Paper Mario: Sticker Star

 3DS
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
Buy Now
Buy on

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. Resetto
    Jan 23, 2023
    3
    Imagine ruining your franchise that much. Like how do you make a game that much worse than the first 3 Paper Mario games?
  2. Persona_Q
    Aug 27, 2021
    3
    Recuerdo que cuando se anuncio este juego estaba re feliz porque los 3 anteriores habian sido re buenos, pero cuando lo jugue me quise morir, entiendo que miyamoto le dijo a intelligent sistems que no hicieran muchos OCs pero dime tu que tiene que ver eso con que no puedas ganar experiencia, que no hayan otros personajes casi que no sean toads, que ni siquieran tienes gorros o algo paraRecuerdo que cuando se anuncio este juego estaba re feliz porque los 3 anteriores habian sido re buenos, pero cuando lo jugue me quise morir, entiendo que miyamoto le dijo a intelligent sistems que no hicieran muchos OCs pero dime tu que tiene que ver eso con que no puedas ganar experiencia, que no hayan otros personajes casi que no sean toads, que ni siquieran tienes gorros o algo para diferenciarlos, literal es el mismo sprite puesto una y otra vez, que no hayan compañeros, y que hayan hecho un sistema de combate tan primitivo, el juego tiene cosas buenas como la musica o los graficos que para ser la 3ds estan bastante bien, y esto no tiene nada que ver con el gameplay, pero fijate si es malo el juego que puse el juego en la 3ds, y murio, osea, la musica del menu esta sonando, pero no puedo hacer nada, mientras estoy escribiendo esto, la 3ds sigue trabada, y esa es la unica razon por la que estoy escribiendo esto… Expand
  3. DoktarioMyst
    Oct 14, 2022
    0
    - de "puzzels" zijn zo abstract dat ik nergens geraak.

    - de combat is pointless

    - de bazen hebben "dingen" nodig om verslaan te worden die in andere levels/ werelden zijn

    conclusie:
    als je het concept van deze game toch leuk vindt dan kun je beter Color Splash spelen
  4. Noctilum
    Mar 7, 2023
    4
    most of the game is boring and inoffensive, plus theres some parts of this game that are outright frustrating. combat sucks too, you get rewarded more from running away from fights than actually doing them, coins are plentiful and have basically no purpose. There is some good here though: I REALLY like the OST and visual style of it, plus the animations for things are really nice andmost of the game is boring and inoffensive, plus theres some parts of this game that are outright frustrating. combat sucks too, you get rewarded more from running away from fights than actually doing them, coins are plentiful and have basically no purpose. There is some good here though: I REALLY like the OST and visual style of it, plus the animations for things are really nice and filled with personality. the writing is good too, when it happens (as in just individual characters and not the actual story, the story sucks). overall: dont play it, listen to the ost on youtube or something, maybe watch an LP of it. a lot of this game are ideas that sound good on paper but are horrible in execution though. i think its completely wrong to call this game soulless though.

    as a paper mario game however, this is completely awful and much much worse than games 2, 3 and 6 (i havent played 1 and 5). just dont play it    … Expand
  5. Incarta
    Feb 16, 2014
    4
    I was very disappointed by the gameplay concept. It was far too simple and that's not what I play paper Mario for. This is the weakest game I've played in what has always been a charming series. Hope they put more effort in the future
  6. PostmortemEP
    May 6, 2013
    4
    I just don't get it... The first two paper mario games were absolute masterpieces. The third was very much a good idea, which I don't think was executed very well. Here's the thing... Paper Mario games had a way of getting me hooked and never wanting to stop. I almost had that with this game, but just couldn't simply because the design of it is horrible. Cutting up the world intoI just don't get it... The first two paper mario games were absolute masterpieces. The third was very much a good idea, which I don't think was executed very well. Here's the thing... Paper Mario games had a way of getting me hooked and never wanting to stop. I almost had that with this game, but just couldn't simply because the design of it is horrible. Cutting up the world into stages wouldn't be such a bad idea if it was just a simple sidescroller, but it isnt. It's got all of the frustration of an RPG overworld that forces you to backtrack and do things you've already done and are TIRED of doing again, and to no avail, you are forced to repeat and repeat. You can get to the second and third world of this game and realize that this is going to be a continuous thing. That's where I'd recommend stopping if you picked this game up, but don't. It's not worth it. Do yourself a favor and use your money on one of the other fantastic 3DS titles.… Expand
  7. ND-Bringer
    Mar 31, 2021
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game depicts the fall of Paper Mario. Compared to the previous titles, Sticker Star is just uniquely bland. I originally had high hopes for this game, I mean it was the first Paper Mario game I ever laid eyes on. The moment I saw that E3 trailer I thought it was going to be an excellent game. It's an excellent disappointment, that's for sure. I really thought that this was what Paper Mario was meant to be.

    The description claims that it also has exciting combat mechanics, but instead of having a fun turn-based battle system or digital pixies...were using item attacks during the whole freaking game. Oh, didn’t you know that Mario can’t jump unless he has a jump sticker?

    Sticker Star...while it may have nice graphics and music, looks aren’t everything. Most of the time you’ll be forced to backtrack over and over again just to get a missed “Thing”. And these are really important “Things”, so important that they make up most of the game. You can grab a pair of scissors for instance and turn it into a sticker to use in battles and to solve some blockade puzzles.

    While these attacks may be cool they get old real fast. And if your prime gimmick is this new battle system, what am I supposed to learn from it? I’m not gaining any experience from these battles, they're just annoying. I might as well just run away from these foes because they disappear anyway, even if I retreat. And these levels, some of them are passable and yet they're all so generic. You might as well call it “New Super Paper Mario Bros” because we don’t really have any original characters round these parts. Were you hoping to play as good guy versions of Bowser’s minions? Well too bad, this world mainly consists of poetic Toads for some reason.

    The short story is, a big celebration is held every whatever amount of years to honor the great Sticker Comet(Not to be confused with the Star Festival from Super Mario Galaxy)which has the power to make wishes come true. But then Bowser crashes the party and steals one of the comet’s fragments, a Royal Sticker, and gains the ultimate, shiny power!
    We don’t really see what happens after that, but I guess after Mario jumps on Bowser I assume Bowser knocks him out in battle and if that’s a reference to the first game it doesn’t deserve it. Or the Paper Mario Parade! It doesn’t even feel like this game is in the same universe. Everything is a little too colorful, not only is there a lack of dark elements that helped the series stand, but this is just a repeat of the original story when you really think about it.

    So Mario and the Sticker Fairy Kersti are on a quest to recover the Royal Stickers. First off, my biggest complaint in this game is that the tutorial level where you have to search for Toads, drags on way too long. Fifteen minutes in and I was still searching! These morons are hidden too well, you may not even get to try out the new battle system because this level just drags on way too long.

    And it gets worse with the Paperization puzzles. Every once in a while, you have to stop time and pull off a piece of the world and stick it in its rightful place in order to continue through the level. While it may be a creative feature it's hard to know when to use it, some of these objects blend into the background and you find yourself circling around the area for an hour unsure of what to do. A good puzzle helps sharpen the mind, but these levels are just tedious. As for positives, World 3 probably has the best levels. No generic Goomba gangs, we’re instead recovering lost inventory in the spider tunnels, traversing through poisonous rivers, competing in a toxic Snifit game show? That’s the Paper Mario I know and love.

    As for the boss fights, most of them are just big enemy battles. Sure these battles are fun to watch, but the gameplay is just a bunch of button mashing that doesn’t get better with the “Thing Attacks”. In order to power your attacks up, timing is key. Just wait till the yellow signal appears next to Mario if you wish to know when to press the A button. Though it doesn’t appear in a few Thing attacks for some reason, so have fun randomly mashing your controls hoping to get the move to work.

    As for the final showdown with Bowser, you first have to go through a painful magic carpet ride. And the battle has a few fun moments but it feels like Bowser’s minions are doing all the work. And after it looks like Bowser is defeated he transforms into his giant form...where have I seen this before...I think I had more fun beating Kamek with flip flops, then dealing with yet another giant Bowser battle. I just blasted my boom box and then sent out a flurry of Thing attacks, the 2nd stage of the battle was a lot easier than the first. This game isn’t even worth replaying. Everything on display is just a sad reminder for the rise and fall of the Paper Mario series.    … Expand
  8. JJ24-7
    May 22, 2013
    4
    Interesting new "sticker" mechanic. However they took out many core things that Paper Mario fans loved. Level progression, partner system, and even the badges. All the things that made Thousand Year Door such an amazing jump from the first Paper Mario were removed. Sure you had a few jokes here and there, but it was targeted to a much younger audience that the older fans just would findInteresting new "sticker" mechanic. However they took out many core things that Paper Mario fans loved. Level progression, partner system, and even the badges. All the things that made Thousand Year Door such an amazing jump from the first Paper Mario were removed. Sure you had a few jokes here and there, but it was targeted to a much younger audience that the older fans just would find dull. Your "partner" Kersti can get dull and tiring very similarly to the well known "Navi" from Legend of Zelda. Kersti will crack the same jokes, make the same boring faces, and get angry in the same way. Action commands are all the same (once you get to know them), but it's almost 100% based on timing your A button. Since there is no longer a partner system, you are given what is called the "Battle Spinner", which forces you to pay coins to take extra turns. This is either extremely good, or just plain dumb as you are relying heavily on luck most of the time. Gameplay is repetitive and the entire game has almost no replay value whatsoever. There are a few tedious "100%" completion tasks you can take part in, but for the most part there are little to no easter eggs. No hidden bosses, no challenging arenas, just hidden doors and more stickers. Not to mention the final boss is easily beaten once you figure it out. But after that there is literally nothing to do except go back and replay the entire game again (which is surprisingly short) trying to grind your coins back up to find your hidden doors. As I mentioned earlier, the game is extremely short in comparison to other Paper Mario games. Granted those were for a console, but to be able to complete the game in a few days is just sad. I believe my first playthrough took only 20-30 hours of gameplay. A few things to note that have been removed/changed from previous Paper Mario games (Excluding Super Paper Mario which was horrible):
    -No partner system. That means (no partner storyline, no hidden partners (miss mouze), no sidestories, no witty change of lines from your partners, nobody to help you take damage)
    -Kersti is the new Goomba partner, but with no tattle system. meaning no description of any of the enemies.
    -All your items are now stickers (good&bad. Good that you can more easily obtain items, Bad that the items are no longer unique and are only upgrades of the previous version. EVEN the "Thing" stickers!)
    -Unable to play as anyone other than Mario

    In the end, Paper Mario Sticker Star seems like it could have had a lot of potential. If they waited a bit longer and made it far more developed. The game features a very limited number of levels and would benefit greatly if they had far more. We know you can do it Nintendo! Just look at the Superstar Saga!    … Expand
  9. PringleDringus
    Aug 19, 2013
    0
    The music and graphics may be alright, but the substanceless, repetitive gameplay that has nearly nothing to do with Paper Mario is not worth your time or money. Spend 40 dollars on iPhone games instead.

