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3DS

Paper Mario: Sticker Star - Review Revisit

by Justin Berube, Andrew Brown, Daan Koopman, Tyler Ohlew, Neal Ronaghan, and Scott Thompson - April 24, 2013, 8:07 am EDT
Total comments: 16

Stickers invaded Paper Mario's world last year. A few months later, how do we all feel?

Anticipation for Paper Mario: Sticker Star reached a fever pitch as we neared its November 2012 release. Since Nintendo did their best to hide specifics about the game, a lot of our staff discussed and speculated about what exactly it would be. It's level-based? What's with the sticker stuff? How do these real-life objects work? Well, the game came out and we found out all about it, and Sticker Star became pretty divisive. Scott Thompson said in his 7.0 review: "I want to love Sticker Star. The game looks great, the localization is top-notch, and, when things are moving along, it all feels so right. The sticker economy is well realized and forces you to manage your sticker collection well. But the game's obsession with "things" brings it to a screeching halt all too often."

To sort out our feelings on Mario's latest papyrus escapade, we went to the Review Revisit, where several staffers weighed in with their scores for the game. Check out what some of us had to say below, and let us know your thoughts on Paper Mario: Sticker Star.

You can also check out our Gunman Clive Review Revisit, and chime in if you want us to talk about any other recent release in this manner.


Review from Justin Berube, Staff Writer

Sticker Star manages to retain the charm found in the previous Paper Mario titles. The humor, good music, interesting graphics, and fun characters are all here. The problem is the game is flawed. The reward for winning battles is almost nonexistent, and I sometimes found myself stuck when trying to figure out what specific special stickers to use in order to proceed. Despite these problems, Sticker Star still manages to be a fun game. It's just a shame the title couldn't be as great as the two more traditional RPG entries in the series.


Review from Neal Ronaghan, Site Director

While my expectations were probably a little too high, Paper Mario: Sticker Star was a crushing disappointment for me. It's tough, because the graphics, presentation, and audio are so superlative. Even the sticker-based battle system is great, too! But the game progression so woefully needs a freaking strategy guide by you at all times to avoid crippling frustration and tedium. What was at first joyous quickly became a struggle to get through because I simply wasn't enjoying myself. Sticker Star gets a lot right, but unfortunately, it isn't really that great of an experience in totality.


Review from Andrew Brown, Australia Correspondent

Despite a confused direction behind the battle system reworkings and some poorly announced boss battle necessities, Paper Mario Sticker Star is a good game. The inclusion of stickers fits perfectly into the established world of paper craft prevalent in the series, and with some proper management and preparation, it works well in battle. The art style is as cheerful and inventive as ever, and we're graced with not only the best soundtrack in the Paper Mario series, but some of the best music on the handheld. Certainly not the best in the series, but you could do far worse.


Review from Daan Koopman, Europe Correspondent

Paper Mario: Sticker Star is a beautiful looking game that exceeds many Nintendo 3DS games. The adventure is, however, less interesting to play, as some of the more engaging elements have been removed. It is not as hilarious as the previous installments and the gameplay took some turns for the worst. The sticker-based battle system well put-together, but it lacks an end-of-battle reward. It is also not always clear how to solve certain puzzles, which causes some frustrating moments throughout the ride. If you can forgive the missteps made, Sticker Star is certainly not a bad title, but it could have been so much more.


Review from Tyler Ohlew, Features Editor

When the "What Game's Potential Was Hampered By One Feature?" thread pops up on your forum of choice, make sure to link Scott's review. Paper Mario: Sticker Star is defined by its poorly implemented "Things" stickers, a mechanic that is comparable to the one rotten lobster that spoils the whole catch. Problem is, Nintendo didn't give up and steer the ship home, it went ahead and served us poisonous lobster. How crappy is that?

While the idea of puzzles and bosses solved by using the right combination of Things is interesting, it wasn't delivered properly. Heading into an area blind often leads to backtracking to the main town and obtaining the needed Thing to progress. An FAQ is a necessity to avoid giving up altogether. Does this ruin what could have been a terrific game? Absolutely. It flies in the face of what we expect from Nintendo, and mars an otherwise fantastic title and franchise (yes, Super Paper Mario is a better game).

Talkback

red14April 24, 2013

Doesn't really make sense, considering these were the same people who made Fire Emblem. Maybe they just said "f**k it" to the PM fan base.

Pixelated PixiesApril 24, 2013

I am kind of in agreement with Neal on this one. I too might have set my expectations a little high, but I found Sticker Star to be incredibly tedious and opaque. I was a big fan of the N64 original and TTYD on Gamecube, but these last two Paper Mario games have bored me to tears.

