Chugga Sticks It to Sticker Star [Finale]

[@redmageknight3908]

In an alternative universe Chugga bought Fire Awakening, didn't had to go through all of this life along with playing a bad game, and instead had a good time.

[@SomeAsian]

In that timeline, Chugga spent years fanboying over... Henry, probably, because ha ha bad puns(?). Or Sully i dunno

[@peruinnsouvannavong7119]

I have a feeling in this time line his fe waifu would've been Cordelia. I'm not sure why it just feels like his vibe

[@fakesmile172]

As a longtime Fire Emblem fan, Awakening is arguably one of the worst games in the series, at least from a game design perspective. Not as bad as Sticker Star though.

[@MinoriGaming]

@@fakesmile172 Lunatic mode (and Lunatic+) are pretty bad, but they're not really meant to be fair anyways. Normal-Maddening are pretty alright besides some jank with ambush spawns.

[@Percival917]

​​​​@@fakesmile172In terms of strategy and story, yeah, Awakening is a mess. But it's still a fun and relatively polished turn-based beat-em-up with a eugenics system that can easily create the most overpowered units imaginable. Nowadays, Engage, the GBA games, and even Three Houses are all far easier to recommend.

[@Iinneus]

"I think it's the worst thing entertainment can be: It's unnecessary." *_THAT GOES SO HARD_*

[@C_Arson]

This may sound strange, but I actually disagree with the point made in that quote. To me, an unnecessary game is not inherently a game without value. An example of this for me would be Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe. Even as a big fan of the original Return to Dream Land, I think it would be a stretch to say that it absolutely needed the kind of remake that it got. The original game hadn't aged that badly and still felt pretty modern. A remake wasn't even needed to bring the game to the latest platform, since a simple remaster like Skyward Sword HD (though hopefully less overpriced) would've done the job. However, the Kirby team went above and beyond and not only gave it a new art style, but also a ton of fantastic new content and little bells and whistles for longtime fans. The entire package felt like an amazing gift on top of an already more than satisfactory anniversary year for Kirby. It didn't need to exist in its current form, but I'm glad that it does. On the other hand, Sticker Star to a lot of people is not only an unnecessary game, but also one that doesn't add any value to its series, and actively takes away value from said series instead.

[@captainpep3]

@@C_Arsonwould you say that a better quote would be something like “The worst thing a game can be is boring” because at least awful games like LOTR Gollum are so bad it’s fun to make fun of them, same as games that have an obscene amount of glitches. I haven’t watched Chugg’s playthrough of sticker star so I don’t know everything about this game, but from what I DO know is that the problem with this game isn’t that it’s unnecessary, or even that it’s absolutely awful, it’s just bland tedious and boring (if I’m wrong on anything I said feel free to correct me)

[@Omeyrolx_OhMayRolks]

@@C_Arson I mean, at first I was about to disagree with that line Emile said. I'm fond of what Schaffrillas said in his Shrek the Musical video: "Just because something doesn't need to exist doesn't mean it can't be good." (he hates Shrek the Musical, for the record) But then I thought about it, and "something that doesn't need to exist" isn't particularly the same as being unnecessary. Even if a remake of something you like doesn't **need** to be a thing, it can still offer up something different, like new content, a change in perspective or context, a new tone, modern updates, etc. If it didn't do anything like that, or if it took away what people loved about the original without replacing it with something substantial, or if it did both those things, THAT is when something becomes unnecessary. Because at that stage, what was the point of it?

[@C_Arson]

​@@Omeyrolx_OhMayRolks Instead of "unnecessary", I think the word "pointless" would make more sense with what you're saying. When people call something unnecessary in a negative way, the real issue is that whatever they're talking about has no good reason to exist, and thus has no value (at least in their opinion). In other words, it's pointless. A pointless game is inherently an unnecessary one, which is probably why Chugga used the latter word in the first place. However, as can be seen with Return to Dream Land Deluxe, unnecessary games don't have to be pointless. That remake didn't absolutely need to exist for the purpose of bringing back Return to the Dream Land for the Switch (at least not to the extent that they remade it anyway), but it did have a good reason for existing: the new content they added was fun and helps to make the game feel like a new experience for those who played the original. The problem with using "unnecessary" in place of "pointless" is that "unnecessary" literally just means "not needed", so it doesn't make sense for a game to not need to exist and yet _not_ be unnecessary at the same time.

