Paper Mario: Sticker Star (3DS)

[Gregzilla]

Looks like battles just earn you coins. Hopefully they play a big role in the game so battling still has a point.

[Kamicciolo]

Coins will play a big role in the game, you use them to buy stickers so that you can battle, so you can win coins, so you can buy stickers so you can battle so you can win coins so you can buy stickers so you can battle so you can win coins so you can buy stickers so you can battle so you can win coins so you can buy stickers so you can battle so- *There is an error with this user, please refresh*

Edited September 2, 2012 by Kamicciolo

[Viku]

I noticed we finally got some dialogue...

"Talk about awful cottage design. 'Gee guys. Did we forget anything?' OH WAIT, THE FRONT DOOR ACCESS"

At least the classic paper mario humor is still there. Also, the World Map traveling sort of remidns me to the ol' Mario RPG so I'm ok with it.

Edited September 2, 2012 by Viku

[TrueBlue]

I think it looks good. Nice to see Intelligent Systems actually try something new with the RPG formula while keeping that Paper Mario feel.

[Nintendoga]

New Sticker Star Details

Story details

- Begins on the night of Sticker Fest

- Mushroom Kingdom holds annual Sticker Fests so that its residents can see the Sticker Comet arriving

- A wish made on the comet is said to likely come true

- Bowser and his crew show up and disturb the festivities

- Bowser wants the comet’s powers for himself

- Browser lunges toward the comet, but once he does so, it shatters and its pieces fly across the kingdom

- Crown sticker lands on Bowser’s head

- Bowser becomes sparkly and more powerful than ever before

- He kidnaps Princess Peach and runs off

- Mario goes after Peach right away

- He comes across a flying crown named Kersti

- Kersti is the caretaker of the Royal Stickers

- Royal Stickers are wish-granting elements of the comet

- One of them wounded up on Bowser

- Kersti accompanies Mario on his quest and helps him out in using stickers

Stickers

- Stickers are the main gameplay element in Sticker Star

- Can find stickers all over

- Take a sticker by walking up to it and pressing “A”

- Need stickers to use techniques and attacks in combat

- Stickers can be purchased at one of the game’s shops for coins

- Album holds a limited number of sticker

- More pages will be added to your album as you progress

Battles

- Turn-based battles

- Choose a sticker from your album

- Each sticker features a corresponding move that you’ll carry out such as a jump or hammer attack

- Tap the “A” button right before an attack to cause extra damage

- When an enemy is attacking, hit “A” right before the attack to lessen the damage

- A sticker’s efficacy is based on its condition

- A mint-condition sticker is more powerful that a worn-out one

- Special stickers have boosted stats

- Can use the Battle Spinner before a fight

- Spinner is a machine-style mini-game

- Uses some of your coins

- Match two or more symbols to earn bonus items and the opportunity to take more stickers into the fray

Level structure

- Paper version of the Mushroom Kingdom appears as an overworld map

- Decalburg is the starting hub

- Buy and sell stickers at Decalburg

- Talk to residents as well

- Head off to new worlds from Decalburg

- Worlds have multiple levels like a Mario platformer

- Worlds have enemies, stickers, and puzzles

How levels play out

- World 1-3 – Bowser-shaped watersprout is in your way; need to turn it off to progress

- Need to obtain the comet piece at the end of each level

- You’ll sometimes encounter 3D objects such as scissors, a faucet, and a trumpet

- These are categorized as “Things” in the game

- Use these items to solve puzzles

- Some portions of the world will be missing

- Bowser Jr. will tear up a bridge away from the background and crumple it

- Returning it to its rightful place requires “Paperization”

- Press “Y” to make your immediate surroundings become 2D and fall down like a piece of paper lying on a table

- Mario and Kersti hover above the page

- Mario can place something (like the bridge) on the background

- Added object becomes a part of the scene once you return the setting to normal

General

- World looks like its composed of paper and cardboard

- Arts-and-craft project feel is emphasized

- Bridge is folded up like an accordion and sealed with a sticker

- Peeling the sticker away causes the paper to realistically bounce upward before settling down

- Paper characters can be flown around, folded, and crumpled

- All of these can be used against you during battle

- Enemies may roll themselves up into a cone to prevent you from jumping over them

- Other enemies fold themselves like a card to double the enemies

- First world boss: Goomba that combines with a troupe of his minions to form a giant Goomba with Megasparkle strength

- Koopa Troopas fold up into their shells like origami

- Has humor like previous Paper Marios

- Paper nature of the characters/environments is used for gags

- Nintendo Power says the dialogue is consistently clever

Sticker examples

- Jump: stomp on a single foe; can use it to bounce multiple times; can’t be used on spiked enemies

- Hammer: Common attack; can’t be used on flying creatures; produces a shockwave that hurts an enemy group

- Mushroom: restores hearts

- Fire Flower: throw fireballs; can hit multiple targets

- Shell: hit enemies with the shell; hits anything in its path; won’t hit flying enemies

- POW Block: useful for a lot of damage; smash it to damage all ground-based enemies; can crumple (stun) them

- Baahammer: decorated with a sheep image; makes your enemies fall asleep; enemies will be open to further attacks, but they’ll regain some health while sleeping

- Eekhammer: like a normal hammer, but can be swung multiple times

Not sure how I feel about the story, it sounds like Paper Mario's 64's "Bowser uses a mystical item to become stronger" thing only with stickers and crowns this time. And I don't like how this game has levels like a Mario platformers, I prefer the worlds to act and feel like worlds, like how they did in the first two Paper Mario's.

