Paper Mario: The Origami King

Paper Mario: The Origami King is the sixth installment in the Paper Mario series, released on the Nintendo Switch worldwide on July 17, 2020. The game follows Mario opposing an evil army of origami characters known as Folded Soldiers, ruled by the Origami King, King Olly; which have taken over the Mushroom Kingdom.

The game follows the gameplay style of its two predecessors, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, and Paper Mario: Color Splash. As in these previous entries, role-playing elements are deemphasized in favor of action-adventure mechanics, which focus on exploration and puzzle-solving in individual areas rather than emphasizing character growth over the entire game. Also like the previous games, Paper Mario: The Origami King is focused around an aspect of arts and crafts. Whilst Paper Mario: Sticker Star had a focus on stickers and Paper Mario: Color Splash had a focus on paint, Paper Mario: The Origami King is focused around. Similarly, the game's environments graphically resemble crafts, and many of the game's bosses are based around some kind of crafting tool. Unlike the entries directly before, however, Paper Mario: The Origami King has levels that are directly connected rather than being segregated through a level select screen, similar to the first two games in the series. Similar to Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Paper Mario, Bowser is not the primary antagonist in exchange for an original villain. Paper Mario: The Origami King does not feature a battle system which uses finite items for combat, as it instead uses an original ring-based system which uses puzzle-solving instead of strategy.

Prologue
Mario and Luigi drive to Toad Town for the Origami Festival after being invited by Princess Peach. The brothers arrive to discover the town and Peach's Castle are deserted. Upon entering the castle, they are locked inside and split up, Luigi heading to search for the castle key and Mario heading into the castle foyer. Peach enters the foyer, having been folded into origami, and drops Mario into a dungeon where several of Bowser's minions are being held. Mario discovers a Magic Circle and initiates the 1,000-Fold Arms technique, using them to free an origami girl named Olivia. After escaping their cell, Mario and Olivia free Bowser, who was square-folded, restricting his mobility.

Escaping to the upper terrace of Peach's Castle, Mario is attacked by a group of Bowser's Minions turned into origami, known as Folded Soldiers. After defeating the minions, the leader of the origami reveals himself as Olivia's older brother, King Olly. He summons five streamers from across the Mushroom Kingdom to wrap around Peach's Castle and rip it out of the ground. Mario, Olivia, and Bowser escape the castle in a Koopa Clown Car piloted by a Shy Guy, but are quickly knocked out of the Clown Car by the red streamer. Bowser is saved by the Shy Guy, while Mario and Olivia fall into a nearby forest. Olly sets Peach's Castle down atop the peak of a far-off volcano.

Red streamer
Mario and Olivia land in Whispering Woods and notice that Olly moved Peach's Castle. They set out to destroy the five streamers, find Luigi, and defeat Olly. Eventually, they get back to the abandoned Toad Town, now being destroyed by Paper Macho Goombas. After defeating the Goombas and finding some Toad Town citizens, they go to search the remains of Peach's Castle and find Luigi. He quickly sets off to find the key to Peach's Castle.

Following the red streamer, Mario and Olivia travel to Picnic Road. They find the door to the Earth Vellumental Temple, which is locked due to four of the five Shell Stones required to open it being stolen by Folded Soldiers. They rescue the stones and return them to the door, giving them access to the turtle-like god known as the Earth Vellumental. However, the Vellumental had been folded into origami, forcing Mario to fight it. Upon defeating, Olivia gains the ability to transform into the Vellumental and manipulate earth, allowing Mario and her to access Overlook Tower, where the source of the red streamer lies. At the top of the tower, the duo confronts Colored Pencils, one of Olly's generals. After defeating the boss, Mario destroys the red streamer.

Blue streamer
Mario and Olivia next follow the blue streamer and take a tram station to Autumn Mountain. On the tram, they meet Bob-omb, a happy-go-lucky amnesiac, whom Olivia nicknames Bobby. He tags along with them as they travel to the Water Vellumental Shrine. Upon defeating the origami Water Vellumental, Olivia gains the ability to fold into the Vellumental and create water. She uses this power to refill a dry lake and the Eddy River, which the trio travel down to reach Shogun Studios, a popular theme park.

Mario, Olivia, and Bob-omb enter the park, finding it almost entirely deserted. They are tasked with finding the park's master key to rescue the park staff, who are trapped in the high castle tower. After traveling through the whole park, they rescue Luigi in the employee area of the Ninja Attraction, who found the master key, mistaking it for the key to Peach's Castle. The trio unlocks the tower gates and enter Big Sho' Theatre. After participating in three performances, they face off against Rubber Band, another one of Olly's general. After defeating Rubber Band, Mario destroys the blue streamer, saving the park and bringing them closer to saving Peach's Castle. The park celebrates with a fireworks ceremony, which jogs Bob-omb's memories.