    P.S. Bowser has no lines of dialogue. NONE.
  10. theredragechamp
    Sep 26, 2013
    0
    I for one am flat out appalled by this game. I have so many things I hate about this game that I barely know where to start. The sticker system is terrible, they removed the actual storyline of the worlds and just made it another level to beat, I loved the partner systems in the previous games which they also removed, this game barely had any side quests like the others did, there wereI for one am flat out appalled by this game. I have so many things I hate about this game that I barely know where to start. The sticker system is terrible, they removed the actual storyline of the worlds and just made it another level to beat, I loved the partner systems in the previous games which they also removed, this game barely had any side quests like the others did, there were 0 cameos (which I am a HUGE fan of), they also put far too much of an emphasis on the sticker system. I have loved the Paper Mario series since I was a little kid and Thousand Year Door was the first game I ever played and I went on to play the original and then played Super Paper Mario, all of which were amazing, and I was ecstatic when I heard the news about this game coming out. I played through it and beat the game hoping that it would just miraculously get better, but it definitely didn't. I would not recommend this horrible game to even my worst enemy. Trust me, if you really like the Paper Mario series, DON'T PLAY THIS GAME!!!… Expand
  11. JackintheBox333
    Jun 16, 2016
    2
    Graphically the game looks great. The music, while not the best in the series, is still quite enjoyable for what it is. However the biggest problem with this game is the gameplay, an issue which makes this game one of the worst games I have ever played in my life. Unlike other games in the series, the only method Mario has attacking is jumping on an enemy to first strike them outside ofGraphically the game looks great. The music, while not the best in the series, is still quite enjoyable for what it is. However the biggest problem with this game is the gameplay, an issue which makes this game one of the worst games I have ever played in my life. Unlike other games in the series, the only method Mario has attacking is jumping on an enemy to first strike them outside of battle. After that, all battle actions must be taken by using stickers. What do you get for fighting these battles? More stickers.

    The RPG elements are pretty much gone and the battle system is designed in such a way that there is no incentive to fight any of the random battles. Where do this leave the game? The game turns into a collectathon in which you have to find enough stickers and hope you have enough to fight the games underwhelming bosses while doing mediocre platforming and puzzle solving. The worst part about all of this is the game drags on for way longer than it has any right to do.

    The story in nearly non-existent and is simply there is a generic framing device to say, oops gotta go do the generic Mario thing for the 15th time. Good luck! When Shaq Fu of all games has a better story than you do, as a designer, you are very clearly doing something wrong. When Shaq Fu has arguably better gameplay than your game does, then you have clearly FAILED as a game designer.

    Do not play Paper Mario: Sticker Star.    … Expand
  12. amstans
    Jul 9, 2014
    4
    This Paper Mario feels like nothing else in the series. It is hard to get into, with no real direction given. The combat is long and the combat system is clumsy. The stickers are not fun or very useful most of the time. There are so many limits placed on Mario. There is no flip world, and after playing Zelda Link Between Worlds I would say it is more loyal to the Paper Mario spirit thanThis Paper Mario feels like nothing else in the series. It is hard to get into, with no real direction given. The combat is long and the combat system is clumsy. The stickers are not fun or very useful most of the time. There are so many limits placed on Mario. There is no flip world, and after playing Zelda Link Between Worlds I would say it is more loyal to the Paper Mario spirit than Sticker Star. More than a little disappointed this game as it could have been something else without tarnishing the Mario brand.… Expand
  13. ali2005
    Nov 27, 2015
    3
    This game has got some of the worst gameplay ever!I can't even make it past the second level because this game just throws you in and expects the impossible!Although I have never played the first two games,they have got really good reviews and Super Paper Mario is a really good game,but Sticker Star is just horrible!The only good part about this game is the absolutely amazingThis game has got some of the worst gameplay ever!I can't even make it past the second level because this game just throws you in and expects the impossible!Although I have never played the first two games,they have got really good reviews and Super Paper Mario is a really good game,but Sticker Star is just horrible!The only good part about this game is the absolutely amazing soundtrack,but that is the only positive about this game.DON'T BUY THIS GAME!!!!!… Expand
  14. cndman
    Oct 6, 2014
    0
    Absolutely terrible. One of the worst Nintendo games I have ever played. They progression through the story is non-intuitive and nearly impossible to figure out by yourself without a guide. The sticker system is honestly just annoying, and the series has lost all of its narrative charm. I tried so hard to play this game but I stopped playing without even beating it. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME, IAbsolutely terrible. One of the worst Nintendo games I have ever played. They progression through the story is non-intuitive and nearly impossible to figure out by yourself without a guide. The sticker system is honestly just annoying, and the series has lost all of its narrative charm. I tried so hard to play this game but I stopped playing without even beating it. DO NOT BUY THIS GAME, I AM NOT EXAGGERATING. I truely don't understand positive reviews, probably people who played the game for an hour.… Expand
  15. Lavanio
    Jul 31, 2014
    4
    What was once considered a staple game series for Nintendo consoles has now devolved into a simplistic and uninspired rehash. The new Paper Mario game's main feature revolves around the use of consumable attacks known as "stickers" which restricts access to even the most basic of abilities if you don't have the consumable stickers to use them. This is stacked on top of a plethora ofWhat was once considered a staple game series for Nintendo consoles has now devolved into a simplistic and uninspired rehash. The new Paper Mario game's main feature revolves around the use of consumable attacks known as "stickers" which restricts access to even the most basic of abilities if you don't have the consumable stickers to use them. This is stacked on top of a plethora of removed features from the previous games such as a leveling system and the inclusion of companions to help Mario along his way. With the lack of basic RPG mechanics such as a leveling system, even the basic premise of the stickers is removed since actually engaging in battles serves no purpose but to gather more stickers for you even though enough of which to progress through the game are found scattered all over each individual level.

    If you're looking for the next Thousand Year Door, or even the next Super Paper Mario in terms of writing and overall quality and design, cast your eyes elsewhere because Sticker Star will not provide.    … Expand
  16. Galacta1310
    Mar 29, 2014
    0
    This was by far one of the worst games I've ever played, I'm not exaggerating. I don't understand why everyone was giving it 8, 9, and 10s this game was not just the worst in the series but it was just horrible in general. And to all the people who say that Super Paper Mario was bad, no it wasn't, sure it was different but it was still an RPG it had leveling up, and creative worldsThis was by far one of the worst games I've ever played, I'm not exaggerating. I don't understand why everyone was giving it 8, 9, and 10s this game was not just the worst in the series but it was just horrible in general. And to all the people who say that Super Paper Mario was bad, no it wasn't, sure it was different but it was still an RPG it had leveling up, and creative worlds (chapters). But as for Sticker Star, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems took away everything good about Paper Mario 64 and PMTTYD and published this "new addition" to the series. But it was downright terrible, all I can say was that it had nice graphics and a couple good sound tracks, but that was it. Sticker Star had no leveling up, which made battling pointless for the game. You could probably fight no enemies and just make money from the stickers you find in blocks to get better ones and just fight bosses and beat the game, and now that I'm talking about it, the Sticker idea for fighting was flawed in all ways possible, it required no skill, you could only use one sticker once, and then get no xp for fighting and just money from fighting to buy more pointless stickers. The worlds (Chapters) were linear and bland PM64, PMTTYD and Super Paper Mario, they all had creative chapter designs and plots, most chapters in the the original 3 were creative and had more story to them then just collecting the Star Spirit, Crystal Star, or Pure Heart you needed to get. Sticker Star had bland chapter designs and bland plots to them, all it was was "beat some levels, backtrack into other levels after solving a puzzle, fight the boss, get the Sticker Crown." That was it, and the bosses were creative too! they were just souped up normal enemies from the game. Even worse, you needed seome one of a kind sticker to easily beat them, which is ridiculous The game had too many challenging moments like World 3, i had to go on IGN for walkthroughs far too many times then i should have. There were no partners either, Partners i the Paper Mario games made it what it was. Goombario, Bow, Watt, Lakilester, Yosi, Vivian, Bomberry were amazing and had personality, not like Kersti who probably sounded like she was reading directly from a script. Even Super Paper Mario kind of had partners, the Pixls, still better then not having any at all. What was more annoying was that Bowser was the final boss, I loved how PMTTYD and Super Paper Mario didn't make Bowser the final boss like in other Mario games, and even in Paper Mario 64 Bowser was the main enemy, but the went in depth to his character and his plot, Bowser had NO LINES in Sticker Star. I honestly don't understand how some of you like this game, I won't attack you for liking it but you cant focus on the games nice graphics, because that's the only good thing about it. Overall this game was a train wreck, I hope Nintendo and Intelligent Systems redeem them selves and make a game more styled like PM64 or PMTTYD.… Expand
  17. Juni221
    Mar 19, 2016
    0
    If you haven't play a Paper Mario game yet, DO NOT start with this one. In fact, go start with the first game, and stop at the third, because this game is a mockery of the series. It takes everything fans loved about the first 3 games and just **** all over it, and expect you too like it.
  18. SFX64X
    Mar 14, 2013
    2
    The reason this game is poor is because there is simply no 'reward' for playing this game... The story is non existent, so there's no reason to play it for that. The characters are forgettable, so they don't keep your attention. The battle system is basic and hardly challenging or interesting. The boss battles are either impossible, or annoyingly easy, since they each have a very specificThe reason this game is poor is because there is simply no 'reward' for playing this game... The story is non existent, so there's no reason to play it for that. The characters are forgettable, so they don't keep your attention. The battle system is basic and hardly challenging or interesting. The boss battles are either impossible, or annoyingly easy, since they each have a very specific weakness that renders them dead in a matter of seconds. Then there's the platforming and puzzles. neither are interesting or engaging... Basic and tedious...

    So if the story isn't interesting, The gameplay is dull, and the platforming is tedious,... Why play this game? There is no reason... There is no story to grab your interest and keep you going, it is bare bones 'Bowser kidnapped the princess and stole some power'. You may say 'well isnt that EVERY mario game?" Well, more or less, yes... but every Super Mario platformer has amazing platforming and fun levels to hop around and explore. This game does not have that redeeming quality.

    "Well, isnt the turn based RPG elements still here?" Not really... it doesnt seem to be a Roleplaying game... It's just a turned based card game... but instead of elegant and amazingly designed characters with awe inspiring attacks... you have a variety of shoes, hammers, and miscellaneous items... you dont level these attacks up over time, you simply find more powerful stickers in the more higher leveled areas... rendering the dozens of basic attacks you stocked up on in previous levels useless. When you're playing you dont ask yourself "Okay, which attack would be best to use against this enemy?" You ask "Where the heck did i put that shiny sticker i just found under a rock?" and occasionally you consider the fact of whether the enemy is flying or has a spike on his head...

    This is a very basic game... maybe something a young kid would enjoy and flourish in. the pretty colors and enviroments would catch their attention and the light story element might keep them entertained so they dont lose interest in the walls of text. but anyone who appreciates a good story, deep and enriching gameplay, or just having fun probably should skip this game... It doesnt technically do anything that doesn't work, it just doesnt do anything that makes this game entertaining... which is why you would play a game in the first place, right?    … Expand
  19. Midnalink
    Mar 29, 2013
    0
    For me it's a big disillusion. Except for some musics, there is no reason to play this game. No story, no companions, wasted combat system, no badges, no interesting npc, nothing.
  20. MrSonicFan
    Feb 4, 2014
    2
    This is one of the most boring, uninteresting, and disappointing "video game" I have ever played in my life.

    The games first downfall is it's story and writing. it's the typical Mario story. "Bowser is evil, go stop him". No other Paper Mario before has such a lazy story. And the writing is not even funny. Unlike the previous games. The graphics are the only good part about this    This is one of the most boring, uninteresting, and disappointing "video game" I have ever played in my life.

    The games first downfall is it's story and writing. it's the typical Mario story. "Bowser is evil, go stop him". No other Paper Mario before has such a lazy story. And the writing is not even funny. Unlike the previous games.

    The graphics are the only good part about this game. the paper world looks fantastic and the 3D effect does a great job of making the world pop out.

