2/5 ★ – MechaniChris's review of Paper Mario: Sticker Star.

Oh boy. So I have no nostalgia for this series. I just started playing them last year and have been genuinely surprised by how enjoyable they are. In my opinion, each had been better than the last (I even like Super Paper Mario more than TTYD, what can I say, I like platformers more than turn-based). So imagine my shock when I start this game up, see the improvement in the visual aesthetic, and then enter my first battle. This may have the single worst battle mechanic I’ve ever experienced in a video game. The sticker system is debilitating to the enjoyment of the game, made all the worse by a lack of leveling. There is no incentive for engaging in any battle in the game beyond defeating bosses, and in fact, the game punishes you for battling because it forces you to use what little precious stickers you have for no real reward. I see the idea that led them to this. There’s SOMETHING to the stickers in a Paper Mario game that works. Peeling and resticking parts of the level or sticking secret doors is a great game mechanic! I could even see a version of this where stickers could be added to attacks to give them extra effects, that would be really good! But no, each attack requires a sticker, and if you run out? Too bad. Also, there are many enemies and bosses that can ONLY be harmed with specific stickers. And it’s not like they tell you this ahead of the boss fight, you have to figure it out during. That means if you have mostly hammers when fighting Pokey, you’re outta luck because he can only be attacked with jumps! So maybe the scarcity and random luck is supposed to be part of it, then there needs to be a system for replenishing during battle! Treat it like a card game if you have to, so when you place a sticker, you get to draw a random sticker. At least then you feel like you have a CHANCE when you come unprepared to a boss battle. It’s such a shame because otherwise the game is really not bad at all. Like I said, the paper aesthetics are better here than they ever have been, the levels themselves are varied, but short enough to not grow tedious, and it never really drags outside of combat. The boo level in particular is pretty great even. The combat is just SO bad that it drags the whole thing down. I can’t in good conscious give even a middling rating to a game that punishes you for playing it the way it’s intended. God I hope Color Splash makes some improvements because I hear it’s similar.