[@Omeyrolx_OhMayRolks]

@@C_Arson True, that's fair.

[@thegamerator10]

He had all that shit happen to him and he passed on Fire Emblem: Awakening for Sticker Star. God damn, I just wanna give Emile a hug now.

[@eLite-Tiss91]

He misses out

[@enemystand2981]

I still play awakening to this day lmao. I always get bored in the second third but the start is just so comforting to me, and I honestly find it more strategic

[@Samevi]

The funniest part is, Intelligent Systems made both of these games. One of them has the most easily-accessible yet in-depth RPG stories seemingly of all time, and the other is Paper Mario Sticker Star.

[@perkilatorxiii5179]

I wish Emile didn't pass on Awakening. I'm sure it would have made him feel _so_ much better.

[@neo-didact9285]

He made the mistake of thinking it was just some generic weeb crap like I did.

[@Hjhugj]

I got SUPER lucky when this game released. I asked for “The new Paper Mario” for Christmas, having only ever played the first. My mom “messed up” and got me Super Paper Mario thinking that’s the one I was talking about. To this day, I am grateful for that mistake

[@wariolandgoldpiramid]

you sure dodged a bullet, lucky you.

[@skyblade7438]

She knew exactly what she was doing.

[@tornadoandy123]

*LUCKY! Sfx*

[@CamdenAndrews-hl3hu]

That's my favorite Paper Mario game, so you indeed are lucky.

[@AquaLantern]

*MEANWHILE, IN AN ALTERNATE UNIVERSE!* "Hey everybody, it's Chuggaaconroy! Welcome to my new Let's Play of Fire Emblem: Awakening! This has been a long time coming since this game really special to me. It helped me out when I was in a really dark place, and never expected to enjoy as much as I did, but here we are! I hope you'll end up loving this game as much as I do!"

[@octaviusroosevelt7355]

This hits me on an emotional level more than Kersti's "death" ever would.

[@wikiuser92]

Don't worry, everyone. This is technically not the end. Chugga has confirmed that he'll be making a Director's Cut compilation video of this series later.

[@dmaster342]

Not only the supercut but also another stream with ProtonJon soon.

[@wikiuser92]

@@jollama Who?

[@Speedracer95]

Look, man, most of us have already made amends with Sticker Star and moved on, much earlier than Emile had.

[@Kaisona2017]

@@wikiuser92The guy that’s always mad at him on TheRunawayGuys.

[@wikiuser92]

​@@Kaisona2017Didn't know there was such a person. EDIT: Misread. Of course I know Jon.

[@HMZeroTwo]

That intro was basically a villain origin story, having all that horrible stuff happening to you culminating with you just playing Sticker Star

[@papershadow]

This is the kind of backstory that explains Dr. Heinz Doofenschmirtz wanting to create an "Unstickinator" in Phineas & Ferb.

[@iantaakalla8180]

And even better, it is actually appropriate because while it is vitrolic hate, the backstory is entirely appropriate, akin to Doofenshmirtz’s over-the-top tragic backstories.

[@caroline8590]

@@papershadow “When I push this button, Perry the Platypus, every sticker in the Tri-State area will peel right off! Little children will lose the gold stars they earned for good behavior! On-sale items will appear to be back at full price! Student drivers will be indistinguishable from other vehicles!”

[@TKG785]

​​​@@papershadow*Emilie:* "A KZbinr? PROTONJON THE KZbinR!?"