    The game-play is boring and has zero strategy. there is no point in fighting enemy's as you cannot level up. All the bosses can be defeated in one hit with the right stickers. And the game is overall just a chore to play.

    OVERALL-
    2/10    … Expand
  21. hopesfall21
    Aug 21, 2013
    0
    I was so excited when I learned this game was coming out for the 3DS.......until I played the game. This game disgraces the Paper Mario franchise. Their is no open world like the 64 version, or the best one in the series for the GameCube, "The Thousand-Year Door." This game feels like I'm playing Super Mario Brothers 3 with the way they set up the game into levels. The game provided noI was so excited when I learned this game was coming out for the 3DS.......until I played the game. This game disgraces the Paper Mario franchise. Their is no open world like the 64 version, or the best one in the series for the GameCube, "The Thousand-Year Door." This game feels like I'm playing Super Mario Brothers 3 with the way they set up the game into levels. The game provided no emotion, no substance, nothing. If you enjoyed the game then I'm not going to knock you, but this is not a Paper Mario game. It was so bad to me that I don't even own it anymore.… Expand
  22. Tobann
    Mar 12, 2016
    3
    I just cannot recommend this game to anyone except die hard Mario fans and even then maybe not even them. Yes the turn based combat came back witch was good but it really lost something. The loss of gaining experience and gaining something from battles is so great that it makes battle something to avoid rather than take on and overcome. The worst thing that I have heard from people is thatI just cannot recommend this game to anyone except die hard Mario fans and even then maybe not even them. Yes the turn based combat came back witch was good but it really lost something. The loss of gaining experience and gaining something from battles is so great that it makes battle something to avoid rather than take on and overcome. The worst thing that I have heard from people is that you can run out of attack stickers. Like how on earth do you make a game where you can leave your player defenseless just because they have fought too many things. There are also so many generic toads,and I know that Nintendo can do better, they have in the past, they've created amazing worlds and people in those worlds but now they're just missing. They have taken out what made this a great game series, stripped it of all rpg elements that made it great. I have to be honest, I have not finished the game, I was just so put off that I got fed up with it and I think that I will be very hesitant in getting the next game in the series.… Expand
  23. LegendaryQ
    Nov 14, 2014
    3
    I like the Paper Mario games because of their light-hearted, but still validly present story, and always interesting game mechanics. Unfortunately, while Sticker Star makes a valid attempt at both, it is flawed on both counts.

    The story is even more shallow than is to be expected: while the humor is still present, the underlying story is weak and in tatters. The gameplay is flawed in    I like the Paper Mario games because of their light-hearted, but still validly present story, and always interesting game mechanics. Unfortunately, while Sticker Star makes a valid attempt at both, it is flawed on both counts.

    The story is even more shallow than is to be expected: while the humor is still present, the underlying story is weak and in tatters.

    The gameplay is flawed in that your inventory of various attacks and abilities are useless against bosses -- forcing you to use "things" to attack them effectively. If you haven't found the right "thing" or haven't paid enough in-game currency, you're out of luck.

    The idea of an inventory of attacks is interesting, but is often undercut by issues like the above.

    Overall, the game is an attempt at a good Paper Mario game that just completely fails in its execution.    … Expand
  24. SirWalrus
    Oct 28, 2015
    1
    This game was probably one of the most disappointing games I've experienced in a long while.
    Let's start off with the one positive: the dialogue is funny. Sometimes.
    The main problem is that the sticker system is completely flawed. I had to restart the final boss several times simply because I didn't have enough of the right kind of sticker, when I had no way of knowing what I had to    This game was probably one of the most disappointing games I've experienced in a long while.
    Let's start off with the one positive: the dialogue is funny. Sometimes.
    The main problem is that the sticker system is completely flawed. I had to restart the final boss several times simply because I didn't have enough of the right kind of sticker, when I had no way of knowing what I had to get.
    The challenge is almost nonexistent, as there is no experience to be gained. The amount of damage you do is based on two things: Firstly, the type of sticker you use. The way you get new, better stickers is by buying them or by replaying old levels, so there's almost no challenge in getting them. Secondly, how well you use the sticker. The basic stickers can be mastered easily, and the more advanced stickers attack automatically, so there's no challenge to be found. In fact, the sticker system itself makes battles completely pointless. Enemies are fought to get coins. Coins are used to buy stickers. Stickers are used to fight enemies.
    The game is extremely linear, not allowing for much exploration, unlike the other Paper Mario games.
    The worlds are boring and stale, with the regular Grass world, Desert world, Forest world, Water world, Ice world, Fire/Jungle world. Compare that to the previous Paper Mario games, where you were in a toy box, or fighting in an arena, or in a parodied Underworld.
    The partner system and the badge system were removed, eliminating all variety in the game.
    The generic NPC helper has no memorable personality whatsoever, so really the game has none of the charm of the previous ones. The small witty interactions between the characters was one of the best things of the Paper Mario series.
    The plot is a complete copy of the first Paper Mario game: Bowser gets ultimate shiny object and captures princess, defeat Bowser and rescue princess.
    Overall, the game is an unoriginal, unchallenging, and unenjoyable mess.    … Expand
  25. SuperMarioBro
    May 15, 2016
    1
    Terrible, terrible and one more terrible! This is worst game of all Nintendo games. By this game - Nintendo RIP Paper Mario series... terrible storyline, terrible gameplay, terrible world.
  26. GaryFaulkDoesIt
    Jul 31, 2016
    0
    Extremely weak and disappointing. When thinking of this game, whether as a Paper Mario installment or as its own entity, I honestly can't think of a single level on which this game isn't a total failure.

    One can compare this game to the Paper Mario titles all day long, but the simple fact is that this game has absolutely nothing going for it. There is virtually nothing about this game    Extremely weak and disappointing. When thinking of this game, whether as a Paper Mario installment or as its own entity, I honestly can't think of a single level on which this game isn't a total failure.

    One can compare this game to the Paper Mario titles all day long, but the simple fact is that this game has absolutely nothing going for it. There is virtually nothing about this game that makes it a Paper Mario title aside from the blunt and childish paper gimmick, which the previous entries used for stylistic and presentation purposes (the first as a pop-up book, the second as a stage production). It felt as if they had made the basics of a Paper Mario game and then stripped out all of the things that made the series unique or enjoyable.

    In terms of story, well, there really is no story. The stories of the previous three entries could all take up at least a full paragraph to describe, but this one's plot can't really be explained in any more detail than "Bowser's turning people into stickers, go stop him."

    In terms of character, there is only one newcomer in this game, a completely unlikable and unhelpful exposition fairy named Kersti. Mario, Peach, Bowser, and Luigi are all as interesting as the paper they're made out of, a far cry from the previous games where they were all given their own personalities and subplots. Even Mario, who didn't talk outside of scripted dialogue choices, had some sort of bare characterization in the previous games. In fact, Sticker Star gives Bowser and Luigi a combined 0 lines of dialogue.

    In terms of gameplay, this game is a complete failure. The new battle system is so poorly designed that the player is all but encouraged to simply skip every fight except those they're forced into. There is no experience system and winning these pointless battles only gives you the means to win more pointless battles.

    In a way, one can consider this the exact opposite of Super Paper Mario. Super Paper Mario combines the gameplay of a platformer with the rewards system of an RPG. This game does the opposite, meaning instead of getting items and experience for simply jumping on enemies, in this game you have long, drawn-out fights with enemies and essentially get nothing in return.

    While it probably does make me sound lucky to say it, meaning I've never been stuck with any real shovelware, I genuinely consider this the worst video game I've ever personally played. I was hoping not to get onto this subject, but I really think Miyamoto needs to step away from this series, since the only thing he's done with Paper Mario is remove everything that made it Paper Mario.    … Expand
  27. BringerOfRuin
    Sep 19, 2016
    0
    Paper mario sticker star, in short. Its the worst game i ever played. I want every last copy of this game hunted down and destroyed in a huge bonfire. Why do i hate sticker star? I don't even know where to begin.
    The first paper mario is one of my alltime favs. And i also enjoyed its sequel. Even super paper mario was a soild game, even if not a true staple in the series. But this    Paper mario sticker star, in short. Its the worst game i ever played. I want every last copy of this game hunted down and destroyed in a huge bonfire. Why do i hate sticker star? I don't even know where to begin.
    The first paper mario is one of my alltime favs. And i also enjoyed its sequel. Even super paper mario was a soild game, even if not a true staple in the series. But this abomination of a game, sticker star. This is not paper mario! For me, this game is so bad its actually insulting. They murdered one of my favorite series in cold blood. But what makes sticker star as horrible as i claim it is? I will get into the details of its many flaws.

    Flaw 1. The story, the first paper mario's story was nothing special, mario tries to save princess peach from bowser. But no one plays mario games for the story, as for sticker star. They take the same old cliche mario story and dumb it down to the maximum. Not to mention its basically just a crappier version of the exact same story as the original, Bowser gets some magical item that makes him invincable and kidnaps princess peach. Paper mario the thousand year door had a surprisingly dark, deep story, and sticker star has my favorite story in the entire mario universe, If the creators had the capacity to write such excellent stories, why did they revert to this lame boring story line?

    Flaw 2. Remember all those awesome party members you get in the first two games? And all the fascinating enemies and bosses never before seen in the mario universe? That creativity was what i loved about the first two games. Then in sticker star, the only new character i saw was that stupid, annoying talking crown sticker. A crappy character. Besides this lame side kick, the only other characters are the same boring characters you can see in any of the mario platform games.
    I Knew this game had killed the series as soon as i saw the first boss, just a giant goomba with a crown. Nothimg unique at all. Even king goomba in the first paper mario at least looked different then your common variety goomba! The enemies are lame, the bosses are bland and completely uninspired, and all the npc you meet are just plain red spotted toads. There is no variety of character in this game. None.

    Flaw 3. Bad writing. This game is full of puns about paper. Which are not funny in the least and just plain annoying! Sure everyone in the series are flat paper versions of themselves, but it didnt' constantly throw it in your face that you are playing paper mario by incessantly referring to paper.

    Flaw 4. Mario's stupid sticker side kick. I mentioned before that she sucks. Gut i wanted to get more into why exactly she is a horrible character. Your first impression of her is her being a total jerk. Plus her accusations against mario claiming that he destroyed the sticker star, while she was'nt even there to witness it are just hypocritical. She blames it all on him but then claims that protecting the sticker star is her duty. If its your duty where the hell was she when bowser showed up!?
    Moreover her hints are not helpful in the least. Most useless and most unlikable side kick ever.

    Flaw 5. Really this is the biggest flaw of all. The battle sytem. Battles are a pointless waste of time. There is no experience or level up system. Every time you get into a battle its just an annoyance. I ended up just running from every battle. Also in battle mario has no basic attacks! None! You are completely dependant on using stickers to fight!! Which have one use each only! This whole game is running around peeling stickers to use them againsnt enemies in pointless, stupid battles with no other purpose then to waste your time! Imagine if in final fantasy you could only use items in battle, sound stupid? It is. And thats how you fight in sticker star.

    Flaw 6. Atrocious music. The first 3 games all had amazing sound tracks. The music in this game was total garbage. It sounds more like porno music then music from an rpg.

    Flaw 7. Its not fun. Its not fun at all. The battles are dull, stupid, and pointless, the puzzles are annoying, the sticker collecting gets old in two minutes, and all the characters are bland. I honestly cannot think of a single plus to this game!

