At this pace it will be tied with Super or surpass it for me, already top 3 for me alongside 64.

Turning point for me was the Bob-omb's arc, writing wise is so well executed. On top of the whole game feeling like a big adventure again, the world feels organic af and it has some of the best set pieces ever. The combat system is also quite fun, the spin puzzles are pretty engaging.

And dat killer soundtrack, been counting like over 100 tracks now and they all manage to sound diverse and memorable, while having a lot that just play for very specific moments.

So yea, very impressed with Origami King so far.

Finished the game last night, is tied with Super for me, really only because I think Super still has one of best stories ever. Origami trumps the rest in level design, structure and more so than anything the music and presentation of every moment, over 200 tracks without any theme falling short of amazing, the definitive Mario score and of the best soundtracks ever.

The writing is always smart in its comedy but also knows how to present incredibly emotional and meaningful moments without dwelling too much on them.

Bob-omb, Olivia, Bowser, Kamek, they all had such great characterization and development, even the partners that didn't get as much and the bosses were full of personality.

The combat and puzzles are great too and everything gets contextualized in the most satisfying and epic ways by the end.

And it ends on one of the best climaxes to any Mario game, went full Kirby in that finale.

I'm taking it slow like a fine wine, I never try to rush Paper Mario games. They are my favorite series of any game, and they only come every 3-5 years so I have to take it slow. I've only taken down the red ribbon (army?) and my initial thoughts are that:

I like the circle combat for normal fights, but I hate boss fights lol. I do think, so far, this is the funniest and creepiest one yet which is great.

I've watched a full playthrough of the game, and while I like the goofy tone of the game and especially Olivia's innocence, which makes a lot of moments funnier, I think I stick with the bombastic and equally wacky situations in The Thousand Year Door. That game has a lot of stuff going on for it, from the typical Mario location in Petal Meadows, to the wrestling, robbery of identity and train vogage scenarios. Origami King on the other hand is more conservative and sides with the typical Mario themes, with the addition of... Office tools as bosses. Which is funny, I admit, but doesn't compare to the crazy shit that Nintendo and IS did until Super Paper Mario.