try new things. It's not groundbreaking, but it's doing a lot of things right.
I don't know what to make of it. But it definitely doesn't look as good as the SNES, N64 and Gamecube PM's.
: / yikes . ..
Looks like a good time.
@Fitkong I really dont know if i would call its battle system "creative" though... Ultimately, combat was completely pointless and, at the end of the day, just a item waste honestly.
Thats what ruined the game for me. Its style and more "puzzle" oriented nature was a blast. But if one of its core aspects is so flawed beyond repair...there really is no point for me honestly.
I haven't watched all the coverage, but we still don't know what Retro has been working on do we?
@Mr_Zurkon Now that you mention it...no, we still don't know. Best guess its now a NX launch title...
I am still very conflicted about this game, I love that they put so much detail and love into the visuals, but I don't buy games for visuals. I buy games for the story, the warmth I get for the characters, and how exciting it is to play. This is firmly going into the "borrow" category now. As others have said I am going stick with my wallet on this one.
Having watched the stream I think it is an improvement over Sticker Star. Cards can be reused which is already a big plus.
So basically they learned nothing, great.
What a massive disappointment. It seems Nintendo doesn't even want to treat Paper Mario as a legitimate series anymore.
new characters:
Paint can
I've been observing the battle system and gameplay in the stream, and from what I gathered...:
-If anybody has been watching the gameplay of the first level that the Treehouse has been showing, if you look closely after the player defeats a few Koopa Troopas, there's a Hammer pickup that drops alongside the Coins and Paint. Upon picking up the hammer, it fills a sliver of another gauge on the right side of the Paint Gauge, which disappears shortly after. If I am correct, upon fully filling up that gauge, the Max Paint Gauge will be increased, though by what amount I'm not sure. If this is true, then there will be some incentives to battles after all (whereas in Sticker Star, only Coins and Stickers are rewarded).
-In one battle, if you looked closely, the cursor can be moved to different enemies, assuming that the player highlighted a Jump card. If it's true...well, that's one thing Sticker Star didn't allow you to do.
-If anybody has seen the player use a Shy Guy card, then you'll notice that not only does it attack enemies, since it appears to guard Mario during battle, which didn't do so well. The Enemy Cards don't exactly act like the members from the first two games, but it's better to have that than nothing, I guess. And from I heard from a Treehouse Player, each enemy will their own versions of the Enemy Cards, which I think is another incentive to battles. I mean, could you imagine if you had a strong Enemy Card and you put it up against the other enemies?
-An equivalent to the Paperization from Sticker Star returns, but it seems to play a smaller role as from I've seen in the stream, it either allows Mario to go to the otherside or reveal secrets. I'm hoping to see more of this feature in the final release.
And that's pretty much all I've observed in the stream, though I've watched the whole thing. We still don't know if HP-Ups from Sticker Star are back, the Cards being reusable (honestly, it'd make absolutely no sense to have the Cards consumable like the Stickers), and the whole story behind Color Splash (Does Peach still get captured? How are the Koopalings involved in the story?). Regardless, even though I want Paper Mario to return to how it used to be with the first two games, I'm still buying this game regardless as I enjoyed Sticker Star (though not as much as the first two games) and whether Color Splash ends up being a disappointment is still in the question for me, but from what I've seen in the footage, it has a slim chance.
I was giving this game a chance, but after this, I'm not hyped about it anymore. I feel like it's De Blob 3 more than a Paper Mario title! Very disappointed. Oh well, at least Mario Party Star Rush looks promising.
I actually liked Sticker Star, so this looks great! At least they're bringing new characters to the Paper universe (the Koopalings and the Captain Toad dragon)! There also seems to be a lot more interesting moments in this game. Can't wait!
Some sort of XP that you only get after battles actually increases your paint meter, so yes, there is actual XP.
@Zorldo all kirby's game story are poor when it comes to a story but the game it self is fun and nice ..
zelda tri force had a crappy story too ... something about stealing the fashion and bringing the princess stolen dress etc !
@Spike6958 How to buy something but not support the company in one easy step: buy used.
Ehhh, not interested. Was hoping this stream would change my opinion on this game, but I guess it didn't.
The game is oozing with style... but man, I don't think I can play through this since it plays nearly identically to Sticker Star. I actually liked Sticker Star... but not necessarily enough to play through it again... or a sequel. It's looking better than its initial reveal, I suppose, but that's not saying much.
Oh, this trailer doesn't have the terrible narrator like the one on Treehouse Live. That was the definition of cringe.
@GraveLordXD I try to keep it as short as possible:
-No RPG elements and no new characters (just Toads)
-All your attacks and abilities were consumable items
-Battles used up stickers (attacks) and rewarded only coins, with which you could only buy new stickers, thus rendering battles pointless.
@Einherjar yeah, that seems most likely now.
Looks incredibly nice, but judging by what I saw, it's going by the Sticker Star formula, and that puts me off. The three things that kept my interest in the first two PM games were the story, the battles (complete with XP, partners, etc), and that it introduced new friends/enemies, giving variety to the PM universe. Even SPM did its best to stick to the previous PM games while introducing a different kind of gameplay that was still enjoyable imo.
The latter two points I made are practically absent from this game just like Sticker Star. The first is up in the air, but I wouldn't count on that either. Even the M&L games with Paper Jam started to fall into this situation. Story was meh, and characters were limited to the well-known, paper or not. The battles were at least decent, but still......
I really wish Nintendo would come back to what I consider to be the better PM games. I'll even take remakes of the first two games (or at least TTYD, as I have PM64 as Wii U VC).
Looks like fun to me. Though I do wish we'd go back to TTYD style, I think i'll have a good time with this.
Seriously, did Nintendo not listen to why Sticker Star was heavily hated by fans? I'll gave this game a chance, and it looks like a waste of time.
