Paper Mario: Color Splash
| Paper Mario: Color Splash | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 For alternate box art, see the related gallery. | |||||||||||||
| Developer | Intelligent Systems | ||||||||||||
| Publisher | Nintendo | ||||||||||||
| Platform | Wii U | ||||||||||||
| Release dates |  October 7, 2016[1] October 7, 2016[2] October 8, 2016[3] October 13, 2016[4] | ||||||||||||
| Languages | English Japanese Dutch French (Canada) French (Europe) German Italian Portuguese (Europe) Russian Spanish (Latin America) Spanish (Europe) | ||||||||||||
| Genres | Role-playing, action-adventure | ||||||||||||
| Ratings |
| ||||||||||||
| Mode | Single-player | ||||||||||||
| Format |  Optical disc Digital download | ||||||||||||
| Input | |||||||||||||
| Serial code | WUP-CNFE-USA | ||||||||||||
- Everyone
- All ages
- Three years and older
- All ages
- All ages
- General
Paper Mario: Color Splash is an action-adventure, turn-based role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and released in 2016 for the Wii U. It is the fifth installment in the Paper Mario series as well as the twentieth and final Super Mario game released for the Wii U. As a successor to the Nintendo 3DS game Paper Mario: Sticker Star, it expands on many gameplay elements introduced in that game. Its own sequel, Paper Mario: The Origami King, was released for the Nintendo Switch in 2020.
The game follows Mario's adventure across Prism Island where, after he receives a color-drained Toad in the mail, he heads to Port Prisma to find out what is going on. Shortly after, he meets up with Huey, who teams up with Mario to collect the six Big Paint Stars. After saving the first Big Paint Star, Princess Peach gets kidnapped by a possessed Bowser, and is taken to his castle high in the sky. While kidnapped, she sends Mario Holo-Peaches along his journey to inform him about Bowser's plans. After saving each Big Paint Star, a memory is shown, with each one detailing an event leading up to Bowser being possessed.
The gameplay is very similar to that of its predecessor and puts an even greater emphasis on the paper aspect. All characters now have white outlines around them and the battle system now requires Things for each boss fight. Things no longer need to be brought back to the main hub to be used; they become cards as soon as Mario collects them. Stickers have been replaced by Battle Cards, which share a similar function, but Battle Cards no longer take up multiple slots in Mario's inventory and can be painted to deal more damage. Many enemies from the predecessor return, while Dino Rhinos make their Paper Mario debut in this game, along with several new variants of Shy Guys, most notably Slurp Guys. Additionally, Paper Mario: Color Splash introduces a system where Mario can repaint colorless areas to collect coins and Battle Cards.
On September 23, 2016, it was discovered that purchased Nintendo eShop pre-load data was actually the full game, granting players early access two weeks ahead of schedule in North America.[11] Nintendo, however, removed the pre-order option within hours, and stated that this was inadvertent.[12]
Story[edit]
Background[edit]
The events that caused Port Prisma to be damaged and the black paint's creation are explained through the Big Paint Stars' memories told throughout the game, each viewable after rescuing the respective Big Paint Star. At some point prior to the events of the game, a group of Toads were playing with paint at the Prisma Fountain. Bowser observed the Toads playing from the top of a building, and jumped down into the fountain after imagining himself with a rainbow shell. However, while spinning in the Prisma Fountain, Bowser mixed the colors around, creating black paint which possessed him. Shortly after this, a fleet of airships carrying paint buckets arrives to Port Prisma, and a swarm of Slurp Guys deploys from them to drain the town of its colors. They then take the red, blue and yellow paint to the buckets on each airship. The ships with the yellow and blue paint, while the one with red paint stays in the town, presumably being the same airship Mario rides before entering the Crimson Tower. During this invasion, the Toadmaster General is taken out of Prisma Postal Toad and drained of its colors, folded into an envelope, and given to Kamek, to then send it to Princess Peach to lure her to Prism Island. Meanwhile, a group of Bob-ombs destroy the bridge in the Yellow District, which stops a yellow Toad from running away as a Slurp Guy drains him. Bowser then throws the six Big Paint Stars away from Port Prisma, as a red Mini Paint Star is shown to fall out of the red Big Paint Star onto the big building near the fountain.
