Paper Mario: Color Splash, the next game in the spinoff RPG series featuring the world’s most famous plumber, hits Wii U on October 8, Nintendo has announced. Confirming the Fall release date with a new trailer (above), Color Splash looks like it’ll be utilizing a gameplay structure similar to that seen in Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the 3DS rather than the N64 original or The Thousand-Year Door for the GameCube.
Sticker Star, despite garnering a generally positive critical reception upon release in 2012, was criticized by fans for oversimplifying the RPG elements of the series that originally drew fans to it, removing entirely the partner system available in past entries and placing far less emphasis on RPG-themed battle systems in favor of a consumable-based combat mechanic.
[zergpaid]Nintendo will undoubtedly be aware of the qualms fans had with Sticker Star, but it had several good ideas and improvements over its predecessors. With any luck, Color Splash will successfully take the best elements from all past games and combine them into a perfect whole.
If nothing else though, the trailer certainly features a very pretty game that perfectly captures the simple, yet colorful papercraft aesthetic that makes them so memorable.
Expect to see more news on Paper Mario: Color Splash closer to release.