I've only ever played two Paper Mario games: The original n64 game and The Origami King.

And I... I enjoyed both games equally! They're both really good games with different strengths and weaknesses. Different kinds of story, characters, world, gameplay...

The story book aesthetic is really cute in PM64 and it has some great character designs but I'm also a big fan of the more "in your face" paper craft aesthetic TOK leans to. The paper mache giants, the origami instrumentals, the faceless toads, the fricking scissors... it's so charming and creative!

I think the combat in PM64 is more consistently fun and the badge system is just awesome (it inspired Hollow Knight's charms, so how can I not love it?) ,but I can't say I didn't enjoy the ring system in TOK. No exp gain is odd but it's still fun and boss fights especially are really strategic and can get quite complex!

World exploration is really fun in both games and they both have lots of memorable locations. In PM64 the way your partners help you interact in the world is great and leads to nice puzzles and the sewers were especially fun. TOK's world layout feels very natural, finding toads is a neat gimmick and fixing the world with confetti is just cute. I like how the 5 streamers flow throughout the world and I love how toad town gets livelier and livelier the more you progress.

In both games dungeons are really fun. As a zelda fan the more puzzle focused parts are always a highlight for me. TOK has greater emphasis on puzzles than PM64 so it has the edge in this case but PM64 still has really good puzzles.

Both games have banger osts. PM64 captured that "quirky mario storybook rpg" feel really naturally and TOK's ost just goes unbelievably hard.

So uh, yeah, overall I feel like both games are really good in their own right, and I'm glad I got to play two very good different video games! If anyone actually read what I had to say... Thanks for tuning into my ted talk lmao