@WiltonRoots It looks great! I don't think there is anything they could have done to change people's minds after a bad first impression, unfortunately. I am definitely going to be picking this up when it comes out. The combat looks fresh and fun, I like the humor, it looks like it will be a blast.
Nintendo doesn't care what their fans want it appears. Sticker Star had the benefit of brand appeal, on a popular system and no one knew what Sticker Star would be like so no wonder it sold well. I know good sales is a good thing but does Nintendo not even bother looking on improvements? This game looks to have all the same issues the first had. Same generic NPCS, no reason to fight, bland level design. Wouldn't surprise me if Bowser was mute once again.
The sad thing is this game is going to sell because the Wii U has nothing coming out this year and desperation will cause people to buy anything and Mario slapped on something seems "safe" to most people.
It's bad but I want this game to bomb so they can either kill the series they're continuing to ruin and just make Mario and Luigi the rpg series or start fresh and try to make Paper Mario good again. i'll settle for super paper Mario 2... I don't need TTYD 2.
I think this looks fun and unique. Those attacks that transform the landscape seem amazing to me. Maybe it's the upbeat jazzy tunes but I'm interested in seeing more of this.
@DiscoGentleman For me, Sticker Star was a nice, little experiment that fell flat on its bum.
It tried something new, it didnt work, no big deal. Zelda 2 comes to mind.
But doing it again is my biggest gripe with it really. They heard their fans, you cant say they didn't.
Its the same with the Animal Crossing board game. One stupid, avoidable decision after the other.
Am i salty ? Sure, kind of.
It can be an "Ok" game for all i care, but im not paying 50+ bucks for a "benefit of the doubt", thats for sure.
Fool me once and all that jazz
I'm actually ok with them using mostly already known charavyers, but I'd rather them use more of them. Nice to see a Koopaling, but most characters seem to be Toads. There are a lot more than Toads in the Mario universe.
Come to think of it: If battles really only serve the purpose of increasing your paint bucket size...its literally doing one chore to cut down on another (fetching more paint)...
Its the exact same nonsense as the stickers: Use stickers to gain coins to buy more stickers again....
I guess it is not for me.
Nintendo is free to take their IPs and shape in whatever merchandise they want.
Somehow I can't bring myself to like Mario & Luigi series (I don't know why, it just doesn't feel fun to me), and that one being Nintendo's main interest in a Mario RPG, I guess I just won't be looking for Paper Mario series anymore.
Let's play some Paper Mario 64 and Paper Mario TTYD to remember the good old times, for those that feel the same way.
Looks fantastic to me.
I understand people's complaints with Sticker Star, but it is what it is. This looks fun to me, and seeing as how I like fun games and try to make a habit of playing them and all, I just locked in my preorder at BestBuy.
TTYD is dead- it's been dead for a decade. I'm not going to complain, but I'm glad there are others who are so that they can let Nintendo know we liked TTYD. More power to you guys. Maybe one day Ill see TTYD 3D because of your efforts.
In the meantime, Ima give this a spin while I wait for Zelda.
I don't know... It doesn't look exactly like Sticker Star (which wasn't terrible, just not very good), but I didn't see enough of the battling to know if the cards are like stickers or if there is a leveling system. The graphics are great though. The main problem with Sticker Star was that stickers were very annoying to manage and battles were pointless. That and the bosses were op and the puzzles were either annoying or impossible. If this fixes those problems, it will be good.
Absolutely awesome! The graphics look gorgeous and it looks fun! I am an absolute SUCKER for Mario games. I can't wait!
OMG....!
The things err... i mean the "Summon" things are looks very devastating. The battery looks like "Ramuh" and the giant Fan turns into"Leviathan" when blowing the water of ocean.
Well, I've played Sticker Star and it wasn't bad at all (My first time played paper mario series). Yeah, the battle it's kinda pointless if you can buy another stickers / cards (like FF VIII, you can Draw the Magic from enemies or Draw points and stocked). But i've ever played FF VIII so wether using Magic with MP or not didn't really matter for me. I still consider TTYD that i've never played before so no need to complain "Oh, Paper Mario now is suck. It doesn't looks like the previous version."
Who cares. I still can play both of them and enjoy my day.
I'll consider this Paper mario for my holiday vacation.
@TriforceWisdom Those super attacks look insane. I was taken aback by the creativity that's gone into the whole look and feel of this game. It looks like some crazy animated tv show.
@GraveLordXD
Woo boy, there's a lot but I'll try and be brief.
There are no kinds of RPG elements at all. You get no badge equipment, no gear, all you really get are stickers to launch attacks.
The battle system is 100% consumable item based, and you don't get any meaningful rewards for beating them because there is no EXP or levelling. Coins and stickers are already abundant on the environments which you are actively encouraged to explore, making battles extremely optional.
Their writing talent is squandered by making every single NPC a Toad. You don't get to encounter any colorful characters of all walks of life like previous Paper Mario titles, made worse by the lack of a partner system.
The "thing" system allows you to use real world items in puzzles or battles. However their usage in battles is also for puzzle solving.
If you do not have a necessary item to cripple a boss fight, the boss becomes unfairly hard and the game will even berate you for not figuring out the solution.
This is further insulting if you had used your item earlier, because you are otherwise forced to backtrack and retrieve it again. If you use the wrong item, it gets used up.
There were TONS of complaints about all these features in Sticker Star, and Nintendo have regrettably opted to embrace these same problems.
I'd take an excellent platformer with rpg elements like Super Paper Mario again. The lucky cat and fan in the trailer are very similar to the mandatory boss fight stickers from sticker star. If the game doesn't have those wiggler fetch quests it will be an improvement.
Game looked great to me, definitely will be pre-ordering this game!
Also, you guys didn't mention the game is releasing October 7th, 2016.
I think I'll go play some Thousand Year Door and pretend like it's not this decade anymore.
