One of the weirder bosses in the already strange Paper Mario: The Origami King is the Colored Pencils Boss, otherwise known as the Colored Pencils from the Legion of Stationary. And you need to beat this boss to progress the story, so it’s going to be something you want to prepare for.
The layout of the boss is basically a giant game board that surrounds the boss. The concept of the fight involves using the movement spaces on the board to position Mario to attack the Colored Pencils Boss while also dodging its attacks. Additionally, any board icon that shows a x2 with a Red Arrow, will propel you two spots towards the boss when you step on it. Here’s the breakdown for the Colored Pencils Boss and how to beat it.
Colored Pencils Boss Fight – Phase One
The first part of the boss fight is fairly easy. You just need to move around the map and keep dealing damage to get the boss to 50% health as quickly as possible. The key to doing this is to try and position Mario is facing the lid when he attacks. Attacking the lid will cause the lid to close and deal tons of damage to the boss. You need to watch out for the missile barrage of colored pencils though, as these trigger at the beginning of each movement, you need to keep on your toes.
The missiles lock onto specific spaces, so just pay attention to the tile layout. Mario can move through any space with an arrow or red movement block, but he will take some damage. Just keep moving and rotating tiles to ensure a clear path around the board.
You will notice the big green “ON” button on the board. This is the trigger for the 1,000 Folded Arms abilities. Unlocking the 1,000 Folded Arms is key to winning this fight, so keep an eye on that. If you engage this ability at the right time, when the pencils are inside the case, you can cause the lid to snap shut. This will trigger a big amount of damage to the boss. The same effect can be achieved with a hammer attack, once again timed for when pencils are inside the case. You can attack when the pencils are outside the case, just after the barrage, it will just deal less damage.
Colored Pencils Boss Fight – Phase Two
Once the boss hits 50% health it will roll out the Rainbow Roll attack. This is much more deadly, so be careful. The biggest change is that the attack to the back of the lid from phase one will no longer be effective. In the second phase you will want to focus on hitting the sides of the case for the most damage.
If you can get close and use the 1,000 Folded Arm ability on either side, this can be a huge help. Triggering this attack will let Mario slam the giant pencils directly into the boss and do tons of damage. You may have to do it a couple of times, but there shouldn’t be any need to use the 1,000 Folded Arm ability any more than twice with this fight to win.
The real danger is when the Colored Pencils Boss gets in attacks. You MUST block the colored pencil barrages launched by the boss, as they can easily kill Mario. The best way to counter this is to just keep mobile. If you are smart, you can possibly hover around one of the 1,000 Folder Arm buttons and bait a barrage, before running over to the other side and triggering the attack to finish the boss. The best time to block the barrages is when the colored icon beneath Mario turns orange just before the impact.