Yellow streamer
Mario, Olivia, and Bob-omb continue down the Eddy River, no longer blocked by the blue streamer, to Sweetpaper Valley. They are ambushed by Olly and Olivia gets crushed by a massive boulder. Bob-omb recalls a way to save Olivia and takes Mario to the Great Sea. They sail out to a deserted cruise ship known as the Princess Peach. The duo find the suite Bob-omb originally stayed in. The lockbox inside, which Bob-omb was looking for, is snatched by Paper Macho Gooper Blooper, which Mario fights off at the deck of the ship. Retrieving the lockbox, the duo return to Sweetpaper Valley, where Bob-omb reveals the lockbox contains his late friend's fuse. He uses the fuse to blow himself up, destroying the boulder and freeing Olivia. Olivia runs off, distraught by Bob-omb's sacrifice, and is only cheered up by Mario donning a Goomba Mask after the suggestion of Bob-omb's ghost.

Mario and Olivia head into the Scorching Sandpaper Desert, where the sun is cut out of the sky. After traveling through the desert and obtaining information in Snif City, they rescue the ancient historian Professor Toad from the insides of a Mega Paper Macho Pokey. The professor is pursuing the legend of Khap'taan Teeowed and tags along with the duo, utilizing his ability to reach ancient writings to solve the ruins' puzzles. The trio perform an ancient ritual in the desert to open the Fire Vellumental Cave and defeat the origami Fire Vellumental within. Olivia gains the ability to fold into the Vellumental and light fires, which she uses to light fires in three Toad monoliths and unearth the Temple of Shrooms.

Inside the temple, the Mario, Olivia, and Professor Toad discovers many zombie-like faceless Toads and a DJ being held hostage. The trio find the "Thrills at Night" disc, round up the faceless Toads, and summon the next of Olly's enforcers: Hole Punch. After defeating Hole Punch, Mario destroys the yellow streamer and frees the desert sun. The trio head to the newly-opened Sun Altar, and find Captain T. Ode preserved in a block of ice. Olivia frees the captain, who heads off in search of his old submarine, the Super Marino. Mario and Olivia follow the captain, while Professor Toad stays behind in the desert.

Purple streamer
Returning the Toad Town, Mario and Olivia find Captain T. Ode, who reclaims ownership of his own submarine. The sub is attached to Sea Captain Toad's ship, and T. Ode, Mario, and Olivia head out into the Great Sea. After clearing the thick fog that covers the sea, they discover the source of the purple streamer at the Sea Tower, but are unable to enter without the three orbs located in Diamond Island. They travel between many islands, eventually meeting up with Luigi on Mushroom Island, who holds the key to Diamond Island. The brothers decide to find the island's resident and free the Origami Craftsman from the walls of his workshop. The craftsman reveals he created King Olly for the Origami Festival using the forbidden Fold of Life. Olly turned on his creator and set out to fold the world in his image, using the Origami Craftsman's notes to fold Olivia. The craftsman shares a set of notes with Olivia before she head back to the ship with Mario.

Mario and Olivia use the key Luigi obtained to access the submerged Diamond Island, where three temples stand, housing the Trials of Power, Wisdom, and Courage; and the nearby Ice Vellumental Mountain. The duo must travel up the mountain and defeat the Ice Vellumental at its peak. After defeating the final Vellumental, Olivia gains the ability to fold into it and utilize its ice powers to access the Trials of Wisdom and Courage. After completing all three trials, Mario and Olivia turn to the Sea Tower and climb up to its peak. At the top, they face off against Tape, and upon the stationary's defeat, Mario destroys the purple streamer.

Green streamer
Mario and Olivia notice the green streamer peeking out from above the clouds. A mysterious light appears on top of the Sea Tower, and stepping into it transports them to Shangri-Spa, where Bowser's Castle had crash-landed. The duo meets up with Kamek, who is unable to return to the castle due to the folded Boss Sumo Bro guarding the entrance. Bowser Jr. flies in, whose Junior Clown Car would allow access to Boss Sumo Bro, but is shredded by another one of Olly's generals: Scissors. Kamek reluctantly joins up with Mario and Olivia, and the group travels to four of the spa's springs in order to revive Jr. However, when Jr. soaks in the Spring of Jungle Mist for too long, he ends up losing his color. The group travels to the Spring of Rainbows, which involves winning the game show Shy Guys Finish Last. The spring restores Bowser Jr.'s color, allowing him to take Mario up to Boss Sumo Bro. The boss is defeated, allowing the group and all of Bowser's minion access to Bowser's Castle again.

Bowser's minions start a large clash with the Folded Soldiers, while Mario, Olivia, and Kamek search for the key to the throne room, which Kamek believes to be in his quarters. Along the way, Kamek disappears, but Mario is able to find the castle key in the hands of Luigi, who once again mistook it for the key to Peach's Castle. Soon after, Olivia is snatched by a shadowy hand and all of Bowser's minions disappear as well. On the way to the throne room, Mario battles Big and Li'l Cutout Soldiers, until reaching the creature that captured Olivia, the Handaconda, whom Mario defeats in a game of. In the following room, the duo finds the cut-up remains of Bowser's minions. They then face off against the Paper Mistake Buzzy Beetle, created by Scissors, before fighting Scissors itself. After defeating both bosses, Mario is able to revive Bowser's minions, free Bowser, and destroy the green streamer.