Prologue[edit]
One stormy night, Princess Peach and Toad meet Mario at his house to deliver a strange letter: a Toad drained of his colors. Mario, who is initially shocked by the revelation, then realizes that the stamp on the letter points to Prism Island, where the three then travel to. Upon arriving, they find Port Prisma deserted and full of spots drained of color. After some exploration of Port Prisma, they activate the fountain, which releases a 3D paint can. After Mario tries hammering the paint can, it wakes up and is revealed to be Huey, who is initially annoyed by Mario hitting him in his sleep. Huey calms down shortly after, but he, Mario, and Princess Peach are then startled by the sound of Toad screaming.
The three head to the yellow district of Port Prisma, and find Toad being drained by a Slurp Guy. Toad, just before being fully drained, gives Mario a set of Battle Cards that they found. Mario and Huey then proceed to fight the Slurp Guy, but then realize that they do not have any paint. Realizing this, Huey asks Mario to wring him in order to gain paint to battle the Shy Guys. This results in Huey turning into paper. Mario later uses this paint throughout the entire game to repaint the colorless spots across Prism Island, including the local Toads.
After defeating the Slurp Guy and repainting Toad, the group head back to the central district of Port Prisma, where Huey discovers that the Big Paint Stars at Prisma Fountain are gone. Huey, initially sad, then sees a Big Paint Star at the top of Port Prisma. After climbing up there, and unwinding the roll blocking the Paint Star, it is revealed that the Paint Star was actually a Mini Paint Star, not a Big Paint Star. Mario and Huey then set off to find the actual Big Paint Stars.
Red Big Paint Star[edit]
After saving Port Prisma by finding Huey and painting the colorless spots, Mario and Huey set out to find the red Big Paint Star. First, they pass through Ruddy Road and re-paint a red Mini Paint Star to unlock Cherry Lake, learning the Cutout ability and being introduced to 3D real-world objects called Things. When they arrive at the Crimson Tower, they find three Toad-shaped indents in the gate, and must find the three Chosen Toads around the island. The player does not need to find them in a specific order. In-between these objectives, Mario must assemble the green and purple Rescue Squads at Indigo Underground and Ruddy Road to help him reach a Mini Paint Star and the Fire Extinguisher.
One Chosen Toad, a wannabe superhero who calls himself Justice Toad, is found back in Cherry Lake. He fell from an airship that Bowser's minions were piloting, losing his clothes and belongings. Once Mario and Huey reclaim his stuff, he awakens his powers and helps move a Mini Paint Star so they can collect it. Justice Toad then leaves for the Crimson Tower gate.
At Bloo Bay Beach, Mario and Huey come across a blue Toad vowing to sail to the end of the world to find his true calling. After celebrating Oceanfest to get a key to Blissful Beach, which is the location of another Mini Paint Star, they return to find the Toad shipwrecked. They use the Fan Thing to blow him back to shore, where he surfs on a piece of driftwood and uses his powers to stop the wave in its tracks. The blue Toad is informed of the gate and leaves as well.
Visiting Daffodil Peak, Mario and Huey help the park ranger out of his depression by repainting his cabin, learning the Unfurl ability in the process. He gives them permission to climb the mountain and seek the Mountain Sage. When they arrive, they find only a cardboard cutout of a yellow Toad. Enraged, Huey yells at the gatekeeper, who leaves his post to reveal a blank spot on the top of his head. When Mario repaints it, the gatekeeper remembers his true identity as the sage, leaves for the Crimson Tower, and the ranger is forced to take his place as the gatekeeper.
When all the Chosen Toads have been found, they open the gate for the Crimson Tower. Mario and Huey find that the tower has been drained of all its color, with the minions responsible having poured all the paint in a giant bucket attached to their airship. The airship is still anchored, so Mario raises it to get on board the ship, then defeats the captain to crash the ship and drop the paint back over the tower. While climbing it, Mario and Huey meet Morton, who is keeping the red Big Paint Star captive. Morton attacks with a hammer that he lights on fire, but Mario's Fire Extinguisher extinguishes it and leaves Morton defenseless.
