They hated him, because he spoke the truth about Paper Mario: Color Splash. Many would say that Color Splash is Sticker Star 2.0 and write it off as a bad game. They would scoff at the fact I would even say it is one of the best. People never gave Color Splash a chance. They never saw that there was more to the game than having almost the same combat as Sticker Star. No one dared to see how masterful the writing and comedy was, or how amazing the music was. The so called “Critics” took one look at the game and turned their head away from it not realizing they were turning their heads away greatness. Paper Mario: Color Splash has its problems, but it more than makes up for it with everything else it has to offer.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Color Splash is close to its predecessor, Paper Mario: Sticker Star. A take your turn format, but not like the original two games in the Series. You pick your moves through the use of Battle Cards. Like Sticker Stars Stickers, but just normal cards this time around. Once chosen, Mario uses them back to back on enemies. In the previous installment, you would get nothing but coins after battling. While sort of useful, battling enemies wasn’t needed. Color Splash makes battling necessary again, by giving you Hammer Points (experience points). These allow Mario to use more paint while in and out of battle. You need to paint for everything in the game. To fill up your Battle Cards and get the most damage, and to fill in the spots the Shy Guys have sucked the color out of.
I rarely try to 100% a game, but it was a fun time trying to find each spot in the overworld to fill back in with color. By filling these spots in though it would create a problem of trying to balance your paint usage. Each time you would fill in a spot, it could mean you wouldn’t have enough paint for Battle Cards to use in battles. While you could replenish your paint by hitting other painted objects, there was never a guarantee that it would replenish it fully. Others would say battling is useless, but with the factors I have listed, I believe it was necessary to try and level up the hammer point meter.
The Top Tier Writing
Paper Mario: Color Splash probably has the best writing Nintendo has ever done. I was amazed at how many times I actually laughed and chuckled through out my play session. Lately I have seen others have their eyes opened to the beauty of Color Splashes writing. While most of the games NPCs are Toads and Shy Guys, they still wrote each one with a different personality. They even acknowledge that there are too many toads in the game in one of the later levels, when there is a line of them waiting to get into a Circus Tent. Intelligent Systems nail the comedic timing in this game to a T. I will always applaud them for this. Going back to the game now and again and seeing the writing just brings a smile to my face, knowing that so much care went into this game.
All in all, Paper Mario: Color Splash has fantastic writing. It knows what it is going for, and it truly excels at it. If we do get another Paper Mario I hope that it takes the writing and pushes it even further, and makes me fall in love with it like I did with Color Splash.
The Music is back!
Sticker Star of course tripped and fell down the hill with having no memorable tracks, but Color Splash once again saved the day. There are so many that I listen to regularly that it is a sin, people looked away from this game. Dark Bloo Inn (Ghost Toads) is one of the best samples of music in the entire game. Not only is it one of the best levels, the track fits perfectly. The Final Battle Theme against Black Bowser is also just so good. Guitars just take it from being great to amazing. I also can’t forget the Main Battle Theme wish is so relaxing to hear. I rarely listen to battle themes, but this one just hits different. Finally my last example before I list every single track is simply named Black Paint. Black Paint being a toxic substance in the game gets an amazing terrifying track to really let players know that it is something to not be messed with.
Chapter End
In the end, Paper Mario Color Splash has more to it than meets the eye. While it may have sounded like a review, I needed to get these thoughts out there and show people how good this game actually is. Of course Color Splash has its problems, but I wanted to focus on the good, because I believe it outweighs the bad. This game is magical and I one-hundred percent believe everyone should go out and try it. I wish for the day Nintendo ports it to the Switch. This game deserves praise, and another chance at life on a successful system. Personally I would love a true sequel to Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, but I would take a port of Color Splash any day of the week.
In some regards I believe Paper Mario: Color Splash beats out Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door as the second best Paper Mario game. It is one of the Wii Us biggest sleeper hits, and just a sleeper hit in all of gaming.
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