Paper Mario: Color Splash
| Paper Mario: Color Splash | |
|---|---|
 North American cover art | |
| Developer(s) | Intelligent Systems |
| Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
| Director(s) |
Naohiko Aoyama Taro Kudo |
| Producer(s) | Kensuke Tanabe |
| Designer(s) |
Yukio Morimoto Shingo Igata |
| Programmer(s) | Junya Kadono |
| Artist(s) | Masahiko Nagaya |
| Writer(s) | Taro Kudo |
| Composer(s) |
Takeru Kanazaki Shigemitsu Goto Fumihiro Isobe |
| Series | Paper Mario |
| Platform(s) | Wii U |
| Release date(s) | |
| Genre(s) | Action-adventure |
| Mode(s) | Single-player |
Paper Mario: Color Splash (ペーパーマリオ カラースプラッシュ Pēpā Mario: Karā Supurasshu) is an action-adventure video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Wii U.[1] The game was released worldwide in October 2016.
Plot
Paper Mario and Paper Peach get a letter from Prism Island, which they find out is a color-drained Paper Toad. This causes Paper Mario, Paper Peach, and another Paper Toad to set sail for Prism Island. They eventually arrive at the island's main hub, Port Prisma. Upon arriving, the three travelers collect a hammer for Paper Mario before heading to the island's main attraction; the color fountain at the center of town. When they arrive, however, they find the town deserted, with many spots and objects missing color. They also find that the fountain at the center is dry. The Paper Toad goes off to find someone. A large metal vault appears out of the bottom of the fountain. After opening it, a 3D paint can comes out of the center. Paper Mario tries to open it, but it turns out to be Huey, the color fountain's guardian. Although mad at first, Huey befriends the pair quickly. The Paper Toad is heard screaming, and the trio head to investigate. They see that the Paper Toad is being drained of color by a Slurp Guy. In order to battle it, Paper Mario has to wring the paint out of Huey, which turns him 2D and in paper form. After defeating the Slurp Guy, Huey returns to the fountain and is distraught that it is dry. He explains that the fountain is usually powered by 6 Big Paint Stars, which never run out of paint and are the main sources of it for the entire island. Huey smells the scent of paint, and thinks he sees one of the Big Paint Stars on top of the town's central building. When they reach it, it turns out to be a Mini Paint Star. After collecting it, the duo see one of Paper Bowser's airships taking off, hauling with a giant bucket of red paint. There is also a Toad hanging onto the bucket. Huey explains that Mini Paint Stars always lead to a Big Paint Star, and so the two head off to find them.
Paper Mario and Huey continue along their path until they reach the Crimson Tower, where they believe the first Big Paint Star is held. They cannot access it, however, because there is a gate blocking the path that requires three keys that resemble Paper Toads with key blades sticking out of their heads, so they must find them first. The first is a Paper Toad at Bloo Bay Beach who was searching for the meaning in his life, but discovers he is a Chosen Toad after he stops a wave that Paper Mario created to bring him back from his shipwreck. The second Chosen Toad is the gatekeeper at the bottom of Daffodil Hill, who had his memory erased when someone removed the paint from his head. The final Paper Toad is the Toad that was hanging onto the bucket, but fell off and landed in Cherry Lake. After Paper Mario collects the Paper Toad's clothes, he discovers that he is a Chosen Toad when he tries and succeeds to bring a Mini Paint Star closer to Paper Mario. When the three Chosen Toads are assembled at the gate to Crimson Tower, they can open it and allow Paper Mario to pass through. When they arrive at the Crimson Tower, they discover that it and the surrounding forest are bleached of color, and that there is no bridge to Crimson Tower. They restore color by blowing up the airship with the paint bucket, causing the red paint to restore color and a bridge to the tower. Inside, Paper Morton appears, also looking for the Big Paint Star. At the top of the tower, Paper Morton finds the red Big Paint Star, and battles Paper Mario, but Paper Mario defeats him. Paper Mario and the red Big Paint Star return to Prisma Port, where the Big Paint Star retakes its place on the fountain. The Big Paint Star explains that Paper Bowser, covered in black paint, had thrown away all of the Big Paint Stars to the corners of the island. After the flashback, Paper Bowser appears, and exclaims that he has mastered the 'black paint' although no-one is sure what that is. He takes off in his repaired airship with Paper Princess Peach attached. She manages to drop a message saying that she will give Mario information when she knows where Paper Bowser is headed.