    Overall verdict: worst game I ever played. It was actually painful for me to play, it just felt like a series of slaps in the face. Want my advice? Don't buy this game. This game should be illegal. It should stand trial for murdering the formerly wonderful paper mario series.    … Expand
  28. thatnintendoguy
    Jan 21, 2016
    1
    This game sucks. The stickers suck the gameplay suck the story suck EVERYTHING SUCKS IN THIS GAME! NINTENDO SHAME ON YOU THIS GAME IS A MISTAKE! Dont bús this one!
  29. Darkychao
    Feb 29, 2016
    0
    This was definitely the most disappointing Nintendo game of all time, it's existence bothers me to the core. But what can I say about this game that hasn't already been said? Well, probably not much, but I'm still going to keep talking anyway.

    Let's start at the obvious question "Is it a good Mario game?" No, no it's not. It's weird, confusing and difficult, and not difficult as in    This was definitely the most disappointing Nintendo game of all time, it's existence bothers me to the core. But what can I say about this game that hasn't already been said? Well, probably not much, but I'm still going to keep talking anyway.

    Let's start at the obvious question "Is it a good Mario game?"
    No, no it's not. It's weird, confusing and difficult, and not difficult as in "challenging" but frustrating and unfun; the bosses almost require you to have a certain item to beat them.

    what about "is it a good RPG?"
    No, no it's not. There's no reason to ever engage with any enemies there's no leveling system and your moves are limited so you battling always leaves you with less than when you started; but if you do ever are unable to avoid an enemy and do get into a battle you can just run 100% guaranteed with no negatives. So there's no advantages or disadvantages to battles.

    and finally "Is it a good Mario RPG?"
    No, no it's not. It lacks everything that made Super Mario RPG and the dual Mario RPG trilogies (PM and M&L) stand out. The charm, the characters, the gameplay, the story it's all gone.

    This game alone makes me worry about not only of the Mario RPG series but the future of Nintendo in general. This game is just so wrong I genuinely don't see how the Paper Mario series can recover after what this game did with adding/replacing/destroying characters with out a literal retcon of this game.    … Expand
  30. Campanella
    Mar 12, 2016
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Paper Mario: Sticker Star is the fourth game in the Paper Mario series, and returns to the turn-based battle system of the first two games. Despite this, it couldn't be further from the earlier games in terms of quality.

    Unlike the first three games in the series, which had a heavy focus on story and characters, the plot in Sticker Star is practically nonexistent, instead on par with the main Mario games. Aside from the game's introduction and finale, almost nothing plot-relevant happens, and few levels have any sort of events at all. The main cast is minimal, only including Mario, Peach (who barely talks), Bowser (who doesn't talk), Kersti (a Navi-like companion), and Kamek and Bowser Jr. (who act as minibosses but only very rarely show up). The supporting cast consists almost entirely of Toads, all with the same base design and almost all of them using the standard red Toad design. If you liked the series for its story and characters, Sticker Star will disappoint you.

    Instead of chapters, there are now worlds with separate levels. As you explore, you solve puzzles, some of which require reorienting stickers used for the scenery. Many levels drag. Some levels introduce extra gimmicks, such as a raft you move by standing on its edges or multiple holes you can drop down, but these often only make levels more tedious, if not unnecessarily frustrating.

    While the game's graphics are great and environments have a distinct "papercraft"-like look to them, the world itself is bland and very formularic compared to the rest of the series. If you've played any of the main Mario games, you know what the worlds here are: grasslands, desert, forest, ice, jungle, lava. Combined with the lack of story, and the minimal events in general, the game ultimately feels very dull.

    Kersti, your partner character in this game, doesn't join you in battle but instead gives you hints if you press L. Most of her hints are either obvious, or outright useless, making this completely worthless.

    The battle system is turn-based again, but instead of having basic moves and gaining additional ones through equippable badges, EVERYTHING is based on stickers you've collected. Healing items? Stickers. Stat buffs? Stickers. Special attacks? Stickers. Your basic jump- and hammer attacks? Stickers. If you run out of stickers mid-fight, tough luck, because now you can't do anything. While the attacks themselves are fine, the fact you can end up UNABLE TO DO ANYTHING makes this system annoying at best and fundamentally broken at worst. Battles also no longer give EXP (as there's no leveling system), only coins (which you can get elsewhere) and maybe a sticker (which you can also get elsewhere far more reliably) if you're very lucky, making fighting anything not mandatory a waste of resources.

    Boss fights are more like puzzles than actual fights. You NEED to have a specific sticker, gotten by finding the corresponding item and turning it into a sticker, or you'll be unable to beat the bosses, as they often take little damage without using the right Thing sticker and have very high amounts of HP. Many of these stickers use more space in your sticker album than most, meaning you have less space for other stickers, meaning it's entirely possible to run out of stickers to attack with and have to start the entire boss fight over, especially early in the game.

    The only reason this game gets a 2 instead of a 0 is because of the graphics and the music - the soundtrack, unlike most of this game, is genuinely nice and has a consistent jazzy/big band style to it, though unfortunately there aren't quite as many memorable tracks as in the previous games.

    Overall, I cannot in good faith recommend this game. If you like turn-based RPGs, give the first two Paper Mario games a try instead if you haven't, or the Mario & Luigi series, and if you like action-adventures with occasional puzzles (which the overworld is closest to), you're better off playing Super Mario 64, Super Mario Sunshine, or one of the Super Mario Galaxy games.    … Expand
  31. BleachedTwinkie
    Mar 16, 2016
    0
    This is not a game. It is nor a platformer, nor an RPG, therefor it is not a game. It does not fit anywhere into the Paper Mario series and should have never reared its ugly head into the world. Things I hate about this game include:
    -I have seen every area of this game in a Super Mario Game. Not interesting worlds at all
    -Every minor is a toad. Literally a toad. No personality. -The    This is not a game. It is nor a platformer, nor an RPG, therefor it is not a game. It does not fit anywhere into the Paper Mario series and should have never reared its ugly head into the world. Things I hate about this game include:
    -I have seen every area of this game in a Super Mario Game. Not interesting worlds at all
    -Every minor is a toad. Literally a toad. No personality.
    -The battles are absolutely pointless. Not giving EXP makes them just a waste of stickers.
    -Stickers are possible the worst idea I have ever seen implemented. You are basically penalized for battling since you barely gain anything worthwhile, yet you lose your stickers which you should save for the boss fight
    -The bosses are impossible unless you happen you guess which thing sticker you need. Good luck beating Pokey without a baseball bat.
    I don't even know what or who allowed this atrocity to be created, but it should have never tainted and/or killed the Paper Mario series. So saddening.    … Expand
  32. SuperGamerGuy88
    Nov 2, 2017
    0
    There is so many reasons this game sucks. This game is boring, bland, and uneventful. The story is almost non-existent and all the NPC are toad's boring Toad's. I don't hate this game because it's not "Paper Mario" I hate it because the story sucks the characters suck and the game is boring! 0/10 do not ever buy this its a waste of money!
  33. antonijames
    Apr 15, 2018
    0
    Honestly I can't think of a single good thing to say about this disaster of a game. The art direction i guess could kind of be considered okay, but the worlds and levels aren't at all interesting. There is no story, there are (basically) no actual characters and there are no rewards for anything (including NO levelling up in battles). I have no idea who they made this game for.
  34. borbs727
    Jun 26, 2016
    0
    Totally forgettable. Dumbed-downed gameplay, boring, and very disappointing. I really didn't like the sticker system- it was just a bunch of guessing when it came to boss battles.
  35. luickx
    Jun 29, 2016
    0
    This game killed Paper Mario.
    NO PARTHNERS
    NO HISTORY
    LOTS OF TOAD
    Miyamoto is out of control and he did not stop here.
    Now th new one is going to fail and they are going to purge it.
  36. RobiNERD
    Jul 8, 2016
    0
    Just bad. Ruined the series. Now color splash. No. I hate this game. Guys dont buy this or color splash. It is pure garbage. Battle system no, memorable characters no, music maybe, rpg no...
  37. wariothelegend
    Jun 25, 2018
    2
    This game feels like a "New Super Mario Bros." with turn-based battles. Which would be fine if it was an actual RPG. That's right, it's an Action-Adventure game. With linear story, characters and locations, some fans don't even consider this to be a "Paper Mario" game, especially with the extremely flawed battle system that gives you nothing but gold coins and no experience. Now as aThis game feels like a "New Super Mario Bros." with turn-based battles. Which would be fine if it was an actual RPG. That's right, it's an Action-Adventure game. With linear story, characters and locations, some fans don't even consider this to be a "Paper Mario" game, especially with the extremely flawed battle system that gives you nothing but gold coins and no experience. Now as a "Pick-up-and-play" game, it's not so bad. But for those of you who've stuck with the series even in "Super Paper Mario", you will be disgusted of this. The visuals are cute and "paperish", but that's all this game has to offer that will keep you playing.… Expand
  38. PizzaW0lf
    Mar 6, 2017
    0
    It really is a shame that this game basically SUCKS. You first off can't even call it an RPG because it has almost NONE of the elements on what makes an RPG. Not even EXP! Like, come on now really? This is probably the worst entry in Mario's history because of how lacking it is of depth and challenge. Is it because it's a handheld game? that's really not an excuse Nintendo. I mean PokemonIt really is a shame that this game basically SUCKS. You first off can't even call it an RPG because it has almost NONE of the elements on what makes an RPG. Not even EXP! Like, come on now really? This is probably the worst entry in Mario's history because of how lacking it is of depth and challenge. Is it because it's a handheld game? that's really not an excuse Nintendo. I mean Pokemon can have a good story and THAT'S handheld. Plese Nintendo for once make something like the thousand year door. I think we would all appreciate that. PS this game is really bad, don't buy it.… Expand
  39. sothopery
    Nov 10, 2019
    0
    Me and chuggaa feel the same way about this game: a disappointment even after doing it 100%
  40. JDN9
    Jul 24, 2020
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I... Really wanted to love this game... I really did... but I couldn't... I don't hate this game because it's not like the previous 3 paper Mario games, I really liked colour splash, and I'm actually pretty excited to get my copy of Origami king, which looks good to me, anyways back to this.
    Like I said, i don't hate this game because it's a paper Mario game, I hate this game because it's bad as a game, period.
    To quickly go over the small amount of positives that saves this waste of an idea from getting a 0, i have to give props to the music, it's great, if anything amazing.
    Well... onto my main problem with this game... the battles... there is no point to battling in this game, all you get is more stickers for more battles or more coins to buy more stickers for more battles, that's it. At least in something like colour splash you can get a better paint capacity, which is VERY useful in the grand scheme of things. Normally you'll find yourself running from all the non-required battles, as well... it's just a waste of time for a battle system that isn't even too fun in the first place.
    My second big problem with this game:
    The writing... It's so bland, where the rest of the series has really nice and witty humour, for an example:
    Bowser, probably one of the BEST characters in the series with his amazing dialogue... is horrible in this game, from what I know, he has around one or two lines in the final battle, which aren't even funny, where in colour splash and the other games, even if he doesn't speak that much, we see the good old Bowser in cut scenes explaining some of the plot, mainly colour splash.
    Also... the main partner of this game is so bland and boring Kersti is a horrible companion, the best part about her is the pun in her name "Ker-sti, Stiker" Which should be pretty obvious, but the same can be said with someone like Huey, referencing colour hues, alas it's not that great anyways.
    Next terrible part of this game:
    The story... or the lack of story.
    Here is the plot:
    Bowser invades the sticker-fest and touches the sticker-star (Roll credits) splitting it and making him all powerful, Mario must then find the 6 royal stickers to fight Bowser and save peach.
    That is it, wherein the other paper mario games have so much more to them, even colour splash which seems quite bland.
    This game doesn't fail because it's a "Bad paper mario game" It fails as it's a bad game, period...
    This game goes against the core values of what makes a good game, alas making it my least favourite game of all time.    … Expand
  41. Zethor
    Aug 17, 2020
    4
    A true disappointment of a game, Sticker Star fails to realize the aspects that made its series great. It encourages frustrating mechanics paired with trial-and-error boss fights, combined with a complete lack of incentive to fight enemies, uninspired gameplay, and a joke of a story that just leaves the game feeling completely hollow and boring.
  42. fuchikoma
    Jan 9, 2013
    4
    The game shows off 3D well. The dialogue is funny. There's hardly any skill involved though. Mainly you're just walking around and hoping not to get into another tedious, pointless battle that will neither harm you nor make any significant gains. Then, after you clear the first world, the second starts by gating you based on a rare sticker. So go explore all the levels in the first worldThe game shows off 3D well. The dialogue is funny. There's hardly any skill involved though. Mainly you're just walking around and hoping not to get into another tedious, pointless battle that will neither harm you nor make any significant gains. Then, after you clear the first world, the second starts by gating you based on a rare sticker. So go explore all the levels in the first world again, turning them upside down looking for it and grinding (but not earning XP or anything) for hours just so you can take the next step! Seriously, who thought of that?

