They say that time slows down in the moments before impact.
Mere seconds stretch into minutes.
In those final few moments before the title screen appeared, I was haunted by the events
that led to this exact moment.
How just 4 years earlier, Paper Mario: Sticker Star released destroyed what had been one
of my favorite series draining it of the fun, sense of adventure, and amazing charm...and
now here I am again, powerless to prevent history from repeating itself, as I brace
for impact with its sequel, Paper Mario: Color Splash.
Wow, that looks really good!
Hahaha that’s funny
That’s cute.
Whoa didn't see that coming!
Wait wait wait!
Am I actually having fun with a Sticker Star sequel?!
What’s going on here?
Yeah I don't fully get it either.
But here’s what I do know...Color Splash is good.
Like, really good.
Yeah, I can’t believe I’m saying it either.
Because despite how similar it may look to Sticker Star...on paper, Color Splash manages
to smooth out most of the rough edges, while offering something the original didn’t:
a world that I care about.
In Sticker Star, I simply didn’t care what happened next, because almost nothing of interest
ever happened.
There was barely a story, the world's felt generic, the battle system was pointless,
the characters felt flat, and the puzzles were hopelessly obtuse.
In contrast, Color Splash’s 30+ levels are really more of mini-adventures, all of which
ooze with charm, character, and fun.
Instead of generic forest or desserts, I found myself exploring places like an active dig
site, where I had to rescue trapped toads, a train workshop to help fix a rundown locomotive,
a 1 and a half star restaurant to assist an injured chef, or a world-famous circus where
I become part of the act--among many, many others.
Most every level features some kind of problem or mystery that needs to be solved--and like
Pringles, once you pop, you can’t stop.
I seriously found myself hooked, diving into level after level to see what awaited me next.
Whether it’s trying to find the missing owner of a famous cafe, or solving a perplexing
paranormal problem at a haunted hotel...dang it, I’m doing the list thing again!
I seriously could go on and on.
The amount of variety here might even rival Thousand Year Door, especially since some
levels are even interconnected in such a way that they basically amount to a full chapter
from a past Paper Mario game, such as when escorting a train across multiple regions,
or heading up a crew of ragtag sailors as you sail the high seas...gah, there I go with
the list again!
There is so much here to talk about!
And part of what makes each level so compelling is the amazing dialogue.
Okay, yeah, I know that saying a Nintendo game is charming is pretty much a cliche at
this point...but this game turns it up to 11.
I have never had this much fun reading in a Nintendo game.
Nearly every line attempts to wring out as much wit, humor, and fun out of as few words
possible . It’s rare that a game makes me smirk, let alone laugh out loud--and yet,
I was smiling and laughing all the time as I made my way through Color Splash.
Come on, how isn’t that funny?!
Now even though the game still suffers from generic Toad overload to some degree, the
fantastic writing makes it much easier to overlook that, imbuing these otherwise indiscernible
Toads with actual personalities and a sense liveliness--hell, the game even pokes fun
at itself here too.
Plus, it’s not just Toads this time, as you’ll interact with a few other creatures
as well.
Even your new partner, Huey is a pleasure, in stark contrast to Sticker Star’s Kersti
who just felt like a bummer to be around.
Now the overarching story here is nothing revolutionary.
Bowser’s back--and big surprise--he’s kidnapped Peach again.
But he’s also robbed the world of its color and stolen the 6 Big Paint Stars from the
town center.
So of course, it’s up to Mario and Huey, to rescue the Paint Stars and restore color
to the world.
Again, it’s pretty standard stuff--but the fact that it has a story at all already elevates
it beyond Sticker Star, especially with how new details unfold throughout the adventure,
such as in flashback sequences that help illustrate what exactly went down.
But beyond finding Paint Stars, which also unlock additional levels by the way, Mario
can help out in smaller ways too by using his new Paint Hammer to fill in blank spots
found in every level--some of which can be surprisingly tricky to find.
And not only will he earn rewards like coins and Cards each time he does, but it also works
toward a 100% completion for each level, a task that I found surprisingly enjoyable.
Now let’s talk puzzles.
So like in Sticker Star, you’ll occassional come across roadblocks in the form of puzzles
that require a particular real world Thing to get by--such as using a giant fan to push
a sailboat along.
And thankfully, those Things are much easier to find this time, as you’ll often have
already found exactly what you need--plus there’s fewer of them this time too.
But even still, the solutions still aren’t always the most logical.
Like, do you see that Frozen Ice Block there?
I was so sure that I had finally found a use for that darn Ice Pick I’d been lugging
around for most of the game--but nope, the actual solution is something far more nonsensical.
As for the Ice Pick?
Yeah, it’s not even used for anything ice related at all.
Weird, right?
But fortunately, unlike Sticker Star, it’s almost impossible to get stuck this time.
