What to Look for to find Paper Mario: The Origami King Hidden Toads

In Paper Mario: The Origami King, Mario gets a lot of coins. He also gets a lot of Toads. And he likes to give a lot of those coins to a lot of those Toads. It’s a whole cycle. The thing about Mario’s Toad squad however, is most of them are hidden around the world. Generally speaking they’re crumpled up, stuffed into various nooks and crannies as they flee from the Origami King’s body horror brainwashing. So to get the most out of his new game’s systems, Mario has to find them all. There are way too many to keep track of them all, but we figured a few tips on what to look out for would be appropriate.

What to Look for to Find Paper Mario:The Origami King Hidden Toads

Hidden Toads are everywhere in Paper Mario: The Origami King. You’d have to be pretty oblivious to miss some of them, but the other ones can be more cleverly hidden. Sometimes you won’t even know one is there unless you accidentally stumble across it, or you hug every corner. But generally speaking, your trusty hammer is your best Toad-wrangling tool. To save the Toads, you have to brain the Toads. Could this be a metaphor? You never know with the Paper Mario series.

The first major tip is to hit everything with your hammer. Mailbox? Hammer. Golf-sized hole in the ground or wall? Hammer. Stark white picket fence that makes you think of suburb-themed horror flicks? Definitely use the hammer on those. This is just how Paper Mario: The Origami King operates. In the original Legend of Zelda, the best thing to do was toss bombs at everything. In this game, go hammer with the hammer.

Related: How Combat Works in Paper Mario: The Origami King

It isn’t always obvious what you should hit with the hammer. You don’t always get a UI-related hint. Sometimes you have to hunt for clues! One of the best clues is, um, animal cruelty. No seriously, if you see an animal or insect that looks a bit too normal or proportionate to be in a cartoony video game? It’s time to bludgeon it back into its proper Toadly form. Then you probably want to bonk these Toads an extra couple of times for threatening Mario’s wholesome reputation.

Sometimes the visual clues are less obvious. If there’s a tiny bit of pointless-looking real estate next to a building or other piece of set-dressing, there’s probably a tiny, inconspicuous path to an item or better yet, a hidden Toad. For example, there’s a bridge in Toad Town that’s connected to a fence on the left. But if you go right, there’s a little alcove next to a house and partially obscured by a save point.If you move further to the right or venture into the alcove, the camera will shift to reveal a path under the bridge. Naturally, there’s a Toad in there.

Our last tip is one that’s a bit more obvious, but worth mentioning. While you’re putzing around, make sure to check the environment for little hints of jagged, polygonal discoloration. It’s a bit hard to describe, but you know those slightly lower-resolution models you see in Paper Mario games. If you see that slight hint of weirdness, it means there’s a Toad model crammed into some crevice, such as inside a stack of logs. 

Those are some of the more important clues to look out for while you search for the Paper Mario: The Origami King hidden Toads. To fill up those bleachers you want to search every corner of every map, and inspect every object you see. Also, don’t forget to bash every animal you see with your hammer. There’s a swan, there’s a fox, there are so many butterflies. Gotta smash ‘em all.

While you’re here, check out our ongoing coverage of Paper Mario: The Origami King with the guides linked below:

• How Paper Mario: The Origami King Uses Motion Controls
• What are Coins for in Paper Mario: The Origami King?
• All Paper Mario: The Origami King Bosses

Did we miss any important hidden Toad tips? Did you feel as weird about the animals as we did? Tell us on social media! Scoot on over to the Prima Games Twitter or Facebook.