I'm pretty excited for this game, and this is coming from someone who got bored while playing Paper Mario 64 and TTYD.
Time to speak with my wallet... and put a padlock on it.
This looks really fun. Insta-buy for me.
Looks pretty good to me! Will be getting day one!
Not what I was expecting, but still seems like a fun game to play.
If this game comes out on Oct 7, what will be Wii U's November / Thanksgiving game? 3DS has pokémon Sun & Moon but the Wii U?
Sticker Star's gameplay was honestly not fun. There's no reason to fight enemies there and it looks like there's no reason to fight enemies here too. Getting their stickers, Er, cards looks useless since they run from bosses and why waste your color on fighting when interacting with the environment looks more fun/important.
The battle system looks interesting to a point but I much more enjoyed interactions with fantasy Mario powers than random real life items that just take you out of the Mario universe and act Wacky for the sake of it.
No xp because the paper Mario series is now adventure games and the Mario and Luigi series are the RPGs.
Looks okay, maybe I will give it a chance.
Which reminds me, I should pick up That crossover game.
I did like the humor and presentation of the story to a point. I'll probably pick this up, but not day one. Probably used.
It certainly looks pretty, but damn, I hate it that they're making this series too 'streamlined'. I'll probably get it, but I'm not sure whether I'll like it.
It looks so cool and that's what makes me so much more disappointed.
I dont have a problem with this game. The problem is titling this paper mario when it completely ignore its past entries. Any other name and there would be rightfully less hate. Its an average, fun side mario 40$ game. But Nintendo stop trying to pass this off as the next expansion in the mario universe. Fans wont embrace this game just because you place paper mario as the title. It is an insult to previous entries and the lackluster sales will reflect that.
It's a good think NL has a forum to discuss these games as well; it's a bit like these comment sections but without the attention seeking hyperbole and all round hysteria.
I still don't feel sure how this game will turn out as an entire experience, but having seen the stream today, it seems there are a lot of charming elements; ones that would be a shame to waste by including in a mediocre or broken title.
More than ever before, I really hope it turns out well. It's clearly not going to be TTYD2, but I've seen nothing that has convinced me it can't still be a good game in its own right.
I just really, really hope it can pull that off. Especially as it's one of the last arrows in the Wii U's quiver.
Well, I'm going to look at the positives: I just saved some money! Seriously, to those who aren't happy with the way this game looks, DO NOT GIVE NINTENDO YOUR MONEY! Show them that no, you are not happy with the direction this series is heading! Show them that the Sticker Star formula does. Not. WORK. Show them that you miss the Paper Mario games of old! Show them!
I love how Color Splash looked and played. They really went all out with the cardboard/construction paper world and the colors really pop. The card mechanic in battle is awesome and I really want one of those shirts they were wearing while showing off the game. Stop talking about how you want a new TTYD Paper Mario game and embrace the future for once. You know what, I loved Super Paper Mario on the Wii and a bunch of so called fans love to talk crap about that one as well. If you dimwits want to compare every Paper Mario to TTYD, fine, but obviously Nintendo wants to experiment with the franchise and as a fan I couldn't be more excited. Count me in on day one because the release date is right by my birthday!
I know I'm in the minority, but I really enjoyed Sticker Star. I think I even 100%'ed it (aside from the in-game achievement things). It was no Thousand Year Door, but it was one of my favorite 3DS games, and I liked it a lot more than the Wii Paper Mario. That being the case, I'm looking forward to this game quite a bit.
Looks pretty good! In a strictly aesthetic way, I mean. I'll still hold back an opinion on the game as a whole for now. This will be one of the few games where I let the critics' reviews fully decide whether I try it or not.
@capitalism Yes because the future of Paper Mario is a bland story, bad gameplay, and a linear world to explore.
People want to go back to TTYD because the newer games are just changing the mechanics in a bad way. Here we have Nintendo taking a decent game series, and changing it for no good reason. People wanted a new Paper Mario, and the result is Nintendo slapping their fanbases, and going with what they think is awesome, even though it's stupid.
@TrueWiiMaster don't feel bad, I liked Sticker Star too, ppl just seem to hate anything different
@Einherjar I'll definitely get it for the humor, but only a soft copy with a discount. This isn't worth full price.
Day 1 buy for me!
I guess I'll just pick up Dream Team and Paper Jam at some point since I have yet to play those games and it doesn't look like Paper Mario will go back to its traditional roots anytime soon.
@RupeeClock Which ones? You mean the mistake of not being another Thousand Year Door? Boo hoo. So they decided to reboot the series and actually make the game live up to the title. Who cares if has exciting and colorful worlds and more creative and adventurous gameplay. I just want a bunch of Thousand Year Doors. PAPER MARIO IS DEAD!!!!!!! X'(
I think the people who are saying 'PMTYD fans are only hating this game because it's different' have a shallow perspective on why people hated Sticker Star to begin with.
@SilverSaturn64 I have only played through halfway of Paper Mario 64, and completed Sticker Star. I own but haven't yet started TTYD. Oh right, and also Super Paper Mario.
All my complaints are with Sticker Star as an individual experience, except maybe the sheer lack of characters that the previous games had in wonderful abundance.
It's not bad because it's different, it's bad because of the things I explained.
@MrPuzzlez I simply can't bring myself to play this type of game again. No matter what it will cost.
I gave Sticker Star many chances, an i definitely enjoyed its overall style.
But there is literally no depth as far as mechanics are concerned. It would have been better off without any combat whatsoever. Just a plain and simple adventure puzzle game.
It would have been a new Genre for Mario to venture in too.
But as it stands, Sticker Star is a prime example of a genre mix that completely negated itself in every regard.
Its one of the few games that genuinely felt like a chore to play, let alone enjoy.
