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Geekscape Games Reviews: ‘Paper Mario: Color Splash’

by The_aczOctober 6, 2016

Frustration. That is the word that comes to mind when talking about Paper Mario Color Splash. While the game is easily an improvement from the embarrassment that was 2012’s Paper Mario Sticker Star, the game still struggles with a lot of the issues that plagued the previous title, which results in slow paced, boring, and overall disappointing experience.The game starts off promisingly enough. Beautiful visuals and a very catchy soundtrack help get you in a good mood. Even the trademark humor that was completely absent in the 3DS predecessor seems to be back in some form, and the initial opening is very reminiscent of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. All seems to be fine and dandy.That is until the gameplay is introduced. Once again, the series has forgone its traditional turn based RPG roots, in favor of a more gimmicky based battle system. Throughout the game you can find, buy, and sell special cards which you use in battle. These are used by selecting a card in your hand via the Wii U gamepad, coloring it in, and then flicking it. While it was amusing the first couple of times, it quickly wore out its welcome. Now, I’m not opposed to changing up how encounters work. In fact, I very much enjoyed the real time battle system in Super Paper Mario, but what the game fails to do with its battle system is find ways to properly incentivize fighting.The game tries to fix this problem by adding hammer scraps. Every time you defeat enemies, you’ll collect scraps of a cardboard hammer, and of you collect enough, you’ll be able to increase your max paint you can use. This however, still does not really work out as the game often forces you into battles rather than the originals which made you want to battle in order to level up. Add to the fact that enemies are already ridiculously easy, and there’s really no joy to the combat at all. I often found myself constantly running away from battles just to preserve my cards for the impending boss fights. Sadly, those are also very flawed. All main bosses will need a specific set of cards in order for you to beat them. If you lack the proper cards in battle. you’ll never beat them. This makes them feel more like extended and tedious puzzles than actual showdowns.
Sadly, the rest of the gameplay also fails to provide anything resembling fun. Most of your time will be spent running back and forth between different levels in order to find specific items and collect paint stars to open up new areas. Progress is often slow, and tedious. I’m not kidding when I’m telling you that you’ll be spending a good 5-7 hours at the start of the game just trying to get to the first boss. This is the main part of the game, and it’s really frustrating that it artificially extends itself out. Not only that, but the game can be very cryptic at times, so you might spend a good hour or 2 mindlessly wandering a level because you missed a small piece of paper sticking out of a bridge that’s integral to beating that level. After a while, not even the music or visuals can keep you going.In conclusion, Paper Mario Color Splash may seem like a step in the right direction, but is still a ways off from the original 3 entries. The biggest problem is that developer Intelligent System seemingly ignored all criticism leveled at Sticker Star and simply just tried using a handheld style approach for a console. It seems like this new team just doesn’t understand what made the series so beloved in the first place. What does the future hold for our paper mache plumber? Who knows? Hopefully, it’s better than this.

Final Rating: ★★/5 Stars

E3 2016: Check Out the Stunning ‘Paper Mario: Color Splash’ Trailer!

by J.C. MarquezJune 15, 2016

The last time Paper Mario graced a Nintendo home console was back in 2007 when our flat hero was busy fighting Francis, Mr. L, Wracktail, and Count Bleck in Super Paper Mario. Now, after nine long years, the RPG franchise returns to consoles in Paper Mario: Color Splash for Wii U.

In this new adventure, Paper Mario finds himself on Prism Island where all the Toads have been drained of their color. As with previous Paper Mario titles, our titular hero will use the iconic hammer–only this time it is a Paint Hammer; just imagine the talents of Gallagher and Bob Ross rolled up into one truly effective household tool. In addition, the game will feature a new Battle Card system which will allow players to summon allies and objects to defeat enemies and bosses alike.

The game is visually stunning. After checking out the trailer below, be sure to scroll through our collection of screenshots; we are sure your eyes will pop as much as ours did.

Fans won’t have to wait too long as Paper Mario: Color Splash will be available this year on October 7.

Super Paper Mario is my personal favorite in the series, but what about you? Let us know in the comments and we will discuss all of your responses in the next episode of the Geekscape Games Podcast!

And remember, stay with us at Geekscape.net for all your E3 updates!

US Release Dates Set for 3DS Professor Layton, Paper Mario and More!

by JonathanAugust 13, 2012

This morning, Nintendo issued a press release about their upcoming 3DS Fall releases. And included on the list are retail dates for two of the most anticipated titles: Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask on Oct. 28 and Paper Mario: Sticker Star two weeks later on Nov. 11. Both titles were part of the 3DS’ original 2011 E3 presentation (Miracle Mask was even playable) but fans have had to wait a long time for the eventual release date.

It feels good to finally have them. As has been proven time and time again, if it’s got the names Mario or Professor Layton in the title, it’s going to sell well to the Nintendo fanboys. I’m looking forward to seeing how a Layton title plays on the 3DS with the accelerometer, camera and other system capabilities. The news that there’ll be a new puzzle available every day for a year is reason to celebrate as well!

Here’s the entire Nintendo publishing lineup from the press release:

Art Academy: Lessons for Everyone! (Oct. 1) – Users of any artistic skill level can learn painting and drawing techniques that can be applied to real-life art projects, with optional, additional lessons available for purchase.* The game also lets users share and download certain game content via SpotPass.*

Crosswords Plus (Oct. 1) – More than 1,000 professionally designed crossword puzzles will challenge players at any skill level. They can also receive and share bonus puzzles via StreetPass or connect their Nintendo 3DS to the Internet to receive free additional puzzles via SpotPass.* The game also includes other game play modes such as Wordsearch, Anagrams and the new Word of the Day.

Sparkle Snapshots 3D (Oct. 18) – Launching exclusively in the Nintendo eShop*, this downloadable game is a fun photography application that lets you personalize your 2D photos by adding 3D layers of stickers, ribbons, pens and other effects. Users can then share creations wirelessly with friends or transfer them to an SD card and email them.

Skylanders Giants from Activision Publishing, Inc. (Oct. 21) – Fans can look forward to more than 20 new inter-action figures to collect, including Giants that are twice the size of regular Skylanders and new LightCore Skylanders that light up both in the game and in real life when they are placed on the Portal of Power.

Style Savvy: Trendsetters (Oct. 22) – Players can run their very own full-scale fashion shop and spark a fashion revolution by helping customers keep up with current trends, buying new clothes for their customizable store and sharing their creations with their friends online.

Professor Layton and the Miracle Mask (Oct. 28) – Experienced fans and newcomers to the Professor Layton series can solve dozens of fascinating puzzles as they work their way through a new mystery storyline. Players can even download one additional puzzle per day for 365 days, starting on game launch day, at no additional charge.*

Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive! (Nov. 5) – Players can create their own creatures and use them to explore a planet that they customize. Freakyforms Deluxe: Your Creations, Alive! contains new features not found in the original downloadable title, such as dungeons to explore, enhanced creating capabilities with more parts to choose from and new special powers that can be used to further personalize the creatures. The game also features Download Play, which allows players to share the creative experience with friends who do not have a copy of the game.

Paper Mario: Sticker Star (Nov. 11) – Nintendo’s classic Paper Mario franchise gets a fresh 3D look in its hand-held debut. Stickers are the backbone of Mario’s newest adventure in which players use stickers found in the game to not only win battles, but to solve puzzles as well.

Disney Epic Mickey: Power of Illusion from Disney Interactive (Nov. 18) – Inspired by the classic Castle of Illusion Starring Mickey Mouse, this game features new ways for Mickey Mouse to interact with a 3D game world using paint and paint thinner.