Filled with joy, sorrow, and sometimes down-right silliness, Paper Mario: The Origami King is a remarkable RPG that tugs at your heartstrings. Set in a world of origami dominance, The Origami King brings Paper Mario fans everywhere a new adventure. When Mario arrives in Toad Town at the beginning of the game, the Toad Kingdom has been taken over by the evil origami king, Olly. Essentially, Olly believes that all the flat paper in the kingdom (Mario, the toads, Peach) must be folded into origami.

After Olly promptly steals a folded Peach and her entire castle, Mario sets out on a journey to destroy the 5 streamers caging Peach’s castle. By the end of the game, Mario has battled several paper soldiers and bosses (including the particularly nasty Dual-Bladed Duelist) and faces off in an epic, inter-dimensional battle against Olly. But the story doesn’t end there--there are two potential endings after the final battle between Mario and Olly. Follow our guide for the normal ending and secret ending!

2. Normal Ending

The normal ending for The Origami King is very straightforward. But, the final battle with Olly can be pretty nasty. Like many of the previous Paper Mario installments (I’m looking at you, Shadow Queen), the battle with the final boss has several phases and many infuriating, magical resurrections. There are three phases in the battle with Olly. First, there is a typical boss battle against Olly, in which Olly rotates between vellumental forms like Olivia; during this phase, always pick the vellumental element opposite to the one Olly picks. After that, there is a strange battle between giant origami Bowser and giant Origami Olly in which Mario supports Bowser using the thousand folded arms. The two physically fight, with Mario supporting Bowser from behind. Lastly, there is a puzzle section in which Mario must try to complete a puzzle to gain abilities again. The puzzle is composed of the four vellumentual sigils with the Thousand Folded arms platform in the middle.

After Mario completes the puzzle, he can dodge Olly’s attack and use the 1,000 folded arms. After Mario has used the 1,000 folded arms technique, Olivia uses a new technique the Toad Craftsman gave--she turns into a hammer to defeat Olly. 

After Mario defeats Olly, Olivia talks to Olly for a bit. Olly asks Olivia to read the writing the craftsman wrote on his body. It writes: "Dearest Olly, may you grow into a fair and kind king." Olly laughs at it, and remarks on what a terrible king he has been. Then, he asks Olivia to fold him into a crane to complete the 1,000 crane technique. After folding his body into the last crane, Olivia is granted one wish. Sacrificing herself, she wishes for all the Origami created by her brother to be undone. As if the loss of our favorite swaggering Bob-omb wasn’t enough! Fulfilling the wish, all of the cranes and origami fly into the sky and unravel into their normal paper forms, including Peach and the Mario Bros Gang. 

The scene then cuts to the Mario Bros gang hanging outside Peach’s castle in the daytime. They briefly reflect on what has happened, and wonder about Olivia. Peach remarks that Olivia is brave, reminiscent of her own actions in The Thousand Year Door. That night, the origami festival resumes and the craftsman brings out the castle that Olly and Olivia were supposed to live in. The characters all set lanterns into the sky to celebrate the origami characters--particularly selfless Olivia. The game ends with fireworks over Peach’s Castle, with the lanterns lighting up the sky. 

Ending Review 

• Defeat Olly
• After defeating Olly, Olivia speaks with him
• He asks her to turn him into a crane, completing the 1000 crane technique 
• Olivia gets one wish from the 1,000 crane technique
• Asks for all of Olly’s origami to be undone--including herself
• Mario and friends set lanterns off into the sky with thoughts of the origami characters

How to get the Normal Ending 

• Clear all streamers 
• Go through Olly’s castle
• Clear Vellumental section of battle with Olly 
• Clear the Bowser battle section
• Clear the final puzzle, and defeat Olly with Olivia’s new technique 

1. Secret Ending (100%)

The secret ending is exactly like a normal ending, with a little post-credits twist. For the secret ending, you need to put in a lot of work from the very beginning of the game! Basically, you need to get 100% in every single area, from the Whispering Woods to Olly’s Castle; that’s right, every Non-bottomless hole, Toad, Hidden Block and collectible treasure needs to be accounted for. With some areas, clearing 100% is fairly easy--but keep in mind that areas like the Eddy River and The Great Sea can prove pretty challenging. 

The secret ending is identical to the regular ending before the credits roll. The characters wonder about Olivia, and watch the lanterns float towards the sky. After the credits, although, we see everyone’s favorite Paper Mario partner again! When the credits end, the Toad Craftsman appears with the miniature origami castle. He places something upon the throne, and surprise! Olivia and Olly are sitting atop their Paper Castle, presumably for all eternity. After that, a message states: “Whoa, that’s 100%!” If you have a heart and basic empathy, you’ll agree that Olivia deserves the best. Work a little harder through gameplay to make sure that Olivia has a happy ending. Plus, who can deny the satisfaction of 100%? 

Ending Review 

• Same as normal ending until post-credits
• Post-credits scene opens up on the origami castle 
• The Toad Craftsman places Olivia and Olly upon the Origami Castle Throne
• A message flashes: “Whoa that’s 100%”

How to get this ending 

• Find 100% of toads throughout game
• Fill 100% of non-bottomless holes throughout game
• Find 100% of collectible treasures 
• Hit 100% of ? blocks
• Defeat Olly

Normal Vs. Secret Ending: 

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