[@swampert5528]

Genuinely made me sad man :(

[@arandompersonthatjustcomme9030]

The fact that Bowser can be defeated without ever using Kersti makes the finale even more of a joke.

[@breel75]

IT CAN?!?!?!

[@benjamindavis9620]

@@breel75 infinity jump is a free win every battle if you can manage the repeated pressing of one button for minutes.

[@shoadowolf]

I actually did this once to see what would happen, turns out this is very true. (And yes, I've used the infinijump stickers for the entire fight....)

[@TerraKnight27]

can't you also toss kersti if you do that

[@alakazamlover4908]

do you get different text or is it the exact same @@shoadowolf

[@legoferrari14]

The fact that this game's 100% reward is _the bestiary_ really encapsulates one of the biggest core problems with its game design; the game only giving you hints to something _after_ you know the solution.

[@Glitch_Man42]

In regards to the 12 writers that actually makes some amount of sense in regards to the poor quality of script. That probably indicates that the script underwent a lot of rewrites and revisions with many different visions conflicting and bumping into each other. Having more writers doesn’t necessarily equate to better writing, it can often lead to muddier scripts with less direction and an inconsistent feel. While larger games can have larger number of writers and still be well written, with how little and inconsistent the text is in Sticker Star I'd say it is more a sign of the script having a tumultuous life cycle. For reference both TTYD and Color Splash have (from what I could see) a single writer each. So Sticker Star probably had gone through multiple different scripts through different iterations of the game. This is an assumption, but many poorly written pieces of media have had similar developments as what I described, call it an educated guess.

[@ProsecutorZekrom]

The original beta was definitely a lot different to the final version, and if they hadn’t made so many changes it may have been a great game

[@donovandelozier7156]

​@user-gz7lm9js9fwith the caveat of writers of full side quest arcs I'd say

[@Glitch_Man42]

​@user-gz7lm9js9f I agree, I was just making exceptions for things that have a massive scope in their writing. A game like Baldur's Gate 3 has about 20 writers listed in its writing credits, but that game has 2 million words, I doubt that Sticker Star breaks 10K. And not all of the BG3 writing credits were story writers, so it isn’t a worrying thing for that game since it's so big narriatively. But in general, yes more writers tends to be a red flag for a project.

[@sb14andmore50]

​@user-gz7lm9js9fNot always though, for game franchises like Sonic, where there are lesser writers, but due to Frontiers and Ian Flynn, the franchise is set for a brighter future, but in this context, yeah, that's what it seems like, too many writers means way too many rewrites

[@thacobell4700]

@@Glitch_Man42 That one's up in the air. I'm not convinced that Larian can actually write.

[@fluffyluna3929]

The funny thing about people making the excuse that "It's for kids" is that I played this as a kid and could never get past chapter 2 because the method to beat it was so obscure.

[@iantaakalla8180]

Yeah. If Sticker Star is for kids, they are for particularly exploratory, precocious kids. Everything is obtuse and Sticker Star is basically a shitty 3ds point-and-click in the guise of an RPG.

[@prometheustv6558]

Honestly how could any kid figure this shit out

[@robobox7595]

Yep. Hell, I had a tough time getting past 1-1.

[@micahfurlow2624]

Ive honestly never seens a game fail on this level It fails at being an enjoyable experience, it fails at being a memorable experience, it fails at being easy and accessible and also fails at having meaningful depth It just fails as a game in general, kids or otherwise

[@xxbuttmanxx4383]

As a kid i never made it past world 1 because the game plain wasnt fun, i didnt have a reason to play it

[@hypernova_119]

I love how Chugga has been hyping up Bowser's Castle to be his least favorite level in all of Sticker Star, only to reveal that said level is just an empty corridor: really tells you what you need to know about this game.

[@turboDrowsy]

This gave me Vietnam flashbacks to beating Sticker Star as a teen. Even when I beat Kamek and got the castle, I was gobsmacked at how empty bowser’s castle was. Either this game’s developers intentionally sabotaged this area, or this game was rushed out the door.