The Big Paint Star repaints a large gate at Sunglow Ridge. When Mario and Huey return to Port Prisma, they discover that Peach has just been kidnapped by Bowser, and decide that the only way to track them down is by collecting all the Big Paint Stars.
Yellow Big Paint Star[edit]
At Sunglow Ridge, Mario witnesses a black missile cover an area with harmful black paint, which Huey cleans up while Mario's eyes are closed. In their quest, they come upon an active dig site at Marmalade Valley, and are denied access until they get a permit. The guard explains they can get a permit from the professor at Château Chanterelle. However, the professor's assistant explains that he is not in, and he took his pet Chain Chomp, Princess, out for a walk to Mondo Woods. Deep in the woods, Mario and Huey find the professor sobbing over his pet's disappearance. Huey suggests that Princess may have just gone home, cheering up the professor and making him give them the permit.
Exploring Marmalade Valley, Mario and Huey are twice attacked by Princess, who is now giant. They also acquire a Bone from a digging Toad, which can be taken back to the professor's house to bring Princess back to her dog house. Happy about Princess's return, the professor gives them the Sharp Spike from his desk as thanks. The spike unlocks the door to Kiwano Temple, which Mario must pass through to reach the Golden Coliseum, where Iggy is holding the yellow Big Paint Star as a prize in his Battle Royale. Using the Bone to attract Princess and have her attack Iggy, Mario wins the fight and collects the Big Paint Star. It repaints an oversized coin in Mondo Woods.
Blue Big Paint Star[edit]
Despite its size, the giant coin is worth very little, angering Huey. Its disappearance opens the path to the Dark Bloo Inn, a hotel haunted by Toad ghosts. Learning that the ghosts are not yet at rest because they have unfinished business -- a tea party -- Mario explores Plum Park, the hotel's garden, to find their Teapot to appease them. Bringing it back satisfies the ghosts and makes them move on, earning Mario the hotel staff's thanks.
The Mini Paint Star found there leads to Violet Passage, a harbor where Mario helps out the yellow Rescue Squad while on a pirate ship. This Rescue Squad goes to the shrunken Sacred Forest to pull out a turnip clogging a pipe. Here, Mario pieces together a Mini Paint Star and gains access to Cobalt Base, where he participates in a game of Snifit or Whiffit.
After this, Mario infiltrates Ludwig's base in Fort Cobalt. Ludwig attacks Mario in a battleship, but he uses the Tail Card to reflect his attacks. Ludwig resurfaces in a submarine, and Mario uses Balloons he found in Plum Park to pull it out of the water and destroy it for good. The recovered blue Big Paint Star repaints the ocean at Violet Passage.
Purple Big Paint Star[edit]
With the ocean restored, Mario has to join a ship crew and venture to Fortune Island to find the purple Big Paint Star. Using clues left behind by a legendary captain, they pass through the Lost Sea and solve all its challenges. They are suddenly confronted by an impassible vortex, so they stop at Vortex Island. This island introduces the parallel world, a mirror dimension drained of its water and full of undead enemies. The source of the vortex is revealed to be a Washing Machine in the parallel world. Once Mario wrings it out, and faces off against angry residents who were using it, the vortex calms down.
The next obstacle is a wall of darkness, caused by the lighthouse on Lighthouse Island not working properly. Mario climbs the lighthouse to find the bulb missing, then climbs it in the parallel world to find a working replacement bulb. Once the bulb is replaced, the path to Fortune Island is illuminated.
Fortune Island also requires the use of the parallel world to navigate. Deep in its caves, Mario comes across the legendary captain, who is barbecuing on a grill. Mario squeezes the grill, angering the captain and leading him to follow Mario as payback. After being brought to the regular world, he drops his grudge out of gratefulness at meeting the crew's captain. Mario and Huey find their way to the treasure room, only for Wendy to ambush them. Mario defeats Wendy by using Fortune Island's treasure, an Instant Camera that was stolen for Snifit or Whiffit, to trick Wendy into using her best attack on a photo of him instead. Defeating Wendy and collecting the purple Big Paint Star repaints a sinkhole at Mustard Café, which the café's owner falls into.
