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?

You can read my initial essay here: https://docs.google.com/document/d/17...

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/f...

Color Splash Interview w/ Tanabe: https://www.gameinformer.com/b/featur...

Color Splash Graphics and Images From Super Mario Wiki (Extremely Helpful!):
https://www.mariowiki.com/Paper_Mario...

‪@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, ThousandYear Door, and Super Paper Mario Footage

‪@PKSparkxxDH‬ for the Shy Bandit Footage:
   • Paper Mario Color Splash  Gameplay P...  

Kyle1022 for the Shy Bandit Footage:
   • Paper Mario Color Splash Horrible Shy...  

‪@Linkums‬ for the Gamepad Combat Footage:
   • Paper Mario: Color Splash  GamePad M...  

‪@Twilitblack‬ for the XC2 Full Burst Gameplay Footage:
1:    • Xenoblade Chronicles 2  Full Burst C...  
2:    • Xenoblade Chronicles 2  8 Orb Full B...  

‪@BarelyAlec‬ for the Sticker Star Bosses Without Things Footage:
   • First 5 Bosses No Things or Infinijum...