[@KoCat2867]

It's been confirmed that Bowser's Castle was rushed for time. They probably originally had a lot more but scrapped it and the only thing they happened to leave in was the weird moving carpet

[@aaronTGP_3756]

​@@KoCat2867There were mini-games planned (as Chugga said), but they rushed it so badly that they removed it.

[@mariolucario493]

FLUDD’s “death” at the end of Sunshine was more emotional than Kersti.

[@g.g.3794]

At least FLUDD was helpful.

[@victorford5047]

@@g.g.3794 ...And likeable.

[@angrysunflower222]

wasps and mosquitoes are more likable than kersti

[@jordanhunter3375]

Also Luvbi's sacrifice in SUPER PAPER MARIO

[@KieranburgessBurgess]

also olivia in origami king

[@Skywordstrike]

Peach in Super Mario 64 had more dialogue than Paper Peach in Sticker Star. That’s a punch to the gut right there

[@CharaPresscott6982]

It's a kick in the balls to have *this* be the follow-up to SPM. Because that game made me sob.

[@jlev1028]

Peach had more to do in that game too. She at least wrote a letter to Mario and baked a cake for him.

[@tovi3280]

poor guy

[@TheDMan2003]

For a second, I thought you said “_Paper_ Mario 64”.

[@knox7945]

Peach was great in Paper Mario 64. She relays intel to Mario and assists him by giving him items and badges.

[@HeliosAlpha]

If there were 12 people who worked on nothing but the story script, that suggests this game probably was written and rewritten many times over with writers rotating out. That's sad in its own right, but to go through *twelve* people and not figuring out they had a problem is extremely sad

[@Digolgrin]

It's actually simultaneously better and worse than that. Emile confused "script" with actual story writing, which is an understandable thing to do if you're not well-versed in how gamedev works over in Japan. The writer is usually referred to as a "scenario writer" there, and Sticker Star's credits do list only one of those, a guy named Taro Kado. So there IS at least a sensible number of writers working on this project. Here's the problem--Kado DID NOT SPECIALIZE IN WRITING before coming to Intelligent Systems. He's actually a designer by trade, working on cutscenes (particularly for Super Mario RPG on the SNES) and sound design before being promoted to event director and scenario writer for all of the Paper Mario games Intelligent Systems worked on. Tanabe, or at least the guy in charge of Intelligent Systems back then, put him there seemingly without regard for the fact that he wasn't at all a writer or even director material. At the very least Kado seemed to clean up his act enough to stay on as scenario writer through Origami King--apparently he even got to write a revised scenario for the Super Mario RPG remake--but it doesn't excuse Tanabe for not finding somebody who would be at all interested in handling a Mario RPG story that ACTUALLY HAS EXPERIENCE DOING THE WRITING THING. Oh, by the way--Taro's actual claim to fame was as game designer on Moon, an RPG parody for the PSX. Guess Tanabe wanted somebody with that kind of humor to lead the project!

[@josephb.4640]

Considering how this game literally messes up EVERY SINGLE THING EVER, I'm thinking that very few of these people had adequate or relevant experience in the field at all, which explains why so many people had to fill in as "script writers" when difficulties began to arise. Seriously, even cringy fan fictions are better written than Sticker Star.

[@Digolgrin]

@@josephb.4640 Oh I don't doubt that. For at least ONE of these guys it was their first ever game (two of them only ever worked on this game before leaving the industry), and for a couple it was their first actual adventure/RPG-style game after working on strategy or racing titles--in one case a guy even came from a MAHJONG game, then got the heck out of Dodge to work on better games. But these guys are NOT writers. They're programmers, cutscene makers, level designers, and battle system programmers. One of those names, Jun Kuronuma, CAME FROM KOJIMA PRODUCTIONS, where he designed levels for PEACE WALKER, to work on levels for Sticker Star, then went BACK to Kojima to work on Ground Zeroes and MGSV. I genuinely think these guys did the best they could given Naohiko Aoyama and Taro Kudo's stubborn direction for Sticker Star and New Paper Mario as a whole.