With the first Big Paint Star recovered, the duo head to Sunglow Ridge, whose large gate had been recolored by the Big Paint Star after it was recovered.
Development
Paper Mario: Color Splash was announced during a Nintendo Direct presentation on March 3, 2016.[2][3]
Release
On September 22, 2016, the game was made available for pre-purchasing on the Nintendo eShop. However, it was quickly discovered that Nintendo of America had accidentally made the full game available through this method, two weeks in advance of its intended launch date.[4] Nintendo pulled the pre-load option off of the North American eShop on the following day.[5][6]
Reception
Pre-release
Upon its reveal, Color Splash received overall negative reception from fans of the series, who were critical of the game for seemingly continuing the gameplay style used in Sticker Star, which had a lessened focus on RPG elements and story, featured no original characters besides Kersti, and had an over-emphasis on the paper theme[7] instead of returning to the gameplay style of the first Paper Mario game and The Thousand-Year Door.[3] Following the game's announcement, a petition on Change.org was created calling for the game's cancellation, similar to what happened with Metroid Prime: Federation Force (another game that received a poor reception when announced).[8] Nick Pino of TechRadar described the petition as "a frightening example of how quickly, and harshly, we judge games we know next to nothing about." [3]
Post-release
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The game generally received mixed to positive reviews, holding a score of 76/100 on review aggregator Metacritic.[9] While praised for its visuals and improvements over its predecessor, problems inherited from it (such as the battle system) were heavily criticized. Alex Jones from GamesRadar stated that it was neither a return to classic Paper Mario nor a "a bold reinvention", however calling it "one of the most heartwarming games you’ll play this year". [13]
It sold 20,894 copies in its first week of release in Japan.[14]
References
- ↑ Minotti, Mike (March 3, 2016). "Nintendo announces Paper Mario: Color Splash for Wii U". VentureBeat. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
- ↑ Karlins, Andrew (March 3, 2016). "Paper Mario Colour Splash Coming to Wii U". Nintendo Life. Retrieved March 5, 2016.
- 1 2 3 Pino, Nick (March 3, 2016). "Paper Mario: Color Splash has been around 30 minutes and people already hate it". TechRadar. Retrieved March 22, 2016.
- ↑ Koczwara, Michael (September 23, 2016). "Paper Mario: Color Splash Temporarily Released Early Through eShop Pre-Load". Mario Party Legacy. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
- ↑ "Paper Mario: Color Splash pre-load accidentally lets Wii U owners play the entire game early". Nintendo Everything. September 23, 2016. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
- ↑ nintendan (September 23, 2016). "Paper Mario: Color Splash - NA Pre-Load Taken Offline, Players Accidentally Play It Early". Go Nintendo. Retrieved September 23, 2016.
- ↑ Gray, Kate (March 12, 2016). "My Hopes And Fears For Paper Mario Color Splash". Retrieved March 12, 2016.
- ↑ Seedhouse, Alex. "Fans Petition For Paper Mario: Color Splash Cancellation". Nintendo Insider. Retrieved 7 March 2016.
- 1 2 "Paper Mario: Color Splash Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved October 6, 2016.
- ↑ Reeves, Ben (5 October 2016). "Paper Mario: Color Splash - Coloring Inside The Lines". Game Informer.
- ↑ Petit, Carolyn (5 October 2016). "Paper Mario: Color Splash Review - GameSpot". GameSpot.
- ↑ Concepcion, Miguel (5 October 2016). "Paper Mario: Color Splash Review". IGN.
- ↑ Jones, Alex (October 6, 2016). "PAPER MARIO: COLOR SPLASH REVIEW: "EVERY NIGGLING ISSUE IS FOLLOWED BY A MOMENT OF GRIN-INDUCING SILLINESS"". GamesRadar. Retrieved October 5, 2016.
- ↑ Whitehead, Thomas, 19 October 2016, "Paper Mario: Color Splash Makes Modest Japanese Chart Debut" (http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2016/10/paper_mario_color_splash_makes_modest_japanese_chart_debut). Accessed 25 November 2016.