FjurbanskiApril 24, 2013

My expectations weren't that high and i still think the game basically sucks. The personality and charm was mostly thrown out the window. The pacing is horrible. The "thing" stickers. The bosses. The wiggler section. There's just too many annoying things. But I'd probably be willing to put up with them if the charm was still there.

Pixelated PixiesApril 24, 2013

Quote from: Fjurbanski

The wiggler section.


Please! Don't remind me!

*phew* I thought everyone was going to lynch me for my negative opinion. :)

oohhboyHong Hang Ho, Staff AlumnusApril 24, 2013

While you did come off a little harsh, after playing it, there is  definitely room for such a harsh score. It's a far better game than Super Paper Mario which was just an awful, sloppy mess. Compared to Thousand Year Door though, Sticker Star misses the mark. TYD had far more interesting environments, cohesiveness, more gameplay elements to tinker with.

Mop it upApril 24, 2013

I just wanted to play an RPG on 3DS, and it doesn't look like this game is anywhere close to one.

Evan_BApril 24, 2013

While it's true that Paper Mario isn't an RPG, I think is succeeds well as an adventure game- and I'm honestly a bit insulted with how people find its puzzles' difficulty a detractor. Why do games have to be easy in order to be good? This is a mentality that has plagued many triple-A titles over the past generation, and quite a few Nintendo titles in recent memory, too.

The truth is, I only found myself stumped in one area, and I hit myself hard after not-realizing there was a hidden block there. The rest of the puzzles I found relatively easy to navigate, and when I began to feel stumped, I simply turned to exploration as an answer, which never failed to let me down.

I think that Sticker Star is a criminally underrated game, but at the same time, I find most of the review scores here pretty fair. It's not on the level that The Thousand Year Door was, and I honestly don't think any RPG will ever be. But it is a charming and amusing installment.

FjurbanskiApril 24, 2013

Sticker Star doesn't have puzzles. It has roadblocks. It has locked doors, and the key required to open them are in completely different areas from where you are right now. Areas that you probably haven't even gone to yet. Because if I'm in area 2, I shouldn't have to find an item hidden (sometimes very well hidden) in area 1 in order to continue. And if those one use items are required to beat a boss, then I should be able to logically tell which one I should use without having to fight the boss, die, and only then learn which item to use. And if you are going to go out of your way to make your game that annoying, the least you could do is not force me to go back to the "sling-a-thing" store and purchase the item again. If that item is essential to me completing the game, then why are they treating it like it's an easter egg and hiding it in the most remote corner of that map?


Puzzles are a different story. TokiTori 2 has puzzles. Sticker Star does not.

RasApril 24, 2013

---
The truth is, I only found myself stumped in one area, and I hit myself hard after not-realizing there was a hidden block there.
---

Heehee.  The jungle.  I even hit my hammer looking for that block and was pissed when I had to give in and look up the answer.  I swore I'd finish the game without help, but that one tripped me up. 

My only problem was when I noticed the sometimes choppy framerate and couldn't unnotice it.  I wonder if the recent system update alleviates that.

MagicCow64April 24, 2013

Man, what is with the assumed Super Paper Mario hate! That game is an experimental gem and maybe one of the only successful meta-games ever made. Only those who have been through both pits of 100 trials can truly understand.

odoriApril 27, 2013

So much wasted potential in this game. The biggest issues have been hit on the head a million times already but, yeah, no character progression, lack of original characters/environments and annoying "thing" stickers just suck the life right out of everything.


I wonder, though, if we'll see another 3DS Paper Mario down the line. It did well commercially and they have the groundwork already done for the 3DS hardware so they might revisit it.

Rubber Band AIApril 30, 2013

It says a lot when I found this game on sale at Best Buy for $20 and I still didn't buy it. Everything I've read about it makes me want to stay away - I can't stand games with ambiguous, obtuse design, and that appears to be this game's one major flaw.

LittleIrvesApril 30, 2013

Man, I disagree with the general sentiment here. I found Sticker Star a delight... each environment held something new to see, the papercraft aspect of the world and battles was well done and creative, and it really popped on the 3DS screen. And the Things! They're funny! I guess some of the bosses were obtuse, but finding a new weird mundane object and seeing what it did in battle was a highlight. Most importantly: the special stickers shimmered when you tilted the system around. It's like a magic show in my hands.


(Also: I'm with MagicCow64 on this one.... SPM is far under-rated.)

Fatty The HuttMay 01, 2013

I'm with LittleIrves. Loved this game.
Y'all are on crack.

Pixelated PixiesMay 01, 2013

I think LittleIrves is the one of crack. They were the one who was entranced by the shininess of the stickers.

"MAN...It's like...It's like...a magic show in my hands!...it's...it's like 3D...but...2D!"

"You just blew my mind brother!"

:P:

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