And like i said before, im not buying Color Splash for "the benefit of the doubt". Way too much money for such a high potential to be equally disappointing.
If enough Sticker Star "haters" are convinced, i gladly change my mind. But until then, no purchase from me.
@SilverSaturn64 Please explain where exactly i can find said "creative and adventurous gameplay" in Sticker Star. Ive been searching for it since the games release.
Well I'm excited for some Wii U support! Good to see something is in its way! Looks fun!!!
I feel like Sticker Star represents my problem with Miyamoto. He tries so hard to be creative that he doesn't know when to stop or when enough is enough. Nobody seems to want to say no to the guy since he is highly respected and just go along with what he says. Sticker Star could have been just like TTYD, but Miyamoto said NOPE, and thus Sticker Star came to be.
I'm honestly on the fence about this one. The game does look gorgeous, and I bet the story will be great. However it does look a bit too similar to Sticker Star (which is my least favorite Paper Mario game). It will really depend on the reviews of the game. If they are stellar, I will most likely pick it up. If they are anywhere less than that, I will probably wait until it's on sale.
I really liked Sticker Star but... why would they use that formula again? It really didn't go over well the first time.
@mariovslink62 I totally get where he was coming from with this though.
A simpler plot and only banking on familiar faces wasnt the worst idea. It set the whole series back to basics, after Super Paper Mario almost had a Square-esque plot.
I just have no clue why he thought having literally no gameplay would be a wise decision too.
Paper Marios battle system has always been just the right balance between depth and "genre newbie-friendliness" (the proper word escapes me at the moment).
It wasn't overly complex but still offered a nice level of strategy (turn order, ability usage, the star meter etc to maybe solve the battle in one turn).
As far as im concerned, they could have ditched the story entirely, and id even be OK with an army of toads...but the omission of gameplay was one of the dumbest design decisions this man has ever made.
I don't really know why people expected that after all the evidence shown that this was going to be Sticker Star 2.0, that we should still give this game a chance. All I've see were toads, returning stickers, boring settings and stage design and a lackluster story.
@EngieBengie Because you weren't allowed to say that without being called names
It looks alright. I'll get it if I'm in a drought. I have all the others.
PM and TTYD are two of the best games ever made. I have come to despise SPM, and at least SS was a return to 60% of what the first two were. If they'd just add partners and an attack system like the first two, I'd be fine with things. I'll buy this (boycott because you don't want to play it, but the only message Ninty will get from poor sales is to end the series, not go back to the basics), but I'm sure I'll be dreaming it was something else.
This game basically went from "it's probably Sticker Star 2" to "it's definitely Sticker Star 2".
They even kept the "mechanic" of requiring you to have a very specific sticker/card to beat a boss.
Thousand Year Door is my favourite game of all time (I will also defend Super Paper Mario as being an excellent game that did it's own thing that was also fun) so I'm pretty much completely biased as a result, but yeah, everything is sounding identical to Sticker Star so far. I at least hope they refine the gameplay a bit. One of the most embarrassingly bad mistakes Sticker Star made was how worthless battles were. Your only reward for beating battles was more stickers, but you had to waste stickers to win the fight, so you're left off exactly where you started and gained nothing. I honestly think an RPG without grinding COULD work, but you need SOME kind of worthwhile reward to make battles less tedious.
I don't really want another Paper Mario as much as I just want to see more quirky imaginative RPGs. Thousand Year Door wasn't great because it was a Mario game, in fact it distanced itself pretty far from the Mario universe with new settings and characters, and the fact that you didn't know where it was going to go next made it so much more exciting. At the risk of over-praising a game everyone seems to be sick of hearing about already, Undertale did a better job of capturing what I loved about Paper Mario better than most recent Paper Mario games without using the license or even having similar gameplay. I guess the problem is that when you like a game for how unique and imaginative it is, having a sequel kind of misses that point unless it goes way off the rails, which Sticker Star at least tried gameplay-wise, even if it didn't work out.
Looks pretty fun, actually. However, it makes no sense to me why they would emphasize features that came from the most disliked PM game.
Seeing how this game is shaping up really makes me very, incredibly sad. This isn't Paper Mario anymore. This is an abomination. I'll buy it (eventually), just for collection purposes, but.. I literally almost cried when I saw them show off this game, it's just so terrible. I mean, it LOOKS good, but.. this game has no personality. And for the love of God, why are there SO MANY TOADS?! I know they're mushrooms but that doesn't mean you have to make them pop up everywhere!
...please, Nintendo, cancel this game while you still can. Or just fix it, THEN release it. But not like this.
Paper Mario used to be one of my favourite video game series. But now, as it's turning out lately, it's one of my least favourite.
For the love of God, WHY does Nintendo refuse to listen to their fans? They KNOW what their fans want, yet they completely ignore their fanbase. It's not just with Paper Mario, but other stuff too.
Just.. ugh. Watching them showing off this game, as well as the trailer, made me cringe and facepalm so much. Thank Goodness we still have three actual good Paper Mario games (Super Paper Mario, while different, was still good at least), but it looks like the series is practically dead from Sticker Star on. ..at least, for me it is, until they actually fix it properly.
@Project_Dolphin Based on that logic, the people wanting a new F-Zero and a new proper Metroid game as well as a release of Mother 3 in the west must also be the minority.
Sticker Star sold decently because people didn't know how it played. This backlash is based on the fact that people now do know how it played.
@Project_Dolphin I don't know man. Most people who defend Sticker Star are new to the series. If they aren't then whatever, it's their opinion. However the cry out for a good Paper Mario is huge, at least in the Paper Mario Community.
Oh and yeah, Nintendo doesn't listen a lot. They march on the beat of their own drum.
@Seacliff To be honest I like Morton, I hoped to see him in another role rather than "boss that you must defeat using a certain Thing", of course.