Origami Castle
Bowser mobilizes his army, along with Mario and Olivia, onto a new airship, which they use to travel to Peach's Castle. However, they are intercepted by the Paper Plane Squadron, and one large jet dives into the airship, causing the ship to crash into Hotfoot Crater. Mario, Olivia, Kamek, and Bowser Jr. are chased up the volcano by a horde of Paper Macho Goombas, with Kamek and Bowser Jr. staying behind to keep back the horde. Mario and Olivia meet up with Bowser, and the three use the airship cannon to launch to the ground outside of Peach's Castle. Luigi meets up with them, who inadvertently had the key to the castle lodged in his kart's tailpipe. Inside, the group is greeted by Origami Peach, before Olly refolds Peach's Castle into Origami Castle.

Mario, Olivia, and Bowser travel through the newly-folded castle and eventually reach Olly, who summons the Stapler. After defeating the final Legion of Stationary, Bowser finally manages to unfold himself. After a pep talk from Bowser to raise Olivia's spirits, the trio confront King Olly in his throne room. Inside, they attempt to reason with Olly, before realizing Peach has been folded into the rear wall of the throne room. Olly reveals his grudge against Toads originates from a scribble the Origami Craftsman left, which Olly believes was left carelessly. He has already folded 999 origami cranes, and intends to use Mario to create the final crane, which will grant him his wish to turn every Toad into blank scraps. Olly engages in battle against Mario and Olivia, using his own versions of the Vellumentals. After being defeated by Olivia's Vellumentals, Olly folds himself into a large sumo wrestler, which Olivia counteracts by folding Bowser into a giant origami sumo wrestler. Mario assists Bowser in knocking Olly off the platform, but Olly rises again as a giant version of his normal self, his rage turning into a poisonous gas. Olivia summons a massive Magic Circle, which when completed, transforms Olivia into the design given to her by the Origami Craftsman: a giant hammer, defeating Olly for good.

In Olly's final moments, Olivia discovers the scribble on him and reveals it was actually a hopeful message that he become a good king. Repentant, Olly entrusts his 999 cranes to Olivia and allows her to use his body as the final one. Luigi, Kamek, and Bowser Jr. arrive with the Origami Craftsmen who instructs Olivia on how to make a paper crane. She then wishes to undo all the origami her brother folded, including herself. The thousand cranes grant her wish and carry Peach's Castle back to its proper place in Toad Town. Everyone lands outside the castle along with a restored Princess Peach, and realize that Olivia is absent.

That night, the Mushroom Kingdom and Bowser's army celebrate the Origami Festival together. The Origami Craftsman reveals his contribution: the original, scaled-down Origami Castle, complete with thrones for the two origami siblings. Mario expresses his sadness over Olivia's sacrifice, but Peach insists that she is still with them in spirit. To finish the celebrations, everyone releases paper lanterns into the night sky in honor of origami. Afterwards, the Mario Bros. drive home as the credits roll.

If the player achieves 100% completion and defeats the final boss, the photos receive golden frames, and a post-credits scene plays in which the Origami Craftsman places miniatures of Olly and Olivia beside each other on his castle in the center of Toad Town.

Gameplay
The overworld exploration is quite different from the series' standard; whereas the previous three games were either sorted into individual chapters or levels, Paper Mario: The Origami King switches to a completely open-world style of progression, with Mario being able to travel to any of the game's locales completely on foot like the first two games. The game's combat system has also been overhauled: at the start of each turn, Mario can rotate and slide rings of a circular battle arena, lining up enemies for consecutive attacks, although the number of ring moves and allotted time are limited. Performing a First Strike deals preemptive damage to a single enemy, and as Mario's HP increases, First Strikes will be able to defeat certain enemies without going into battle against them. Mario has permanent Boots and Hammer attacks and may equip stronger variants that break after a while, and timed button presses can increase damage when attacking. Lining up the enemies successfully will increase Mario's attack power by a factor of 1.5. Coins can be spent to extend the time limit (at a rate of 10 coins per second), or call the Toads that have been saved to assist Mario in battle. Boss battles use a different system in which the player rotates and slides the rings to line up arrows, making a path for Mario to attack.

Olivia, a character new to the franchise, has a role similar to Kersti and Huey from Paper Mario: Sticker Star and Paper Mario: Color Splash respectively. Once a Vellumental is defeated, Olivia can transform into the Vellumental while standing on Magic Circles, an ability that carries over into battle. Additionally, partners return to ally with Mario and aid him in battles, including Bob-omb and Kamek. They will automatically attack enemies after Mario has used up all his given moves, although there is a chance their attacks will be unsuccessful. Various partners join and leave Mario's party at various points in the story.

Accessories grant Mario benefits both in battle and on the overworld. Toads can be found on the overworld, folded into various shapes. Hitting these Toads with the hammer will cause them to unfold and return to Toad Town, some of which open shops. The Toads that have been saved can even help in battle if the player spends coins using the Cheer command. These Toads will fight enemies, heal Mario, give items, and solve puzzles. Mario can gain confetti by using his Hammer on trees, grass, and enemies. This confetti can be used to fill Not-Bottomless Holes torn in the landscape, revealing Coins or restoring objects.

In the settings menu, there is an option to control certain aspects of the game with motion controls or entirely with the controller buttons. This applies to the 1,000-Fold Arms, fishing, and the Super Marino. Three settings are locked with four question marks. They are unlocked by going to the Battle Lab. The first unlockable setting offers hints for battles with the Puzzle Solver, the second adds time to each battle's clock with the Timer Extender, and the third lets the player control the amount added.

