Chapter Text
After hitting A on the title screen, you see a familiar scene in the game. It’s a dark and stormy night. The camera pans down to see Mario’s house (think the one from the older games), and a short figure in a raincoat trotting on a path to the house. The next shot shows Mario opening the door. From Mario’s perspective, you see that the figure is the one and only Toad.
Toad: Mario! You gotta help us! Peach wants you to join her on a mission! You see, there’s this representative guy, and we sent him to another place and… Y’know, maybe I can just tell you in the house?
Mario lets Toad inside. Toad hangs up his raincoat, and sits down at the table. Meanwhile Mario gestures at Toad while holding a small glass.
Toad: Just water will be fine.
Mario pours Toad a glass and hands it to him, before sitting down at the opposite end of the table. Toad takes a sip and speaks up.
Toad: Right! Anyways, Peach sent me to tell you she wants you to join her on a trip. Not the fun kind, though. She’s investigating a representative we lost.
You are presented with the option to select “Who?” in order to progress the conversation (on first time playthroughs, you can’t skip). Mario gestures at Toad in confusion.
Toad: What representative? Oh, well, last week, we sent one Toad to a country called Prismia over boring diplomatic stuff. That was supposed to be for a week. It’s been nearly TEN DAYS! That’s WAY more than a week! So, Peach decided she would go personally to find him.
Toad gestures confidently at Mario.
Toad: Of course, she wouldn’t do this without a great hero like you, Mario! What do you say? Might make room for a cool adventure!
Toad slides a paper across the table. It shows a map of Prismia, which is mainly an island in the shape of a paintbrush. You are presented with a choice between “Yes!” and “Let’s-a Go!”
Toad: Alright, that settles it! Let’s get going!
The screen zooms into the nearby ocean, waves pour over and you see a small but fancy steamboat sailing the rough seas. Inside the lit window are the shadows of Mario, Toad and Peach, which you only see for a short while before the camera pans up into the dark clouds, showing the title:
Paper Mario: Color Splash
..only that a random addition is pasted on: “Roy G. Biv Version!”