[@josephb.4640]

@@Digolgrin - Wow. That explains A LOT. Thank you so much! Where did you find this information?

[@Digolgrin]

@@josephb.4640 MobyGames, mostly! It tracks the (released) projects any given staff member on a game worked on based on volunteer-provided data, which can be helpful for tracking the design lineage of a game. Most folks in the games industry don't have pages on Wikipedia so it's a WONDERFUL resource. Granted, like I said elsewhere, my theory that Aoyama and Kudo were DIRECTLY responsible for Sticker Star's loss in quality is guesswork, but... when you appoint an art director (an ARTIST, by the by) to a full project role, I imagine it stands to reason he let the artistic value of Paper Mario stand over the RPG gameplay.

[@solidskullz5736]

He buried Sticker Star physically, now it’s time for him to bury it for good in this final video

[@mb778_]

they say there are two deaths. the first is when it's put in the ground, and the second is the last time its name is mentioned. it's finally time for the second death of the worst rpg i've ever played. down there with other infamous ones like lunar: dragon song

[@iantaakalla8180]

Sticker Star is a punchline, and it has been a tired punchline for far too much years. I hope to never hear about Sticker Star again.

[@StarlightMagician]

​@@iantaakalla8180Sadly, you'll get people talking about it when some Brave and/or stupid soul decides to say Sticker Star is a Good game just to spite the people who hate it for a good reason.

[@juliofigueroa5567]

@@StarlightMagicianSticker Star was my first Paper Mario game but the only good thing I can say about it is it got me into its previous entries which I learned afterwards were superior to “Modern” Paper Mario

[@justsomewheel9379]

@@mb778_ I am going to speak the forbidden name

[@TriforceZard]

I like to believe Chugga’s rage lit a fire under Nintendo’s ass and they pressed the “in case of emergency, remake TTYD” button. Glad there’s a happy ending to this saga.

[@lanteanboy]

pretty sure it's Arlo who did that actually

[@alakazamlover4908]

cant it be a joint effort?@@lanteanboy

[@jlev1028]

Nah, it was Gamexplain's 2020 interview that got the ball rolling. They revealed how much rot was within Intelligent Systems and how restrictive Nintendo's policies were.

[@locomokuu2471]

I am now under the impression that all of these youtube people got together like the power rangers and that's how it went down

[@alakazamlover4908]

i support this ^ Emile is 100% the blue ranger....wait not Arlo has that on lock uhhhh Emile is the Pink ranger for LOLs (his spirit pokemon IS a skitty) @@locomokuu2471

[@leveldown8743]

One thing about the museum: If you played the game and actually engaged with the battles, you may have noticed that certain enemies have a chance to drop some enemy-exclusive stickers when defeated. They range in power from "pretty okay" to "absolutely bonkers", but considering that even the most powerful of them have accessible substitutes, they're generally just a neat bonus and nothing to look for specifically. Except that they have a section in the museum and thus, you are required to hunt them down if you want to complete the museum. And there happens a specific sticker that you likely won't have while casually playing, this being the barrel - a sticker dropped somewhat uncommonly from Broozers. The thing is: There are no Broozers in this game. At least, no one you can encounter on the field. Instead, they appear as reinforcements... in ONE battle in the whole game. More specifically, against one of the Boomerang Bros onboard the airship. And that's it. There is no other spot in the game where Broozers can be encountered. And there is no sign of them being present in this single fight - on the field, the Boomerang Bro in question is just a normal Boomerang Bro, which is located beside another enemy which doesn't have Broozers in his battle. Moreover, if you're looking for the missing enemy-exclusive sticker, you wouldn't check a Boomerang Bro. Why, you ask? Because the Boomerang Bro has its own sticker - this being the Boomerang - which the game gives you for free as a reward for a mandatory battle in World 3. So, if you're wandering about, looking for this elusive missing sticker, you would most likely look at this specific Boomerang Bro, think "No, this one drops the Boomerang and I already have those" and just move on. The Barrel and the Broozers is one of the most baffling design decisions this game has to offer. And that's saying something, considering the rest of this mess. Other RPGs have secret or rare enemies which guard elusive drops, but this one just feels insulting (even more so because the Barrel isn't even that good. It gets outclassed by common stickers, including - fittingly - the Boomerang).

