Paper Mario: Color Splash Reviews

Paper Mario: Color Splash is ranked in the 63rd percentile of games scored on OpenCritic.
8 / 10.0
Oct 4, 2016

Paper Mario: Color Splash überzeugt mit einer amüsanten Geschichte und interessanten Aufgaben, spart aber leider etwas an den RPG-Elementen und übertreibt es ein wenig mit dem Einsatz von dem alt bekannten Pilzkopf der Mario Reihe. In Sachen Gameplay fordert der Titel einen leider auch meistens recht wenig, aber dank den gelungenen Animationen und den vielfältigen Kampf-Karten, macht der Titel trotzdem ordentlich Spaß.

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9 / 10
Oct 4, 2016

Paper Mario: Color Splash isn't the Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door successor that many still resolutely hold out for, but that day may never come. But, the adventure that unfolds is a remarkable one, and joyously memorable for all the right reasons.

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8.5 / 10.0
Oct 4, 2016

It improves on the shortcomings in Super Paper Mario and Paper Mario: Sticker Star and while very different to The Thousand-Year Door it exudes the same quality fans have been expecting form the franchise. A must have title on the Wii U towards the end of its lifespan.

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GameXplain
Top Critic
Liked-a-lot
Oct 5, 2016
Paper Mario: Color Splash - REVIEW (Wii U) video thumbnail
Nintendo News
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Oct 5, 2016

With the battle system aside, Paper Mario: Colour Splash is filled with vibrant colour, characters and fantastic in-game level design. It may not be on par with The Thousand Year Door, but it’s still an enjoyable journey and, nonetheless, is a must-play for fans of the series. Besides, it’s never paper thin on content.

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Oct 5, 2016

Once again Nintendo has delivered an overall enjoyable game that doesn't seem to deliver what fans may have initially expected. Putting aside expectations though, Paper Mario: Color Splash is a decidedly solid adventure-platformer, with some great storytelling and humor layered on top. The papercraft visuals are gorgeous, and the soundtrack will have you humming along in just a few minutes. The card-based battle system is a real downer though and the loss of deeper gameplay elements is still hard felt, dragging the whole experience down quite a bit.

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Unscored
Oct 5, 2016

Paper Mario: Color Splash has vibrancy but little depth

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9 / 10.0
Oct 5, 2016

Paper Mario: Color Splash is an engrossing journey and a funny and colorful game. It plays a lot like Sticker Star, but does everything better.

Review in Italian | Read full review

8.2 / 10.0
Oct 5, 2016

Paper Mario Color Splash is a delightful visual experience that keeps alive the series RPG style and offers new features thanks to the Wii U pad possibilities beside a great length.

Review in Spanish | Read full review

9 / 10.0
Oct 5, 2016

There’s a lot of content and fun to experience here, and Wii U owners owe it to themselves to give this game a chance. It’s not a direct sequel to Thousand Year Door, but it doesn’t need to be. Color Splash is a fantastic game in its own right, and deserves to be played by everyone.

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Dave Aubrey
Top Critic
7.8 / 10.0
Oct 5, 2016

Paper Mario: Color Splash is the Wii U game you shouldn’t write off. Though it has issues, its fun, funny and looks excellent. If you’re looking for a lighthearted, casual RPG-style experience then look no further, this is the best Paper Mario game in years.

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Oct 5, 2016

It won’t do much for those crying out for a proper Mario adventure on Wii U, but Paper Mario: Color Splash is a lively cocktail of Mario, RPG and papercraft puzzle-solving with funny dialogue and a surreal, self-aware sense of humour. It won’t be for everyone, but it’s a great game for those who get its lovable oddball vibe.

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8 / 10
Oct 5, 2016

Paper Mario: Color Splash isn't just painting by the numbers. The series still straddles that awkward middle ground between pure RPG and adventure title, but this most recent entry has successfully found a comfortable niche that has silenced many of our prior gripes. Almost everything has been polished to a papery sheen - showcasing some of the series' best writing and presentation to date. Both the battle system and the overall plot are still some of the weaker aspects of the experience unfortunately, though they're moving slowly in the right direction.Simply put, even when we were left unsatisfied by enemy encounters, Prism Island was always a joy to explore, with diverse environments and an endless amount of catchy tunes to keep you engaged from start to finish. It's a game of memorable moments that we would love to share but wouldn't dream of spoiling on you. Take Color Splash for what it is, and you might just find it to be a messy work of art.

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Emma Schaefer
Top Critic
8 / 10.0
Oct 5, 2016

Color Splash presents a beautifully crafted paper and cardboard world, populated by witty paper Toads and existential minions. Though it’s got its share of backtracking and battle system quirks, the new painting mechanics are satisfying, and the mini-story arcs are almost creative and clever enough to make you forget that your princess is (yet again) in another castle.

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7 / 10
Oct 5, 2016

Paper Mario: Color Splash is a wonderfully realised game with plenty of humour to keep you smiling throughout. However, it’s hampered by some annoying design decisions and carries the legacy of Sticker Star – both good and bad – which many series’ fans may find problematic.

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8.5 / 10.0
Oct 5, 2016

Minor crinkles can’t stop Paper Mario from being a frankly excellent experience and one that you, yes you, should play.

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Unscored
Oct 5, 2016

Color Splash is so damned imaginative and beautiful, though, so colorful and confidently funny. Even when it annoyed me, it was only fleetingly. It makes the abstract world of Mario so personable. Its gentle, playful weirdness and irreverence contrast so positively with the prevailing seriousness of fall’s big games

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8.4 / 10.0
Oct 5, 2016

It’s no Thousand-Year Door, but Color Splash really does provide an overarching sense of consonance which was conspicuously absent from Sticker Star and even Super Paper Mario. It’s a good balance of humor, environment, variety, and casual puzzle elements. And it seems likely that, provided they can sit back and relax and reset their expectations for the franchise, the fanbase will really enjoy what it brings to the table.

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4 / 5.0
Oct 5, 2016

Paper Mario: Color Splash has a lot going for it. Most of the time, it's the kind of game that simply brings a smile to your face as you enjoy the fresh world and amusing dialogue. If it weren't for the tedious side effects of the card system and the disappointingly unoriginal cast, it could be a genuine Game of the Year award contender. As it is, it's still thoroughly worthwhile for its enchanting paper world (and the attendant tunes) alone.

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IGN
Terri Schwartz
Top Critic
7.3 / 10.0
Oct 5, 2016

Paper Mario: Color Splash is a step in the right direction for the series after the 3DS’s Paper Mario: Sticker Star, continuing its shift from RPG to action-adventure game while also introducing some smart changes to its battle system. The beautiful Wii U graphics and playful humor stay true to the spirit of the Paper Mario franchise, but the story is straightforward and a bit bland. Inventive level design in the second act offers some much needed diversity to some of Color Splash's otherwise linear gameplay before the disappointing third act regresses into simple and uninteresting battles. Though Color Splash still isn't back to the high points of the first three games in the Paper Mario series, it's a strong step in the right direction.

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