Paper Mario: The Origami King Release Day Buying Guide For Nintendo Switch

Seemingly out of nowhere, Nintendo casually revealed a new Mario game for Nintendo Switch last month, and it's finally out now. Paper Mario: The Origami King released on Nintendo Switch today, July 17, which means it shares a release date with the new PS4 exclusive Ghost of Tsushima. Before the reveal, we only knew of a few upcoming Switch exclusives releasing this year, including Bravely Default 2 and No More Heroes 3. And if Nintendo does indeed release the Super Mario remasters this year, Switch users could be in for a whole lot of Mushroom Kingdom fun in 2020. If you still need to buy Paper Mario: The Origami King, you can do so below.

Buy Paper Mario: The Origami King | $60

Paper Mario: The Origami King costs $60 in both physical and digital formats.

Paper Mario: The Origami King is the first game in the series since 2016's Paper Mario: Color Splash. As has become the norm for the franchise, The Origami King will shake things up when it comes to combat. Battles take place in a ring and blend traditional turn-based combat with puzzle-solving by turning the dial on the ring.

Meanwhile, the story starts off jolly and quickly turns sideways, much like most Mario games. Princess Peach invites Mario and Luigi to an origami festival, but when they arrive they learn Peach has been turned into origami herself. King Olly, a new villain, orchestrated the takeover of the Mushroom Kingdom and enlists the services of Bower's minions. Incredibly distressed by this fact, the King Koopa volunteers to help Mario on his adventure. Mario also gets assistance from King Olly's sister, Olivia.

Across the adventure, you'll get to use a number of new tools and tricks to make progress. The "1000-Fold Arms" let Mario stretch out to solve puzzles by altering the environment. Platforming between combat encounters includes traditional Super Mario side-scrolling, but some environments also have depth like earlier games in the series and the similarly cute Yoshi's Crafted World.

The game earned an 8/10 in GameSpot's Paper Mario: The Origami King review for its finely tuned grid-based battles, smart writing, and more. "With a newfound combat system that steals the show and offers a novel take on turn-based combat, its winking, nodding, and adventuring shine all the brighter," wrote critic Suriel Vazquez. "Its world and characters might not be the series' best, but it's still able to consistently throw left turns, good gags, and smart surprises at you. Each piece of The Origami King elegantly fits into its whole, taking its irreverent flair to new heights. The Paper Mario series has recently shown that being clever and being smart are two different things, but thankfully, it's once again managed to be both."