[@thestoneyone06]

Like Emile said earlier in this series, this game just unveils even more awful design choices upon returning to it.

[@asherrudick3912]

Wow. I’m surprised someone other than me actually remembered that. I still can’t believe I beat this game from start to finish, as a boy who constantly got stuck on parts and didn’t really grow up with the internet until he was, I dunno, 12?

[@justsomewheel9379]

I actually like this game and played through every bit of it I could find and even I had no idea the barrel sticker even existed. Holy hell that's pure evil

[@josephb.4640]

I am legitimately baffled at how much they botched literally everything in this game. It's like they were cursed with bad game designing. Had these developers EVER even played an RPG before? Had they ever played a GAME before? They're so out of touch with the very content their working with, it's difficult to believe why they're still hired or why they even got the job in the first place.

[@randomreferencer2336]

Another thing about the sound test room is that there is an invisible timer that ticks down before Mario moves on to the next song. This timer doesn't reset when you skip a song you don't want to listen to, so if this timer is low when you get to a song, Mario will skip it, and you have to go through the entire list again because you can't choose to go back to a previous song in the list. And this timer is short too, I am pretty sure it's about 5 minutes. I kinda like listening to a good tune for more than 5 minutes most of the time. So the sound test room is another massive failure on top of it only having 29 songs out of 78 the game has to offer.

[@darkestccino5405]

IT KEEPS GETTING WORSE

[@KirbyChan]

WHAT???? How….why would that even be a thing?????

[@Commander-peepers]

Did they really try to make this game good? This is just flabbergasting

[@peco595]

Weird thing fir them to do and very nitpicky in terms of calling it a massive failure

[@bobosmith101]

​@@peco595basic user interfacing and design???

[@loverVloser]

I’m surprised that Chugga wasn’t MORE pissed about how the game never tells you - or even HINTS that Wiggler was who you needed for 6-1. Kersti just says “do you have any friends that can fly?”. NO, KERSTI, I DON’T. There’s, like, three notable characters in this game, and the ones that can fly definitely aren’t our friends! Maybe you were thinking that we’d get to team up with Kamek, or use Bowser Jr.’s hovercar? And maybe, Kersti would finally get off her ass and do something to contribute in any way? No. It’s Wiggler. WIGGLER. The character that was never shown or even hinted at to have wings. Most players would never go back to see him, because World 3 is over. Good luck figuring out that the CATERPILLAR that you left two worlds ago is what you need to fly! Either pull up the Tutorial of Shame, or spend thirty fucking minutes of your rapidly shrinking time on this Earth on a section of a game that is driving a nail in your coffin.

[@JammyJam5588]

End of the day there's SO few options. I guess he considered it just an easy process of elimination. Or he liked wiggler enough to instantly consider him.

[@danielthelevel100]

Agreed. Also, flutters are not a very common Mario species. When was the last time you saw a flutter in a Mario game before playing Sticker Star for the first time? Mario Party 6, maybe? Yeah, they’re not even very common in the games that they appear in, so how was anybody who didn’t dedicate their whole life to Mario knowledge supposed to know about this? Actually, you could dedicate your whole life to Mario knowledge and still not know that the Wiggler you meet would turn into a flutter. I might’ve forgiven the game for this if flutters were more well-known, but I just can’t.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

I can't believe Paaper Mario finally progressed to the puzzle solving style of point and click adventure games like King's Quest

[@terrakage4462]

Idk how I completely the game then. I kinda immediately thought. “Oh maybe wiggler will transform.”

