Mario Paints: Paper Mario Color Splash review | Technobubble (2025)

Mario Paints: Paper Mario Color Splash review | Technobubble (1)

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Many things sound good on paper. About 15 years ago, that included creating a role-playing game with a distinct paper-thin look based on Nintendo’s beloved plumber with the red overalls.

Since Paper Mario’s debut on the N64, the series has seen sequels through the years across Nintendo’s line of systems from the Gamecube to the Wii. The latest comes in the form of “Paper Mario: Color Splash” for the Nintendo Wii U. Unlike the beloved original, the latest incarnation is essentially a solo effort for Mario, who gets a new sidekick in the form of a talking paint can named Huey. Yes, it’s true, Huey is happy to be stuck with you, Mario.

Mario Paints: Paper Mario Color Splash review | Technobubble (2)

Out-of-place references to 1980s bands and lyrics aside, Color Splash has a decidedly old-school feel to it when it comes to game mechanics. Think of it as amish-mashof traditional Mario platforming combined with some turn-based RPG mechanics when battling foes. Stages are navigated in the same way as a regular Mario adventure where you can punch-jump blocks and pounce on foes. The difference is that contact with foes triggers an RPG-style battle where you take turns with your enemies.

Unlike other entries in the Paper Mario series, however, Color Splash adds a new mechanic in the form of, well, color. The game begins with an ominous letter sent to Princess Peach from Prisma Island in the form of a paper Toad drained of all color. This causes Peach and Mario to journey to the once bustling urban center of Port Prisma, which, much to their surprise, has been reduced to a ghost town marked by missing splotches of color. Apparently, some mysterious color thief has been employing an army of Shy Guys with straws to suck out all the colors from Prism Island. Seriously, they’re literally sucking colors with a straw.

As Mario, you are now tasked with restoring Prisma and its famous rainbow fountain back in living color while finding out the identity of the dastardly mastermind behind the scenes. It couldn’t possibly be someone with a penchant for fighting mushroom-loving plumbers and kidnapping princesses, right?

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Visually, the game uses that familiar Paper Mario style featuring colorful 3D worlds — well, barring colorless sections here and there, of course — combined with paper thin renditions of Mario and the rest of the game’s cast. The paper theme carries over to the game’s structures, which are made of various types of paper. I especially like the attention to detail, including how cross sections of buildings actually show corrugated cardboard patterns. The game’s music also features a whimsical arrangement that includes remixes of familiar Mario themes as well as new pieces that do a great job in matching the stage and the mood of the game.

The game’s cute and adorable theme applies not just to its characters but the storytelling and dialogue as well. Whoever localized the game for Western audiences did an excellent job in maintaining the levity that the Paper Mario series is known for. It’s quite obvious that the localization team had a lot fun with the script, which is chock full of goofy moments from allies and foes alike. As I took my time perusing my options during my first battle, for example, the Shy Guys I faced soon started peppering me with commentary like “Is this your first battle?” and “Don't worry — everybody’s bad at first,” before self-servingly dissuading me from using Action Commands. Hey, you’d dissuade your foe from bringing a knife to a fist fight, too.

It’s the kind of cute humor that kids will absolutely love but also can be appreciated by older audiences who haven’t succumbed to adult cynicism and still have a heart. Granted, Nintendo typically gets criticized for having too many “kiddie games” but this is one case where I think the approach is quite appropriate. Honestly, when you get to a certain age, the term “kiddie games” cease to become a pejorative as you start judging games on how good the gameplay is and not whether it has a more mature theme or is more suitable for little children.

Mario Paints: Paper Mario Color Splash review | Technobubble (3)

Speaking of gameplay, the mechanics in Color Splash are quite solid overall, featuring a nice balance between combat and exploration. If you’re the obsessive-compulsive type who likes to clear things 100 percent, there will be a lot for you to compulsively obsess over, for sure. At the top of the list is making sure you find every colorless splotch in the game and ink them to get a 100 percent fill rate for every stage. In addition to soothing completionists’ souls, doing so also lets you unlock the soundtrack for that stage, allowing you to play them later on in Color Splash’s in-game museum. Filling spots is done with your hammer, which can store a certain amount of red, blue and yellow pigment. As you collect hammer drops from foes, the capacity can be extended. This allows you to carry more paint and color more spots orpeople,while allowing you to use more colorless cards in battle as well. Side activities also include unlocking and clearing all Roshambo Temples, which let you compete in rock-paper-scissors tournaments for cash and prizes.

Progressing through the story, meanwhile, requires use of the old noggin as the game takes an old-school approach that requires you to solve puzzles, find hidden paths and backtrack in order to keep going forward with the campaign. In some cases, you’ll need to use the Cut-Out feature to reveal hidden paths that let you reach spots you normally can’t access. There were quite a few times where I got stuck and had to figure out how to advance the story myself as the game does not use quest flags or markers that you can just follow. It provides hints, for sure, but don’t expect much hand holding.