    The game starts off with a hearty dose of charm, but the gameplay turns it into a slow, plodding chore that wears out its welcome as you retread already overly simplistic stages again and again looking for rare stickers.    … Expand
  43. Resonance
    Apr 24, 2013
    0
    This was the worst showing for Paper Mario since release. Nintendo has removed all of the RPG, all the humour and all of the more interesting settings. Besides that, progression in the game itself is slow, with countless save/load screens and arbitrary nonsense and busywork designed to lengthen game-play in an otherwise unremarkable game.
  44. davecave23
    Feb 17, 2014
    0
    Disappointing. This coming from a long time fan of the Paper Mario franchises that has loved and treasured these games since the beginning. Sadly however this game removes any of the charming locales, characters and overall level design of the previous installments. Any of the notable RPG elements such as XP are completely removed and simple moves such as jumping in combat or swinging yourDisappointing. This coming from a long time fan of the Paper Mario franchises that has loved and treasured these games since the beginning. Sadly however this game removes any of the charming locales, characters and overall level design of the previous installments. Any of the notable RPG elements such as XP are completely removed and simple moves such as jumping in combat or swinging your hammer require a sticker which just seems pointless. I still have high hopes for this franchise but not in this... abomination. The original on the N64 and its sequel on the GameCube deserve your time much more so than this astronomically low-point for the series.… Expand
  45. pokedude143
    May 30, 2015
    0
    I'm going to list the main reasons that I disliked it, so this may get long.
    1. It had little story. It was literally bowser causes havoc, breaks the sticker star, and kidnaps peach. Other games had more interesting stories (Bowser steals the Star rod so that only his wishes are granted, The X-Nauts are trying to revive a 1,000 year old demon with the crystal stars, Count Bleck wants to    I'm going to list the main reasons that I disliked it, so this may get long.
    1. It had little story. It was literally bowser causes havoc, breaks the sticker star, and kidnaps peach. Other games had more interesting stories (Bowser steals the Star rod so that only his wishes are granted, The X-Nauts are trying to revive a 1,000 year old demon with the crystal stars, Count Bleck wants to destroy the entire universe)
    2. It had no memorable characters. The other games had the partners/ pixls who were very memeorable, and even the NPCs were memorable (Don Pianta, Merlon, the previous 3: bowser) but this had Kirsti, who was as flat as the world that you inhabit.
    3. There were no reason to battle enemies. They don't give any EXP, only coins which you use to buy more stickers. And because your attacks are stickers, which you consume, you eventually avoid battles to save enough stickers for the boss, speaking of which
    4. The boss fights sucked. You could only defeat them efficiently if you use their Weakness 'Thing,' but the game gives no indication of what it's weakness is. As a reference, in TTYD, early on in hooktail castle, Kolorado's father writes in his letter that Hooktail dislikes the sound of crickets, and right after you get the ability to turn sideways, there is a badge that makes Mario's attacks sound like Crickets. However, if you somehow missed the badge, you can still beat him as the badge only affects his attack/defense. In this game, If you didn't find the specific Thing laying on the ground a few stages before the boss, then you'll waste all of your stickers trying to fight him. And if you win after using all your stickers, Kersti will ask you if there was a more efficient way of going about it. If a game basically demands that you use a guide to make sure you have the boss's weakness, then that isn't good. (and Bowser has 5 forms, each with their own weakness)    … Expand
  46. StoopidPingas23
    Oct 19, 2015
    4
    If it ain't broke, don't fix it, that's how Miyamoto should have thought when he told the designers to change the concept to Sticker Star. Thanks to Miyamoto the end result became a huge dissapointment, with a broken battle system and a flat story. Even if the music is kinda nice, I would never recommend this to a true Paper Mario fan.
  47. UltraTektite
    Mar 25, 2016
    4
    Paper Mario Sticker Star took away everything that made the first two Paper Mario games great, and was an immense disappointment.

    For starters, it reverted to the simple "Bowser kidnaps Peach" story, and thus lacks the interesting and original stories that previous Paper Mario games had. And even though this generic story could have been executed well, it wasn't. A bland story can still    Paper Mario Sticker Star took away everything that made the first two Paper Mario games great, and was an immense disappointment.

    For starters, it reverted to the simple "Bowser kidnaps Peach" story, and thus lacks the interesting and original stories that previous Paper Mario games had. And even though this generic story could have been executed well, it wasn't. A bland story can still be redeemed by interesting characters, but Sticker Star has none, with the game's cast consisting of Mario, Kersti, Peach, Bowser, and about a million Toads. Yes, that's right. Instead of the game being filled with interesting and unique characters, generic Toads make up the entire supporting cast.

    The gameplay has taken a dive as well. The battle system, albeit creative, is extremely irritating and lacks much depth. The lack of exp and leveling up takes away all sense of reward, and has essentially stripped the series of the RPG elements that made it great. In addition, the lack of a connected world has removed nearly all sense of exploration that the series once had. Also, the puzzles are unfairly cryptic, many times requiring some obscure sticker that you get halfway across the gameworld, with no clues leading to it whatsoever. The same applies to boss battles, each of which has a weakness to one thing sticker, and the outcome of the battle will usually depend solely on whether or not you have that sticker.

    I'd like to be able to say something good about this game, some way it improved over previous Paper Mario games. But it is a downgrade in every way imaginable. The fact that this game's gameplay style is the new standard for the series makes me want to cry. Paper Mario is dead.    … Expand
  48. ThoDuSt
    Mar 5, 2016
    0
    At first it seemed okay, but before all the levels in the first world were cleared I was painfully bored, a feeling that lasted the rest of the game. I kept playing hoping it would get better, but it never did. The battles feel pointless, and the bosses are either finished in one turn or will take hours and all your stickers to beat. The world felt empty and dead, not worth exploring. WhatAt first it seemed okay, but before all the levels in the first world were cleared I was painfully bored, a feeling that lasted the rest of the game. I kept playing hoping it would get better, but it never did. The battles feel pointless, and the bosses are either finished in one turn or will take hours and all your stickers to beat. The world felt empty and dead, not worth exploring. What little of a script there was felt cheesier and more worn out than other games.

    People who like this game keep saying that those who dislike it just didn't give it a chance or are judging it on nostalgia. I DID give it a chance, and after I stopped comparing it to older games I still despised it on it's own merits.

    I've never played a game that I've derived less enjoyment from.    … Expand
  49. TwistedCritic
    Mar 13, 2016
    0
    Paper Mario: Sticker Star is not a Paper Mario game. If you consider this the pinnacle of the series, you've obviously never played any of the previous entries. Do yourself a favor and play the older games, they're all masterpieces, even Super Paper Mario is better than this trash.
  50. afkcyndiquil
    Feb 3, 2014
    1
    Paper Mario 64? Beautiful. Paper Mario thousand year door? Glorious. Super Paper Mario. Marvelous.
    Sticker Star? Sold it on eBay for 10 bucks just to get it out of my house. The reason i play paper mario is to get out of the same ol same ol Mario, and sticker star is that all over again. Now, tell me if you have been lost at least once. If you have to go to ign 10 times to beat a game,    Paper Mario 64? Beautiful. Paper Mario thousand year door? Glorious. Super Paper Mario. Marvelous.
    Sticker Star? Sold it on eBay for 10 bucks just to get it out of my house. The reason i play paper mario is to get out of the same ol same ol Mario, and sticker star is that all over again. Now, tell me if you have been lost at least once. If you have to go to ign 10 times to beat a game, that's a problem. Also, it removed partners. Tippi, bombett, bow, yoshi kid, watt, ms. mowz. These partners and everybody else made paper mario what it is , and i misss them. the only reason i'm giving this 1 is because of the art. It is pretty good. BUT THAT'S IT.    … Expand
  51. darxodia
    Mar 2, 2015
    3
    Simply, the worst Paper Mario game by far, Nintendo changed all good mechanics of the previous games for annoying non-intuitive new ones.

    First of all and most important, the new sticker battle mechanic is irritating most of the times, and particularly, on boss battles. Normal enemies only drop coins, and occasionally, stickers, so there's no need to fight them unless you want to trash    Simply, the worst Paper Mario game by far, Nintendo changed all good mechanics of the previous games for annoying non-intuitive new ones.

    First of all and most important, the new sticker battle mechanic is irritating most of the times, and particularly, on boss battles. Normal enemies only drop coins, and occasionally, stickers, so there's no need to fight them unless you want to trash weak stickers. Most of the times you're going to escape these fights to save your valuables stickers. Without a battle partner the game tends to be very monotone and repetitive. The controls are basics and they don't take advantage of the 3DS.

    Taking off the battle system, it could be a very good game, like Super Paper Mario, because the story is interesting, the graphics are appealing and the music recalls the original atmosphere of the series.

    If you enjoyed the older games, please don't buy this one, you're going to have a bad time.    … Expand
  52. TylerMitch
    Nov 25, 2019
    0
    This game is **** soooooooooooooo much **** in this mother ****ing dumb piece of **** atrocity
  53. gregkarate
    Jul 19, 2015
    0
    This game is absolute, complete garbage. The fact that Nintendo took money from people for this game is a disgrace. I've given Paper Mario two chances since the amazing, incredible Thousand Year Door, and that little twerp has blown both chances. At least the Wii Paper Mario had some redemptive qualities. This, on the other hand....

    Look at any negative review. What will you see?    This game is absolute, complete garbage. The fact that Nintendo took money from people for this game is a disgrace. I've given Paper Mario two chances since the amazing, incredible Thousand Year Door, and that little twerp has blown both chances. At least the Wii Paper Mario had some redemptive qualities. This, on the other hand....

    Look at any negative review. What will you see? That battles here are pointless. Why? Well, when you go into battle, you use stickers. What do you get when you win a battle? More stickers. No EXP points... just...more stickers. So why the hell would I want to go into battle with ANYONE!? Good God, who thought this was a good idea? There was NO ONE who thought to speak up and say something?! Who's working at Nintendo these days? The Minions from Despicable Me?

    This is literally the worst game I've played.. maybe ever. I owned Superman 64. I took more enjoyment out of that game (yes, I used cheat codes to make it bearable but still).

