Paper Mario: Color Splash asks players to look at a familiar world through fresh eyes. The Wii U remake recolors the original GameCube game, adding new hues and new paintbrush mechanics while keeping the core battle system largely whole. It is a strange mix, and it mostly works.
Trailer, via Nintendo of America.
The New Colors
The biggest change is visual. Every room, enemy and item in the game now carries a color palette that can be changed by Mario himself. Players hold down a button to fill in white spaces with paint, turning a dull stone floor into a bright red path or a grassy field into a blue pond. It sounds simple. In practice, it changes how each level looks from start to finish.
The effect is often striking. A dark cave becomes lit by green light, a town street turns into a neon pink avenue, and a boss arena shifts from gray to gold. The paint mechanic is not just cosmetic. It opens up shortcuts, reveals hidden items and changes the way enemies behave. A player who knows the right color can clear a room faster than one who does not.
“The paint mechanic is not just cosmetic.”
Battle System
The combat remains the heart of Paper Mario: Color Splash. Each battle still plays out as a turn-based encounter where Mario strikes enemies with a hammer, then watches as damage numbers fly across the screen. The addition of paint colors adds small wrinkles to old tricks. Certain enemies are weak to specific colors, and painting the ground before a strike can double the damage dealt.
The paint mechanic also extends to items. Some weapons and tools change their effects depending on the color applied to them. A bow and arrow gains extra power when shot over a painted path, while a hammer hit on a painted wall deals bonus damage. It is a clever layer on top of an already solid system.
Level Design
The game’s stages are built around discovery. Many rooms require the right color to open a door or reveal a secret path. Players will return to old areas after unlocking a new color to find paths they missed the first time. This design rewards curiosity, even if it means some backtracking.
The main complaint is that the puzzles sometimes feel arbitrary. A few color requirements ask players to remember a detail from earlier in the game, and the game does not always make the connection clear. Still, the overall structure holds together, and the sense of exploration stays strong throughout.
Presentation
Paper Mario: Color Splash runs at a steady frame rate on Wii U hardware. The new colors are smooth to apply, and the game rarely stutters during battles or while moving through levels. The soundtrack is a mix of new tracks and old favorites from the original game, and it fits the brighter tone of the remake.
The game is short by modern standards. A skilled player can finish the main story in under twenty hours, though collecting every item and color takes longer. That brevity is both a strength and a weakness. It keeps the game tight, but it leaves little room for extended side content.
Key Facts
- Title: Paper Mario: Color Splash
- Platform: Wii U
- Remake of: Original GameCube game
- Main feature: Paint mechanic
- Critical score: 7.5/10
Paper Mario: Color Splash succeeds because it respects the original while pushing it forward. The paint mechanic is a genuine innovation that feels natural rather than forced. The battle system remains intact, and the level design rewards careful play. It is not a perfect remake, and the presentation occasionally stumbles, but it is a confident step forward for the series.
The game’s biggest strength is also its biggest gamble. By asking players to constantly rethink the world around them, it creates a loop of discovery that few other remakes attempt. The color changes are not just a gimmick; they shape how players move through the game and solve its puzzles. That ambition shows in nearly every level, even when the execution stumbles.
For fans of the original, Paper Mario: Color Splash delivers a version of the game that feels both familiar and new. The paint mechanic is a bold addition, and the core systems underneath remain strong enough to support it. The game does not reinvent the wheel, but it does color it with a new palette, and that is a worthwhile trick.
The score stands at 7.5 out of 10.
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