Moving into the autumn months, the days are getting shorter, darker and a heck of a lot wetter. Summer is but a distant memory, and you may be feeling a little down and out. But, with Paper Mario: Colour Splash, you can inject a little bit of fun into your life in the legendary plumber's latest adventure.
Paper Mario: Color Splash
In this one, you're tasked with investigating the mysterious disappearance of Prism Island's Big Paint Stars, restoring colour to the land with Mario's new paint hammer as you go. Puzzles and a variety of intriguing landscapes mean that it's not just as simple as running around, waving your hammer about, so players should be prepared for some of the toughest and most challenging battles and puzzles they've been involved in with Mario to-date.
The traditional Mario humour remains thick throughout the game, which is always a good thing. No platformer such as this one should be too serious, so it's nice to see the light tone continue.
A new battle system implements 'Thing Cards', which can be picked up in different courses, taken from enemy characters and even purchased from the shop in Port Prisma with collected coins. It's a new way to play and whilst I did at times yearn for the old-style of taking down the bad guys, this was a nice twist on how things have been done before.
It's also safe to say that the world made entirely of paper looks gorgeous. Interacting with the paper world is reminiscent of gameplay in PlayStation game Tearaway Unfolded; you can fold and cut through paper to ensure a smooth journey for the miniature hero.
It's honestly shocking just how the Super Mario team continue to deliver brilliant, fast-paced and fun adventures for fans of the franchise. Where competitors may have fallen short in delivering refreshing and invigorating slices of adventure, Mario always seems to come through and ensure players are smiling from ear to ear when they pick up the latest Mario title.
I cannot honestly say that this is the best entry into the Paper Mario series, as some of those that have come before Color Splash have definitely had stories that were a little more interesting, and gameplay that invites you to come back and revisit it over and over again, but I also cannot say that this game was a disappointment. Whilst the story isn't all that memorable, the gameplay is a ton of fun which would delight even the biggest Mario critics. Young or old, this is something everybody will want to get their hands on for a few levels gameplay.
With Color Splash, Paper Mario is moving in the right direction, and it will be nice to see the changes and new features within this game implemented into games of this type in the future. Now I'm off to go and play some more…
Paper Mario: Colour Splash is available now on the Nintendo Wii U.