Paper Mario – Sticker Star

Paper Mario – Sticker Star is a 2012 role-playing game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo 3DS. 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 distinctly papercraft visual style, which is heavily incorporated into its gameplay mechanics. Sticker Star introduces the use of stickers, which are littered throughout the game world and are used as one-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. 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. 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. 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.