So following my review of kid icarus uprising i'll be now going over the long awaited plumber's paper rpg Paper Mario Sticker Star! This game is up and down in terms of an overall review, so lets start....
This is the fourth Title in the series and first on a handheld. This beloved series takes a turn for mario and makes everything, I mean everything into a paper enviroment, Especially this installmant! Lets start off with the story! As a paper mario game this has the standard talk alot feel with sometimes humorous scenes. The enviroment is very colorful (like in all mario games) and has goog ddesign for a paper base setting. The story starts off with the obvious Bowser kidnapping the princess but first trying to get the Sticker Comet. WIth the royal stars scattered (total of 5 not including what bowser possesses) mario teams up with a new character named Kersti. They embark on a journey to gather the royal stickers which is broken down into sections (chapters). The overworld view has a feel like the Super Mario World (SNES) that you need to pass each level/chapter to progress. You'll need to find numerous stickers in order to proceed and a special sticker called the THING sticker in order to overcome certain obstacles.
The length of this game is pretty good for a handheld but i notice after the first 3 chapters (which are a good length of gaming) it was very quick with some boards being very short which is dissapointing. Especially the final chapter which has a great final boss but way too short. Which makes the game feel very rushed which isnt good. The final endings of the previous installments was all well done and made the game epic while this was just too fast. (ch 4-6)
Now onto the gameplay, it has a cool feel being paper and being in its own enviroment so the overview walking system is great but when it comes to the battle system this is where it breaks down, the fights while being entertaining loses its partner mechnanics (first 2 games was amazing for this). Also the game uses the one use only stickers that can feel very clusterfobic early on in the game since your limited especially when THING stickers take up alot of room. Like i said the battles are pretty fun but their is almost no point in it. With mario having no leveling up or experience this game drops down hard. While in the overworld you can just dodge every enemy you see and you can progress the game with ease. Only certain times in the game you'll actually need to fight excluding mini/chapter bosses! As much as I love the series this was a major let down and considering this has no badges to mix up every individual's play style is a smack to the face. I did find however the boss fights were very entertaining despite not gaining experience.
The difficulty lies in the puzzles. Very Very hard sometimes and with no help you might have to use a guide. Kersti (mario Navi) is useless. Very useless. Its actually fun though and you need to use your head especially with picking out what THING stickers belong where?!
Now for Sound. Paper Mario Series always excelled in this. The OST are pretty well done and some note worthy and hard to forget. All bosses have their own too which is a plus.
Overall if you like the series as myself definetly look into this one but be warned its not as good as its other counterparts. If your new a like rpgs give it a shot. At least the world is very puzzling and keep you on your feet at all times, despite the battle system not being important, its still fun! The graphics are paper so its not gonna look amzing but its still eyecatching. Very funny game indeed (lots of jokes and humor).
The Verdict
Story===8/10
Gameplay===5/10
Difficulty===7/10 (it'll give you a challege with the puzzles)
Length===7/10 (its pretty good for a handheld but rushed towards the end other wise i would give it a 9)
Graphics===8/10 (Its made of paper so its good. In 3D makes a little diffence nothing too outstanding but non the less eye catching)
Overall= 7/10
For Paper Mario fans of the series I give it a 7.5 instead because of its charm. If you like an rpg with more of its puzzles than battle system pick up the game. If you never played Paper mario and want a good battle system skip this game.
Hope my review helps Tbone51 signing out!!!