Folded Soldiers
{|
 * style="vertical-align:top; width:180px"|
 * Red streamer
 * Goomba
 * Swoop
 * Scaredy Rat
 * Shy Guy
 * Spiny
 * Cheep Cheep
 * Paragoomba
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Mechakoopa
 * style="vertical-align:top; width:180px"|


 * Blue streamer
 * Spiny
 * Paragoomba
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Cheep Cheep
 * Shy Guy
 * Goomba
 * Galoomba
 * (Red) Sidestepper
 * (Blue) Sidestepper
 * Swoop
 * Snifit
 * Ninji
 * Scaredy Rat
 * Mechakoopa
 * style="vertical-align:top; width:180px"|


 * Yellow streamer
 * Goomba
 * Scaredy Rat
 * Dry Bones
 * Shy Guy
 * Black Shy Guy
 * Spiny
 * Koopa Paratroopa
 * Buzzy Beetle
 * Boo
 * Scuttlebug
 * Pokey
 * Crowber
 * Bone Goomba
 * Hammer Bro
 * Fire Bro
 * Shoe Goomba
 * Mechakoopa
 * style="vertical-align:top; width:180px"|


 * Purple streamer
 * Goomba
 * Shy Guy
 * Fly Guy
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Cheep Cheep
 * Spiny
 * Paragoomba
 * Koopa Paratroopa
 * Buzzy Beetle
 * Sidestepper (red)
 * Sidestepper (blue)
 * Nipper Plant
 * Snifit
 * Scuttlebug
 * Blooper
 * Crowber
 * Bone Goomba
 * Hammer Bro
 * Boomerang Bro
 * Fire Bro
 * Ice Bro
 * Spike
 * Snow Spike
 * Stone Spike
 * Spike Top
 * Sledge Bro
 * Mechakoopa
 * style="vertical-align:top; width:180px"|


 * Green streamer
 * Goomba
 * Shy Guy
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Spiny
 * Koopa Paratroopa
 * Buzzy Beetle
 * Ninji (grass)
 * Nipper Plant
 * Snifit
 * Jumping Piranha Plant
 * Hammer Bro
 * Fire Bro
 * Spike
 * Rocky Wrench
 * Spike Top
 * Snow Spike
 * Stone Spike
 * Stingby
 * Chargin' Chuck
 * Piranha Plant
 * Ptooie
 * Mechakoopa
 * Sumo Bro
 * Big Cutout Soldier
 * Li'l Cutout Soldier
 * style="vertical-align:top; width:180px"|


 * Origami Castle
 * Goomba
 * Koopa Troopa
 * Spiny
 * Ninji
 * Buzzy Beetle
 * Hammer Bro
 * Boomerang Bro
 * Fire Bro
 * Ice Bro
 * Sledge Bro
 * Sumo Bro
 * Mechakoopa
 * style="vertical-align:top; width:180px"|

Paper Macho Soldiers

 * Paper Macho Goomba
 * Paper Macho Shy Guy
 * Paper Macho Koopa Troopa
 * Paper Macho Goomba Outlaw
 * Paper Macho Spike Outlaw
 * Paper Macho Snifit Outlaw
 * Paper Macho Gooper Blooper
 * Paper Macho Boo
 * Mega Paper Macho Pokey
 * Paper Macho Mummy Goomba
 * Paper Macho Koopa Paratroopa
 * Paper Macho Stone Spike
 * Paper Macho Buzzy Beetle
 * Paper Macho Chain Chomp
 * Paper Macho Piranha Plant
 * Paper Mistake Buzzy Beetle
 * Paper Macho Bob-omb
 * Paper Macho Lava Bubble
 * }

Vellumentals
The Vellumentals are a group of four mid-bosses. After defeating one, it releases a Bibliofold that Olivia reads to learn how to fold herself into the Vellumental.

Legion of Stationery
The Legion of Stationery are sentient tools. They guard the ends of each streamer, besides Stapler. Notably, each member of the Legion of Stationery has a color representing the streamer they guard, such as Colored Pencils guarding the red streamer spool and having a red lid.

Other species

 * Cheep Cheeps: Fish swimming at Overlook Mountain, the Shogun Studios moat, and the Great Sea that can be fished at fishing spots.
 * Big Cheep Cheeps: Rare fish that can be fished and recorded in the museum. A legendary one can also be fished out at the Great Sea.
 * Thwomp: Can crush Mario when he gets a fortune cookie at Picnic Road. Another one drops on him in the final test at the Trial of Courage.
 * Bloopers: Squid swimming at the Great Sea that can be fished at fishing spots.
 * Big Bloopers: Rare squid that can be fished and recorded in the museum. A legendary one can also be fished out at the Great Sea. Additionally, a Big Blooper with a sign appears to block Mario if he goes to the edges of the Great Sea.
 * Bullet Bills: Bullets fired from Bowser's airship.
 * Co Gasagoso: Tiny Scuttlebugs that drop on Mario in the Temple of Shrooms.
 * Fuzzies: Obstacles at the Spring of Rainbows.
 * Dino Rhino: An NPC in the Singing Cafe at Shroom City.
 * Gold Fish: A fish that gives coins, found while traveling across the Great Sea.
 * Mini Goombas: Patrons at the Scorching Sandpaper Desert cafe, with origami versions serving as pests at the Overlook Tower café.
 * Ptooie: An NPC in the Singing Cafe at Shroom City.
 * Sledge Bro: A barista at the Scorching Sandpaper Desert cafe.
 * Whales: Minor, harmless characters found in the Great Sea.
 * Whistle Snifits: NPCs found in the cafe at the Spring of Rainbows.
 * Paper Plane Squadron: A fleet of paper planes dispatched to prevent Bowser's airship reaching Peach's Castle.
 * Blue: Flies in one direction targeting the airship.
 * Light-blue: Flies in a zigzag pattern.
 * Black: Launched by the purple paper plane. Shares similarities with the blue paper airplane.
 * Purple: The boss of the Paper Plane Squadron. Fires black paper airplanes. Once damaged, it will attempt to fly straight into the airship.
 * Giant: Largest paper airplane of the Paper Plane Squadron. Collides into the airship, causing it to miss its destination. It is the only paper plane that cannot be fought.