And it’s all thanks to this garbage Toad here.
No, I mean...he’s an actual Toad in a garbage can, and he always knows exactly what you
need, when you need it, and will offer up clues to make sure you do too.
It’s a very handy last resort if you can’t figure out the solution for yourself, and
helps avoid the frustrating brick walls that were often Sticker Star’s puzzles.
Plus Color Splash game does a great job of keeping you on the right track in general,
such as by displaying reminder icons above levels on the World Map that still have key
objectives to complete.
Now solving Thing Cards puzzles is actually a two-step process, as you’ll first need
a place to put it, which is where Mario’s new cutout ability comes into play, allowing
him to cut out specific parts of the environment, providing a slot for that Thing Card to fit
into.
But you can’t just cut out anything willy-nilly, instead you need to keep an eye out for Card-shaped
objects in the environment.
But it’s not always so simple, as many of them depend on using the camera’s perspective
to make those shapes, such as by positioning Mario just right so that two separate rocks
appear as one.
It’s pretty clever
Now there’s still one major part of the game I haven’t mentioned yet...and that’s
the battle system.
And on the surface, it’s pretty similar to Sticker Star, being based around a disposable
inventory of one-use Card attacks.
But this time, using multiple attacks in a single turn is an intrinsic part of the battle
system, greatly enhancing the amount of depth as you now need to carefully plan which cards
to use and in what order, especially since the effect of one card can change how the
next one might react, such as how using a POW block will mitigate spiked-enemies, allowing
Mario to safely jump on them.
But the biggest improvement to the Battle system has to be the fact that--get this,
they’re no longer pointless--literally!
As you’ll now earn a form of XP for winning each one, in the form of Hammer Points which
expands the total amount of paint you can hold.
And although running out of paint is rarely an issue, the fact that there’s a leveling-up
system goes a long way in making the battles more fun, because they no longer feel like
a waste of time and resources.
Buuut, for as improved as it is, the battle system still has some issues.
For one, while inventory management has been improved with the addition of an option to
Sort your cards mid-battle, wading through up to 100 cards at a time can still be cumbersome.
Secondly, there will be times when you simply don’t have the type of card that you need
for a particular enemy, at which point you can either try your luck at a mid-battle mini
game to try and win what you need, or just run away.
But with that said, while I actively tried to avoid battles in Sticker Star, I actually
didn’t mind them this time around...even if they’re still not quite up to the level
of the battle system in the first two Paper Marios.
They can be fun,and even charming as well, with how enemies will spout random quips during
battle.
And it doesn’t hurt that the battle music is legitimately fantastic--perhaps the best
of the entire series--lending an epic big band type feel to every encounter.
So that’s battles...but what about Boss Battles, which were another sticking point
in Sticker Star, in that they were basically impossible...unless you had the proper Thing
Sticker which then made them complete pushovers.
And this too has been addressed...sort of.
Because instead of the Thing stickers being technically optional, they’re now a straight-up
requirement for the Koopaling battles, making them basically another puzzle to solve.
So on the one hand, it still sucks if you enter a boss battle without the proper Thing
Card since there’s no way to beat it otherwise...but on the other hand, because having the right
Thing Crd is now expected of you, the boss battles are actually proper battles this time
with the enemy putting up a decent fight.
But Boss Battles aside, Paper Mario: Color Splash isn’t a difficult game.
It really wasn’t until I was well into the 2nd half of it that I even started to occasionally
die in battle, and even then, it was either mostly during boss fights.
Now this might partly be because the game’s economy is kind of broken, as my pockets were
almost constantly overflowing with coins and paint, meaning I was always able to buy exactly
what cards I needed (which wasn’t very often) and rarely had any trouble painting them in
either.
It’s not really a big deal in the grand scheme of things, but I do wish the game had
been better balanced.
Ultimately, Color Splash is the sequel to Sticker Star I never knew I wanted.
It largely fixes the biggest problems of the original, while adding in the one thing it
was missing completely: Heart.
Color Splash is a whimsical and enchanting experience from beginning to end that, despite
its obvious differences, brought back memories of the Thousand Year Door more than just a
time or two, in terms of scope, charm, and sense of adventure.
Oh man, and I didn’t even mention how amazing the Paper artstyle looks in motion--nor how
great the music really is.
So yeah, I liked Color Splash a lot.
I really don’t know how you did it Nintendo.
You somehow took a concept that I thought was beyond redemption...and made it work.
Sure, it may not be perfect, it’s finally a direction for the Paper Mario series that
I can happily get behind again...although it would be pretty sweet if you could still
get around to making a Thousand Year Door 2 sometime...please?!
Thanks for watching guys and make sure to stay tuned to GameXplain for more on Color
Splash and more Nintendo reviews too.