Anyway, EXP is a thing now (to increase the paint) and there are still apsects to be revelaed about the cards (consumables or not?) and it must be seen how the enemy cards work. Koopalings card would be awesome, actually, but I'm not raising my hopes THAT far.
It might not be a new TYD but I had fun playing Sticker Star and I will buy this one too. You can't deny it at least looks more interesting than after the first reveal trailer came out.
@DiscoGentleman VG Chartz seems to indicate that Sticker Star has sold the same number of copies as Thousand Year Door. In fact, the only region where Thousand Year Door has sold more is in North America. Europe and Japan have higher sales for Sticker Star by a considerable amount too.
http://www.vgchartz.com/gamedb/?name=paper+mario
Frankly, if that's what Japan wants they'll tailor towards that market.
Not to say I agree with the direction they've taken it, but that's where the money seems to be.
@Ernest_The_Crab Like i said above, it only shows how eager people were to get their hands on another Paper Mario game.
After such a long wait, there were probably more impulse purchases than people considering it based on reviews.
And i cant blame them, i did the exact same...and actually regretted it...
Had i heard an explanation like the one @RupeeClock gave shortly after its release, i would't have bought it.
@Project_Dolphin Dibs on "for the heck of it"...pretty much like the Animal Crossing board game, which basically was a dead idea it was conceived...
Compared to the money printer an actual Animal Crossing game would have been.
Shallow story, puzzles and gameplay mechanics are cheaper and easier to make than more complex RPGs.
Meh, it's no a TTYD but it should be fun anyway. The graphics look really good, at least. I'll be getting it.
@Einherjar #7
Don't insult stamp collectors like that.
@Parkour_LMan so you want it, but don't want nintendo to know you want it:/
@MarinaKat Exactly, if they want to reuse characters, at least use the ones considered iconic to Paper Mario.
I remember pre 2009 when everyone wanted to Koopalings back, but only just so we can confirm that Bowser is still the father. Now they're everywhere. It's not that I don't like them, but they don't need to be taking up space in every Mario spinoff.
@Ernest_The_Crab
I think Japanese people love Mario games so much, no matter what genre the games. Western people treats the game so differently. Just like between Day and Night. Whatever Japanese likes so much, Western don't like and vice versa.
I'll propably this from my friend at some point if I really want to see if this is good at all. I just don´t want to support this series anymore and give Nintendo the wrong idea what I want from Paper Mario. Sure, I´m just a single customer but still.
We need to see some origami action in these Mario paper type games.
Come on .... paper plus Japanese game. So logical and would be so much fun with possibilities.
Using scissors is like admitting defeat.
Also, the genealogy of the game reads like -
(Blob -> Splatoon) + Sticker Star = Paper Mario Colour Splash
It does look better than Sticker Star, but people still won't change their opinions on it. To be honest, its fate was sealed the moment people saw it. I've seen people make up literally every excuse as to why this looks bad.
The only downside to the game for me is that they are just relying on staple Mario characters. TTYD and Paper Mario were charming because of the cast of all-new and unique characters. The battle system looks ok though and even being able to summon allies is a neat take on the buddy system from the first two, and the game itself looks really sharp. It is just the characters (or lack of them) that bothers me.
@Syrek24 Sticker Star is the only Paper Mario game I played, and thought it was garbage. I must be stuck in nostalgia some how even though I haven't played the previous Paper Mario games!
This looks amazing. As in, the graphics are astonishing. And it looks like a lot of fun. Definite purchase. But is that 10 July or 7 October?
@Syrek24
I´m sure many gamers are not stuck in nostalgia and can argue why (for example) TTYD is better than Sticker Star.
I welcome change if it's actually needed but in Paper Mario's case, it's not. They made one spin-off already (Super Paper Mario) which apart from few set pieces and the best story in Mario history, was kinda boring to play trough. They should've gone back to TTYD mechanics and made them even better.
From what we´ve seen PM: CS doesn't really seem to embrace change that much. First world is grassy field and if we've learned anything from the past few Mario platformers and rp's, second is propably desert, then we have the standard ocean side... heck maybe even snowy area and a volcano. So original. And the characters... Toads, Toads, Toads. THIS is something that needs to change. M&L Paper Jam had one of the best battle mechanics in Mario rpg history but it's so boring to play trough the same settings, meeting the same characters and fighting the same enemies in every new game.
@Einherjar yeah, I wasn't referring to the battle system in the bracket of creative things within the game (though I guess it is original).
I didn't mind the system as much as you seem to have, but what made the game worthwhile for me was wandering through the levels and enjoying the aesthetics and quirkiness of the game - both of which seem to be brought to a higher level in this entry.
My thoughts at least
I wonder who is the final Boss for Color Splash ?
And Nintendo should stop the "DeJavu" of Nintendo games.
@Anti-Matter Have you been on any Japanese forums? There's a lot of hate for Sticker Star and Color Splash there as well.
@Project_Dolphin I still highly doubt they are in the "minority". Like one user said, its almost as equal to say the people who hate Metroid Prime Federation Force are the minority.
@Syrek24 Embrace change huh?
That arguement is getting ridiculous.
Change is not always a good thing. It can be negative too. What if Blizzard turned Overwatch into a generic shooter? Nobody would likie that at all! People hate Sticker Star not because they can't embrace change, but because the changes they made were stupid and made the game not enjoyable.
@Seacliff
Really ? I will check then ...
@Ernest_The_Crab Sticker Star sold a bit more than Thousand-Year Door (just over 2 million vs just under 2 million), but on a console with three times the install base (~20 million Gamecubes sold vs ~60 million 3DSes sold). Thousand-Year Door is the best-selling Paper Mario in terms of attach rate — about 8% of all Gamecube owners bought it, while the other three Paper Mario games all hit about 4%.
@peeks Kirby games have a whole lot more plot than any Mario game (other than M&L and SMRPG, obviously.)