Weapons
Mario's attacks are now weapons that can be bought or found alongside items. The player can also find stronger variants of weapons.
 * Boots PMTOK icon.png Boots
 * Shiny Boots PMTOK icon.png Shiny Boots
 * Flashy Boots PMTOK icon.png Flashy Boots
 * Legendary Boots PMTOK icon.png Legendary Boots
 * Gold Boots PMTOK icon.png Gold Boots
 * Hammer PMTOK icon.png Hammer
 * Shiny Hammer PMTOK icon.png Shiny Hammer
 * Flashy Hammer PMTOK icon.png Flashy Hammer
 * Legendary Hammer PMTOK icon.png Legendary Hammer
 * Gold Hammer PMTOK icon.png Gold Hammer
 * Fire Hammer PMTOK icon.png Fire Hammer
 * Ice Hammer PMTOK icon.png Ice Hammer
 * Iron Boots PMTOK icon.png Iron Boots
 * Shiny Iron Boots PMTOK icon.png Shiny Iron Boots
 * Flashy Iron Boots PMTOK icon.png Flashy Iron Boots
 * Legendary Iron Boots PMTOK icon.png Legendary Iron Boots
 * Hurlhammer PMTOK icon.png Hurlhammer
 * Shiny Hurlhammer PMTOK icon.png Shiny Hurlhammer

Battle items

 * Fire Flower PMTOK icon.png Fire Flower: An item that allows Mario to throw fireballs and attack a row of enemies.
 * Shiny Fire Flower PMTOK icon.png Shiny Fire Flower
 * Ice Flower PMTOK icon.png Ice Flower: An item that allows Mario to throw ice balls to attack a row of enemies.
 * Shiny Ice Flower PMTOK icon.png Shiny Ice Flower
 * Tail PMTOK icon.png Tail: An attack that deals damage in a 2x2 area.
 * Shiny Tail PMTOK icon.png Shiny Tail
 * POW Block PMTOK icon.png POW Block: Deals damage to the entire board and stuns enemies. Mario can only hold three POW Blocks at a time.
 * Mushroom PMTOK icon.png Mushroom: An item that heals HP. This can be used on the overworld.
 * Shiny Mushroom PMTOK icon.png Shiny Mushroom
 * Flashy Mushroom PMTOK icon.png Flashy Mushroom
 * 1-Up Mushroom PMTOK icon.png 1-Up Mushroom: Automatically and fully restores Mario's HP if he dies in battle. Only one can be carried at a time.

Shop items
Certain items can be bought in bundles in shops, for a cheaper price than buying them individually.

Accessories
Accessories are sold through the Fun, Funky, and Functional chain, found throughout the world in places such as Picnic Road and Bonehead Island. To activate their effect, Mario must equip them first. The Heart Plus, Guard Plus, and Time Plus have three variants of increasing effectiveness, but Mario can only equip one variant of each. The six other accessories have their own group, and Mario can only equip two from this group. After a certain point in the game, all accessories will be sold at an 80% discount.

Nintendo eShop description
 The kingdom has been ravaged by an origami menace! Join Mario and his new partner, Olivia, as they battle evil Folded Soldiers, repair the damaged landscape, and try to free Princess Peach's castle from the clutches of King Olly in this comedy-filled adventure, only on the Nintendo Switch system.

Mario and Luigi receive an invitation from Princess Peach to attend an origami festival and excitedly hurry to Toad Town...but something's amiss. After investigating the eerily empty town, the duo finds a fearsome (and folded) Princess Peach-she's been turned into origami by King Olly, ruler of the Origami Kingdom! With five giant streamers under his control, King Olly binds Princess Peach's Castle and transports it to a distant mountain as part of his plan to re-fold the world.

On his journey to liberate Peach's Castle and repair the ravaged paper landscape, Mario meets Olivia, King Olly's sister, and the two join forces to put a stop to Olly's origami onslaught. Even Bowser falls victim to Olly's plot when his minions are turned into origami Folded Soldiers and betray their Koopa king, forcing him to ally with Mario and Olivia!

Battle the Folded Soldiers in ring-based battles the challenge you to strategically line up enemies to maximize damage! Out of battle, Mario can use the arm-extending 1,000-Fold Arms ability in specific spots to interact with the landscape to pull, peel, hit, and more! Join Mario, Olivia, and their companions on a journey of laughter and emotion, thrills, and a whole lot of folding. 

