Paper Mario: Prophecy of the Arts

Paper Mario: Prophecy of the Arts (ペーパーマリオ：芸術の予言 Pēpāmario: Geijutsu no Yogen) is the seventh installment of the Paper Mario series, developed by Intelligent Systems and Seashiba Studios, and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch. 
==Plot==
=== Prologue: Arising Dark ===
Parakarry delivers a letter into Mario and Luigi's mailbox. Luigi heads outside, opens the mailbox and comes back inside with the letter in his hand. The camera then zooms into the door, then cuts to the house's interior with Mario sitting at the table with a plate of spaghetti and cup of coffee. Luigi walks into the scene and gives the letter to Mario for him to read.
Dear Mario,
Today marks the 40th anniversary of the Mushroom Kingdom and to celebrate, I am hosting a festival here at Toad Town. Everyone in the kingdom is invited (except for Bowser), and I've even baked a special cake for the occasion. See you at the castle! ~Peach
Immediately filled with excitement, the two brothers head out. After passing the tutorial, Mario and Luigi arrived into Toad Town. The streets would be covered in decorations, shop stands, and carnival games. Various NPC characters from past Paper Mario games would also be there. Going into the castle, a few toads, the partners from The Thousand-Year Door, and the Kid yoshis from Lavalava Island now grown up as adults would greet Mario. As Peach walks down the stairs to greet Mario, she kisses him on the forehead and declares the party to begin. 
While everyone in the room starts to celebrate, one blue toad and a torn rift that looks like a page rip stand in the corner of the upper floor. With talking to him, he discusses to Mario about the rip. Suddenly, purple beams shine from the rip, catching everyone's attention. Before Mario could try and stop it, the beams grow larger until the screen turns white, which would stun everyone in the room. The lights start to flicker, one of them showing a silhouette of Bowser capturing Peach. The screen fades to black, and then the lights turn back on, showing more page rips and small cracks. 
Goombario wakes up and finds Mario crumbled under some wreckage. After waking him, Mario unfolds and gets up. He looks around, realizing that the rip had stunned everyone else. Before Mario leaves, however, a female toad runs up to him and introduces herself as Toadalla. She asks Mario if she can join his adventure, and he accepts. The two leave the castle into Toad Town, now under a dark grey sky instead of the usual jolly blue. Decorations would be taken down, and toads except for the Rescue Squad Chief from Color Splash shiver in fear.
After leaving Toad Town, the two would head into Sunflower Fields. They soon spot a yellow pipe on a mountain being guarded. Toadalla insists that the pipe might lead them to another area that could take them closer to some answers. After reaching the peak of the hill, they are soon greeted with Morton who challenges them to a battle if they want to reach the pipe. After a fight with him, he says that this isn't last of "us," mentioning the other Koopalings. The two then enter the pipe after a short conversation about Morton. However, a green bandit climbs up the hill and follows them down the pipe, ending the chapter.
===Chapter 1: Maple Troubles===
The pipe leads the duo to an autumn forest near a waterfall. Toadalla says this might be Autuminal Falls, and plans to find a nearby town called Maple Village for clues. Somewhere along the path, they spot an sentient origami-like wheel at the doorstep of a small cabin painted yellow. He appears to be kicked out of some group, running off shortly after. Toadalla claims that if they follow him, they will get closer to the village.
After arrving, they would find out that a majority of the town's residents are origami-like people called Oriams like the boy from earlier, now living free from King Olly's clutches. Though Mario is a little skeptical from the previous game, Toadalla suggests they should ask the townsfolk on what's going on. After searching for a while, they find a purple gem on the ground. When Mario picks it up, a path appears after them. With no other choice, the two follow.
Eventually, it would lead to a simple brick wall, with the trail faded off. Toadella gets irritated and tries to go back. Before they could, a trapdoor would open below them, falling into a pit. The green bandit from last chapter would then show up and looks down at Mario. He introduces himself as Buckello, a member and inventor of the Disaster Trio.
He also explains that another member of his squad, who is an expert at casting magic, has somehow managed to change a gem's path magic towards his trap. Pulling out a small gadget with a red button, he waves them farewell. Before he could press the button however, the Oriam from earlier bumps into him, dropping the gadget into the pit. 
