Paper Mario: The Origami King is the latest game in the Paper Mario series, and a part of the Mario franchise’s rich history of quirky, light-hearted RPGs. You can expect turn-based battles, semi-open worlds to explore, and plenty of quirky (Toad) characters to meet on your adventure.
Paper Mario doesn’t have the RPG staple of “levelling up” in the traditional sense. You do still get more powerful through the game, but it’s not like a typical JRPG in how that happens. Let’s explore how it all works.
Paper Mario: The Origami King Level Up with MAX UP Hearts
Instead of levelling up through earning experience through battle, Paper Mario gets more powerful as his pool of health grows through the game. This can happen at key story points, like just after beating a boss character, or even just before you encounter one. You simply cannot miss this MAX UP Heart on the way to the Earth Vellumental.
They can also come from simply exploring the world and finding secret chests, ? blocks and hidden Toads who then reward you with a smaller heart upgrade. Here’s one you can earn in the lower level of the Water Vellumental Temple from rescuing one of the game’s many hidden Toads.
It’s at these points that Olivia will pop out and say something like “I think your HP just increased again, Mario… and you seem a bit stronger to boot!”
Congrats! You effectively just levelled up! In battle, all of your attacks will now do a point or two more damage, letting you off basic enemies more easily. You’ll even be able to take some more basic enemies like Goombas enemies out in the open world just by hitting them with your hammer.
Power up with Weapons and Accessories
As well as just bumping up your health and base power, you will need to boost Mario’s chance of survival in battle by equipping Accessories and Weapons.
Accessories can increase your Hearts in battle, give you more time to solve the puzzles, and more, while Weapons will amp up your attacks, and let you better deal with spiked and more powerful enemies.
Here’s the Best Accessories in Paper Mario, and the Best Weapons you can find in The Origami King.
