\n"}" id="mwBg">
Paper Mario: Sticker Star | |
---|---|
Developer(s) | Intelligent Systems |
Publisher(s) | Nintendo |
Director(s) | Naohiko Aoyama Taro Kudo |
Producer(s) | Kensuke Tanabe Toshiyuki Nakamura |
Designer(s) | Yukio Morimoto Toshitaka Muramatsu |
Programmer(s) | Junya Kadono |
Writer(s) | Taro Kudo |
Composer(s) | List of composers
|
Series | Paper Mario |
Platform(s) | Nintendo 3DS |
Release | |
Genre(s) | Action-adventure, role-playing |
Mode(s) | Single-player |
Paper Mario: Sticker Star [lower-alpha 1] is a 2012 role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. Following Super Paper Mario (2007), it is the fourth installment in the Paper Mario series and part of the larger Mario franchise; it is the first game in the series released on a handheld console. In the game, the protagonist Mario and a new ally named Kersti travel across the Mushroom Kingdom to retrieve the six Royal Stickers scattered by Bowser. The game was released in November 2012 in North America and December 2012 overseas.
Unlike the previous Paper Mario games, Sticker Star uses a distinct papercraft visual style, which is heavily incorporated into its gameplay mechanics. Sticker Star introduces stickers, which are littered throughout the game world and serve as single-use items or power-ups, aiding the player in turn-based battles against enemies or in solving puzzles. A sequel for the Wii U, Paper Mario: Color Splash , carried over many ideas introduced in Sticker Star and was released in October 2016.
Game designer and producer Shigeru Miyamoto insisted that gameplay should be distinct from previous Paper Mario games. Because of this, emphasis was geared toward gameplay and combat, with less focus on story. Allies alongside Mario were cut due to complications with sticker mechanics and there was an extreme decrease in characters with unique designs. The game received generally favorable reviews, with graphics, writing, and strategy being praised, and criticism towards unbalanced difficulty in combat, the lack of traditional role-playing game elements, and the abundance of identical Toads instead of the original fictional races the series had been known for. Reception on the sticker mechanics was mixed.
Sticker Star features a similar visual style to its predecessors. The player controls a paper cutout version of Mario in a 3D papercraft world, with landscapes ranging from snowy areas and forests to volcanoes represented as the Mushroom Kingdom. [3] The story focuses on Mario's efforts to retrieve the six Royal Stickers that have been scattered by Bowser after he attacked the annual Sticker Fest. Mario is accompanied by Kersti, a sticker fairy, who bestows upon Mario the power of stickers. [4]
A major facet of Sticker Star's gameplay is the use of collectible stickers, which are used to gain abilities to progress through the game. [5] The player collects stickers that are found and peeled off from various areas in the environment. [5] Additionally, the player can purchase stickers using coins or receive them from non-playable characters (NPC). [6] The player has limited inventory space, with larger stickers taking up more room. [7] Stickers are used both in combat and for interacting with the environment. [8] The player can enter a state called "Paperization", which will lay the screen down flat to reveal additional secrets not visible regularly. [9] Real-world objects can be found, known in-game as "Things", such as baseball bats and scissors, that can be turned into special types of stickers called "Thing Stickers", [10] which are often needed to solve puzzles in the overworld. [8] For example, a Fan Thing Sticker can be placed in strategic areas in the environment and, when activated, creates wind that moves or destroys obstacles. [11]
The turn-based battles in Sticker Star also reiterates combat in previous games, and are initiated when Mario comes into contact with enemies in the overworld. [12] The player's available attacks are determined by the stickers on hand from their inventory. [13] For example, possession of the Jump sticker can be used to attack an enemy by jumping on it. [14] Certain kinds of attacks are required depending on the enemy being fought; an enemy wearing a spiked helmet cannot be jumped on and must instead be attacked using a different kind of sticker, like a hammer. [9] Thing Stickers are used to inflict more damage on enemies, and certain types of Thing Stickers are required to make boss battles easier. Each sticker is removed from play after one use, making it necessary for the player to consistently collect new stickers. [15] The player increases their maximum health points (HP) and other stats through collection of HP-Up hearts, which give Mario five more health points and stronger attacks. [16]
Every year, the Sticker Comet lands in the Mushroom Kingdom, and those who wish on it have a good chance of their wish being granted by the Royal Stickers that reside within the comet. Mario attends the Sticker Fest, a festival held in the city of Decalburg to celebrate the Sticker Comet's arrival; where Princess Peach presents the comet on stage. There, as the Toads all prepare their wishes, Bowser interrupts the celebration and breaks the comet into six parts, the Royal Stickers, scattering them over the Kingdom, with one falling on Bowser's head; Mario tries to stop him, but fails and is knocked unconscious. He is later awakened by Kersti, a sticker assistant, who is tasked with granting the wishes made to the Sticker Comet. After cleaning up Bowser's mess in Decalburg, Mario and Kersti depart to search for the first of the Royal Stickers.
