With this year marking Mario's 35th anniversary, news broke that Nintendo was looking to celebrate the iconic plumber mascot by re-releasing a number of his most popular games. Alongside this, it seems fans will also be getting a new entry in the coveted Paper Mario series, with the last game in the franchise hitting consoles back in 2016. Naturally, fans were slightly dubious, with a number of the series' previous entries meeting heavy criticism for moving away from the beloved formula that made the earlier games so special.
However, it seems eager Paper Mario players shouldn't worry about the game's direction, with a source allegedly informing Venture Beat that the title will look to return to the series roots. According to Venture Beat, the game will supposedly be taking a lot of influence from the Nintendo 64 and GameCube takes on the series, which most fans unanimously agree were the strongest entries in the Paper Mario lineup.
For those who are unaware of the franchise's long and divisive history, the original releases of Paper Mario on the N64 and the highly-regarded Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door on the GameCube were both seen as two of the best releases in the history of the Mario franchise. Both stood as incredibly accessible and infinitely entertaining RPGs, with the character taking on a paper version of Mario as they navigate the Mushroom Kingdom while amassing skills, party members, and items to help save Princess Peach.
However, the franchise eventually changed drastically in the years following Thousand-Year Door's release, with many complaining that the series lost its magic when it began to slowly move further and further away from its traditionally RPG roots. Both Paper Mario: Sticker Star and Color Splash, in particular, became widely renown as the games that lost what made the series so special, with many begging Nintendo to return to the style, tone, and moment-to-moment gameplay of the original Paper Mario and The Thousand-Year Door.
Although it's worth taking the potential leak with a pinch of salt, there's definitely precedent to imagine that Nintendo will want to return to the formula established in the N64 and GameCube versions of the Paper Mario franchise. The major publisher has begun to listen a lot more to what players want from its constantly recurring franchises - with titles like The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate both listening to a lot of fans wishes and criticisms - so it seems somewhat likely that they'll take on board the consensus surrounding Paper Mario and deliver a more traditional entry in the franchise.
A new Paper Mario is rumored to be in development, exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.
Source: Venture Beat