The long-awaited sixth installment in the Paper Mario franchise, secret ending that can only be unlocked when the game is 100% completed. Both endings beautifully wrap up a wonderful tale and provide a little bit of additional story for the game’s main characters.
[Warning: Origami King spoilers ahead]
Paper Mario: The Origami King follows the titular brothers, Mario and Luigi, as they go to visit Princess Peach during the Origami Festival in Toad Town. Unsurprisingly, Princess Peach is soon captured, but not by the common culprit Bowser. Instead, she is kidnapped by King Olly, the game’s central villain. Olly, otherwise known as the “Origami King”, was created to fit into the festival’s origami castle, but through the use of a forbidden technique, was granted sentient life. King Olly has the ability to transform characters into his paper minions, including Bowser and other iconic Mario characters. Throughout the game, players will need to save Mario’s friends before ultimately confronting the final boss, King Olly.
Upon saving King Olly’s sister, Olivia, players will be able to confront King Olly face to face. Defeating him unlocks the true cause of the Origami King’s twisted actions. As Olly lays defeated, Olivia uses a special hammer attack to awaken him from a “Dark Dream” which had driven him to rule tyrannically over Toad Town. Doing so reveals that Olly wasn’t meant to be a villain. In fact, a mysterious note written by the Toad known as the Origami Craftsman speaks to how he had wished for Olly to be the best King he could be. This sentimental note has Olly regretting what he did and his final decree is to be folded into the thousandths origami crane in his chamber. Doing so will allow Olivia and the group to have one of their wishes fulfilled. With the help of the Origami Craftsman, Olivia folds Olly and wishes to undo all the terrible deeds the Origami King had done. Everyone who was folded is restored to normal, but since Olivia herself gained sentience through Olly’s power, she too is unfolded.
What Paper Mario: The Origami King's Endings Mean For The Story
The last scene has the whole Mario crew attending the festival around Princess Peach’s castle. During the festivities, the Origami Craftsman pulls Mario and Peach aside to reveal a project he had been working on: an origami replica of Olly and Olivia's castle. The three think back to Olivia’s brave sacrifice. The town ends up lighting paper lanterns and setting them adrift into the night as a tribute before the festival is officially over. The end credits show Mario and Luigi driving home from the festival, pausing only to watch the sunrise before the game is officially over.
If players are able to complete the game in its entirety, they will unlock a special after credits scene. Rather than simply fading to black once the credits end, a Toad will run across the screen and stop before the castle the Origami Craftsman had created. He is seen fidgeting around with something before turning to the camera and smiling, soon bounding off screen. In the previously empty thrones now sit two origami replicas of Olly and Olivia. The two can now sit happily atop the castle they made together, just as it was always meant to be.
No matter which ending the player gets, both beautifully summarize and complete the Paper Mario: The Origami King’s story. The main ending is a warm, heartfelt tribute to the game’s misunderstood characters and the secret ending gives Olly and Olivia the place to finally be happy. The endings both provide an additional layer of context so perhaps it’s worth going back and replaying the game with this newfound perspective on the Origami King.