Orange Big Paint Star[edit]
When Mario and Huey investigate the sinkhole, a gust of wind blows them in. They escort the chef back to the entrance, but are captured by Snifits and must escape from their jail. The chef reopens his cafe and gives Mario a Mini Paint Star. Afterwards, Mario hears of the Sunset Express train stuck at Kiwano Temple, with the tracks being destroyed due to a column Mario toppled on his first visit. Mario saves the rest of the blue Rescue Squad, who fold themselves up to replace the broken tracks. After the train gets going, it is crushed by a Thwomp. The passengers get out and push it to Toad Trainworks for repairs.
Mario helps the trainworks foreman repair the train, which goes to its next destination, the Tangerino Grill. The Toads from the train are very hungry, so Mario cooks them pizza, which satisfies them. Suddenly, he is informed of a VIP customer order that nobody has fulfilled yet: a steak. Mario cooks the steak in a battle and the VIP eats it, then leaves a Mini Paint Star as a tip.
The Sunset Express takes off again, but is blocked by a sleeping Thwomp. Huey uses a Megaphone from the trainworks to yell and wake it up. The train is hijacked by Larry, who turns out to be the same VIP customer he served at the restaurant. With the help of the Toad train conductor and his handcar, Mario catches up to the train and fights his way to the front car, rescuing many red Rescue Toads in the process. Assisted by the conductor, Mario defeats Larry by clogging the train's smokestack with a Cork from Vortex Island. The train stops at Starlight Cape, where Huey makes a wish for the orange Big Paint Star; once it is granted, the Big Paint Star restores an unpainted Draggadon at Marmalade Valley.
Green Big Paint Star[edit]
Mario and Huey consult the professor for advice on where the Draggadon might have gone, and he suggests that it went to Redpepper Volcano. Using a spicy Magma Burger from Fort Cobalt, Mario rides Draggadon through the lava and into the volcano's crater, which contains a hot spring with the rest of the red Rescue Squad. Taking the Hair Dryer found in the crater, Mario melts the ice block in the Tangerino Grill freezer, which contains a Magnifying Glass. This is used to enlarge a shrunken pipe in the Sacred Forest. It leads to another Mini Paint Star, but Mario is ambushed by Kamek, who he manages to defeat. This opens a path to the Green Energy Plant, where Mario ventures into a Super Mario Bros. 3-like world to find a Mini Paint Star.
After collecting the Mini Paint Star, Mario makes his way to Lemmy's circus and assembles the last members of the red Rescue Squad at Mossrock Theater. At the circus, Mario has the red Rescue Squad serve as the audience. Lemmy shows up to do an act, where he shows off the green Big Paint Star, then makes it and himself disappear. Trying to follow him, Mario and Huey end up on stage and are pressured to perform. Huey's impressions bomb, but Mario impresses the audience with a trick. They then face off against a rush of circus-themed enemies. The last of them, the Trampoline Shy Guys, leave their trampoline behind. Mario jumps off of it to the top of the circus tent, where Lemmy reveals himself. He is distracted with the aid of a Disco Ball found backstage, and his Wonder Ball is popped with an Ice Pick from the Golden Coliseum. Unlike the other Big Paint Stars, what the green one repaints is not initially seen: it flies off-screen and Luigi is heard exclaiming.
Black Bowser's Castle[edit]
Upon rescuing all six Big Paint Stars and bringing them back to Prisma Fountain. They create a path to Black Bowser's Castle. Mario and Huey try to climb it, but it is too slippery, leaving them stuck. Luigi shows up in his kart, revealing it had been repainted by the green Big Paint Star, and gives them a ride to the castle. which Mario and Huey head off to via a kart ride from Luigi. Mario finds a colorless Peach put on display, but when he approaches her, he falls into a trapdoor. Roy shows up to attack, stealing Mario's paint and shooting it back at him with his cannon. As a last-ditch attack, Roy mixes all the paint together, creating more black paint. Mario must use the Washing Machine from Vortex Island to clean it up and defeat him.