That actually looks very nice.
Always been a big fan of the main paper Mario games
@Spike6958 Buy it used.
"Hit up new characters"
Shows one new character.
I'll probably pass. I'm sick of identical Toads after Sticker Star and Paper Jam. Give me some characters I can care about.
I loved thousand year door. But why is everyone moaning that this game isn't that.
I still don't get the hate for sticker star. Was it as good as thousand year door. No. But it was a great fun little game? Yes it was! It oozed character , funny, played great had an interesting sticker element.
Colour (yes, with a u ) looks gorgeous, funny and should be s good romp. I'm looking forward to it tbh.
I haven't seen gameplay yet ( just trailer) but looks good
This series is beyond dead.
The best game I've played to use these paper mechanics is Tearaway on the Vita, and this looks inferior to that from this trailer. Zelda aside, I have no expectations of games to rival the best on other systems for the Wii U. This trailer does nothing to change that.
Looks nice honestly.
1:19 Wow! What the heck happened?
This game looks nice, but there's too many Toads! It's not the Year of Toad!
Nice trailer!
@E_maniac I'm not trying to change your opinion here. Just showing why so many people hate Sticker Star.
The Gameplay was terrible. There is no point to fighting enemies since you gain no experience points. All you get are coins.
The worlds felt linear. Paper Mario 64 and TTYD had worlds that felt open. Heck even Mario and Luigi has that. However Sticker Star just has a linear world to explore, especially when Toads are the only NPC's
Partners were removed. They gave the series even more personality. Even Super Paper Mario had partners. This game gives you Kirsti, who pales in comparison to any of the characters thought the series. She seems to remind me too much of Starlow from Mario and Luigi, except much worse.
The bosses were uncreative. They were just Mario characters on steroids.
The story was lackluster. It's basic and boring. Yeah I know Miyamoto didn't think it needed one, but I felt like that's a missed opportunity.
If you like it, more power to you!
It's sad that 95% of this comment section alone is all negative, people just can't let go of the past. If you want TTYD so much please play that one again.
@Mariovslink yeah I get allot of your points, I suppose on reflection it had more issues than I realised, but to be fair I enjoyed it while I was in it.
But yeah I do miss the characters of the earlier games. Why did they move away from that?
But I'm optimistic about colour splash even if it isn't the best in series I think it will be a good laugh. Maybe not as deep as any of us want, but on its own merits I think it's gonna be good chuckles , I really do.
Yep, better play both TTYD and Color Splash for win-win solutions.
Sometimes, when you're turning on your console, you're not really want to play seriously. Maybe just only wandering around, enjoy sightseeing or do something else that never done before.
I think it looks amazing! I loved Sticker Star, so this is right up my street. I understand why they're moving paper mario away from being a straight RPG series because we have Mario and Luigi for that.
I am so disappointed with this game. Not because it's terrible or awful but because it looks so good visually and has some cool looking parts yet has a sticker star core. I want to love it but I can't stand the battle system and lack of real rpg elements.
"go back to its roots"
-thirty old man living in the past
Color Splash looks great and based on the interview it sounds like the team was really happy adding this new card battle system and secrets to keep the player entertained...it just sad and unfair the sense of entitlement some people seem to have...I will be buying this and Federation Force day one because I'm all about playing games for fun
I enjoyed Sticker Star. I enjoyed what I've seen of Colour Splash. And Thousand-Year Door is my favourite game of all time. What's up with that???
What I'm saying is that I see a comment section of people who didn't enjoy SS and won't get CS. I also see people who love what they've seen of CS today. So why do we need to fight each other over whose opinion is right? Just enjoy the games you enjoy and let other people enjoy what they want to enjoy. Paper Mario 64 and TTYD won't go anywhere. Nor will SS. And with the M&L games still being RPGs everyone still can get new games that they want.
...I'm just trying to be positive in a Internet comment section, haha
What more do these Paper Mario fans want?!
First, the Nintendo Treehouse confirmed that there is EXP. When you defeat an enemy, a hammer-like collectible appears. When you collect it, it fills a little bar on the paint hammer that can upgrade the amount of paint you have AND your HP.
There are also partners created by using the Partner Cards. They may not be Vivian, or Bombette, or Goombella, but they are a step in the right direction.
Finally, it doesn't matter if there are only toads. As long as the dialogue and the game still has the same sense of humor and wackiness that the Paper Mario series(Or practically any Mario RPG) is known for, it's going to be fine.
This hating is getting ridiculous! I think this game is leaps and bounds ahead of Sticker Star. It may not be as good as the first three, but that doesn't mean it's not a Paper Mario game. Paper Mario is not going to "die."
Same boring assets recycled from Sticker Star, only as cards. Fan. Fortune Cat. Dusty Hammer. Ug...
Where's the other party members? Base attacks? Does the freakking paint can join your party? I don't see it in the battle sequences.
No one ever mentions that the whole point of earning XP is to make the next battle better; stickers served that exact purpose with varying degrees of success in Sticker Star.
If there is progression than the battles are not pointless, but in this case just perhaps not complex enough for some. An essential motivation for playing an RPG fun battles and an immersive world.
Now if the battles are boring, that's another story. I didn't think they were boring at all but they were too simplistic and there were too many of them so you had to do too much sticker collecting to compensate and that simply got old.
That said, while I enjoyed large sections of the game, especially its visuals and animations, my biggest problem with Sticker Star were the obscure, counter-intuitive puzzle sections where you needed a sticker but didn't know where or what.
But the bottom line in any RPG is whether or not the battles are fun and many of Sticker Stars' battles were fun if not complex. They were just over-saturated and that drove your preparation (a la collect-a-thon) to exploration/story ratio up too far.
I would prefer a more complex and more traditional entry in the series but Color Splash has charm and beauty galore so if they have tweaked the ratio here and added a bit more depth to battles it looks like it could be a solid entry.
