Paper Mario: The Origami King debuted in July of 2020 on the Nintendo Switch to both confusion and delight from critics. The first Paper Mario came out in 2000 and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door followed up only four years afterward. After that, however, the series would see a serious dip in quality.
The mixed reviews aren't set to stop; critics will never understand why Mario can't stick to his typical game, and fans of this style are happy to see him venture outside of his comfort zone. The gameplay, story, and world are all a welcome departure from the franchise's expectations, and gamers wouldn't have it any other way. This latest entry brought along with it the addition of collectibles, rewards for curious minds. But, even the most curious minds need a bit of guidance to help find the collectibles on this list!
10 Shangri Spa
Though the first to entries in the series featured fairly robust RPG mechanics, Paper Mario: The Origami King was definitely designed with a more casual audience in mind, and many of the in-game locations reflect that laid-back mindset.
Players that find out that a collectible exists in Shangri Spa might spend hours tearing the place apart. This is a heads up that this item does not appear until after all of the Toad Statues in the Great Sea have been activated.
9 ? Island
Nintendo's other game, Animal Crossing, has some pretty creatively drawn maps, but the developers decided to get even more devious when designing this tropical location. The first step is hard enough; the player has to find ? Island just above the compass rose.
The second snag is that players often find a collectible here and take off, never to return. ? Island harbors not one, but two of these goodies! The Sea Captain Toad on top has one, and then there's another one hidden underneath the entire island.
8 Toad Town
These might be the most infuriating collectibles, not just in this game, but in almost all of the gaming world, and that's coming from somebody who managed to find all of those pesky hidden items in Marvel's Avengers!
It's easy to find where these are, the trick is when they are. The one under the bridge won't appear until fighting the first paper macho boss, and the one in the backyard of the residential houses won't appear until the game has been completed.
7 Hotel Suite
Paper Mario: The Origami King is easy to play, but hard to master. Many players will blow through the story and miss all kinds of activities for the player to complete. One of those diversions is making like a tourist and grabbing a hotel room!
After rescuing Luigi from the fortune-telling booth on the west side of the hotel, he'll offer up the key to his hotel suite as a reward. Go ahead and make Mario at home; Luigi has a treasure chest that he's hiding away inside!
6 Shangri Spa Part Two
Though a far cry from Mario's traditional platforming outings, this Origami King secret will definitely require some smooth moves to access. because doing so means taking a serious risk by balancing between running into a fence and falling off of a floating landmass.
For a second time, players will rip through the inside of this spa looking for the item only to find that the chest is sitting right outside. Exit the spa, head right, tightly hug the fence, and there it is! This one isn't for the faint of heart.
5 Sudden Death Round
As Mario goes around looking for collectibles, treasure chests, and Easter eggs, there is a good chance that he'll have to tell many citizens of the kingdom that he is too busy searching to stay and play. But, there's one collectible that can only be earned by staying and playing.
The Shy Guys Game Show has a collectible as the grand prize, but Mario must win the sudden death round in order to win it. Here are the topics and the answers: Temple of Shrooms - Aflame, Eddy River Rapids - Sculler, and Gransappy Soul Seed - Burly.
4 Airship Hangar
This is another collectible that can't be collected until after the final confrontation has been conquered. One of the cruel tricks of the game is that it numbers the collectibles, but many of these will only appear after they are out of order.
Don't let Nintendo's lack of commitment to sequential numbers stop Mario from total completion! After taking care of business, head back to the airship hangar. The red Shy guy here might not be one of the best characters in the game, but at least he'll redeem himself by parting with his treasure.
3 Origami Castle's Hidden Boxes
Origami King's word sure has a ton of random junk stuffed in every ook and cranny, but scattered among those items are a few collectibles in the very last area of the game. Hint: when you see the word "hidden," know that this is used in the literal sense.
The first is in the room with koopas armed with boomerangs. On the bottom left platform, there are multiple hidden blocks and one contains a collectible. The next two are both invisible blocks in the room with the moving visible boxes. One is on the bottom of the staircase on the right, the other is at the top to the left.
2 Fish Finder
Add this tidbit to one of the many things that gamers don't know about the Paper Mario series. Mario can go fishing, and he isn't satisfied with catching minnows; he's after one of the infamous fish at the bottom of the ocean floor.
To get this trophy, Mario needs to catch either Cheep Cheep or Blooper. Head on over to Full Moon Island in the Great Sea and get fishing! The trick is that larger fish won't appear until smaller ones are caught. To catch a small one, then a medium one, and so on until the whoppers show up!
1 Shuriken Mini-Game
Guides and in-game tips on this are a bit misleading. To earn the trophy from the Shuriken Mini-Game in the Shogun Studios, Mario doesn't only need the highest score, he needs to score 100 points in Expert mode!
Here's some friendly advice: Buy the Royalty Pass from the vending machine to the right of the theme park entrance. This will make every attempt free, so Mario doesn't have to go broke trying for this. Unlike Normal mode, there's no incentive to score an exact number, so fire away at the biggest numbers on the screen!