Progressing further, Mario and Huey discover a factory producing Banzai Bills loaded with black paint, similar to the one dropped on Sunglow Ridge. After destroying the factory with the aid of some Mega Bob-ombs, they escape the flood of black paint. Before they fight Bowser, Huey takes a moment to confess to Mario that he will always be grateful for their friendship. Entering the throne room, Mario and Huey find Bowser with the portrait of color-drained Peach. Since Bowser uses black paint to fight, Huey reverts back to his 3D self to contain it. When Bowser has all the paint removed, he appears to have no memories of the incident.
Black Bowser's Castle proceeds to collapse as Mario restores Peach's colors. The party makes it to the entrance, where Mario and Peach hop onto Luigi's kart. Huey, however, stays behind: he explains that when the castle disappears, the black paint will fall out and land somewhere. Huey has realized his true purpose is not to recover the Paint Stars, but to destroy the Black Paint. Using the power of the Big Paint Stars, he squeezes the entire castle into his body, then takes it where it cannot do any more harm, to the skies. Later, all the Toads are celebrating the restoration of the fountain in Port Prisma. Peach comforts Mario when he laments Huey's disappearance, saying that she is sure he is still watching over Prism Island. When all Super Flags are achieved, Huey can be seen falling back into the Prisma Fountain in the end screen.[13]
Gameplay[edit]
Paper Mario: Color Splash is an action-adventure RPG that elaborates on the mechanics of Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Each level requires Mario to collect a Mini Paint Star or a Big Paint Star to progress. Some levels contain multiple Mini Paint Stars, though Mario can only collect one at a time. When Mario collects a Mini Paint Star, it opens up the world map and flies to an unpainted area. It then colors in the area, which unlocks a course to explore. Not all of the Mini Paint Stars need to be collected to complete the game, as some simply open paths to previous levels for faster navigation on the world map. Big Paint Stars are only found in the boss battles against the Koopalings (excluding Roy); when collected, they repaint a major area needed to progress in the game.
Although Paper Mario: Color Splash uses a world map much like its predecessor, there is no concrete distinction of worlds or chapters in the game, unlike the previous installments in the Paper Mario series. Each Big Paint Star requires the player to complete multiple courses across Prism Island, and not all of them match the color of the Big Paint Star. Additionally, the player is free to explore any of the previously unlocked courses at any time, and may need to do so to obtain any missing Things.
Overworld[edit]
The Paint Hammer is the main new mechanic in Paper Mario: Color Splash, and can be used on the overworld to repaint colorless spots, characters, and items. It requires paint to use, which is divided up into blue, yellow, and red paint on the top left of the screen. Paint can be found by hitting overworld objects, defeating enemies, repainting colorless spots, drinking Prisma Juice, or by sitting in the Prisma Fountain. Each time the player uses their hammer on the overworld (including when not repainting colorless spots), they will lose a bit of paint, and will be unable to repaint any more spots once they run out of paint. At the start of the game, Mario can only hold 100 units of paint, but this capacity can be increased by collecting Hammer Scraps to fill his EXP bar. Hammer Scraps exist in four different varieties and are worth either 1 point, 5 points, 10 points, or 20 points, depending on how shiny they are; when enough are collected to fill the player's EXP bar completely, the player will be able to carry more paint at once. However, each upgrade increases the capacity by a smaller amount than the last time, and the upgrades will stop once the paint storage capacity reaches 600 units. Hammer Scraps are only found by defeating enemies in combat.
On the overworld, the player can use a move similar to paperization known as the Cutout technique by pressing 
. This technique only works at certain locations; if the player tries using it at a place that does not have any Cutout spots, the screen will flash for a brief moment and nothing will happen. If the player performs the Cutout technique with a Cutout area nearby, but not in the right spot, the screen will flash again but the music will intensify and an outline will appear on the screen. If the Cutout technique is used in the right spot, Mario will ride on top of Huey and a pair of scissors will appear on the screen. The player will then need to move 
in the direction the scissors are facing on a dotted line. When the line is fully cut, the player will either need to walk to a green flag, place a card in the slot, or do nothing, depending on the specific area. The Cutout technique is sometimes needed to progress in the game, specifically at times when a Thing Card needs to be placed, and also at the Green Energy Plant to enter the level.