Buckello starts to yell at the Oriam, in which he tries to defend himself saying it was an accident, leading to a rather heated argument. Meanwhile, a fox-like Oriam in the background notices a lever and decides to pull it in curiosity, which brings Mario back up. The bandit notices this and challenges Mario to a battle, if he's ever got a choice. Noticing the brewing battle, a crowd of Oriams circle the group, preventing them from fleeing.
After the fight, Buckello informs Mario that this is not the last of him and runs off. A cloaked figure then emerged from the crowd and introduced himself as Elder Iccardius. He brings the group into his hut where he tells the Prophecy of the Arts, and that Mario must bring seven Fortuned Crystals to the Doodela Shrine in order to seal the rips. The young Oriam also introduces himself as Rooket and decides to join the team "to prove himself."
The group and Elder Iccardius head off into the undergrounds, where the shrine is said to be held. Halfway there, however, a Tanoomba quickly steals the purple shard. Mario tries to retrieve it back by following its footsteps and eventually locates and defeats the goomba in a battle. After returning to the shrine, he places the purple shard and completes the Purple Crystals. The heroes continue their adventure to retrieve the other crystals as they hop on the Excess Express, and the chapter ends.
=== Chapter 2: A Bogging Situation ===
After a night of staying on the train, Mario and the group finally arrive at Tropic Mesa where they find an orange fortuned shard within a nearby oasis and eventually meet a tribe of various birds and koopas struggling to keep a mud volcano at rest from erupting. So with the help of a bumpty named Pengrin and a few other tribe members, they head up to the volcano and check out what's causing the nonstop erupting, finding another orange shard along the way. 
The group travels through the volcano's interior, in which they discover that a machine that manages the volcano's eruption time has been malfunctioning. After multiple failed attempts of fixing it, Mario hears a clatter from below and the mud rises them up to the top where a goop of purple and grey mud attacks Mario and the gang, engaging them in a battle.
After defeating it, they receive the final orange shard, but the ground begins to shake and the player must get back down safely before the volcano erupts one more time. Back at the village, the tribe chief merges the shards together into the orange Fortuned Crystal. It leads a path towards a beach, eventually trailing off. Due to their inability to swim the gang gets discouraged, but Pengrin quickly steps up and says his father is a good carpeter and may help with building them a boat.
Arriving at their house, he accepts their request only if they could find five pieces of Palmwood. After getting all the pieces, he quickly builds the boat with ease and also offers to recruit his son to their party, much to his dismay. The chapter ends with the squad waving goodbye as they depart the shore.
=== Chapter 3: Island of Fur ===
A cutscene play where the group is traversing the seas on the boat from last chapter. Suddenly, the tide grow more aggressive and soon a bolt of lightning strikes. It then cuts to them lying on some sand as a white cat-like figure watches them from a distance and runs away once they wake up. With the boat now destroyed, the gang decides to explore the island, finding a yellow shard along the way being played with by some Ukikis.
Eventually, they stumble upon a village of cats and try to ask for clues, as well as a way off the island. However, none of them have left their homeland due to the recent law of the "emperor." After exiting the village, one rogue kitten who introduces herself as Yume decides to help them. After giving them another yellow shard, they head up to the castle of Marchwood, only to find that the castle is being heavily guarded by some troops. With no other choice, they try another way to sneak in.
After travelling through the vents into the throne room, it is revealed that the real emperor is being held by Iggy who has disguised himself the whole time. After a long battle with him and his mech, he releases the emperor from his cage, and runs off, only to be surrounded by and dragged into the prison room. One of the troops notices a shard dropped by the koopaling and gives it to the emperor.
The emperor then merges the shards into the Yellow crystal and announces the privilege of traveling along the seas but only with a Sailing License. After making the way back down, Yume joins the party as they build a raft and sail off, ending the chapter.
=== Chapter 4: Escaping the Castlewood ===
After a two-day trip across the sea, the group finally reach a vibrant coastal city called Basil Harbor where the emperor said the next Fortuned crystal was located. They try searching all around every corner and cranny, only to get nothing. Eventually, they meet a young merchant named Sheron who is fascinated by the wonders of the many goods brought from all across the world.
After looking around his shop however, three strange cloaked figures suddenly capture the group alongside the shy traveler and bring them to their underground facility below the gardens. The screen fades to black, then cuts to the gang now in a small prison alongside Sheron. Easily bored, he demands an escape plan. A guard drops a key near their cell as Mario picks it up and unlocks it.
