It’s been since 2007 since we have seen a Paper Mario game, now we finally see it come back with a different twist and style. All new on the Nintendo 3DS. The games are renowned for their distinctive visual style, which consists of two-dimensional paper cutout characters moving about in three-dimensional papercraft worlds. This particular game gives you the diorama feel. It’s the type of game I’ve been waiting to see on the 3DS for quite sometime.
[tube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ubZnXGk8-Rk[/tube]
First the unboxing! (see video above). One thing I noticed and mentioned in the video is the lack of instructions in the manual. Coming from a generation were manuals consisted of 30 pages or so and lots of pretty pictures, it’s weird to see a manual consisting of… well… no pages. The game looks as standard as can be, nothing to fancy about it. One thing that did catch me be surprise from GameStop is the extra swag I got. A giant Mario sticker!
The story starts with a special Sticker Comet that comes from the sky to fill the wishes of those who see it during the Sticker Fest. Well as we all know, someone out there wants to harness the power of the Sticker. When Boswer touches the comet or star, it spreads 6 Royal Stickers through out the land with the help of Kersti, your guide. Of course along with this, Princess Peach is no where to be found.
The controls are as simple as they get outside of battler. The A button is for jumping, B to use the hammer which allows you to interact with the environment, example being some flowers that can be flipped around and trees that can be hit to reveal new paths. The X button allows you to access your Album. The Album is where all your stickers will go, more on that later. Finally the Y button allows you to enter a state called “Paperization” that allows Mario to place stickers anywhere on the visible overworld to activate certain events.
Time for the meat of the game, stickers. Stickers are the bread and butter of the game. Unlike the previous titles, the player increases maximum HP and other stats through collection of stickers instead of gaining experience awarded from winning battles, so no more XP. Stickers are vastly available around the game world, along with that there is shops that sell stickers. Stickers come in many different varieties, everything from “Jump” stickers, “Hammer” Sticker, Fire and Ice Flower Stickers and Mushroom Stickers. There are also different versions of these stickers called Shiny and Flashy, think of collectible cards that had a shiny or flashy version of it. Best stickers are Thing Stickers, basically real-world objects, such as baseball bats and scissors, that can be turned into special types of stickers, which are often needed to solve puzzles in the overworld. For example, a Fan Thing Sticker can be placed in strategic areas in the environment and, when activated, creates wind that moves or destroys obstacles.
[tube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrzsa9Ph8cI[/tube]
The battle system (see video above) does resemble the previous Paper Mario games, turn-based battles. These battle start when Mario comes into contact with an enemy. As we know the battle and attack is determined by the amount and variety of stickers that you are holding. For example, using the Jump sticker will cause Mario to jump on the head of an enemy. Carefully timing the A button will cause a bonus hit. Some stickers allow for the bonus to continue for quite sometime. Thing Stickers are used to inflict more damage on enemies, and certain types of Thing Stickers are required to defeat boss characters. However, each sticker is removed from play after one use. So use them wisely.
Overall the game is a VERY welcomed edition to the 3DS family. The game is very fun and brings a very fresh and new gameplay to the Paper Mario family. The game does keep you on your toes and gets you thinking when solving a puzzle. The humor on the game might give a chuckle or two. The game is very enjoyable and I see great replay value with it.