When the Cutout is used at the Green Energy Plant, the player enters a course based on Super Mario Bros. 3. The course is the only place that the player can use the Flip technique, which was previously seen in Super Paper Mario as the main gameplay mechanic. Here, the Flip technique requires paint to use, and can only be used for 10 seconds before Mario is forced to revert back to 2D. However, the Flip technique does not hurt Mario when the timer runs out. This technique is required to obtain the course's Mini Paint Star, two Things, and the 46th red Rescue Squad member.
Battle[edit]
Enemies can be found on the overworld, and will pursue Mario if he is too close to one at any given time. While chasing Mario, the enemies may trip or stop searching, giving the player more time to run away if they do not wish to fight. A battle is initiated when Mario comes into direct physical contact with an enemy. If Mario hits an enemy on the overworld with his hammer or jumps on them, Mario will initiate combat with an additional attack to the enemy; the transition screen will have stars and display the word "Nice!" when this happens. Conversely, if the enemy attacks Mario on the overworld, combat will initiate with the enemy attacking Mario first; the transition screen will turn red when this happens. During combat, each enemy's HP is represented by the amount of paint left on their body, as opposed to a number on the screen; Mario's HP is still represented by a number. When Mario's HP drops below a certain number, the music will become distorted and the screen will pulsate red, with Mario appearing to be tired. When Mario loses all his HP, he falls onto the floor, and several Slurp Guys drain him of his paint.
At the start of the game, Mario can only play one card per turn. This limit increases as Mario collects Card Max Ups at certain points in the story, which increase the number of cards that can be used in battle by one. They can be obtained by helping a Soggy Guy in Cherry Lake, by using the Teapot in Dark Bloo Inn, and by beating Kamek in Sacred Forest. Similarly, the maximum amount of Mario's HP is increased by collecting HP-Up Hearts that are obtained when the player saves a Big Paint Star. Each HP-Up Heart increases the maximum amount of HP by 25 and increases the power of the First Strike as well.
There are two instances in the game where Mario will encounter an environmental hazard that carries over to the main combat. The first instance is in Plum Park, when the water is poisoned by the Teapot. Fighting an enemy while the water is poisoned will damage Mario by 1 HP at certain intervals, only stopping briefly when the player has confirmed the cards that they wish to use. The second instance is in the Mustard Café, when the player needs to rescue the Mustard Café chef. If the player attacks an enemy during this time, the combat will take place on quicksand, which will slowly pull Mario down as the player decides which cards to use. If the player does not decide fast enough, Mario will completely submerge, and the player will receive a Game Over.
When an enemy is defeated, they can drop coins, paint, or Hammer Scraps, and will occasionally drop an Enemy Card. The number of coins and Hammer Scraps an enemy drops is random, while the amount and color of paint dropped depends on the enemy. Generally, the paint an enemy drops matches the color that the enemy was, though some of the paint may be a different color; for example, Red Shy Guys will drop mostly red paint, but will also drop a smaller amount of blue paint. If Mario's attack is sufficiently high, where one attack can instantly defeat a specific enemy, attacking that enemy on the overworld will have them instantly be drained of color and disappear, dropping a smaller amount of coins and/or paint. If Mario is able to defeat an enemy in combat without taking any damage, he will receive a Perfect Bonus and earn additional coins. Once the player encounters a certain Goomba on Daffodil Peak, Kamek can sometimes appear during combat and either flip over all cards, steal all but six of the player's cards, or turn all cards into a specific type of card. Once the battle is won, all the stolen cards are regained and all transformed cards turn back to normal, and 300 coins are obtained as well.
