History YMMV / PaperMarioColorSplash

* DisappointingLastLevel: In spite of its great atmosphere and ''amazing'' music [[BackgroundMusicOverride (which even plays during battles)]], Black Bowser's Castle is a fairly short stage that consists of a fight against the last remaining Koopaling, Roy, then a couple of rooms with some puzzles including an EscapeSequence, and then the fight against Bowser himself, which is then followed by another EscapeSequence. It's not as bad as in ''Sticker Star'', though (where the final stage merely consisted of two long, empty hallways with a boss fight at the beginning and the end of the stage, respectively), but it's still kind of underwhelming for a final dungeon, particularly when compared to the ones from the first three games.

** Either the Koopalings are cool additions of fan-favorite characters for this universe, allowing for some unique fights, or they're an excuse to take up most of the boss roster once again, with their act starting to wear thin (it doesn't help that, unlike in ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam'', they don't get much character development or involvement outside their boss fights), though the boss fights are at least decent. This naturally depends on your opinions of the Koopalings in general, particularly their SpotlightStealingSquad status in the eighth generation of gaming. Even so, there were calls to have their Paper selves team up with the Koopalings for ''Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam 2''.

* FridgeBrillance: Why was Ludwig's battleship unfinished by the time Mario reaches him? Ludwig is usually the last Koopaling fought in the platformers, but in ''Color Splash'', he's the third. He really didn't have time to prepare in this game.

* FridgeBrillance:
** Why was Ludwig's battleship unfinished by the time Mario reaches him? Ludwig is usually the last Koopaling fought in the platformers, but in Color Splash, he's the third. He really didn't have time to prepare in this game.

* DesignatedVillain: [[spoiler:Yeah, Bowser was responsible for creating the Black Paint, but it was on accident. As the paint starts losing its influence on him, it becomes increasingly clear that he has no idea what's going on. Instead of just ending the battle after destroying the Black Paint, [[KickThemWhileTheyreDown Mario still beats the crap out of Bowser afterwards]]. The ending festival has his airship hit by a firework with the heroes basically going "serves you right." It's especially egregious in Peach's case as a major plot point is Peach learning Black Bowser is actually possessed, [[PlotHole only to forget and blame him for everything after he jumped in the Prisma Fountain]]. [[note]]Although the Villain Army chalked it up to [[VideoGameMarioAndLuigiPaperJam Paper Bowser just trying to take a vacation after he and his army were banished back to their world.]][[/note]] A good amount of players, however, just feel bad about how badly Bowser gets treated in this game. It doesn't help that this is right after being portrayed as a very competent antagonist in the [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam last]] [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam two]] ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' games, whereas his portrayal in ''Color Splash'' is more reminiscent of his ButtMonkey portrayal in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Superstar Saga]]'', right down to being possessed by the true BigBad.]]

** Mustard Cafe has Mario infiltrating an underground Snifit base. This level has some great music, funny dialogue, and clever puzzles. It's fun to explore the base and find the keys.

* CaptainObviousReveal: Despite some dialogue parodying this, the reveal of Bowser as the BigBad was intended to be a plot twist. The Bowser Tape as early as the ''hub world'', the use of the Koopalings as the main bosses, and Morton outright ''telling you'' that he's working for someone after his defeat are clear evidence that you won't be surprised by this. [[spoiler:The real twist is his possession, but even then, that's fairly obvious from the start, and this isn't exactly the first time.]] And this is before you take the meta into account, as this is the fourth [=RPG=] in a row to use him as the villain, and almost every recent game uses him as the main antagonist and FinalBoss.

* CriticalBacklash: Thanks to polishing up the gameplay and ''especially'' the better writing, the game has received a lot of defenders and cries of “give it a chance!” toward fans who write it off as ''Sticker Star 2'' without even playing it. Noticeably there are a ton of videos online dedicated to defending ''Color Splash''.