    I WANTED to like this game. I put ELEVEN hours into it, trying to convince myself that hey, this isn't so bad. Then as I was running through a forest, dodging enemies (again, battles are pointless wastes of time) it hit me. This game is so bad, I would rather have a lobotomy than be forced to play it another second.    … Expand
  54. JHH62
    Dec 27, 2012
    3
    There are so many things wrong with this game, first of all the plot is too linear you play as Mario throughout the whole game you don't get to play as peach or bowser, there are no new characters other than kersti, all the characters in the game are from the Mario platformers, there are no exp so you can't level up and if you run out of stickers you have no choice but to run away, peachThere are so many things wrong with this game, first of all the plot is too linear you play as Mario throughout the whole game you don't get to play as peach or bowser, there are no new characters other than kersti, all the characters in the game are from the Mario platformers, there are no exp so you can't level up and if you run out of stickers you have no choice but to run away, peach only has about five lines, bowser is the main antagonist and he has no dialogue, in the previous installments the main antagonist always had dialogue, and one of this game's worst problems is that luigi went from being a playable character to a glorified cameo, I have no idea what nintendo was thinking when they made this game.… Expand
  55. marioaddict
    Jan 14, 2013
    2
    I don't understand why this game is getting such good reviews. It's terrible. The combat system is completely broken, requiring you to waste valuable time and materials (stickers) for absolutely no gain. With no leveling up, the turn based combat is pointless and time-consuming, serving no purpose but to collect money, which can be obtained far more quickly and easily by collectingI don't understand why this game is getting such good reviews. It's terrible. The combat system is completely broken, requiring you to waste valuable time and materials (stickers) for absolutely no gain. With no leveling up, the turn based combat is pointless and time-consuming, serving no purpose but to collect money, which can be obtained far more quickly and easily by collecting "Things", turning them into stickers, and selling them. Worse yet, if you run out of stickers in combat, you are forced to run away, making the whole ordeal even more pointless. The boss battles are atrocious, requiring you to use specific stickers at specific times or else waste far too many of your stickers. To make matters worse, the specific stickers you have to use are always "Thing" stickers, which you can only ever have one of at any given time. Therefor, if you use the sticker at the wrong time, you're screwed. Worse still, if you fail to beat the boss the easy way, your partner will ridicule you for using too many stickers. The puzzles in the game can also be challenging, but too much so for my taste. Admittedly, the game looks very nice, and the music isn't terrible. But that doesn't excuse the horrid gameplay. (As I always say, gameplay before graphics.) Overall, this is a terrible game and I am sorry for buying it.… Expand
  56. Polarthief
    Nov 26, 2012
    0
    Change is bad. 'nuff said. I honestly don't know what to say about it besides how awful this one is compared to the originals. This shouldn't be classified as an RPG in any way because there's no incentive to fight and all attacks can only be used once before having to get more.
  57. Cale
    Feb 8, 2013
    2
    I really tried to give this game a chance. I really did. However, it rivals "Sonic: The Dark Brotherhood" in sheer crap factor. Sticker Star is just barely better in that you aren't forced to use the touchscreen to control the whole game. Sadly, where such touchscreen support would have been nice, it is glaringly absent, seemingly almost ignored. The plot is a bit too standard to a marioI really tried to give this game a chance. I really did. However, it rivals "Sonic: The Dark Brotherhood" in sheer crap factor. Sticker Star is just barely better in that you aren't forced to use the touchscreen to control the whole game. Sadly, where such touchscreen support would have been nice, it is glaringly absent, seemingly almost ignored. The plot is a bit too standard to a mario game, lacking any major twist to the plot that the previous entries in the series had. The complete lack of a development system makes the game fall very flat, as combat becomes nothing more than tedium, lacking real reason to exist. The sidekick you get is the most annoying since Navi herself and is even more useless than she is. All it needed to surpass her in raw annoyance was a sound effect telling you to listen like she does. For some reason, I found the constant use of the word 'sticker' to be very rapidly aggravating, and given it's said by almost every character in the game world, it was intolerable in less than 15 minutes or so. Once I hit a road block that had no obvious and immediate solution, I found myself feeling that I didn't like the game enough to bother looking at a game guide. I just shut it down, and went on to the next game I wanted to play. This game is an insult to the series, and the entire genre of JRPGs as a whole. Do yourself a huge favor: don't buy it. You aren't missing anything but compounding irritation.… Expand
  58. Relytia
    Nov 6, 2013
    4
    I love Paper Mario. I always have. That's why it pains me to give this game a much lower score than I waited months to give it. There's no doubt the concepts in PMSS are sound, the presentation is spectacular both in audio and visually, and the charm is off the charts. The problem is there is no rewarding systems built into the game to justify some of the design choices. Turn based battlesI love Paper Mario. I always have. That's why it pains me to give this game a much lower score than I waited months to give it. There's no doubt the concepts in PMSS are sound, the presentation is spectacular both in audio and visually, and the charm is off the charts. The problem is there is no rewarding systems built into the game to justify some of the design choices. Turn based battles leave you with no sense of progress of satisfaction as there are no star points or leveling up, only coins and stickers which are all over the game world anyway. This was promised for a long time to be a return to the kind of Mario RPG masterpiece that 1,000-Year-Door was, but the game gets in the way of that promise at almost every pivotal turn. The fact this could have been a true sequel to TYD and perhaps even surpass it makes the disappointment and boredom this game offers all the more bitter. I'm sorry Paper Mario fans, I'm sorry Intelligent Systems, but I really don't like this game.… Expand
  59. PaperMe
    Mar 12, 2016
    4
    Paper Mario : Sticker Star shouldn't be a Paper Mario. We came from the excellent Paper Mario TTYD to this.. a game without soul! Yes, they had a great idea for a game on 3DS, but a Paper Mario without partner, badge and xp.. No, not for me!
  60. MazinroboX2
    Mar 30, 2016
    2
    This is a extremely disappointing game. I mean, I was thrilled when I watched the trailers, getting back to the turn-based system, something I loved in the first 2 games and wasn't in the third, and the mark Paper Mario was all I needed for huge will to play this. But well... I didn't get what I expected. The great story and characters this series has had, especially the first two games,This is a extremely disappointing game. I mean, I was thrilled when I watched the trailers, getting back to the turn-based system, something I loved in the first 2 games and wasn't in the third, and the mark Paper Mario was all I needed for huge will to play this. But well... I didn't get what I expected. The great story and characters this series has had, especially the first two games, they are gone, the story is the same as every Mario game with nothing special, and the sticker system for battling is awful. You get no reward for winning battles, actually the game punishes you for battling, something I hadn't seen in any RPG. The only reward is... money. And for that you must win the battles spending your stickers, which you must buy with money or find while you play. Also bosses are ridiculous, there is an overpowered sticker for all of them that just destroys them, if you don't find it they are extremely hard, and if you find it they are piece of cake. Sure, the Paper Mario universe charm and great music are there, and the world, while not as good as the ones in the previous games, is decent (that's why this gets a 2 and not a 0...)

    All in all, don't buy this, it's not worth your time, there are much better games out there.    … Expand
  61. Classico
    Jul 23, 2020
    1
    I remember hoping that this game would get good, but I made it to the end completely unfulfilled. Disposable stickers were a terrible design choice.
  62. Trautism
    Aug 2, 2020
    0
    This game is by far the worst Paper Mario game and is the worst 3DS game. in fact, let me list off all of the problems. It has no story, no memorable characters or locations, a frustrating battle system, poor navigation, etc, etc, etc. but seriously, don't buy this, it's a waste of time and money.
  63. za4d
    Aug 7, 2020
    0
    Ahh the worst Paper Mario game ever Sticker Star its straight up garbage u know why? there
    the battle system suck you use stupid stickers and theres no reward on battles theres no reward on battles the only thing u get was coins and coins use to buy stickers why just use them for puzzles and boss
    the story was boring and stupid WTF nintendo!! its another Bowser kidnapped Peach cliche the    Ahh the worst Paper Mario game ever Sticker Star its straight up garbage u know why? there
    the battle system suck you use stupid stickers and theres no reward on battles theres no reward on battles the only thing u get was coins and coins use to buy stickers why just use them for puzzles and boss
    the story was boring and stupid WTF nintendo!! its another Bowser kidnapped Peach cliche
    the NPCs are boring there just Toads
    this game feels like another NSMB game with rpg elements and theres a stupid world map is this a paper mario game anymore?? The gameplay was boring
    The Puzzles was boring
    i swear i would destroy this piece of **** if i see it Thank god the Origami King improved heavily    … Expand
  64. APaperMarioFan
    Oct 25, 2020
    3
    Someone would usually say they played TTYD for its great battle system and unique plot. But someone who plays Sticker Star just has less things to say. The only thing they would probably think of are its decent levels and its charm. TTYD isn’t flawless, as its linearity is a bit annoying, as well as the exploration. But TTYD’s positives are much greater as it had a complex plot, amazingSomeone would usually say they played TTYD for its great battle system and unique plot. But someone who plays Sticker Star just has less things to say. The only thing they would probably think of are its decent levels and its charm. TTYD isn’t flawless, as its linearity is a bit annoying, as well as the exploration. But TTYD’s positives are much greater as it had a complex plot, amazing battle system, and lots of creativity. Sticker Star doesn't do that. Paper Mario games usually consist of three things: a good story, a burst of creativity, and a good battle system. These three things are what make Paper Mario great. This is why I still recognize Super as a good game, it had at least two of those things and its positives outweighed its negatives by a large margin. Sticker Star has none of those things, it may have decent level design as well as a healthy dose of charm, but its negatives outweighed the positives. Some may say TTYD fans like me put the new games to an impossible standard, and that we have our nostalgia goggles on too tight. But that is a lie. Bug Fables is a game that shows what Paper Mario should be today, it had a good plot, a great battle system, and creativity shooting through the roof. Overall, it was an amazing game, a good 9.5/10. This was done by a small Indie studio, if they can do something like that, it is not impossible for Nintendo to live up to TTYD’s standards. Sticker Star had the chance to bring the series back from the still great but disappointing Super Paper Mario. But it ended up going to the worst point in the series. Sticker Star can only be enjoyed by a small number of people with certain gaming tastes. But for me Sticker Star isn’t a true Paper Mario, it wasn’t anything like the original three and had nothing in common with them other than it being attached to the Paper Mario franchise. Up to this point the games were all either great or amazing games, but this game tarnished the name of Paper Mario and the series has still not recovered from this. I’m going to be generous and give Paper Mario Sticker Star a 3/10.… Expand
  65. LazyLenni
    Jun 23, 2021
    3
    Unfortunately this game marks the end of the traditional Paper Mario games, which were known for their unique characters, interesting story and strategical gameplay and the beginning of an era of mediocre videogames.

    With this game they took out all of the traits, that made Paper Mario so beloved: The leveldesign is bland and similar to standard levels from the NSMB series. Similar to    Unfortunately this game marks the end of the traditional Paper Mario games, which were known for their unique characters, interesting story and strategical gameplay and the beginning of an era of mediocre videogames.

    With this game they took out all of the traits, that made Paper Mario so beloved: The leveldesign is bland and similar to standard levels from the NSMB series. Similar to that, the interesting characters were mostly replaced with nameless Toads, whose individual oneliners are not even worth remembering.
    Also fights are not as fun anymore, as you do not gain experience points anymore and badges, partners, counters and many more elements, that made them more strategical, were removed.

