To curious newcomers, Paper Mario: Sticker Star for the 3DS (and the previous Paper Mario games) might seem a wee bit, well, 'random' with their premise of turning the plumber's world into one made of paper and cardboard...
"Whatever next?" you might wonder - Cheese Mario where our plucky hero must milk cows and make chunks of cheddar to defeat a Bowser moulded from a pack of Cheese Stringsters? Or perhaps Gingham Mario where our hero must sew the Mushroom Kingdom back together again? Or even Hose Mario featuring our water-wielding hero spraying away all malingering badness from the land... oh, wait...
But thankfully the Paper Mario series' concept has never been paper-thin in actual practise, its central premise not just some cynical attempt to recycle a series that's in need of pulping (that's enough paper analogies - Ed). Featuring RPG mechanics coupled with classic Mario exploration and delightful puzzles, the Paper Mario series offers a fresh and inspired take on a very familiar world.
Fans will immediately notice that this latest entry has seen some changes; gone is the ability to flick between 2D and 3D planes and partake in realtime combat as featured in Super Paper Mario on the Wii. The former is now a rich 2D world with subtle 3D effects while the latter has been replaced with the more traditional turn-based fighting of old. Most importantly, there's that all-new arrival - the stickers themselves.
Mario can buy or find them to fight monsters and solve puzzles with - use a scissor sticker to slice through rope, unleash a fan sticker to turn a windmill's sails or peel off a high heel sticker to launch an Essex nightclub-inspired assault on enemies; you get the idea. All this while searching for the bits and pieces of the legendary Sticker Star (that's inevitably been ripped up by an ever belligerent Bowser at the beginning of the game).
More a paper mache of great ideas than a mere soggy mess then, Paper Mario: Sticker Star offers a novel and imaginative twist on the series; one that'll delight noobs - and reassure diehard fans that our plumber isn't about to become so exploited that he'll experience death by a thousand paper cuts...
Published: 13/12/2012
Comments