Paper Mario: The Origami King was believed to be the series' return to its RPG roots, and in a way it is; all of the elements that made the series charming are back, but the combat itself is now a thing of the past. The developers at Intelligent Systems have made it clear that combat needs to change with every entry, and the recently released title was not the exception.
What's interesting, however, is the fact that long-time fans of the Paper Mario series have actually responded quite positively to the changes made to the combat. yes, experience points are still missing, and yes a new puzzle element has been added, but gameplay wise, Paper Mario: The Origami King is actually a pretty good game.
One of the main problems that players notice in later entries is that fights are pretty much irrelevant, since these battles do not reward players with experience points one they are won. Intelligent Systems found a way around this by showering players with coins, which can be used to purchase collectables and weapons/attacks.
These coins could be considered experience points of sorts, but it still doesn't quite fix the underlying issue: it doesn't feel like a role-playing game any more.
As it turns out, dataminers have recently dug out some information within the code in Paper Mario: The Origami King, and it seems like the developers at Intelligent Systems did consider implementing experience points at one point; eventually doing away with the idea in its entirety.
What gives it away in the image posted below, is the "battle_win_exP" line of code, which can be found in the game's code, and seems to be proof that Paper Mario: The Origami King was very close to being the RPG game that fans of the series have been hoping that Nintendo would make.
As a long-time fan of the Paper Mario series myself, I have to admit that the lack of experience points in the latest game is disappointing, but it hasn't really affected my enjoyment as a whole. Sure, some battles feel pointless, and the game does give away coins more often that it probably should, but maybe it's just time to accept that Paper Mario is no longer the RPG series it once was.
The kingdom has been ravaged by an origami menace! Join Mario and his new partner, Olivia, as they team up with unlikely allies like Bowser and the Toads to battle evil Folded Soldiers.
Paper Mario: The Origami King is currently available exclusively for the Nintendo Switch.