To keep battling interesting, the game adds some interactive touches, many of which will be familiar to Paper Mario series veterans. Hitting an enemy with a well-timed jump or hammer strike in the field, for example, will give you the initial turn advantage in battle and start out your first foe with reduced health so it’s something you’ll want to always take advantage of as much as possible. Some enemies also like to ambush you from bushes or less visible spots to get the advantage so that’s something you’ll want to keep an eye out for as well. Depending on the enemy, you will want to change how you initiate an encounter. For spiky foes, a hammer strike is your best bet for sure as jumping will get you injured. For Koopa turtles, on the other hand, you usually want to jump on them as this will either turn a ground-based Koopa into a shell or take out the wings of a flying one. Turning them into a shell is especially useful as this allows you to send them hurtling toward the back line with a jump attack, potentially taking out the rest of its allies in the process.

You will also want to take advantage of timing-based Action Commands in order to inflict the highest damage possible or minimize the impact of enemy attacks. The timing changes depending on the attack but you’ll want to pull it off regardless as missing them not only lowers your damage but can even reduce it to near zero in some instances. When using jump attacks, for example, you’ll want to hit the “A” button just as you’re about to land to extend your attack. For the Fire Flower, you’ll want to hit “A” as the fireball forms in your hands, allowing you to throw up to five of them. The Hammer, meanwhile, requires you to hit the timing button when the burst indicator is at its largest, which you can usually pull off by tapping the button just shortly after the initial yellow spark shows up in the center. If you’re having a tough time, you can practice at the action dojo in the eastern side of Port Prisma.

Battle actions, meanwhile, are done through cards that you either buy or acquire during your adventure. These range from regular jumping and hammer attacks to versions that let you attack multiple times. Later on, you can use more than one card at a time, allowing you to mix and match based on who you're fighting and their numbers. Note that cards you deal in battle disappear even if they’re not used so you don’t want to just put out multiple cards willy-nilly.

Mario Paints: Paper Mario Color Splash review | Technobubble (4)

One new addition is the ability to paint cards. See, in addition to regular colored cards, you can also acquire colorless cards from the field, enemies or the card shop. One advantage with colorless cards is that they’re cheaper compared to colored counterparts when buying them from a store. They do significantly less damage in battle, however, so you’ll want to color them during combat with your hammer, if possible. You’ll definitely want to bring a mix of colorless and colored cards in battle so you can fight during any situation. Later on, you gain the ability to use coins to buy cards during battle just in case you run out.

Admittedly, having to rely on a stock of cards to be able to act in battle can be a bit frustrating at times. This is compounded by the user interface on your tablet, which requires you to swipe left or right to cycle through cards from your inventory, which can be cumbersome when you’re carrying a bunch of them. That’s because the UI does not stack similar cards under one icon but groups them next to each other instead, requiring multiple swipes. Sometimes, swiping also ends up registering as a hold, causing you to sort your card instead of cycling through your deck, which can be annoying during the heat of battle. The need to swipe up cards in order to place them as opposed to using a simple button press also feels like needles busy work. Sometimes, I feel like some of the touchscreen gestures were added simply for the sake of adding them, which hampers convenience at times. I wish the game just grouped cards more efficiently so I can tap on them without needing to swipe a bunch of times to get to the ones I need.

Mario Paints: Paper Mario Color Splash review | Technobubble (5)

The paint hammer, meanwhile, can be a pain to target with accurately, especially when filling in colorless spots. There were times I had to hit a colorless area multiple times when one hit would have been enough, simply because accurately aiming the hammer can be difficult. I also wish it was possible to rotate the camera either direction, even for just a bit, as it makes it easier to navigate and find hidden items or passages.

For a game that’s certainly designed for both kids and older players, some of the problem solving can be too tough for children. The extra challenge is certainly welcome for older players but I can see younger kids getting frustrated once they get stuck, though I guess there’s always YouTube or their parents if they need help. Lastly, I really wish that Nintendo brought back some more RPG elements like the ability to form a party of allies like you did in the original game. You can use cards to summon characters like Koopas and Shy Guys to fight alongside you, but they typically only last a turn. Using them actually made me miss fighting with a bigger party of diverse characters, especially given how Toads essentially make up the large majority of NPCs in this game.

Despite my complaints, I think the game is quite solid overall and provides an enjoyable experience for fans of the genre. The ability to play off-TV is always nice while the adventuring and battling is entertaining, especially when fighting bosses. If you’re a fan of the Paper Mario series or perhaps are wondering what the hybrid action-adventure RPG genre is all about, Paper Mario: Color Splash is a fun and colorful take that will entertain you.

FINAL THOUGHTS

“Paper Mario: Color Splash” is a stamped love letter to gamers who pine for some old-school action adventuring with a dash of classic RPG mechanics. The touchscreen controls for combat can be a tad cumbersome and aiming that hammer can make you go postal at times. A charming presentation, however, combined with delightful visuals, entertaining dialogue and tight combat make Color Splash an adorable adventure for folks both young and old.

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Mario Paints: Paper Mario Color Splash review | Technobubble (2025)

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