Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)

[11clock]

I've always been a fan of the Paper Mario series, my favorite being the second one (The Thousand Year Door). They are a series of RPGs that have Nintendo's mascot as the star, and they normally involve collecting items that can defeat the big bad dude.

The latest entry in the series, Paper Mario: Sticker Star, was released recently for the 3DS. They got rid of the party system from earlier titles (:() and they removed the badge system (:'(). They were replaced with the new sticker system, one-time use items that you can find everywhere in the game. Because you rely on consumable items to win battles, strategy and exploration play a bigger role. Some stickers can be used on the field, too.

From what I've heard, the game sounds pretty interesting, As a fan of the Paper Mario series, I may pick up a copy later.

[crozier]

Its apparently getting good reviews. But the lack of party members, badges, exp, mp, bland story, world maps, etc makes me feel like this is way too far from the series's roots. Thousand Year Door is awesome. The original is awesome. Super Paper Mario was almost an adventure-platformer (least favorite out of the three), but this new one seems... meh. I am not going to buy a 3ds for this. (Luigi's Mansion 2 on the other hand...)

[11clock]

I've received this game as a Christmas present (my family opens up presents several days before Christmas to make room for other traditions), and I have to say that Sticker Star has far passed my expectations. You already know some bad things about the game (no party members, leveling system, etc.), so I'll go over what Sticker Star gets right that previous games in the series didn't do as well on.

The sticker system is simple, but in-depth. "Should I use this hop-slipper to dispatch this enemy easily, or should I save it for the upcoming boss battle?" Because each sticker can only be used once, you'll have to think twice about every move. Resource management is vital in this game, whereas in the previous games the only thing you have to worry about is your amount of FP.

The lack of party members is a shame, but there is actually a plus side to this. You don't have to switch around party members so much, which was a hassle in the previous games (especially Super Paper Mario). Because of this, exploration is more enjoyable and fun. Your jumps, hammer, and your paperizing ability are all you need to travel the world. Besides, Mario's stickers are powerful enough to where he doesn't need any side-kicks. I still prefer the party system in previous games, but that does not mean that removing it is ALL bad.

Because there is no experience, fighting enemies may appear to be pointless. However, if you try to avoid every enemy you come across, you'll start to realize how much of a chore this is (especially when you need to back-track) and that it isn't worth it. You will have much more fun with this game if you beat every living creature you come across into a pulp. Also, you get money from these fights and you can possibly get more powerful stickers than what you used. You even have a chance of getting some of your used stickers back after a fight!

Action commands have been improved. Back in the previous games, most action commands were pass/fail situations. In Sticker Star, each attack has more than two possible damage outcomes, depending on how well you perform the action command(s). For example, the normal jump attack can hit up to 5 times in a row. Some stickers, especially hammers, have some risk to using their action commands. With hammers, if you hit the button at the last possible second, you deal maximum damage. However, if you wait only slightly more than this moment, your attack ends up doing almost no damage. Attacks can potentially be extremely powerful. To make up for this, enemies have a lot more health. (Goombas have 5 health instead of 2.)

Blocking is more important. In previous games, blocking takes away one point of damage. In Sticker Star, it halves the damage rounded up. Because blocking is buffed up, enemies have much higher attack power. I ran into one enemy early into the second chapter that dealt 12 damage and made me dizzy with only one attack because I didn't time the block right. If I blocked, I would of taken only 6 damage and not get inflicted by dizziness. In other words, if you don't block well, you're screwed.

Bosses are actually bosses. Admit it, none of the bosses in Super Paper Mario were really all that challenging, even the final boss. In Sticker Star, they actually require some planning before you go and face them. Even then, the bosses can outright murder you. If you are having trouble with a boss, you can optionally make it weaker by using a certain sticker that the boss is weak to (this sticker depends on the boss), but please don't do this unless you feel that it is necessary. It's more satisfying to say that you killed a boss without using cheap tactics.

Now here are my complaints. The game takes a while for it to increase its difficulty curve. The first chapter doesn't challenge you at all (except for its boss if you don't use its 'weakness sticker'). Chapter 2 is when you start to see the actual 'game.' This isn't too bad since the first chapter isn't very long. Chapter 1 has its good moments, too.

As far as I can tell, there is no Pit of 100 Trials. There aren't very many side-quests in this game. Fortunately, the 'main' side-quest, the Sticker Museum, is pretty good and gives you 'Gotta Catch em All' vibes. I still want a Pit of 100 Trials, though.

I wouldn't say that Sticker Star is the best game is the series. I recommend the first two Paper Mario games over this one. However, it is far from the worst game in the series (I'm looking at you, Super Paper Mario). While Sticker Star did some naughty changes, it counters most of them with its good side. The most important thing is that it feels like a Paper Mario game (*cough*Super Paper Mario*cough*). I highly recommend that you pick it up.