To say the new Paper Mario games are controversial would be an understatement. Sticker Star was widely reviled, acting as one of the hallmarks of bad game design even ten years after its initial release. The Origami King, while certainly much less divisive, still has its fair share of detractors, people who reasonably wish Paper Mario would commit to its own, unique vision, rather than straddle the line between old and new. And then there's Color Splash, the awkward middle child, the Sticker Star sequel, the game discarded by many, played by few, and remembered by even fewer. It would be easy to write off Color Splash, a game that has ultimately made zero impact on the public conscience, but the question remains: does Color Splash deserve better?
For early releases of these videos and other bonus content, check out my Patreon: https://patreon.com/AurumAlex
You can read my initial essay here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14_pibqhclCbDH5EP1vE_w2sufclwjgRQkaXtD6RHpcw/edit?usp=sharing
Chapters:
00:00:00 - Prologue
00:05:02 - Chapter 1: A Story in Pieces
00:19:31 - Chapter 2: Painting the Town Red
00:27:12 - Chapter 3: Filling in the Blanks
00:53:53 - Chapter 4: Death by a Thousand Paper Cuts
01:15:19 - Epilogue
Credits:
Origami King Interview with Tanabe & Tabata: https://www.videogameschronicle.com/features/interviews/paper-mario-origami-king/
Color Splash Interview w/ Tanabe: https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2016/12/28/afterwords-paper-mario-color-splash.aspx
Color Splash Graphics and Images From Super Mario Wiki (Extremely Helpful!):
https://www.mariowiki.com/Paper_Mario:_Color_Splash
@packattack04082 for the Color Splash Footage
@mariopartylegacy for the Color Splash Footage
@ZackScottGames for the Color Splash, Sticker Star, & Dream Team Footage
@NintendoMovies for the Paper Mario, Thousand-Year Door, and Super Paper Mario Footage
@PKSparkxxDH for the Shy Bandit Footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dOIsmd-MKB4&t=39s
Kyle1022 for the Shy Bandit Footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vw2T5-s2TSY
@Linkums for the Gamepad Combat Footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VF6Fm_kqJl8
@Twilitblack for the XC2 Full Burst Gameplay Footage:
1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1TsPyajVyD4
2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWAjd6L6kis
@BarelyAlec for the Sticker Star Bosses Without Things Footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8eZ5LBg7H4&t=1753s