I actually think that a Zelda JRPG would be a thing of beauty. I know it was tried but that was a very long time ago - and actually, I played through half of Zelda II with Virtual Console save-assists and I was able to appreciate it the way I always wanted too. There is potential there.
@DCorp This is an intelligent and informative comment. Thank you.
As I've said, I still feel some way off being able to ascertain the quality of the finished game, so it could well tank - I'm not claiming it's immune from that.
But I'm sick of all the discussion leading up to its release being turned into a competition of 'who can cry the saltiest tears', filled with Cut&Paste lists of things that TTYD had that this game doesn't.
For what it's worth, TTYD was one of my favourite games on the 'Cube. I didn't play Sticker Star, so maybe that's why I'm unable to relate to some of the woe surrounding certain aspects of it, but I'm finding the cookie-cutter outrage about this game increasingly irritating.
@Project_Dolphin I don't "deal with it", i simply don't buy it like many others.
It doesn't take a "knowledgable gamer" that the direction they took both of their Mario RPG series in has been less and less popular.
Paper Mario was stripped of its character and gameplay, Mario & Luigi has become the prime example of a game that has become 90% handholding and tutorials for the most mundane things. Plus Paper Jam not even sold its first million yet (most up to date number: 0.30mil)
Interestingly enough, both Sticker Star and Dream Team sold almost exactly the same number of copies, making me believe both are heavily based on impulse purchases.
And looking at their meta (user) scores, it matches the overall opinion:
Dream Team matched its review score of 81 with a user score of 8, while Sticker Star falls way behind its review score of 75 with a user score of 5.9.
I know that meta scores are anything but representable, but they do match up with the overall opinion you see on here.
@Jayvir Would you mind explaining why valid complaints are "excuses" ? The trailer and presentations did confirm that its using the same core mechanics Sticker Star does, a game many of us already played and were basing this criticism on that experience.
Like i said several times already. A "benefit of the doubt" is not worth 50+ bucks. Especially if it plays like a game many of us didn't like. Why is that an excuse in your opinion ?
@Fitkong Fair enough. I personally prefer gameplay over aesthetics any day. And Sticker Star had none of that sadly. As many people pointed out, battles were completely pointless and served no other purpose than to slow and already slow game down even further.
Like i said before, it probably would have been better without combat whatsoever and as a pure puzzle platformer.
Sticker Star was just full of wasted time. Backtracking, the dreaded museum, constantly having to fetch the same "thingies", turn them into stickers, use them in the field, go back to fetch another one, turn it into a sticker, use it at a boss...
Its just tedium that would have been easily avoided with the omission of several unnecessary mechanics.
And as it stands, Color Splash does feature the same level of tedium as its (spiritual) prequel.
@NickOfTime90 You are aware that this has nothing to do with "not being able to let go" but prefering one genre over another, right ? TTYD serves as an example, since it was the last (and best) Paper Mario RPG. Sticker Star was an Adventure game at best.
@DCorp What exactly does this have to do with "EXP" ? It just means the tedium of battle cuts down on the tedium of fetching new paint. Its trading once chore for another.
And what do "they" want more ? I don't know, you could read their posts explaining exactly that i suppose. Most of them (myself included) want worthwhile gameplay mechanics for starters. And Color Splash demonstrated that its not featuring those.
So the opinion formed that people wont buy it. Don't make a drama out of it. People have opinions and people are free to express them and not buy a game based on how they liked its prequel.
@Project_Dolphin
Last time I checked, games in Call of Duty series have had good reviews. Or are speaking about the user score's because there are A LOT of users who hate series so much, they spend their time submitting negative review scores for that series.
@Einherjar
Thank you, I always enjoy reading good arguments.
@Project_Dolphin "And yet Nintendo is releasing Color Splash anyway. They clearly don't care about your "complaints"."
And aren't we glad about that ? At least we now know why Nintendo is doing so fine at the moment
Why the WiiU was such a massive success.
Also, your example is pretty lacking as the mentioned series regularly gets favorable scores from reviewers.
You seem to completely forget that "improvement" is a thing.
Making a blunder is one thing, making it again a whole different can of worms.
Do you think Gearbox would try to give Battleborn another shot after they lost 80% of their player base now ? Its overall reviews were pretty ok too.
Based on your assumptions, it would be perfectly fine to follow up with the exact same concept.
@Project_Dolphin
I´ve seen plenty of reviews of AAA games on many different sites and magazines and there are a lot of well thought out reviews out there. Most reviews I read give an honest review for the game.
@Einherjar A GameXplain interview confirmed that Paper Mario is not returning to the 64/TTYD style because the M&L series exists.
@Project_Dolphin
Major AAA games get a lot of copies sold. So much in fact that you can't really trust user reviews because there are so many people who haven't played the game just voting it down. Sure, there are people who have played the game and don't like it but this doesn't apply to just AAA releases but indie titles too, like Undertale. If something is popular there's always people who don't like it being popular and try to downvote it on gaming sites, even if they haven't played the game.
@Project_Dolphin Nintendo doesn't care that they are rather close to becoming completely irrelevant to the industry...
Well, looks like their new CEO doesn't know how to run a company then...
But seriously, what the heck is your point by repeating the obvious over and over again ?
What you babble has pretty much no weight what so ever in this discussion. All you state is, that Color Splash will, indeed, be released. And no one is questioning that.
People are still free to think it is one of the many stupid and irrational decisions Nintendo made over the last couple of years, that haven't benefited them one bit.
Sales are poor, revenue is poor, PR is even worse, they aren't seen as competition on the market anymore, their core consumer base is shrinking, they are not making new customers, their mobile department is a stillbirth, their future is all but certain...
And that is what people are questioning with following up on one of the least liked entries in one of their biggest series, not that it gets released in the first place.
