The Paper Mario: The Origami King trailer surprised us this week when it premiered without an accompanying Nintendo Direct livestream. The 2-minute trailer is jam-packed with exciting details about the upcoming game. Here are 5 hidden details you may have missed from the Paper: Mario: The Origami King trailer.
5 That’s Not Actually Peach!
The trailer begins with an origami Peach emerging from the shadows within Peach’s Castle and addressing Mario with the most haunting question ever posed in a Nintendo game. “Will you crease yourself and be reborn, like me?” Origami Peach is under the influence of the titular Origami King, otherwise known as King Olly, ruler of the Origami Kingdom. Olly wants to turn everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom into origami soldiers, including Mario. It seems Olly has already transformed Peach, but what if that isn’t actually Peach?
A little later in the trailer we see get our first look at Olly the Origami King. A yellow origami Shy Guy transforms himself into Olly, revealing that the Origami King has the ability to fold and transform himself into other characters. Could this Origami Peach actually be Olly in disguise? Either that, or Peach’s mind and body have been folded into a monstrous form like something out of Bloodborne.
4 There’s An Origami Princess Too
Through the trailer, Mario is almost always accompanied by another Origami character. This character bears a striking resemblance to Olly, yet seems to be helping Mario on his quest to save the Mushroom Kingdom. Thanks to the official plot synopsis on Nintendo’s website, we know that this character is Olivia, Olly’s brother.
Olivia appears to be Mario’s first companion in the game and likely one of the most important, as she knows Olly better than anyone and has a connection to the Origami Kingdom. Later in the trailer, we see Mario use a new ability called the 1,000 Fold Arms, a pair of extended origami arms that give Mario the power to transform the world. We can only assume Olivia is responsible for this new ability. She will be with Mario through most if not all of the adventure.
3 There Are A Ton Of Companion Characters
The trailer reveals at least 5 different companion characters, if not more! They’re easier to spot considering we know Mario’s enemies will be origami soldiers this time around, so any regular Mushroom Kingdom residents we see are likely allies. Olivia will, of course, be Mario’s first companion, but here are the other potential companions we spotted in the trailer.
Folded Bowser is in quite a few scenes throughout the trailer, and it’s clear he will be on Mario’s team. Olly apparently began the process of folding Bowser but, for whatever reason, stopped short and left him creased but not origami’d. Folded Bowser is seen in some sort of dungeon while a shadow of a Koopa being carried off to be folded can be seen against the wall.
The next companion we see is a Bob-omb, which Mario and Olivia meet on a train. The bob-omb appears a few times throughout the trailer in different locations, so it’s likely he is a companion too.
Later we see Bowser Jr. and A Magikoopa in a hot tub with Mario and Olivia. Thanks to some promotional screenshots on Nintendo’s website, we see these characters with Mario in other scenes, so it seems they will both be companions as well.
There’s a toad that can be scene with Mario a couple times as well, most notably in this Egyptian-style level where a ghost-like toad shadow can be seen against the wall.
Finally, a regular old Koopa can be seen in this quick cutscene where Mario fishes up a giant Cheep Cheep.
2 Luigi Makes A Cameo
Luigi doesn’t technically appear in the trailer, but eagle-eyed viewers may catch this nod to Green Mario towards the end of the video.
If you look closely at the roof of the building in the foreground of this Snifit town, just to the right of the neon sign is a magic genie lamp with Luigi’s famous green L on it. We don’t know what this means yet, but if Luigi has somehow become a genie in The Origami King, we can’t wait to see it.
Thanks to some promotional screenshots released by Nintendo, we know Luigi makes an appearance at the beginning of the game in his fancy kart.
1 There’s A Brand New Combat System
While they’re trailer shows off a lot of beautiful locations and interesting gameplay, there’s only the slightest glimpse of combat. What we know from the short clip and from Nintendo’s website is that The Origami King will have a brand new “Ring-Based Combat System” which will allow Mario to reposition his opponents in an attempt to line them up for maximum damage. It’s an interesting twist from previous Paper Mario games, but hopefully, it will add a level of strategy that makes the game more fun.
