Paper Mario: The Origami King Trailer Unveils Partners, Locales, Lots of Toads

We finally know more about Paper Mario: The Origami King thanks to a brand-new meaty trailer Nintendo dropped earlier today. It’s all about environments and combat, and yes, partner characters make a comeback.

Professor Toad, Kamek the Magikoopa, and Bobby the bob-omb make appearances. And of course, there’s Mario’s constant companion, Olivia, sister to Olly the Origami King. It seems not all partners can actually help Mario out in combat, but we do get to see Bobby land some hits in a short scene.

This trailer also expands on the ring-based combat system briefly shown in the Origami King reveal trailer. Each turn has its own timer, during which you can line up the concentric rings that make up the battlefield and slide pieces around to put more enemies in range. How you’ll arrange them depends on what your attack is. Jumps go in a straight line, for example, but hammer blows fan out wider and don’t stretch back as far.

The trailer also shows items and attacks, like Shiny Jump and Shiny Hammer, alongside special moves based on classic Mario items such as the Tanooki Suit, Pow Block, Fire Flower power-up, and so on.

Combat takes place in a myriad of zany, gorgeous environments ranging from Toad Town to an autumn-themed mountain, a lush jungle, a “ninja-filled mansion,” and a whole lot more. Each area seems to be stuffed with things to uncover and explore, and that’s even without the mini-games like finding Toads hidden in everyday objects.

At the end of each area, you’ll run into a member of the Legion of Stationery, origami supplies come to life to do Olly’s evil bidding. There’s the devious colored pencil set, an evil tape dispenser, and a sentient pile of rubber bands, among other things. Combat changes during these encounters too, turning into puzzles where you must plot Mario’s course to the boss and figure out the best ways to deal the most damage.

We’re just over a month away from Paper Mario Origami King‘s release date on July 17. That probably means there’s more new information to come, so stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Paper Mario Origami King news as it develops.