Version 1.0.1
Release date: August 5, 2020 
 * Patch notes
 * Fixed an issue in which you would be unable to enter the Spring of Rainbows in Shangri-Spa.
 * Note: If you have already encountered this issue, you will now be able to proceed normally.


 * Fixed an issue in which players were unable to hit the Toad on top of the fountain in Shroom City.
 * Note: If you have already encountered this issue, you will now be able to proceed normally.


 * Fixed an issue where Black Shy Guy would not be registered in the Gallery of the Musée Champignon—even if you have previously defeated one.
 * Note: If you have already encountered this issue, return to Scorching Sandpaper West after the sun has returned and defeat Black Shy Guy once more to add him to your Gallery.


 * Fixed an issue in the Ninja Attraction in which, depending on the state of the player, certain Ninji enemies were undefeatable and halted progression.
 * Note: If you have already encountered this issue, you will now be able to proceed normally.


 * Fixed an issue in which the game would occasionally hard lock in the Rubber Band boss battle.
 * Fixed an issue in the Battle Lab in which the score would not be properly registered after solving 33 or more lineups in Speed Rings in the Ring Trainer.
 * Note: Previously registered scores will not change. New scores will be registered correctly after downloading this update data.


 * Fixed an issue in which you could obtain an item from outside of a certain coffin in the Temple of Shrooms. This fix also corrects a related error involving hints from the Love Toad in Toad Town.
 * Note: If you've already obtained the item from outside of the coffin, the Love Toad's hint error will be resolved.


 * Fixed an issue in Overlook Mountain in which the event of looking up at Overlook Tower would occasionally occur from the bottom of the hill.

Pre-release and unused content
Before entering Peach's Castle for the first time, the player was originally going to have a 360-degree view of the castle as well as some models of Princess Peach, which appear unused in the game's files with different hair and jewels on her crown. Some leftovers from Paper Mario: Color Splash in the game's code include Mario swinging his hammer, which is 2D, even though in the game it is 3D. The Monty Mole accessory vendor has unused walking animations. Additionally, there are unused sprites for Captain T. Ode, as well as Bowser and Bowser Jr. inside the Koopa Clown Car.

\data\map\maplink.elf.zst contains nodes linking to unused Bossotronic rematches against all three Big Sho' Theater Paper Macho battles, the second wave of Paper Macho Shy Guys with buckets in the Fire Vellumental Cave, and the Paper Macho Mummy Goombas in the Temple of Shrooms. However, when activated the bosses do not appear as the links are unfinished.