At least we know the dialouge and humor is still good.

Edited October 1, 2012 by Nintendoga

[Chili Dawg]

Yeah, I really hope the story has some kind of twist at some point, cause right now it really just feels like a rehash of the first game's, just replacing stars with stickers. And worlds divided into levels like the platformers is saddening, I wanted it to be the like the first two, and I just kind of assumed it would be.

Everything else sounds majestic though, still my most anticipated game of 2012.

[Gregzilla]

I really want to like this game, but the more I hear about it, the less excited I get. Why are they trying so hard to make it seem like a platformer when the whole point of the first two was to be an RPG? Why did they get rid of partners? Why are all the areas basically rehashes of areas from other games?

I'm sure it will still be fun, but man, they're tampering with a lot of things that made the first one so good (and I assume TTYD, which I unfortunately do not own). At this point my anticipation status has gone from excited to cautious.

[Marcello]

This is what change leads to, guys! Damn you, change!

[Your Vest Friend]

It seems like Miyamoto was dead focused on the story cutback he talked about before, because EVERY Mario game lately seems to have been stunted somewhat (Super Mario Galaxy 2, the NSMB series [maybe], the portable Mario Tennis Open cutting the story campaign, this, and probably other stuff I'm missing). Kind of makes me wonder what would happen if there were to be a new Mario & Luigi in this new 'era' of sorts.

[Salamander]

The general impression I get of Miyamoto is that he doesn't care about story at all and thinks that only gameplay matters. I find that entirely regrettable. Incidentally, another story-stunted game you could've mentioned: Super Mario 3D Land. A good analogy here in that there wasn't even anything resembling a world map, just a glorified level list, which sounds rather like what we're supposedly getting here.

Speaking as someone who's never played a Paper Mario game before but was a big fan of Mario & Luigi, I'm not impressed. I wish them well with what I'm sure will be a good game, but I also hope it bites them hard enough to get them to change their ways.

[Marcello]

I don't think Miyamoto is cock-blocking this game in the story department. Or any of those games you mentioned besides Galaxy 2.

[Carbo]

People seriously overestimate the amount of influence Miyamoto has in most of any games nowadays apart from being a supervisor and occasional producer.

Edited October 1, 2012 by Carbo
haha I CAN'T INTO WORDS

[Blue Blood]

I'm not a fan of this 'new' image for Mario, where everything is bright, sunny and always exactly the same. It's making the entire franchise feel stale. Bright, sunny and daring to be interesting, plz.

Edited October 1, 2012 by Blue Blood

[Conando]

Mario IS bright and sunny but, in games like this they usually had a dark twist somewhere. Sad that it seems there won't be one.

[TrueBlue]

I kinda feel Intelligent Systems are "damned if you do, damned if you don't" when concerning the amount of change with this game. Hopefully they'll find the right balance of old and new.

[Marcello]

The Nintendo Power stuff only reveals maybe like the first hour of the story and people are already guessing the story is gimped? How does it seem there won't be a "dark turn" in this game?

[speedfreak]

Yeah not a fan of a lot of what I'm hearing so far. The story seems rehashy, I don't like the no partners thing, not to sure about the stickers being the hook with no EXP, and the fact it's set up more like Super Paper Mario instead of just being like the first two games. :/ I know I'll pick it up down the line but for now I'm gonna cancel my preorder. There are just too many games this season to buy and from what I know about this I'm not too excited.

[Diogenes]

Every Mario story:

An Event happens to set the theme/gimmick of the game (the star festival, the sticker fest, a powerup tree blooms)

% chance that the Event makes Bowser more powerful

Bowser kidnaps Peach

*gameplay*

Mario saves Peach

At this point I've come to terms with the fact that this won't be the Paper Mario 3 I was hoping for. That said, it still seems like an interesting game; the story will probably still be fun even if it's pretty much just standard Mario, and I'm interested in seeing how the new battle system works out.

[Sean]

Yeah it seems totally different from what everyone expected/wanted, but what is there actually seems good. I'm sure that I'll get a lot of enjoyment out of it anyway. Besides, Partners in Time was kind of the series' low point in terms of story, I doubt this is going to be any worse.

[Your Vest Friend]

People seriously underestimate the amount of influence Miyamoto has in most of any games nowadays apart from being a supervisor and occasional producer.

You mean overestimate, right?

But I didn't mean that Miyamoto directly forced the story in that direction with his own bare hands (as unclear as my wording was), I just meant he had that steadfast ethic, and it was picked up and ran with by the others in the process as well.

[JezMM]

Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhh there are no words for how disappointed I am to hear this will be divided up into "levels". I really thought we were going back to Paper Mario form here.

I remain cautiously optimistic. Won't read any story details for now so just in case there isn't a twist I can at least enjoy the simple stuff.

[Tails spin]

I find the story depth in Galaxy 2 to be on par with the story depth we got in Sunshine, if not slightly more since alot of in level events moved the story slightly foward (Yoshi not being in his house, then appearing in Yoshi Star galaxy). I find it odd about Miyamoto though that we have heard his turning over the tea table story when it comes to his beloved Mario. But to me at least I find it kind of interest the many quirks that Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon has despite Miyamoto saying he is solely responsible for its development with Next Level Games.

[Carbo]

December 7 for Europe.

[Carbo]

double post for preview hype.

I was originally a bit lukewarm to the approach behind the title but after this I'm incredibly stoked.

[Chili Dawg]

Man, nobody can get me skeptical and then so effortlessly win me back like Nintendo.