Mario and Kersti traverse six areas to retrieve each of the six Royal Stickers. Each Royal Sticker is guarded by a boss, and upon defeating each, a cutscene shows how the boss received the Royal Sticker and what their motivation was. Megasparkle Goomba took the first Royal Sticker as a crown and calls himself a king; Tower Power Pokey was sealed by Kamek; Gooper Blooper was a music-lover uncontrollably releasing poison; Mizzter Blizzard wanted to control winter in order to never melt; Petey Piranha simply accidentally ate his Sticker.
After collecting each Royal Sticker, the duo enters Bowser's Castle and eventually confront Bowser. During the final battle, Kersti sacrifices herself to give Mario sticker powers in order to defeat Bowser. Upon defeat, Bowser drops the last Royal Sticker. Mario uses his wish to restore peace to the Mushroom Kingdom and restore the Sticker Comet, resurrecting Kersti in the process. The credits roll over a parade for the Sticker Comet.
Sticker Star was announced at E3 2010 under the tentative title Paper Mario, demonstrated in trailer form. [12] Few details about the new Paper Mario title were given outside of additional trailers that were released at Nintendo World 2011 and E3 2011. [17] [18] The game and its full title was announced during Nintendo's E3 2012 press conference, alongside New Super Mario Bros. 2 and Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon , with a release window sometime during the 2012 holiday season. A live gameplay demonstration by Nintendo of America localization manager Nate Bihldorff, one of the writers for Sticker Star's English text, was later shown at the Nintendo 3DS Showcase event, which heavily detailed and elaborated on the sticker-focused gameplay. [19] The game was announced to be distributed both physically as a Nintendo 3DS cartridge or downloadable via Nintendo eShop. [20]
The partner system prevalent in previous Paper Mario titles was removed by the developers because it would often conflict with the sticker-focused gameplay and mechanics. Additionally, the developers were asked by Shigeru Miyamoto to, "complete [the game] with only characters from the Super Mario world." Miyamoto asked the developers to change the gameplay and battles, as he considered them to be too similar to The Thousand-Year Door . He requested the developers to greatly de-emphasise the game's story, saying that "It's fine without a story, so do we really need one?". [21] Producer Kensuke Tanabe further elaborated on how less than one percent of players found the storyline in Super Paper Mario interesting, according to a survey on Club Nintendo. Taro Kudo, the game's lead writer, determined that the game did not need a complex story to "drive the action". [22] As a Nintendo 3DS title, Sticker Star was intended to be played in short bursts; the episodic narrative and the world map and level system were implemented so that players could easily stop and resume play at any time. [23] [24]
In developer interviews for the 2020 title Paper Mario: The Origami King , Tanabe stated that starting with Sticker Star, they were told from Nintendo that they were not allowed to graphically represent Toads with individual characteristics such as age or gender. Due to this, focus was shifted much more towards text, as it allows the developers to express personality. [25] In a 2012 interview of "Iwata Asks", Satoru Iwata suggested that traits and personality were rather a product of function and gameplay. [21]
Aggregator | Score |
---|---|
Metacritic | 75/100 [26] |
Publication | Score |
---|---|
1Up.com | A− [27] |
Destructoid | 8/10 [28] |
Edge | 8/10 [29] |
Electronic Gaming Monthly | 6.5/10 [30] |
Eurogamer | 7/10 [31] |
Game Informer | 8.75/10 [32] |
GameSpot | 7.5/10 [9] |
GamesRadar+ | 4.5/5 [5] |
IGN | 8.3/10 [10] |
Nintendo Life | 8/10 [33] |
Nintendo World Report | 7.5/10 [34] |
Official Nintendo Magazine | 83% [35] |
VentureBeat | 68/100 [36] |
Sticker Star received "generally favorable reviews", gaining an aggregate score of 75/100 on Metacritic. [26] The game sold 402,000 copies in Japan in 2012. [37] As of March 31,2013 [update] , the game has 1,970,000 worldwide sales. [38] The Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences awarded Sticker Star with "Handheld Game of the Year" during their 16th Annual D.I.C.E. Awards ceremony. [39]
The introduction of stickers received mixed reception by critics; critics liked the strategy of managing stickers on hand. [34] [33] [28] Philip Kollar of Polygon called the combat engaging, and like how each battle had its own gimmick that invoked logic deduction. [40] Jeremy Parish of 1UP praised Sticker Star's playability by saying, "The sheer playability of Sticker Star goes a long way to offset the moments at which your forward momentum grinds to a halt and you're forced to traipse through old haunts for some arbitrary fetch quest." [27] The use of Things received negative reception, criticized for being out of place [28] and their function in game being a necessity. [34] They were considered one of the game's weaknesses, [31] [10] criticized for inevitable backtracking and only having one solution for each puzzle. [10] Jeff Grubb of VentureBeat criticized the use of stickers due to a lack of inventory space, being forced to hold onto certain stickers for later, and constant backtracking to retrieve unobtainable stickers. [36] Graphics and worldbuilding were praised, [28] and was compared to the likes of Super Mario 3D Land . [33] The game was noted as being just as unique as previous games in the franchise, [31] with Electronic Gaming Monthly stating how the "3D-effect only enhances the visuals further". [30] The characters were also praised for their charm and "offbeat" naturalism, [10] [36] however they were also criticized for lack of variety in visual design as well as the abundance of Toads instead of the diverse fictional races the series had been known for. [41]
