Surviving on pure wit and wry dialog, Paper Mario’s ample color – figurative and literal – abates some obvious concerns. For Nintendo, it’s arguably time to reevaluate this series. Pacing stutters to crawl, infected by typically useless (albeit playful) turn-based combat. It’s length padding at its worst.

Always willing to branch off into their own commercialized ideas, miles from comfortable normalcy, Paper Mario’s life as a non-combative puzzle/adventure is overdue. And, if Nintendo’s current obsession with paint (Color Splash to Splatoon) is an indicator, maybe NX is destined to be a paint can with an HDMI port. Forgot VR – Paper Mario NX will literally spill paint into your living room.

3/5