Paper Mario Color Splash DOESN'T STINK?

[Danominator]

So after hearing about Sticker Star 2 (and by that I mean Color Splash), I can honestly say that I was majorly disappointed. Why reinvent the wheel in nobody liked the last wheel, right? I joined the oncoming wave of haters to avoid drowning myself, since showing positivity towards the game was about as hard as keeping my head above water to give the game a chance. I freaked out about the characters all being Toads, made a racket about the battle system, and crossed my arms as the game's release date loomed over the Paper Mario franchise, forever clouding the last speck of hope that Paper Mario's Wii U installment would save my favorite Mario genre.

THEN IT CAME OUT.

The graphics check out.
The music is excellent.
There is actual experience and "leveling-up".
The dialogue is hilarious.
The mechanics are creative.
Even the battle system has been slightly fixed.

WHAT???

So as it seems to turn out, Nintendo recognized our prayers and criticism about Sticker Star and changed a lot of things for the newest installment of the Paper Mario series, and while it is still imperfect, I'm actually happy to say the it is a decent game! I guess I'm creating this thread to open the discussion about the game, so feel free to go to town!...and paint it red and every other color.

 

[Wariomovie]

I think color splash is a great game. You are right about all of the things you have stated above. All of these are true. However, you forgot to mention that a few staples of the Paper Mario franchise are missing from Color Splash. For one, the overworld is completely missing. This bugs me a bit, as I am a huge fan of the original Paper Mario for the N64, and much of that game's experience was tied up in a wonderful, sprawling, lively overworld. The only other thing missing (in my opinion) is that the Paper Mario games have always had an excellent story (minus Sticker Star), and a deep, moving story at that. Color Splash simply lacks the same story depth that I've come to expect from a Paper Mario game. Other than these two issues, I believe that Color Splash is an excellent addition to the series, as well as likely the last major WiiU release.

 

[Danominator]

Agreed. The game is treated sort of like a missed opportunity to bring back everyone's dearest Paper Mario 64, but Nintendo kind of likes to do their own thing, and that isn't always a bad idea. Color Splash took an 3DS experiment and added some much-needed heart back into the series, and while rough around the edges, it's much more polished and enjoyable than its portable predecessor.