The other guards notice and two pick a battle with him. After defeating them, the player must dodge guard lights, otherwise they would have to fight them or be teleported back to the nearest checkpoint. Eventually, both Toadalla and Rooket randomly argue about their differences and split up. Mario tries to reunite, but cannot find them.
With no other choice, the group continues their journey to their exit. However, when they nearly come closer to the end, a trapdoor opens as the group falls into yet another room. Toadalla and Rooket from earlier are now trapped in crystal bubbles, as one of the strange figures reveals himself as Lightlis and challenges to fight if he really wants them back.
After being defeated, he teleports away and releases the two. Soon, a green crystal appears between them, which is all formed together unlike the other gems found thus far. A staircase also forms leading to a coast near the Steam Gardens. Sheron joins the party, locates the next Fortuned crystal, the heroes hop on their raft to travel back, and the chapter ends.
=== Chapter 5: Mazes and Magic ===
Mario and his team end up in a carnival-like called Stripe la Vista and decide to explore, eventually finding Elder Iccardius waiting for the group near a cotton candy stand. He says that a Pink shard might be located in the area's main attraction: the Circus. They decide to sneak in right after the last show ends, where said shard is being kept surrounded by a crystal heart.
However, before Mario can grab it, the ground starts to shatter as Mario and the gang fall deeper into the caverns. Waking up, they find themselves in a small camp with a young pokio and yellow toad, who introduce them as Polly and Leap. Fixing their slight injuries from the fall, Mario leads the group to find an exit and perhaps the three Pink shards.
During this intermission, the player must solve a series of trials and puzzles, one of which contains a mini-boss of a corrupted Wiggler and its reward being the second shard. Eventually, they find themselves another trial that seems to be in construction by various corrupted races.
Rooket tries to question why it's taking so long to reach the exit, which somehow makes the unfinished trial crumble down and reveal themselves as shadowy ash. The builders start to take the blame on him before a bell rings in the distance, thus calling them out. 
After Toadalla asks him about his recent insecurities, Rooket tells a story revolving around his inability to shapeshift like most Oriams. Suddenly, fogs begins to fill the caverns, as a looming palm reaches out and grabs Polly. A tall snake-like lady emerges from the fog, who reveals herself as the Cobra Mage and challenges Mario to a battle.
After defeating her, it is soon revealed to be Lemmy who quickly runs off, dropping a third shard in the process. Polly is freed from the sorcerer's clutches and Rooket regains his ability to shapeshift as they collect and a large gate emerges. Meanwhile, back at the creek, Iccardius greets them with the first Pink shard from earlier, merging the three as one.
Polly decides to join the party and the gang nearly leave but are quick to realize Rooket's absense. After following a trail of mudprints, they find a frustrated Rooket struggling to contain his newly regained ability while also hurting himself. After Toadella tries to calm him down, he vents about being so gullible he easily falls for some brat's pranks. At first a little stumped, Toadella tries to cheer him up by giving some cotton candy from earlier.
The young Oriam is quickly distracted away his thoughts and rejoins with the group. Mario is still free to explore the carnival, but eventually must continue by hopping through the pipe.
=== Chapter 6: Sewer Situation ===
=== Chapter 7: Rocking in Metropolis ===
=== Chapter 8: Not What It Seems ===
=== Chapter 9: Final Chance ===
==Gameplay==
As an action-adventure RPG, it reuses a few mechanics from previous Paper Mario titles, specifically the first two, as well as adding a few mechanics of their own. The main focus of this game, which is revealed during Chapter One, is to collect the Fortuned Crystals to seal the page rips that keep popping up and stop Voldom from tearing apart the kingdom. It retains the art style from The Origami King with a higher resolution, while also making it more "art-based."
Similar to the first two Paper Mario games, most notably the original Paper Mario, the main story is divided into nine chapters. Once each chapter is completed, the through direct transportation or fast travel. In addition to a return of RPG-like mechanics, intermissions also make a return in the form of CD fragments that must be being more optional than they used to.
Special events and cutscenes can occur in both the Overworld and within battles once certain conditions are met by the player. These are then turned into Scrapbook Memories, which mainly act as achievements for the game. However, some are once in a playthrough, meaning if the player misses a memory, they cannot get it again until the main game is finished.
For a full list, see Paper Mario: Prophecy of the Arts/Memories.
==Battle System==
The battle system would return to its traditional formula from the two original Paper Mario games. All battles would take place on a theater stage with a background representing the player's current area and an audience, mostly with toads. The battles would also be turn-based. 