Many critics were negative towards the removal of multiple role-playing game (RPG) elements, [10] [32] of which a lack of character progression, such as experience points (XP). [32] [8] GamesRadar+ liked the change from traditional RPG content, but believed there was "not enough of an RPG for genre buffs". [32] Additionally, critics were disappointed in the loss of a proper story, [33] but the comedic writing was praised; [36] [5] Paste reviewer Casey Malone believed the game "stands out as genuinely funny compared to most other games". [42]
Other complaints came from a lack of difficulty in standard combat. [10] [31] Critics found regular encountered battles to have little to no difficulty at all, with Eurogamer reviewer Rich Stanton believing that they "don't think I was killed by a normal enemy once". [31] On the contrary, boss battles were considered overly difficult, being called a "nightmare", [31] "ridiculous", [10] and "inevitable". [5]
Princess Peach is a character in Nintendo's Mario franchise. She was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and introduced in the 1985 original Super Mario Bros. game as Princess Toadstool. She is the princess regnant and head of state of the Mushroom Kingdom, where she resides in her castle along with Toads. Since her debut, she has appeared in the majority of Mario video games as the main female character and the romantic interest of Mario. She has been voiced by Samantha Kelly since 2007.
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is a 1996 role-playing video game developed by Square and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was the final Mario game for the SNES. The game was directed by Chihiro Fujioka and Yoshihiko Maekawa, produced by Shigeru Miyamoto, and scored by Yoko Shimomura.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a 2003 role-playing video game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It was re-released for the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2014, Nintendo Switch Online Service in 2023, and remade for the Nintendo 3DS as Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions in 2017. The first game in the Mario & Luigi series, Superstar Saga follows Mario and Luigi as they travel to the Beanbean Kingdom in order to combat Cackletta and Fawful, who stole Princess Peach's voice for the purpose of harnessing the power of a special artifact called the Beanstar.
Super Paper Mario is a 2007 action role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Wii. It is the third installment in the Paper Mario series following Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (2004), and the first Mario game on the Wii. The game follows Mario, Peach, Bowser, and Luigi as they attempt to collect Pure Hearts and stop Count Bleck and his minions from destroying the universe.
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is a 2009 role-playing game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console. It is the third game in the Mario & Luigi series, following Partners in Time (2005). It uses the interactive screens of the DS in some of its gameplay mechanics while also introducing several elements that would be used in the series' future gameplay.
Mario Party 9 is a 2012 party video game developed by NDcube and published by Nintendo for the Wii. The ninth main installment in the Mario Party series, it was announced at E3 2011 and released in Europe, North America, and Australia in March 2012, followed by Japan a month later. It was the first game in the series not to be developed by Hudson Soft, which was acquired and dissolved by Konami on March 1, 2012, the day before the game's European release. Instead, development was taken over by Nintendo studio NDCube. This was also the final Mario game to be released on the Wii.
Mario is a Japanese multimedia franchise created by Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for video game company Nintendo, which produces and publishes its installments. Starring the titular Italian plumber Mario, it is primarily a video game franchise but has extended to other forms of media, including television series, comic books, a 1993 feature film, a 2023 animated film, and theme park attractions. The series' first installment was 1983's Mario Bros. even though Mario made his first appearance in 1981's arcade game Donkey Kong and had already been featured in several games of the Donkey Kong and Game & Watch series. The Mario games have been developed by a wide variety of developers. Mario games have been released almost exclusively for Nintendo's various video game consoles and handhelds, from the third generation onward.
Toad, known in Japan as Kinopio, is a character created by Japanese video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto for Nintendo's Mario franchise. A prominent red Toad serves as one of Princess Peach's handlers and appears consistently as a supporting character in the franchise.
Super Mario 3D Land is a 2011 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It was released worldwide in November 2011, being the first Mario game to be released for the 3DS.