References to other games

 * Donkey Kong: When Mario is equipped with the Retro Soundbox, he makes the walking sound effect from this game.
 * Mario Bros.: The effect of POW Blocks on Sidesteppers allude to this game, where both debuted. Hitting a POW Block causes a Sidestepper to flip over. If a red Sidestepper is left flipped for a certain amount of time, it turns blue.
 * Super Mario Bros.: When Mario grabs the top of the Goal Pole and slides down it for the first time at Picnic Road, a firework shoots into the sky while an arrangement of the "course cleared" fanfare plays, similar to when the player clears a level with the timer's last digit at 1, 3, or 6 in this game. One of Colored Pencils' drawings is of Mario's death sprite from this game.
 * The Legend of Zelda series: The three trials at Diamond Island are a reference to each of the three different parts of the Triforce.
 * Metroid series: A papier-mâché model of Samus Aran's helmet appears in the storeroom of Shogun Studios.
 * Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic: When trying to recall the term "amnesia", Bob-omb mentions "Thinky Thinky Panic", a reference to this game's title.
 * Super Mario Bros. 2: After Mario rescues Birdo in Big Sho' Theater, she says that she has "Mario madness." The English cover for Super Mario Bros. 2 features the subtitle "Mario Madness," and the game was Birdo's first appearance. Additionally, the Musée Champignon description for the Black Shy Guy states that it throws turnip-like objects, referencing the throwing mechanic from this game.
 * Super Mario Bros. 3: Olivia mentions the sun being angry in Scorching Sandpaper Desert. Portions of Chestnut Valley's music are based on this game's athletic theme.
 * Super Mario World: The fireball and spin jump sounds are reused from this game.
 * Super Mario 64: An arrangement of "Inside the Castle Walls" plays when Mario and Luigi arrive at Peach's Castle in the opening.
 * Paper Mario: Peach's castle's interior looks similar to the one used in this game, and Peach's design from this game appears as a photo. The moves Headbonk and Shell Shot are reused from this game. In addition, enemy Koopas may team up to perform a Tower Attack nearly identical to the one the Koopa Bros. can use, and enemy Paratroopas can use a Dive Kick similar to Parakarry's. At the end of the path to the Rainbow Spa in the Green Streamer area, Olivia calls Kamek "Kammey", referencing Kammy Koopa.
 * The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker: The Great Sea is an overall reference to this game's main setting. The way that Mario navigates the Great Sea is a reference to this game's main navigation mechanic. A few islands in the Great Sea are references to a few islands from this game; Heart Island is a reference to each of the Fairy Islands, Scuffle Island is a reference to Star Island since both islands require the player to fight multiple enemies to earn a special item, and Crescent Moon Island (before it becomes Full Moon Island) is a reference to this game's Crescent Moon Island respectively. Mario having to collect the three orbs to enter the Sea Tower is a reference to how Link has to collect the three pearls to be able to enter the Tower of the Gods.
 * Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door: Peach's design from this game appears as a photo. Additionally, when Mario and Bob-omb interact with the steering wheel on the Princess Peach, the latter mentions that he dreams of being an admiral someday, in reference to Admiral Bobbery.
 * Super Paper Mario: Peach appears in a photo with her parasol and a background resembling Lineland. Some of the Sammer's Kingdom's OST is incorporated into the music for Shogun Studios.
 * Mario Kart Wii: A slow-paced arrangement of Maple Treeway's music plays in the Tranquil Pipes Teahouse at Shogun Studios.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Some of Bowser Jr.'s voice clips are reused from this game.
 * Metroid: Other M: If Mario tries on the Space Warrior Mask, Bob-omb comments on how the helmet would look better on "some other kind of M."
 * Paper Mario: Sticker Star: Shiny and flashy attacks return from this game. In addition, Peach appears in a photo, surrounded by stickers. Additionally, the fan that blows the fog away in Bonehead Island, the Scissors boss and the basin used in the Trial of Courage resemble their respective Things in the game. The music of the main boss introductions is incorporated into the music of the Vellumental's introductions.
 * Super Mario 3D World: Some of the voice clips are recycled from this game. The Goomba Mask returns from this game. Luigi's running pose and Peach's floating pose in the ending are based on their respective animations from this game.
 * Mario Kart 8: Like in Paper Mario: Color Splash, Luigi drives a Standard Kart resembling the ones in this game.
 * Paper Mario: Color Splash: The Origami King runs on a very similar graphical engine to Color Splash. The paint-coated graphic effect is used when a Toad aboard the Princess Peach is covered in ink. Mario can again hammer characters to temporarily crumple them. Princess Peach's design from that game also appears as a photo in the game. The Rescue Squads return in the Battle Lab. The Emerald Circus and the Violet Passage captain's pirate ship appear in paintings in Overlook Tower. When Captain T. Ode introduces himself after being thawed out by Olivia in her Fire Vellumental form, the Fortune Island music is reused, lacking the intro and bell quips of the tune. Additionally, steaks identical to the one fought in Tangerino Grill are found when T. Ode is freed. Bonehead Island looks very similar to Fortune Island, and includes multiple design similarities. The music on Bonehead Island is very similar to the Violet Passage theme. When the player completes Bonehead Island, a realistic fan that has the same appearance as the Fan Thing from this game (which actually originated from Sticker Star) emerges from the sea and blows the mist away, similar to the scene when the Fan is being used in Violet Passage to get the ship to set sail. A Shy Guy with a straw similar to a Slurp Guy appears in the Tranquil Pipes Teahouse and gives Mario his straw. The Spring of Rainbows bears a resemblance to Prisma Fountain, although in a more papercraft-like appearance. The way Bowser Jr. restores his colors from it also resembles the paint mechanic in this game. One Toad in Toad Town mentions that he needs to find "an expert on bridge experts", referencing the bridge builder and the bridge builder expert that appear in Port Prisma. Two Whistle Snifits are found in the Spring of Rainbows' cafe. The way the basin crushes Mario in the Trial of Courage is similar to how the Basin Thing crushes him at Fort Cobalt. The faceless Toads resemble the faceless cardboard cutout of the Mountain Sage on the top of Daffodil Peak. When approaching the Spring of Jungle Mist, Kamek mentions that he's "dealt with giant trees before," a nod to the Mondo Woods area.
 * The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild: The climbing mechanic from this game is referenced when a Toad climbing a cliff in Autumn Mountain tells Mario that it would be more difficult to climb the cliff if it was raining, just like in this game where Link slides down cliffs if he climbs them while it is raining.

References in other games

 * Super Smash Bros. Ultimate: A Spirit Board event themed after Paper Mario: The Origami King ran from August 28, 2020 until September 2, 2020. Origami Peach, Olivia, and King Olly spirits appear at random during the event. The 3 spirits were later available on the Spirit Board as normal spirits.