* DesignatedVillain: [[spoiler:Yeah, Bowser was responsible for creating the Black Paint, but it was on accident. As the paint starts losing its influence on him, it becomes increasingly clear that he has no idea what's going on. Instead of just ending the battle after destroying the Black Paint, [[KickThemWhileTheyreDown Mario still beats the crap out of Bowser afterwards]]. The ending festival has his airship hit by a firework with the heroes basically going "serves you right." It's especially egregious in Peach's case as a major plot point is Peach learning Black Bowser is actually possessed, [[PlotHole only to forget and blame him for everything after he jumped in the Prisma Fountain]]. [[note]] Although the Villain Army chalked it up to [[VideoGameMarioAndLuigiPaperJam Paper Bowser just trying to take a vacation after he and his army were banished back to their world.]] [[/note]] A good amount of players, however, just feel bad about how badly Bowser gets treated in this game. It doesn't help that this is right after being portrayed as a very competent antagonist in the [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam last]] [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiPaperJam two]] ''VideoGame/MarioAndLuigi'' games, whereas his portrayal in ''Color Splash'' is more reminiscent of his ButtMonkey portrayal in ''[[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Superstar Saga]]'', right down to being possessed by the true BigBad.]]

** [[https://youtu.be/mQFBYSr-cPI A certain Shy Guy on the Sunset Express]] has proved popular, with many finding his [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] of PunchClockVillain sympathetic. It also helps that he's one of the few {{Non Player Character}}s who isn't a Toad. Many fans wish he had been a partner, or had more unique characteristics beyond being a generic Shy Guy in appearance [[TakeAThirdOption (or both)]].

** A lot of fans feel that a new land centered around paint and colors could've made for a lot of new ideas, unique characters and creativity, much like [[VideoGame/PaperMarioTheThousandYearDoor Rogueport]], [[VideoGame/SuperPaperMario Flipside]], the [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiSuperstarSaga Beanbean Kingdom]], and [[VideoGame/MarioAndLuigiDreamTeam Pi'illo Island]] before. Given that Prism Island is mostly populated by generic Toads and the enemies are generally the same from the main series while also mostly being portrayed as working for Bowser, most fans were very disappointed about this, to say the least. [[note]] Though are some differences like the Shield Guys [[VideoGame/MarioTennisAces who would later reappear outside of the Paper Mario world 3 years later]], Bone Goombas, [[TookALevelInBadass Black Shy Guys]], Unicycle Shy Guys [[VideoGame/YoshisCraftedWorld who would also later appear 3 years, this time during Bowser's youth]], Ptooies, Dino Rhinos, Pink, Yellow, Green, & Blue Shy Guys, & Blue, Green, & Pink Snifits, Giant Bob-ombs, & the Paper Koopalings. [[/note]]

** With all the ''Thousand Year Door'' imagery in the game [[note]]Port Prisma's hub looking like Rogueport, pirate-themed Chapter 4 loosely recreating [=TTYD=]'s Chapter 5, the train centered Chapter 5 with a McGuffin not directly guarded by a boss akin to [=TTYD=]'s Chapter 6, the black paint being somewhat similar to the Shadow Queen[[/note]], one would think it was leading to something or that at least [[CallBack someone would bring it up in-game]]. Neither thing happens, unfortunately.

-->'''English''': What's the matter, Mario? Grab that thing and let's roll like a... paint roller. I don't see any trouble around here, but maybe I GLOSSED over it. Get it? Gloss? 'Cause paint? Well, I don't see you making any good puns!\\

'''Spanish translation''': What's the matter, Mario? Go for it. I don't see what you expect... You have to fulfill your role! Heh heh... do you get it? Your role... Nothing? Not [even] a smile? Surely your mustache is covering it...

** Regarding the ''Paper Mario'' series as a whole, there are some who view this game as bringing the series out of the DorkAge by bringing back the humour and witty dialogue and fixing the flaws with ''Sticker Star'' and its gameplay. Others still feel the game is a disgrace that shows the series is long dead and Nintendo does not care for it.

* WinBackTheCrowd: Somewhat succeeded in this aspect. Many figured it would be just an HD version of ''Sticker Star'' and weren't happy that they ''still'' wouldn't allow partner characters. Then the game came out and showed much improvement in the battle system, along with more intuitive puzzles, though not everyone agreed. So while it wasn't completely a major comeback, ''Color Splash'' was, to some people, a step above ''Sticker Star'' and considered a commendable installment in the franchise, potentially ending the DorkAge of the ''Paper Mario'' games for some.