Controls[edit]
| Action | Button |
|---|---|
| Battle | |
| Select Battle Cards |
|
| Confirm/Paint | 
|
| Cancel | 
|
| Details | 
|
| Sort |
|
| Next step | 
|
| Flee | 
|
| Battle Spin |  /
|
| Check enemy (off-TV play only) | 
|
| Overworld | |
| Move |
|
| Jump |
|
| Hammer |
|
| Paint Hammer |
|
| Cutout |
|
| Huey hint |
|
| World map |  /
|
Mario's stats[edit]
| Stat | Initial value | Max value | Function | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Mario | |||||
|
Coin | 0 | 9,999 | The number of coins Mario currently has. | |
|
Paint | 100 | 600 | The amount of paint Mario can carry. | |
|
Battle Card | 1 | 4 | The number of cards Mario can use per turn in battle. | |
|
Heart Point | 50 | 200 | The maximum amount of HP Mario can have. | |
|
Jump | 3 | 15 | The amount of damage Mario can do with the jump first strike. | |
 
|
Hammer / Paint Hammer | 3 | 15 | The amount of damage Mario can do with the hammer first strike. | |
Stats after each Big Paint Star[edit]
| Big Paint Star obtained | Max HP | Power of First Strike (Damage in HP) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jump | Hammer | ||
.png){kind=icon} None
|
50 | 3 | 3 |
 Red
|
75 | 5 | 6 |
 Yellow
|
100 | 7 | 9 |
 Blue
|
125 | 10 | 11 |
 Purple
|
150 | 13 | 13 |
 Orange
|
175 | 14 | 14 |
 Green
|
200 | 15 | 15 |
Battle Cards[edit]
- Main article: Battle Card (Paper Mario: Color Splash)
Battle Cards are the main items in Color Splash and serve as Mario's attacks. The battles are based on these Battle Cards and can be painted to increase their attack power. Battle Cards can be found in colorless spots, ? Blocks, by defeating enemies or by buying them at Prisma Cardware. Once used, cards are discarded, but it is possible to buy them directly in battle by using the Battle Spin. There are three types of cards. Basic Cards are used for various purposes, including attacking, healing, and replenishing paint. Many attacks are similar to those featured in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, with the hammer attacks now having a charging sign indicating at which point an "Excellent" attack can be obtained. Thing Cards are used to summon Things, both in battle and in the overworld to solve puzzles. Such cards can be obtained by directly squeezing Things into Thing cards. There is a shop in Port Prisma allowing the player to directly buy Things to squeeze them into Thing Cards, and there are Replica versions of Thing Cards that can be found as well. The last card type, Enemy Cards, are used to summon an enemy into the battle as an ally. They can be found by defeating an enemy. Only one ally can be present at a time, and the ally attacks the enemies in the current battle. When the enemies attack, they will position themselves in front of Mario to protect him, and they stay in battle until defeated. If an Enemy Card is used in a boss battle, it runs away.
There are many versions of Battle Cards that Mario can use. Alongside Jumps and Hammers are several variants of the two, such as Spin Jumps and KO Hammers. Several types from Sticker Star return, such as Hopslippers, which let the player jump on an enemy 10 times; Iron Jumps, which let the player jump on spiky enemies; Eekhammers, which let the player hit an enemy five times; and Hurlhammers, which let the player throw a hammer into the air to damage enemies. Fire Flowers and Ice Flowers also appear, allowing the player to throw fireballs and Ice Balls at enemies respectively. Alongside attacks, Mario can also use POW Blocks to crumple enemies, Mushrooms to heal, 1-Up Mushrooms to recover paint, Tails to counter enemy attacks, Spike Helmets to counter jump attacks, and Frog Suits to dodge enemy attacks. There is also one enemy card for every enemy in the game, as well as enemy cards for the Koopalings which can be found by playing in the Roshambo Temples.
There are four different variants of basic Battle Cards: Worn-out, Normal, Big, and Huge. Huge cards deal the most damage and worn-out cards deal the least. The stronger variants are found later on in the game. Despite the names, bigger cards do not take up more space than the weaker variants.
| Name | Worn-out | Normal | Big | Huge |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jump |  
|
 
|
 
|
 
|
| Jump ×2 |  
|
 
|
||
| Jump ×3 |  
|
 |
