Paper Mario: Sticker Star

 3DS
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 69 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 45 out of 69
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 69
  3. Negative: 1 out of 69
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  1. Metro GameCentral
    Dec 4, 2012
    40
    A horrible disappointment that not only fails to capture the magic of its predecessors but seems oblivious to what made them popular in the first place.

Awards & Rankings

23
#23 Best 3DS Game of 2012
2
#2 Most Discussed 3DS Game of 2012
5
#5 Most Shared 3DS Game of 2012

User Reviews

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User Score
5.5

Mixed or average reviews- based on 613 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 221 out of 613
  2. Mixed: 161 out of 613
  3. Negative: 231 out of 613
  1. jamba24
    Nov 29, 2012
    6
    Paper Mario 64 and Paper Mario The Thousandth Year Door will always be classics games, as they have expanded the mario universe by settingPaper Mario 64 and Paper Mario The Thousandth Year Door will always be classics games, as they have expanded the mario universe by setting grand, deep adventures revolving around interactions with its inhabitants. Super Paper Mario is more so a completely different game than a direct sequel to these two games. Despite being a sequel nominally, Super Paper Mario features a completely different gameplay style, with nearly as much depth as its prequels. However, Super Paper Mario fell short of matching the greatness of the first two Paper Mario games. Then there's Sticker Star. Sticker Star began in development as a conventional Paper Mario game in the style of the first two games, but Miyamoto insisted that the game be playable as a handheld. Although change is often good for sequels, for Paper Mario, this may not be the case. Sticker Star lacks depth of any sort. The story is.....big surprise: Bowser kidnaps peach..... and that's all there is to it. There are few interesting side characters, no party members, and little dialogue. These factors are what made the first three Paper Mario games so memorable. Rather than having story based gameplay with the inclusion of puzzles, Sticker Star consists solely of puzzles revolving around the newfound ability to "stickerize". This does make for some creative puzzles, but these puzzles alone do not justify this game being called a Paper Mario game. I am tempted to rate this game lower, because I am stubborn and disappointed that this game lacks the depth of the prequels, but I must admit that this game does succeed on some levels. The sticker battle system forces you to allocate your stickers appropriately. However, this is the only strategy involved in the whole game, and it is rather thin strategy. You will surely lose to a boss if you do not, by sheer chance, guess its weakness. There are over 60 possible "thing" stickers to choose from, and certain bosses can only be defeated with a particular one, and it is hard to guess which one it is, until you die several times and the game gives you a hint. To wrap this review up I'll conclude by summarizing the games pros and cons. A pro are that it once again attempts to keep the Paper Mario formula fresh by changing up the gameplay. A con is that is also gets rid of the characters, story, and atmosphere that made the other three entries in the series so great. Another pro is that, once you get used to the sticker system, collecting, and puzzles, the game is often pretty fun at times. A con however, is that the battle system is flawed, especially for boss battles, and there is little depth to anything in the game. However, this game's not all that bad, I just hope that the next Paper Mario game actually has a soul.… Full Review »
  2. Torian
    Nov 11, 2012
    9
    Ah, Paper Mario. It reminds me of my first time getting a Nintendo 64. Now, if you were looking forward to a Paper Mario game that containedAh, Paper Mario. It reminds me of my first time getting a Nintendo 64. Now, if you were looking forward to a Paper Mario game that contained aspects from the original Paper Mario, then you're going to be disappointed. I was a little upset that this wasn't the original Paper Mario, but that doesn't have to be a bad thing. I thoroughly enjoyed Super Paper Mario, because it was well made. Sticker Star works in an original aspect that no other Paper Mario game has done. This game lets you attack by getting "stickers" which you may use as attacks. How do you get stickers? You can buy them, find them, and get them as rewards. While the idea itself sounded stupid to me when I first heard it, I realized that this game actually makes up for it on how fun it is. It almost feels like playing Paper Mario all over again. The sound in the game is great, and it fits the theme of the game pretty well in my opinion. If you enjoy jazz and relaxing music when you're going through some zones, then you are definitely going to enjoy all of the music in this game.

    The story in this game is pretty good. It's nothing spectacular, but it IS a Mario game, and they tend to just have an okay story behind it. It's pretty much about Bowser stealing the Royal Sticker from the princess, making it so everyone and everything is made out of stickers. It'll catch on, I promise.

    The battles were surprisingly fun. I enjoy almost every moment of the battles. There's a big variety of stickers you can collect and a ton of fun enemies to fight. The battles are turn based, just like the old Paper Mario games, but you get to use stickers to fight. The only gripe that I have with this game is that they took out a lot of fun systems that the previous Paper Mario games contained. I was disappointed to find out that you never get any partners nor badges. They were completely wiped from this game. So if you were looking forward to those, then sadly, you're out of luck. But this game makes it up in it's originality and just basically how fun it was. I was keeping my standards a bit low after hearing this idea. Clearly, I have been blown away by how much fun this game is.

    I definitely would recommend at least trying this game. I'd even pay $60 if that was the release price. You can buy it from select retailers or from the Nintendo E-Shop for $40.    … Full Review »
  3. MasterOfMetroid
    Nov 13, 2012
    10
    Pure brilliance. This is the 4th entry in the Paper Mario series, and possible the best one yet. This game introduces an innovative stickerPure brilliance. This is the 4th entry in the Paper Mario series, and possible the best one yet. This game introduces an innovative sticker system that's a lot of fun to use. You collect stickers and use them to do various attacks on enemies. Very good use of 3d, and very good value. This game will keep you busy for weeks.… Full Review »
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