Similarities to the other Paper Mario games

 * Like the original game and its sequel, Mario and Luigi receive an invitation from Princess Peach.
 * Although Peach gives Mario a letter in Color Splash, said letter is actually a color-drained Toad.
 * In combat, Mario's basic jump and hammer attacks are permanent, like in the first two games.
 * Like in the first and second games, Mario can use most types of recovery items outside of battle as well as in battle.
 * Partners return from the first three games.
 * Just like in the second and third games, Bowser is not the primary villain. Rather, Mario and Bowser team up, as they do in Super Paper Mario.
 * Just like in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Peach is turned evil by the main antagonist, similarly to the Shadow Queen.
 * Like in Super Paper Mario, Luigi has a significant role throughout the game’s plot and is a party member for parts of the game.
 * Like in all of the previous games, there is a quiz show, in this case, Shy Guys Finish Last.
 * Mario can use confetti to fill in Non-Bottomless Holes, similarly to using paint to fill in colorless spots in Color Splash. Like paint, confetti is limited.
 * Like the previous two games, there is a performance starring Birdo.
 * Like the first game, Peach's Castle gets taken over by the main antagonist, is lifted to a higher location, leaves a hole in the ground from where it normally sits and requires finishing every chapter to return to it (as well as taking some kind of flying vehicle to get close to it).
 * Like in the first four games, Mario fights a Blooper as a boss.
 * Like in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, battles take place in front of an audience, and the audience can interact with Mario.
 * However, the audience only consists of Toads, the number of audience members depends on the rescued Toads, they need to be paid to influence the battle, and they do not attack Mario for a bad "performance".
 * Like in the previous three games, Mario has a permanent travelling companion who can float and sacrifices themselves in the end, in this case, Olivia.
 * Like in Super Paper Mario, the main antagonist has taken control of some of Bowser's minions.
 * Shiny and Flashy variants of attacks return from Paper Mario: Sticker Star.
 * Like the previous three games, in-game materials show the logos for Nintendo and Intelligent Systems.
 * Like Sticker Star, MAX UP Hearts are used as a level-up mechanic.
 * Bowser's Castle floats as it does in the original game and the previous two games.
 * Like Color Splash, each save file is tied to a user profile. Because of this, they cannot be copied or deleted within the game, and are tied to each user profile of the Nintendo Switch. Since the Switch can have up to eight user profiles, this translates to eight save files, compared to four from the first three games, three from the fourth installment, and twelve from Color Splash (since the Wii U can support up to twelve user profiles). The difference is that in Color Splash, the user profile is loaded before the game is started, while in Origami King, the user profile is selected past the title screen.
 * The Iron Boots, Hurlhammer, and Fire Hammer return from the previous two games.
 * The Ice Hammer returns from Sticker Star.
 * If Mario enters the area with Ol' Grandsappy for the first time and tries to leave the area, he ends up in the same place. This is similar to Forever Forest in Paper Mario and The Bafflewood in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, which in itself are references to the Lost Woods in The Legend of Zelda series.
 * Much like in Super Paper Mario, Mario can optionally change his sound effects to old-school ones; in this case, it can be done via the Retro Soundbox accessory.
 * In Big Sho' Theater, one of the red and green Paper Macho Koopa Troopas respectively wear sunglasses similar to the enemy Koopa Troopas from the first three games.
 * Like in Color Splash, Luigi has voice clips by Charles Martinet while Mario does not.

Differences from the other Paper Mario games

 * The battle system in this entry is puzzle-based rather than a more direct, turn-based system.
 * This is the first game in the series and in Super Mario role-playing games overall in which Bowser is not fought at any point in the game.
 * This is the first game in the series where the overall objective does not involve finding any major collectibles (e.g. the Crystal Stars or Pure Hearts), rather to destroy giant streamers blocking Peach's Castle.
 * Save prompts now have a distinctive look, separate from normal text boxes.
 * When getting a Game Over, an option to restart from the last save (or in the case of minigames and the final boss, to try again) is now available.
 * When Mario gets hit by a First Strike, he can no longer block the attack.
 * A sound and impact effect do not play when this happens in the overworld.
 * The text "The End" does not show up at all in the credits.
 * Unlike most other installments, the game does not end with a parade, but rather a series of screenshots can be seen during the credits, like in Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Paper Mario. Unlike in these games, though, these photos take place after the events of the story, rather than during them.
 * Mario's hammer is rendered as a three-dimensional object, rather than 2D.
 * The game saves automatically when moving between different locations, similar to the saving behavior in the world map from the previous two games.
 * The touchscreen is no longer used as an alternative input for Action Commands, due to the Switch powering only one video source, unlike the Wii U.
 * There are no defense items such as Spike Helmets.
 * This is the first game in the series that does not include an arrangement of the Super Mario Bros. Ground Theme in the main soundtrack. The only time this theme can be heard is when Mario buys the engine upgrade for Sea Captain Toad's boat; the sound effects of it being installed mimic the theme in question.
 * Unlike past Super Mario role-playing games, the entire game does not use the same regular battle theme for every location. A different arrangement of the battle theme is used for each streamer area.

Staff
The game was directed by Masahiko Nagaya, who was the art director of the previous installment, the game's art was directed by Isamu Kamikokuryo, ex-Square art director of the Final Fantasy series, and produced by Kensuke Tanabe and Atsushi Ikuno.

Critical response
Paper Mario: The Origami King received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the expansive overworld, graphics, writing, and plot, but criticized the battling system, despite its innovation, for being tedious and unrewarding.

Sales
By December 31, 2021, the game had sold 3.34 million units worldwide.

Wave battle glitch
If a wave battle is supposed to start, but only one enemy is alive and another is in their death animation, it will still initiate a wave battle and consider both enemies alive.

Sumo Bro glitch
During the second phase of the Boss Sumo Bro rematch in the Battle Lab, defeating the Boss Sumo Bro with a POW Block without defeating the two Sumo Bros beforehand will cause the game to soft-lock.

VIP pass glitch
Before the version 1.0.1 update, in Shangri-Spa, after obtaining the VIP pass to access the Spring of Rainbows, if the player left the path to the Spring of Rainbows after entering, the VIP pass would disappear from the menu. If the player then spoke to the Toad at the reception, they would not have the stamp card and there would be no way to get another one. Saving after this point would permanently prevent the player from progressing.