Paper Mario: Sticker Star: Difference between revisions

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'''''Paper Mario: Sticker Star''''' (known as '''''Paper Mario: Super Seal''''' in Japan) is a [[RPG]] for the [[Nintendo 3DS]] developed by [[Intelligent Systems]]. As the fourth installment in the [[Paper Mario (series)|''Paper Mario'' series]], it is the first ''Paper Mario'' title to be released for a handheld console. This is also the first ''Paper Mario'' game to not be told [[Canon|within a storybook]].

''Paper Mario: Sticker Star'' started development at the end of 2009. The development team thought ''Paper Mario'' was a good fit for the [[3DS]] and initially developed it as a RPG making use of the 3DS's stereoscopic display. After E3 2010, a demo of this build was previewed to [[Shigeru Miyamoto]], who was reportedly unimpressed, dismissing it as what looked like "just a port of the [[Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door|GC versionGame]]".

Miyamoto then requested the development team to "make a big change". Said development team was mostly composed of developers new to ''Paper Mario'' (planning and design staff being "about 90%" new, according to Kenji Nakajima"), with a few veterans brought in to help with the usage of old assets <ref name="Iwata Asks"></ref>. Naohiko Aoyama, who conceived the original ''[[Paper Mario]]'''s visual direction but had little involvement with its sequels, was brought in as the director.

Following Miyamoto's impression, the development team brainstormed ideas to make the game stand out. It was eventually decided to expand the [[Sticker]] mechanic, which had initially being designed for use in puzzles, and expand it to the rest of the game <ref name="Iwata Asks"></ref>. As the sticker system expanded, the development team decided to abandon the [[partner]] system and traditional RPG elements such as an experience point system, with progression instead being outlined by the player getting progressively stronger stickers along with HP-Up Hearts which can extended a player's health and [[First Strike]] power.

Early in development, Miyamoto also encouraged the developers to keep the story to a minimum<ref>In the ''Iwata Asks'', Miyamoto is quoted as saying "Aside from wanting us to change the atmosphere a lot, there were two main things that Miyamoto-san said from the start of the project—"It's fine without a story, so do we really need one?"</ref> and only use pre-established ''Mario'' characters. The decision to not focus on the storyline was also influenced by ''[[Super Paper Mario]]'''s [[Club Nintendo (rewards program)|Club Nintendo]] survey, which had less than 1% of the respondents citing its plotline as a strong point <ref name="Iwata Asks"></ref>. Producer [[Kensuke Tanabe]] also asked the team to focus on the "paper" aspect of the visuals. The game was presented in December 2010, E3 2011, and E3 2012 and was released in November 2012.

Cam Shea of IGN gave the game an 8.3, praising the fresh take on the ''Paper Mario'' series, the charming design, and the sense of humor, but criticized the sticker system for not working and some frustrating design elements. He wrote, "In spite of all my criticisms, Sticker Star is still compelling to play and a great deal of fun. The game’s infectious spirit and sense of humour is irresistible, and it’s big, too – you’re not beating this one in a weekend. It’s just a shame that putting stickers at the heart of the game didn’t turn out to be the master-stroke it so readily could have been. Paper Mario fans will enjoy Sticker Star, but ultimately it’s just as notable for its failures as its successes."<ref>http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/11/06/paper-mario-sticker-star-review</ref> Edge Magazine UK gave the game an 8, praising Intelligent Systems's effort to shape its RPG for portable play.<ref>http://www.edge-online.com/review/paper-mario-sticker-star-review/</ref> Destructoid gave the game an 8/10 praised the game for the impressive effort but warned that the game will disappoint some previous ''Paper Mario'' fans. Mike Wehner of The Escapist gave the game 4.5 stars out of 5, praising the game for its artistic style and its perfect gameplay while criticizing the frustrating puzzles. He wrote as the bottom line, "There's just no getting around it: Paper Mario: Sticker Star is yet another high-quality entry into Nintendo's cherished library of first party titles. The experience is high on satisfaction and low on frustration, making it an undeniably perfect fit for the company's mobile console. It's not entirely flawless, but as Mario games go, it's one of the best."<ref>http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/editorials/reviews/10058-Paper-Mario-Sticker-Star-Review</ref>

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Originally, [[Bowser's Sky Castle]] was meant to have minigames, but due to development time restraints it was cut. Pre-release screenshots also showed a [[Chain Chomp (partner)|Chain Chomp]] partner as well as a [[King Monty Mole|Monty Mole]] boss, though both were removed from the final game.

{{MariogamesMario games}}

[[Category:Mario Gamesgames]]