The Paper Mario series is certainly a weird one in Nintendo’s staple. Gauging by fan reaction, this series is basically just a complete disaster; one game is absolutely loved by every faction of gamers, one is divided almost down the middle, and one is universally hated by just about everyone that has ever heard of it. In between those, there are some solid mehs.

It’s a franchise that cannot for the life of it figure out how to escape the 10-year identity crisis it has spiraled into. From the good to the Sticker Star, there is a lot to parse through with this series that even Nintendo itself seemed stumped by. Thus, it is only natural that we have a definitive ranking of each and every Paper Mario title that the big N has ever bestowed upon us.

Updated July 19th, 2020 by Meg Pelliccio: The Paper Mario series just got a new addition to its roster with the highly anticipated release of Paper Mario: The Origami King. Considering its predecessors are a mixed bag when it comes to quality and reviews, many fans are hoping that The Origami King will be a much-needed return to form.

The question is, where does this new title fall in terms of the rest of the Paper Mario franchise? Is it good enough to eclipse the original title, or brilliant enough to surpass the fan-favorite The Thousand-Year Door? Read on to see where it lands.

6 Paper Mario: Sticker Star

What’s there to say that is good about Paper Mario: Sticker Star? Well, that’s easy. It is a good game to sell to someone so you don’t have to own it anymore. Paper Mario: Sticker Star was not a good game in any regard. Boring environments, a lack of any RPG elements, the issue of no original characters, and an awful companion in the form of Kersti are just some of the problems that plague this game.

When you strip away the entire identity of a franchise, there isn’t much left to work with. Even the namesake of this game, the stickers, make the battle system frustrating, needlessly complex, and well, just not fun. Couple this with the fact that you get nothing from battling, and it makes the battles—one of the main draws of this title—something you aim to avoid. Paper Mario: Sticker Star is far and away the worst Paper Mario game of the bunch.

5 Paper Mario: Color Splash

Paper Mario: Color Splash is a better game than Sticker Star, and that is essentially all it has going for it. While the writing is just as good as it usually is, the game is all in all, not an RPG. Once again, almost nothing is gained from battling except more paint, so why do it?

The only characters the title uses are Toads, stripping away the original characters the series was once known for, just as Sticker Star did. The battle system still relies on a card mechanic that does nothing but take away from the overall enjoyability, and the linear areas are the same old Mario environments that we’ve come to expect.

Paper Mario: Color Splash has one main problem that also plagues Sticker Star. The fun elements of the Paper Mario games were stripped away, meaning there’s just nothing to do in the title that is worth your time in any way.

4 Super Paper Mario

Super Paper Mario was the first game in the series that really strayed away from its origins, yet found a way to be a not completely horrible game. Wow, isn’t it crazy that can happen?

In Super Paper Mario, RPG elements were somewhat scaled back, with more platforming being introduced in its place. Along with that, battles weren’t turn-based but happened in a more action-heavy manner. As with its predecessors, the game features infectious music, fantastic writing, and interesting locations and characters to explore and interact with.

With four main playable characters in the form of Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser (and their companion pixels), there are many ways to experience this game. Super Paper Mario tried new things, all while managing to keep the series’ core identity intact. There was more than just Toads and the same old Mushroom Kingdom to experience, which is what manages to keep Super Paper Mario feeling like a true Paper Mario game.

3 Paper Mario: The Origami King

First and foremost, the fan-favorite feature of partners has finally returned, and not the “Pixls” cop-out that Super Paper Mario gave fans either.

Battles have been overhauled and while they are still turn-based, they are now ring-based with a 360-degree radius to work with. Players have to try and line up enemies by shifting the concentric rings to try and attack as many enemies in one go. While this adds a puzzle element to battles, the actual gameplay is far too easy and gets very repetitive.

The charming origami graphics are absolutely delightful and with these new folded creations comes new powers and skills. For example, Mario’s 1000-Fold Arms ability allows him to stretch out his arms in the overworld and peel back scenery to uncover the way forward.

Fans are loving the open-world expansiveness of the game, as well as the hilarious humor and personality that shines through the gameplay. One great positive of this title is that it features a decent storyline that’ll keep players hooked until the end.

2 Paper Mario

The original Paper Mario is a great game that introduced the franchise and its lovable qualities to the world. New and interesting locales in the Mario universe, fun, diverse characters to talk to, fantastic writing, an easy to understand yet deep battle system, a fun array of partners, this game had it all.

The N64 title was originally thought up as a sequel to Super Mario RPG, with the paper art style coming later into development. However, this art style allowed for the game to feel absolutely timeless to this day. While there is certainly a lot to love about this title and everything it gave us, there is one main problem with the game: it is overshadowed in every single way by the next—and number one entry—on this list…

1 Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door

Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is without a doubt the best of the best of the Paper Mario franchise. It took everything the original did and made it better. The intricate story is a blast to play through, and while not necessarily the best video game story out there, is always written in a fantastic manner that is absolutely full of laughs.

The partners met along the way all have their own unique powers and backstories that make them both useful and fun to learn about. Other NPCs that you meet along the way are just as witty and add to the feeling of the game being set in a living, breathing world.

The environments you traverse and the events that occur in them are the best in series history. From becoming a world-class wrestler to entering a murder-mystery style train adventure, the linear grass, desert, ice, and jungle standards of other Mario games are thrown out the window.

The graphics of the game are stunning to this day, and the soundtrack is full of songs that are sure to stick with you, and are some of the best in Mario history. The battle system is quick, fun, and easy to understand, while still maintaining systems that can be tough to master. Overall, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is unforgettable, and has just the right ingredients to make it a great RPG and a great Mario game.

NEXT: The 10 Most Awesome Super Mario Odyssey Kingdoms, Ranked