=== Attacking ===
Selecting the attack move, Mario and his chosen partner attack opponents. Their attacks can gain extra power using the Action Command and accurate timing. When in Multiplayer mode, the role the player is playing as will interact with their Joy-Con. For instance, the one playing as a partner would be the one to control that role using the second Joy-Con.
=== Guarding ===
The guard move can only be performed with an opponent is attacking. In this action, Mario and his partners would block one's attack, using the A and B button. In multiplayer, the guard button would depend on the Joy-Con order (A for First, B for Second). If successful, the opponents' attack would cause less damage than if not blocked.
=== Star Points ===
Star Points (SP) make a return as a similar fashion to the older games, Paper Mario and The Thousand-Year Door. They appear as a green orb with a star inside. They are given to the player by winning a battle. This is the case for all enemies except optional bosses and enemies who can weaken Mario's level. Once Mario has 100-star points, he levels up and can increase their max HP, BP, or FP. However, he can no longer receive star points once he reaches level 30.
=== Audience ===
The audience also makes a return from The Thousand-Year Door, though it's only available if the area is filled with friendly NPCs. The audience gets larger and gains Mario's trust depending on how much star points Mario currently has and receives. They consist of various Mario enemies and Toads cheering as one on stage attacks. If Mario or a partner does an attack stylishly, they gain star points.
=== Flower Points ===
Flower Points (FP) are small, white flowers used as the main energy for special attacks. Both Mario and all his partners have the same stock of Flower Points and can be replenished by healing items. When leveling up, the player can choose to increase the max FP by 5. Some Badges affect FP when worn.
=== Badges and Badge Points ===
Badges are special types of items that when worn, give the wearer a specific ability. A few badges have returned, and even new badges. However, they require BP (Badge Points) to use. Badge Points are used to manage the badges that Mario and his crew can wear. When leveling up, the player can choose to increase the max BP by 5.
For the full list, see Paper Mario: Prophecy of the Arts/Badges.
=== Co-Op Battles ===
Optionally, two players can play together with two matching controllers, with the second player controlling selected partner. Battles will also change a little, where attacks are selected at once and they release those attacks once both players have selected. Plus, the menus are slightly smaller.
==Major Characters==
===Main===
These are characters that are either playable in the form of intermissions or have a major role in the story.
Character 	Description
Mario 	Just like his previous adventure, Mario appears as the hero of this game! This time, he alongside some new partners, embark on a quest to find the Fortuned Crystals to seal all the reality rips that an unknown evil has started and stopped it from tearing apart the world.
Luigi 	Mario's green, taller brother. With everyone else in the castle earlier searching for clues of the page rips, Luigi returns to Rogueport in search of anyone who seems to know about the suspicious incident and if they also got page rips, alongside his five fellow partners.
Peach 	The ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom. She holds is captured by Bowser, but was later revealed to be held captive in a crystal cage by a mysterious foe named Voldom. However, she reunites with Twink and Bowser Jr. who try to file an investigation involving Bowser.
Bowser Jr.	The spoiled son of Lord Bowser himself, holding the same desire of wanting to defeat Mario. However, he has now turned to the good side due to being suspicious of his father and is thus trying to file an investigation on what is truly going on.
Twink 	One among the thousands of Star Kids kidnapped by Bowser to fulfill his goal. However, Bowser Jr. has secretly been keeping him away from his father and is now an assistant at helping find out the trtuh.
Bowser 	A notorious villain of the Mushroom Kingdom. At first, he is once again the main villain, planning to destroy the kingdom and shatter all forms of defeat he could find. However, it is later revealed that he was just corrupted by another vicious spirit.
Voldom 	Also known as Void Knight, Voldom is the true antagonist of the game who corrupts Bowser. He plans to shatter the world in nothing but fragments of what it used to be.
===Main Partners===
These characters are supporting characters towards Mario, but are only playable through local co-op.
Name 	Description
Toadalla	A female lime toad with the unique desire for adventure and a flamboyish nature. She is very energetic and the first partner the player receives. Her agility helps with distractions and dodging attacks.
Rooket 	A reckless Oriam who is Mario's second partner and dreams of joining the Paint Adventurers. He enjoys acting tough, despite being quite shorter than most of his kind. It is later revealed that Rooket has been cursed to only be in his normal state and unable to shapeshift.