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, known in Europe and Australia as Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros., is a 2013 role-playing video game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. The successor to Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (2009), is the fourth installment in the Mario & Luigi series, a part of the larger Mario franchise. The game's story follows Mario and his brother Luigi who, after being invited to Pi'illo Island for a vacation, become embroiled in a journey to retrieve a powerful artifact before Bowser and Antasma use it for evil intentions. The gameplay takes place from a top-down perspective and has the player controlling Mario and Luigi simultaneously, solving puzzles and platformer sections and overcoming turn-based battles across Pi'illo Island, the game's overworld. The player also makes use of Luigi's dreams, called the "Dream World", where gameplay shifts to a two-dimensional side-scrolling perspective and emphasizes using Luigi-based gimmicks to their advantage. Combat in both worlds is turn-based.
Super Mario 3D World is a 2013 platform game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. It is the sixth original 3D platform game in the Super Mario series and the sequel to Super Mario 3D Land, a 2011 title for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was also re-released for the Nintendo Switch in Super Mario 3D World + Bowser's Fury on February 21, 2021.
Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker is a 2014 action puzzle video game developed and published by Nintendo for the Wii U. The game was re-released for the Nintendo Switch and Nintendo 3DS in 2018 with additional content. It is a spin-off of the Super Mario series and a part of the larger Mario franchise. The game stars Captain Toad and Toadette as they complete levels, defeat enemies and save each other from the antagonist Wingo. Each level is contained within a miniature diorama-like environment that requires puzzle-solving and platforming challenges to complete. The player also uses the Wii U GamePad to rotate the camera and reveal new information and interact with the environment.
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, known in Europe and Australia as Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Bros., is a 2015 role-playing video game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS console. It is the fifth installment in the Mario & Luigi series, following Dream Team (2013), and serves as a crossover between the Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario series, the latter being a cross-genre series developed by Intelligent Systems. In Paper Jam, Luigi accidentally opens a book containing a paper counterpart world causing all of its contents to spread into the Mushroom Kingdom; Mario and Luigi, with the help of the befriended Paper Mario, venture to save both Princess Peach universe variants from Bowser, who has teamed up with his paper counterpart as well. In the game, the player controls the trio simultaneously through an overworld to reach Bowser's Castle, and fights enemies in turn-based combat along the way.
Mario & Sonic at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games is a 2016 crossover sports and party game in the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series, released for the Nintendo 3DS in February 2016 in Japan, March 2016 in North America, and in April 2016 for Europe and Australia, and for the Wii U worldwide in June 2016. The game is officially licensed by the International Olympic Committee, as are the other games in the series. It was developed by Sega, with assistance from Arzest and Spike Chunsoft, and published by Nintendo. It is the fifth title in the Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games series. The game is a collection of Olympic sports themed mini-games featuring characters from the Mario series and the Sonic the Hedgehog series.
Paper Mario: Color Splash is a 2016 role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Wii U console. It is the fifth installment in the Paper Mario series, within the larger Mario franchise. The story follows Mario and his new ally Huey on a quest to save Prism Island and rescue Princess Peach from Bowser.
Mario Party: Star Rush is a 2016 party video game developed by NDcube and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the fourth handheld game installment in the Mario Party series and the second game in the series to be released for the Nintendo 3DS. The game was released in Europe, Australia, and Japan in October 2016, and in North America the following month.
Paper Mario is a video game series and part of the Mario franchise, developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It combines elements from the role-playing, action-adventure, and puzzle genres. Players control a paper cutout version of Mario, usually with allies, on a quest to defeat the antagonist. The series consists of six games and one spin-off; the first, Paper Mario (2000), was released for the Nintendo 64, and the most recent, a 2024 remake of 2004's Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, for the Nintendo Switch.
Paper Mario: The Origami King is a 2020 role-playing video game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo Switch console. Following Paper Mario: Color Splash (2016), it is the sixth game in the Paper Mario series, which is part of the larger Mario franchise. The story follows Mario and his friends as he sets out on a journey to prevent the Mushroom Kingdom from being transformed into origami. To do so, Mario must free Princess Peach's castle from five decorative streamers that extend across the kingdom.
Mario & Luigi is a series of role-playing video games published by Nintendo and originally developed by AlphaDream prior to their bankruptcy. The series is a spin-off from Nintendo's trademark Super Mario series and stars the titular characters Mario and Luigi. The games' stories typically follow the two exploring locales unique to the series on a quest to defeat an original antagonist. It began in 2003 on the Game Boy Advance with Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, with the latest original installment being Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, releasing for Nintendo 3DS on December 3, 2015. A sixth game, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, is set to be released on November 7, 2024 for the Nintendo Switch. Two titles in the series, Superstar Saga and Bowser's Inside Story, were remade for the Nintendo 3DS with extra content, with the latter being the final game in the series developed by AlphaDream before they declared bankruptcy in 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)The supporting cast is mostly made up of Toads, with virtually no sign of anyone more interesting, which is disappointing for a series that has otherwise proven itself quite fresh.