    This is just the beginning, of what I would have to critisize Paper Mario Sticker Star for. In the end I just cannot understand, why the producers (such as Kensuke Tanabe) would follow through with such flawed gamedesign in the next games.
    Also, instead of completely followng through with their new ideology, they seem to be bringing some of Paper Marios best elements back, but only in an extremely halfhearted way!
    (For example the ,,badges´´ or ,,partners´´ in The Origami King, which had almost no significance for thr overall gameplay)

    At this point I am not even disappointed anymore by newer Paper Mario games.

    To anyone, who read this,

    -play Bug Fables! It is a great alternative for Paper Mario, as it builds on the style of the first 2 titles.
    -I would recommend, supporting Arlo´s petition for Paper Mario.

    Thank you for reading!    … Expand
  66. LazyLennii
    Aug 16, 2021
    0
    Sadly, you can see creative restrictions around every corner. This game marks the downfall of the Paper Mario series!
  67. Triplerman
    Dec 22, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is the worst Paper Mario game by far and maybe one of the worst games Nintendo has ever released. Who thought it was good game design to need a certain sticker to beat certain enemies? I just wonder what happened between the beta showcase and the final release date, because this was a huge disappointment. Super Paper Mario, while it does have its own fair share of flaws, still feels like a Paper Mario game, Sticker Star, on the other hand, doesn't even feel like it was made by Nintendo. I wish I could wipe this game from my memory, because I had a miserable time with it, and would steer clear of ever playing it again.… Expand
  68. TheHomebrewGuru
    Mar 3, 2013
    2
    The game had little to no character development, had a generic story, was not very interesting, had a broken battle system, and was sort of tedious. I will say that it was better than "Super Paper Mario," in that at times I did not even feel like I was playing a Mario game when playing "Super Paper Mario," but ultimately I did not feel that I was really immersed into the Mario world veryThe game had little to no character development, had a generic story, was not very interesting, had a broken battle system, and was sort of tedious. I will say that it was better than "Super Paper Mario," in that at times I did not even feel like I was playing a Mario game when playing "Super Paper Mario," but ultimately I did not feel that I was really immersed into the Mario world very deeply with Sticker Star either. I didn't really "get to know" characters very well. Some of the new Mario characters are sort of annoying. Paper Mario the Thousand Year Door is still by far my favorite. I wonder if Nintendo is still capable of making genuinely memorable games?… Expand
  69. BrushedRed
    Oct 9, 2016
    4
    Nintendo took everything we knew about Paper Mario and flipped it on its head. All the fun worlds are now gone and replaced with a world map, endless backtracking, bland and one-dimensional characters (basically all Toads), pointless combat (uses up stickers and gives nothing in return), no humorous characters, and not much of a story. The graphics are definitely nice, but that's about theNintendo took everything we knew about Paper Mario and flipped it on its head. All the fun worlds are now gone and replaced with a world map, endless backtracking, bland and one-dimensional characters (basically all Toads), pointless combat (uses up stickers and gives nothing in return), no humorous characters, and not much of a story. The graphics are definitely nice, but that's about the only good thing I can say about it. I tried to be positive about this game but compared to the previous ones, it's bad.… Expand
  70. GambyThe4th
    Mar 29, 2014
    1
    The adventure of Paper Mario games had me loving this game since the original Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64. The fact the developers decided to force a world system like they did ruined the adventure system of the game; which many people had come to love and consider that one of the prime features of Paper Mario. Ditching the leveling system made battling anything but bosses useless.The adventure of Paper Mario games had me loving this game since the original Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64. The fact the developers decided to force a world system like they did ruined the adventure system of the game; which many people had come to love and consider that one of the prime features of Paper Mario. Ditching the leveling system made battling anything but bosses useless. Disappointed and hoping for a turn for the better in the next game.… Expand
  71. Giga_Gamby
    Mar 29, 2014
    3
    Before we tackle why I gave this a 3, let's discuss what made it's predecessors great. First, the RPG elements made each battle worth it, with minimal grinding, battles were always enjoyable and it felt as if you were making a difference. Unfortunately, Sticker Star did not live up to this, with no RPG elements within the game it made battling a chore. The sticker system made it so you areBefore we tackle why I gave this a 3, let's discuss what made it's predecessors great. First, the RPG elements made each battle worth it, with minimal grinding, battles were always enjoyable and it felt as if you were making a difference. Unfortunately, Sticker Star did not live up to this, with no RPG elements within the game it made battling a chore. The sticker system made it so you are forced to attack with the penalty of losing a sticker when you use it, and what do you get after wasting your time battling? Coins used to buy more stickers and replace the ones you just used. It's just a circle of buy and use giving no incentive for battle.
    Another specialty the past games had was partners. The partner system gave the past games a sense of difference between other RPG's. Although Super Paper Mario was a bit iffy with their partner system, I still enjoyed the execution I've played and beat all past Paper Mario games and was eagerly awaiting to see what partners were to come. My hopes fell flat when I saw no partners in the game whatsoever. Instead there's an annoying crown shaped sprite following you throughout your useless journey.
    Also, the open world in previous games gave a sense of freedom throughout the game. All games lived up to this, from roaming the main towns, to warping through the doors of flipside. I was again disappointed with the the generic travel through level select. I'm not saying level select is bad, but Paper Mario wise, it should be a necessity.
    Lastly, the execution of story line. Past games have impacted my childhood like no game could have ever had. I remember saving the Mushroom Kingdom, the world, then the entire universe! It was a delightful adventure that I will always treasure from my childhood. What's the story line here?... Rescue the royal stickers... why? Because of the sticker festival in the beginning... This poor presentation of what I'm fighting for gives little to no incentive for me to complete the game. "Hooray! I got all the Royal Stickers!" "Now we can party!" That's just not appealing to me whatsoever.
    Now that we got the comparison between predecessors, let's talk about why it was a bad game... Everything above! No RPG elements, partners, open world, or story makes this "adventure" fall flat on its face and has forced me to give it a painful score of 3.
    It's as the title predicts, it's 2 dimensional. If you haven't played the past games, play those instead of this paper thin mess.    … Expand
  72. greninjaX
    Jul 20, 2020
    0
    this game is trash. the other 3 paper Mario games before it were much better. play those instead
  73. Globox_ARG
    Sep 22, 2013
    3
    Lo malo que tiene este juego es que no podes subir de nivel, entonces cuando terminas una batalla no recibis nada de recompensa y tenes que conseguir o comprar mas pegatinas porque las perdes, me esperaba mucho mas de este juego
  74. TearsMacabre
    Aug 1, 2016
    2
    I'll start with the good parts of the game: The graphics are really nice, and the new sticker mechanic was interesting at first.

    Unfortunately, that was about it for me. There was no story whatsoever, and the characters were all incredibly bland and one-note. The stickers soon became very tedious, as did combat, as well as the constant, confusing backtracking. Bowser, once again, is the    I'll start with the good parts of the game: The graphics are really nice, and the new sticker mechanic was interesting at first.

    Unfortunately, that was about it for me. There was no story whatsoever, and the characters were all incredibly bland and one-note. The stickers soon became very tedious, as did combat, as well as the constant, confusing backtracking. Bowser, once again, is the generic annoying villain - not an amazing, well rounded character as in the previous games. The paper theme was also way overdone.

    Overall, if you loved The Thousand Year Door or even Super Paper Mario, steer clear of this one. If not, maybe you'll find something you'll like - but there are a lot of gameplay flaws to deal with, so be careful.    … Expand
  75. GamecubeLover
    Jul 14, 2016
    3
    Paper Mario is amazing so is the thousand year door and super paper mario and this game...is alright. Story is bad and the gameplay is really bad. The graphics are okay and the fighting combat is probably the worse thing about this game! Did I say this game was okay? No it's trash instead.
  76. Dweep
    Jul 23, 2016
    3
    This game was so bad that I had to make an account on Metacricit just to down vote it.

    Its not a good Paper Mario, and its not a good game in general. Frustrating level design, bad combat system and no sense of progression (its better to skip all combat because you get no XP, you only waste resources by fighting). Uninteresting story, bad characters and weird layout of things. One of    This game was so bad that I had to make an account on Metacricit just to down vote it.

    Its not a good Paper Mario, and its not a good game in general. Frustrating level design, bad combat system and no sense of progression (its better to skip all combat because you get no XP, you only waste resources by fighting).

    Uninteresting story, bad characters and weird layout of things. One of the few games ever I quit because it was too bad and boring :(

    This will not go down as a "real" Paper Mario, its just a bad Mario and Luigi.    … Expand
  77. TheWaffleGuy
    Oct 2, 2016
    1
    Ah paper mario sticker star. Truth be told i was excited when i first got this. I started playing it right when i got it. I kept on wondering "when will i get my first partner" and "when will i level up" And then i figured out, no partners and no leveling system. No charming characters and no funny jokes. Just a bunch of toads and mario doing the cliche save princess peach. I got so boredAh paper mario sticker star. Truth be told i was excited when i first got this. I started playing it right when i got it. I kept on wondering "when will i get my first partner" and "when will i level up" And then i figured out, no partners and no leveling system. No charming characters and no funny jokes. Just a bunch of toads and mario doing the cliche save princess peach. I got so bored and so stuck i stopped playing. I tried to go back to it but i was so stuck on a part i could not do it. Theres no point in battling either. No reward but coins. And wanna know what you use coins for? MORE STICKERS! AND YOU USE STICKERS TO BATTLE. I was really disappointed. The gameplay certainly isint bad, But its easy to get stuck and no point in even battling. Battles are easy due to some op stickers as well. So this is just a bad game. And with color splash i think paper mario is a dying series. And i hate to say it. So this is just a bad game.… Expand
  78. CyberRobotnix
    Mar 8, 2018
    3
    The battle concept, despite being innovative, is not nice.

    It may add some strategy elements, but otherwise it barely works. The stickers are limited which forces you to keep them for later use. Also, I heavily dislike the fact that you can finish a boss off as quickly as you started fighting it. So basically it has most of the flaws that modern Mario games have and it is mostly    The battle concept, despite being innovative, is not nice.

    It may add some strategy elements, but otherwise it barely works.
    The stickers are limited which forces you to keep them for later use.

    Also, I heavily dislike the fact that you can finish a boss off as quickly as you started fighting it.

    So basically it has most of the flaws that modern Mario games have and it is mostly obnoxious.

    The worst with this game are still the puzzles, they drag on and on and on for too long sometimes, imagine chapter 4 of TTYD, but instead of being one single chapter IT IS THE ENTIRE GAME!!!

    Too much backtracking, no replayability value and no story at all.

    Avoid this game at all costs.    … Expand
  79. MeatwadMeatwad
    Jun 14, 2018
    3
    This is by far the worst paper Mario game because it just over relies on the stickers and makes the combat very frustrating and annoying because you forgot to search around for some stickers that are semi-decent. The puzzles are also very difficult to figure out because it's just a search fest for these very specific puzzles to get these special stickers to trigger scripted events and youThis is by far the worst paper Mario game because it just over relies on the stickers and makes the combat very frustrating and annoying because you forgot to search around for some stickers that are semi-decent. The puzzles are also very difficult to figure out because it's just a search fest for these very specific puzzles to get these special stickers to trigger scripted events and you can't complete the game unless you look up how or get lucky. The battles are more of just a hindrance than something you'll want to do because you get a pointless reward which is literally just coins.… Expand
  80. Namel
    Jun 3, 2019
    3
    Worst Paper Mario ever.

    i won't say details, ill only say that the game sucks, taking all of the spirit that paper Mario series have.