Pengrin 	A purple penguin that enjoys collecting items of interest. Has a love for food and often gets hurt, but supports Mario with distracting and using his body as weapon. It is later revealed that he has an unusual corruption under his bandage due to a mudslide near his hometown's volcano.
Yume 	A shy white kitten who lives on an tropical island of other cats but has wanted to learn sorcery and travel beyond her island. She joins Mario realizing the upcoming threat whenever he's on an adventure and decides to help him escape. She uses her claws and strange witchcraft to weaken and confuse opponents.
Sheron 	A green shy guy that travels across kingdoms to study their rich culture and history. After being captured and held prisoner alongside Mario and his group, he decides to help him escape and free the other innocents. Uses many different parcels and gadgets from his past travels in battle.
Polly 	A female pokio with a hobby for going outdoors. She joins Mario when they find her and Leap, her yellow toad friend. Uses her beak and ability of plant communication for aiding Mario in his combat. Also dreams of managing a nature park from her experience of working in her mother's garden as a child.
Dustball	A brown Fuzzy who pilots a tiny mech to make up for their inability to do anything other than move. They are the only optional partner in the game.
Wally 	A bipedal walrus in a rookie band known as the Lavawalkers. After his other members get captured by Wisky during their first concert performance, he joins Mario to rescue them and other captives held by the Disaster Trio. He uses his loud Rock music to attack enemies.
Phaenais	A shattered Beautiel that was one of Voldom's minions failed to seek the green Fortuned Crystal and was sent into a pocket realm called the Lockheart. She decides to join Mario in hopes to be redeemed from her crimes as a villain's servant. She wields a long, majestic sliver katana to slice enemies.
=== Supporting ===
These are characters that play a role but aren't as important to the story.
Name 	Description
Elder Iccardius	A wise cloaked sage and devoted follower to the Prophecy of the Arts who helps Mario uncover the four Fortuned Crystals.
Captain Toad 	Leader of an exploring toad group known as the Toad Brigade. They occasionally help Mario throughout his journey by giving quests and adventure tips.
Shopkeeps 	A blue toad who runs the shop in Toad To wn.
Chef Bongos 	A happy-go-lucky Ukiki in charge of a restaurant in Toad Town. He offers to using ingredients Mario finds on his adventures.
Blazee 	A brute Mayzee Dayzee blacksmith able to repair broken weapons and meld items together, mainly CD fragments.
=== Enemies ===
See Paper Mario: Prophecy of the Arts/Tattle Log.
== Worlds ==
World 	Description 	Crystal
Toad Town 	The Mushroom Kingdom's famed and welcoming capital that has been there since the very beginning. Mario is welcome to stop by and prepare for the journey ahead. 	None
Sunshine Plains 	Formerly lived up to its name as a warm flowery meadow brimming with life and color, now covered in barely anything but darkness. 	
Autuminal Falls 	A breezy woodland notable for its orange leaves that never change with the seasons, no matter what. Not even in the midst of a universal threat. 	Purple
Tropic Mesa 	This place is actually more of a savanna-like area, which perfectly explains why it feels more lively and water-filled than most deserts. 	Orange
Whisker Isle 	A jungle-filled island off the coast of Tropic Mesa inhabited by almost nothing but cats. As promising as it sounds, it is currently on some strict laws by its emperor...	Green
Basil Harbor 	A port off the coast of Woodland Bay as a busy magnet for trade all across the kingdom. Yet, it has received less visits than usual due to... the circumstances. 	Yellow
Stripe la Vista 	This normally boring grassland is famous for its silly and colorful carnival for all ages! So why is it still going under a situation like this? Who knows! 	Pink
Clockwork Tundra	A lively vintage-like city acting as the center of cultural diffusion in the Mushroom Kingdom. The only catch? It's located in the heart of a freezing tundra. 	Blue
Koopa Valley 	A lava-filled wasteland that has acted as the domain for Lord Bowser ever since his coronation. 	Red
Lockheart 	A monochromatic pocket dimension created by Voldom as a way to punish those who fail to serve him, soon to be merged with the Mushroom Kingdom for his ultimate plan. 	Rainbow
== DLC ==
See Isles of a Mirror DLC.
== Trivia ==
* The game was easily praised for its slight return to traditional Paper Mario gameplay, while also being criticized for too heavily relying on the nostalgia of older titles and ultimately being less creative than its predecessors.
* This is the first Paper Mario game to ever receive a DLC.
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