@Project_Dolphin Who the heck said i wanted them to hear me ? Do you really not know what a discussion platform is about ? Seriously ?
What do you think is the purpose of this comment section ?
So we all can say "Ohh...pretty colors ! And look at all these letters i can type !" ?
This isn't an asylum, albeit it often looks like one to be frank.
Were here to state our opinions and discuss them. Not to cater to game devs. That is actually done with our wallets, as seen with Nintendos steep decline over the last couple of years.
Consumers have spoken, they don't want their system, they didn't listen to that either, so yeah.
Looks like we'll soon have another Sega on the horizon.
@Project_Dolphin
"Whom do you trust?"
Yourself, I guess. In the end, it's your decision by asking questions like:
@Project_Dolphin I give up...it IS an asylum and you are the inmate of the month -.-
Rarely have i seen someone missing the whole point as much as you do my friend...
@Project_Dolphin So basiclly your saying that you can't complain or speak out if Nintendo does something stupid because they won't listen. -_-
Nintendo clearly hears their fans outcry. Why else would Reggie try to defend Metroid Prime Federation Force, or have the trailer for that game disable the like to dislike bar?
Nintendo better listen, otherwise the NX is going to sell terribly.
@Project_Dolphin Geeze...are you going on with the same nonsense ? What the f*ck is your point mate ?
And what question are you even talking about ?
@Syrek24 The biggest issue is...the same could be said about both sides.
Heck, you did it too: "some gamer snob who feels the need to pick apart a game just because it's different from the previous games in the series"
See the issue ? We are flinging nonsense around instead of simply discussing it.
@Syrek24 Not you too -.- I might actually be right with my asylum quote...geeze.
Do you know that a complaint is, in fact, an opinion ?
That "i didnt like X" is, in fact, a valid opinion ?
You yourself complained about the treatment of people who liked the former game by continuously insulting others O.o
You wrote two messages dedicated to calling people names, insulting them about how "pathetic they are for complaining about a game" all the while you complain about people complaining about a game...
Learn what the f*ck a valid complaint, a freakin explanation of said complaint is and grow a thicker skin.
"They cant find one good thing" is both factually false, als many actually mentioned a few things and possibly a fact, as they very well might not have liked a single aspect.
Is that already wrongthink ? Do they HAVE to like it ?
Do they need to be silenced if they don't ?
Again, YOU are complaining about people complaining....Take your own advice mate...
@Syrek24 @Project_Dolphin Some people are taking this game waaaaaay too seriously. A form of light entertainment. It's very simple. All people have to do is say "ahh it's not for me, I think I'll pass" and move on. Or just say nothing and move on.
There's tons of games out there that I won't go near, but I won't go on sites and write the equivalent of War and Peace in a comment section to let people know how much I dislike them. Life's too short.
@Einherjar If you don't like the game in general, then you don't have to like the game. I just think it's crazy how people bash on this game just because it's doesn't look as fun as TTYD, which I still think is an outstanding game. If the last few Paper Mario games were exactly like TTYD, then people would be complaining as well. I think a coat of fresh paint(absolutely no pun intended) might not be as bad as it seems.
@WiltonRoots I agree! If it doesn't feel like someone wouldn't like this game, they don't have to say things like "Paper Mario is dead!" They're really overreacting!
@Project_Dolphin It doesn't change the fact that you're trying to silence people for having an opinion! Oh but Nintendo doesn't care so we shouldn't say anything right?
Whether or not Nintendo listens is out of the question. You can't stop people from speaking out just because "oh Nintendo may not listen." If Nintendo doesn't want to listen then let them, but don't try to use that as a way to prevet people from saying anything negative.
Ok, im done.
I dont have time to cope with your disabilities.
Sorry @mariovslink62 to leave you alone with these clowns, but i just cant deal with that level of stupidity.
Insulting people and complaining about them complaining...
That's a new low, even for NL...
Have fun guys.
@Project_Dolphin No one here said so far that people who enjoyed Sticker Star are wrong. My issue was how you used the whole "Nintendo doesn't care therefore you shouldn't say anything." That was what we were arguing about. We weren't dissmissing anyone fore liking Sticker Star. If anything, there are more people dissing other people for wanting a Paper Mario like TTYD.
@Project_Dolphin Complaining about something can be used to give an opinion as well. If I complained about a restaurant not giving quality food, that is an opinion. You didn't like the service, which is a complaint, but also an opinion at the same time.
Blind hate and actual complaints are not the same thing. If I complain about a game that I think doesn't look good, it doesn't mean that I'm not giving an opinion. It's just worded differently.
@TrueWiiMaster agreed. I thought sticker star was fun. The end fight with bowser is probably the best in the series. The sticker system created some interesting battle mechanics. I don't understand why people believe it to be broken. I guess because it dared to be different then the usual turn-based systems. TTYD was good, but so are all the other entries in the series.
@Adamario That doesn't factor in that most of the actual audience for the Gamecube were probably core Nintendo gamers. The 3DS comparatively, would have a lot more so-called "casuals" compared to the Gamecube as it would be coming off of the DS's success and doesn't have as big of hardware change as with the Wii->Wii U (in terms of controls). The lower cost of a portable would also contribute to more non-core gamers.
@Syrek24 I sometimes wonder how people on here find time to actually play games, they seem to be too busy writing and arguing about how much they hate games they haven't even played.
This seems like a cool game...but it's not the Paper Mario formula we fell in love with on the N64 and Gamecube. There's a lot to be said for trying to innovate and prevent a series from going stale, but some times you don't need to fix what isn't broken.
@RandomBlue Looks like past Paper Mario's to me. Can't wait to try this game. Hope it's as good as Super Paper Mario, which was different but awesome. I guess some people prefer to pretend they know about something without actually trying it. Soooo sad!
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