    Don't play this game.
  81. MonadoBoy16
    Nov 4, 2019
    0
    This game started to make the Paper Mario Series Gone Downhill thanks to ALL NPCS BEING TOADS and ONLY TOADS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  82. Sercho
    Jul 24, 2020
    0
    This is the game that ruined the franchise, no more RPG elements, no more partners, no more original characters, unnecessary battles and a tedious battle system. Thanks to this game Color Splash and The origami King are not great games. Sticker star is a catastrophe thanks to Tanabe and Miyamoto's outdated ideas
  83. livelovelaugh22
    Mar 23, 2020
    2
    Alright, here we go. This is the worst Paper Mario game, and it doesn't even deserve to be called Paper Mario. This game was a train wreck, and I'll tell you why.
    Now Mario games aren't really known for their story, but this made me want to puke.
    ANOTHER BORING BOWSER TAKES PEACH CLICHE' It isn't even just boring, now just b l e h. Also, you have to collect these Comet pieces across    Alright, here we go. This is the worst Paper Mario game, and it doesn't even deserve to be called Paper Mario. This game was a train wreck, and I'll tell you why.
    Now Mario games aren't really known for their story, but this made me want to puke.
    ANOTHER BORING BOWSER TAKES PEACH CLICHE'
    It isn't even just boring, now just b l e h.
    Also, you have to collect these Comet pieces across the world to save Peach. Woohoo.
    If the gameplay was good, it might make up for it. Sadly, it was so bad we didn't even level up. We collect coins in which we use for stickers, which we attack enemies with. That's okay, but if you go into an actual battle you will find yourself playing a tedious, grinding turn taking RPG with no personality. The puzzles in this game had you backtracking, and it was confusing. The game was difficult, and not in the way you would like. The ending was very basic. Other than Toads whom had no personality, we had no characters other than Mario, Peach, and Bowser. Your sidekick, Kertsi, was an annoyance more than a help. The only actual enjoyment I had playing this game other than getting done with it so I could review it was the jazzy soundtrack. It was alright. I dug it.
    If you enjoy frustrating, energy grinding, zero charm, zero story, and zero personality games with the dumbest combat system imaginable, this one is a hit. I would give it a 1, but that might be a bit too harsh, even for this garbage. 2 it is!    … Expand
  84. Dukedahouse
    Jul 23, 2020
    1
    After the greatness of Paper Mario, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, (And debatably,) Super Paper Mario, Nintendo followed up with this piece of crap. The story aims for a generic “Bowser kidnaps the Princess” story, unlike its predecessors, which had really unique stories. But the gameplay is even worse. You attack by using stickers, which are really annoying and isn’t anything likeAfter the greatness of Paper Mario, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door, (And debatably,) Super Paper Mario, Nintendo followed up with this piece of crap. The story aims for a generic “Bowser kidnaps the Princess” story, unlike its predecessors, which had really unique stories. But the gameplay is even worse. You attack by using stickers, which are really annoying and isn’t anything like an RPG, but unlike Super Paper Mario, it isn’t fun. The characters suck. Thousand year door had 10X more character development with about 7 more characters. Instead of partners, you get stuck with an annoying punk named Kirsti. She isn’t likeable at all, unlike the first 3 games. The only good thing are the graphics. They are pretty, but that doesn’t make up for a crappy storyline and god-awful gameplay. Avoid at all costs.… Expand
  85. TheHand
    Aug 17, 2020
    0
    I would rather chew on glass than play this horrible waste of time and money again, Paper Mario: Sticker Star is so horrid is not worth being called a video game
  86. h3xed
    Jul 20, 2020
    0
    sticker star is a stupid ****ing **** **** **** **** **********************
  87. Bebrop
    Aug 1, 2020
    0
    Terrible combat, terrible story, no real characters. For your own sake, avoid at all costs.
  88. BeeSting1
    Jan 1, 2021
    2
    A hollow shell of the OG Paper Mario games.

    Good - the cardboard and paper themes are really well done, probably the most well done in all of the paper Mario games. The attention to detail when I came to how objects interacted with the elements, like wind, was very well depicted. - the 3D looks really good. - peeling stickers off of walls on the floor feels quite satisfying,    A hollow shell of the OG Paper Mario games.

    Good

    - the cardboard and paper themes are really well done, probably the most well done in all of the paper Mario games. The attention to detail when I came to how objects interacted with the elements, like wind, was very well depicted.

    - the 3D looks really good.

    - peeling stickers off of walls on the floor feels quite satisfying, and putting stickers onto missing parts of the levels also felt quite nice.

    - I like how the music transitions into a different remix of the same song when I enter a new world on the map

    - the roulette is pretty fun to use, as I got good at the timing. Made the random battles go by much quicker.

    Bad

    - you don't even need the time block that well. The window to block is so huge that it's really hard to fail it. There's just no challenge when it comes to countering. I'm also really upset at the removal of super guard, because it removes the option of very skilled players to attempt it.

    - because there is no XP, the wild enemies became a matter of how well i could Dodge them, because there was absolutely no reason for me to fight them since they offered nothing besides some coins, which I could already find plenty of in the level, and after the level.

    - the combat is also very shallow. There are no special timing moves. All the qte's were timing the hammer and timing the jumps. Which is way less diverse than the original two paper Mario games.

    - some of the scraps that you have to turn into stickers aren't very obvious as to where you're supposed to use them. And collecting the three tablets that you need to access world 2-5 was also very ambiguous as to their location. It was never made clear that each piece was hidden in a separate world, inside of a chest. The game never stated that I needed to combine tablets, never did they mention that the tablets were scattered across three different worlds, and never did they mention that each piece was hidden in a chest. As a consequence, I was trying to paper eyes random scraps in world 2-5, obviously to know avail. And now my scrapbook was stuck with a bunch of scrap stickers which took up all the space from regular stickers.

    - it's completely unintuitive and annoying that you must turn objects into stickers in order to use them against the boss. It basically meant I had to fight the boss one time without the super effective sticker, probably lose, restart, go back to deckleberg, make the object into a sticker, travel to the boss again, then fight him. I felt the game should have just allowed me to use the object without having to turn it into a sticker.

    - because battles gained me nothing, I avoided them. But this caused another issue. because I tried to avoid as many battles as I could, there were many puzzle clues that I missed because I was trying to escape the enemy.

    - sometimes puzzles require certain stickers to be solved. if you didn't have those stickers, it meant you have to walk all the way back to the entrance, then all the way back to the store to buy the stickers you need, then travel all the way back to where the puzzle was. This was extremely tedious.

    - Overly cryptic puzzle: 3-5 random hidden blocks to cross broken bridge

    - Overly cryptic puzzle: 3-4 wiggler segment hidden in random bush

    - Overly cryptic puzzle 5-5: refrigerator freezes entire volcano?!

    - Overly cryptic puzzle 5-5: falling rocks don't create hole in cracked ground except on a single crack. How am I supposed to know that one crack is special?!

    - for the log River level, how does running on a raft make it move? The logs are clearly connected, or else they would have drifted apart. and if they are connected, there is no way one can run on the raft to make it move. They should have just given Mario a paddle, which makes way more sense.

    - I think the biggest problem with this game is having to convert things into stickers inside of shops. This means that if I encountered puzzles requiring a thing sticker, I would need the thing itself. If I didn't, I'd probably be trying a bunch of different s*** that doesn't work, until I looked at a guide to see the thing that I was missing. At which point, I would have to backtrack to a certain world to get the thing. Then go to a shop to convert the thing into a sticker. Then travel all the way back to the world with the puzzle, and all the way to where the puzzle is actually located. Only then can I apply the thing sticker. This is completely unintuitive backtracking. And is almost impossible to solve if you haven't found that thing when trying to solve the puzzle.

    - they removed everything good from the paper Mario series. Partner abilities, star Spirit abilities, partners in general, XP, and an actual hub world. Instead of learning new abilities to open the way to the next world, the progression is made way more linear, and when it isn't, you're forced to trial an error thing stickers to attempt to open the way.    … Expand
  89. Linkfan
    May 18, 2017
    0
    This game is absolute trash, what happened? The first 3 entries of the series were awesome! Then comes this pile of crap... I hate the sticker system, it completely ruins the whole game. A sloppy and disappointing entry in a franchise that deserves much better.
  90. RalphcCiurczak
    Nov 27, 2021
    4
    +Art style is nice
    +Soundtrack is pretty good
    +Fun at first

    -Battle system sucks and is not fun
    -Quite lacking story(not telling you to avoid spoilers)
    -Sticker system works nice at first,but turns to be a huge drawback
    -Boss battles are lame,depsite what gameplay shows
    -No assistants to help in battle
    -Feels unrewarding
  91. Fireriku546
    Oct 7, 2016
    0
    I am only making this review to compare how absolutely terrible this game was compared to Paper Mario: Color Splash. Take Color Splash and remove all semblance of thought that went into it and you basically get a tl;dr for this game.
  92. TheMarvelousMrL
    Oct 8, 2020
    1
    The game that started the unfortunate downfall of a once great series, everything that made the first three game's so special is completely erased in this game. The diverse and memorable cast of character's and playable partners, the fun and engaging gameplay and the storytelling are completely replaced by generic Toad's and other overused NSMB characters, an unfun unrewarding and poorlyThe game that started the unfortunate downfall of a once great series, everything that made the first three game's so special is completely erased in this game. The diverse and memorable cast of character's and playable partners, the fun and engaging gameplay and the storytelling are completely replaced by generic Toad's and other overused NSMB characters, an unfun unrewarding and poorly designed gameplay mechanic that relies on disposable items and gives you no leveling up or experience from defeating enemy's that make battles a complete waste of time. Instead of a new deep story with an epic adventure which was present in the original trilogy the plot in this game consists of the same boring overused Bowser kidnapped the princess plot which is literally taken from a New Super Mario Bros game. two more games in this series were released after this game and they are unfortunately just as bad or in some cases even worse than this game and with each new release it is looking less and less possible that this series will ever get a decent title that comes close to resembling the quality and creativity that was present in Paper Mario 64, Thousand Year Door and Super Paper Mario.… Expand
  93. Traumvita
    Sep 6, 2023
    2
    I CANNOT begin to describe my disappointment in this game. I remember being so hyped back in middle school to play a paper Mario on handheld. Loved the first 3. Had the preorder at GameStop went in on release day and I only ever played it on that day. No charm. Combat sucked. Gimmicky trash. I would score it lower but it’s fairly functional and still has the nice paper Mario style. Wish II CANNOT begin to describe my disappointment in this game. I remember being so hyped back in middle school to play a paper Mario on handheld. Loved the first 3. Had the preorder at GameStop went in on release day and I only ever played it on that day. No charm. Combat sucked. Gimmicky trash. I would score it lower but it’s fairly functional and still has the nice paper Mario style. Wish I could forget this ever existed.… Expand
  94. TreasureOrTrash
    Sep 8, 2023
    0
    Trash!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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
  1. Pelit (Finland)
    Feb 21, 2013
    78
    Brilliant humor and an interesting world won't save Mario's latest RPG offering. Even though the stickers add a lot of variety to the turn based battles, an RPG without any character development tends to turn repetitive eventually. Unfortunately for Mario such is the case with Sticker Star. [Feb 2013]
  2. Hyper Magazine
    Feb 10, 2013
    80
    A great reinterpretation of what makes Mario work. [March 2013, p.72]
  3. DarkStation
    Feb 7, 2013
    70
    Unfortunately for it, Paper Mario: Sticker Star has to deal with being a “pretty good” entry in a series that is usually considered amongst the best games on their respective consoles. While I did have fun with it, there were times when I felt like I was just going through the motions, and very little of the innovation or character of previous entries shone through.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »