Paper Mario: Color Splash

Paper Mario: Color Splash
The cover art of the game, featuring Mario in the center using his paint hammer and splashing red paint on the ground, and Huey, a paint bucket, to his right. Multiple characters can be seen in the background.
Developer(s)Intelligent Systems
Publisher(s)Nintendo
Director(s)
Producer(s)
Designer(s)
  • Yukio Morimoto
  • Shingo Igata[3]
Programmer(s)Junya Kadono[4]
Artist(s)Masahiko Nagaya[5]
Writer(s)Taro Kudo[1][6]
Composer(s)
  • Takeru Kanazaki
  • Fumihiro Isobe[7]
SeriesPaper Mario
Platform(s)Wii U
Release
  • NA/EU: October 7, 2016
  • AU: October 8, 2016
  • JP: October 13, 2016
Genre(s)Action-adventure, role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

Paper Mario: Color Splash[a] is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Wii U console. It is the fifth installment in the Paper Mario series, within the larger Mario franchise. The story follows Mario and his new ally Huey on a quest to save Prism Island and rescue Princess Peach from Bowser.

Color Splash contains elements of the action-adventure and role-playing (RPG) genres. Players control Mario as he traverses levels made to look like craft materials, reaching endpoints and retrieving each Big Paint Star through linear gameplay. Mario is equipped with a paint hammer, which is used to solve coloring-themed puzzles and collect awards in levels. In turn-based combat phases, Mario uses a selection of cards that endow him with attacks and other abilities.

Nintendo's vision for the Paper Mario series following Paper Mario: Sticker Star was to differentiate it from their other RPG Mario series, Mario & Luigi. The development team focused on puzzle-solving and comedic elements, and to make each game different from one another, emphasized an overarching gimmick. The paint theme was conceived by Atsushi Isano, the director for Intelligent Systems, and developed to take advantage of the Wii U GamePad. A card-based battle system was implemented to use the GamePad touchscreen to sort, paint, and flick cards. The artists focused on making the paper textures as realistic as possible.

Color Splash was announced via a Nintendo Direct in March 2016 and released worldwide in October 2016. Upon its announcement, it drew controversy for continuing an action-adventure and gimmick-oriented format introduced in Sticker Star. On release, however, it received praise for its graphics, soundtrack, and improved dialogue. Conversely, the combat system and its lack of RPG elements were criticized, much like its predecessor, although some critics cited improvements to its structure. The game was followed with Paper Mario: The Origami King for the Nintendo Switch in 2020.

  1. ^ a b Intelligent Systems (October 7, 2016). Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U). Nintendo. Directors/Concept: Naohiko Aoyama Directors/Writing: Taro Kudo
  2. ^ Intelligent Systems (October 7, 2016). Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U). Nintendo. Producer: Kensuke Tanabe
  3. ^ Intelligent Systems (October 7, 2016). Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U). Nintendo. Battle/System Design: Yukio Morimoto Level Design Lead: Shingo Igata
  4. ^ Intelligent Systems (October 7, 2016). Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U). Nintendo. Program Director: Junya Kadono
  5. ^ Intelligent Systems (October 7, 2016). Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U). Nintendo. Art Director: Masahiko Nagaya
  6. ^ Cite error: The named reference USGI was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  7. ^ Intelligent Systems (October 7, 2016). Paper Mario: Color Splash (Wii U). Nintendo. Composition: Takeru Kanazaki, Fumihiro Isobe
  8. ^ "Paper Mario Color Splash". Famitsu (in Japanese). Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved March 6, 2022.


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