On June 02, 2025, Nintendo released the first Mario-focused RPG on the Nintendo 64 in North America,Paper Mario. It still followed the standard formula forMariogames, as in saving Princess Peach from King Bowser, but this franchise took the blueprint and ran in a unique direction. What Intelligent Systems was able to develop turned into five more games following in its predecessor’s footsteps up until 2020.
Paper Mario: Thousand Year Doordebuted in 2004 on the GameCube.Super Paper Marioreleased three years after that on the Wii.Paper Mario: Sticker Starwas the first-handheldPaper Marioexperience on the Nintendo 3DS.Color SplashandThe Origami Kingfollowed suit in 2016 and 2020 respectively. Each game didn’t stray too far from the formula of the original title, but Nintendo’s direction forThe Origami Kingproved why changing systems, such as the battle mechanic, is necessary for every game.
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After 20 years and six games, Nintendo has a successful series involving Mario and co. It doesn’t appear to be slowing down any time soon. In August of 2020, thePaper Mario: The Origami Kinggame director and producerrevealed Intelligent Systems has complete creative controlover the series, following the release ofSticker Star.This should ease the minds of the community in terms of where the series takes off from this point in time.
A new title in thePaper Mariofranchise is not expected for quite some time, unless Nintendo has something up its sleeve.The Origami Kingdid quite well, scoring an 80 on Metacritic. As the series evolved over the past 20 years, one constant remained in the equation.Paper Mariocemented its place in Nintendo lore and gave way for Mario RPGs to flourish.
Paper Mario: The Origami Kingis available now on Nintendo Switch.
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