[@KoCat2867]

It absolutely infuriates me when people say that there were no hints for Wiggler because that's LITERALLY NOT TRUE. A Toad appears in front of the Decalburg shop freaking out and saying that there's a development in the forest, and the Green Toad in 3-6 outright tells you to check up on Wiggler. Not to mention that even if you don't know who to go to, you would likely check Wiggler anyway because he's the only NPC that even counts as a friend, even if he doesn't fly, so you would assume that he has something to do with it. Also, Wiggler has clearly been portrayed as a caterpillar, and anyone with a basic knowledge of caterpillars could deduce that maybe Wiggler turns into a butterfly at some point. And this probably isn't an intended hint, but it's possible to unlock the sound test before getting Wiggler, and the sound test has a picture of Flutter as one of the track titles.

[@Edd_Harr]

I remember coming up with a joke theory when I was younger that Dimentio had actually won in Super Paper Mario, giving you a fake happy ending then resetting the universe to torment Mario with subpar-to-mediocre adventures. When the main antagonist of TOK was revealed to be purple and yellow I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

[@Horace-83]

So like the Super Genesis Wave?

[@spaghettiisyummy.3623]

Hmm... Good theory, Though!

[@WASDRhombus]

he was trying to stop mario from sticker starin’

[@emperortoho]

@@Horace-83 archie reboot gave us some pretty great arcs, its only real issues were the 2 actually good story arcs it cut off and the pendering(obviously)

[@DeadlockDrago]

We have Bowser Suped up on star magic, a literal dark entity that possesses a major character, and the aforementioned purple/yellow that wants to reshape reality. It's an interesting alternate reality theory at the very least.

[@HyperCole]

This video is one of the biggest projects I've ever had the pleasure of working on. Thank you, Emile for bringing me on for this series. :)

[@BigKlingy]

Thanks for all the work you did! The editing in these videos was great!

[@DrumstickGaming]

Thank you for your amazing editing! It was very slick and pretty funny!

[@K_Lateral]

This essay series is the best thing to have come out of Sticker Star, thank you Mr. A. Conroy

[@g3mkn1ght60]

This series could be an actual presentation to a game designing class

[@PikaBlue742]

​@@g3mkn1ght60A presentation of how NOT to design your games.

[@K_Lateral]

I guess another thing would be making the TTYD remake more hype due to causing a drought of good Mario RPGs

[@ricardovillon1189]

@@g3mkn1ght60 It would be interesting to hear it actually being used by professors. Then Chugga could as Jon to call Professor A. Conroy.

[@anueutsuho7425]

The best other thing was a horror comic I saw once about a family of Koopas being forcefully assimilated into the Toad hivemind. Sadly the forum it was on is now private so I can't link it.

[@DeltaBlazin]

The sticker grounds actually gets repaired over the course of the...ugh..."story," so by the time you have 5 of the royal stickers, the grounds are fully repaired, the banners were also always there, too. so literally the ONLY post game thing is the purple toad letting you see the credits whenever you want, So, as far as I'm considered, this game does NOT have a post game, it basically just has a "watch the credits again" button.

[@TheDMan2003]

They don’t even tell you what colour he is either. You have to know that the only purple Toad there (one of only three purple Toads in the game I can recall) is the one you have to talk to in order to watch a frankly boring credits scene.

[@davimp]

The “this is for kids” argument is probably one of the worse arguments I ever saw. And I say because I am a kid. My first paper Mario game was Color splash, and I remember liking it. After some time, I got The Origami King, but simply couldn’t get throw it, because of the battle system. After some time, I adquire TTYD, and absolutely loved that game. The part I liked the most was the characters. I just love them. And seeing a series getting worse for the sake of “it’s for kids” it’s just sad. An amazing series, with great characters, like Bow, Baby Yoshi and Vivian, great soundtrack, great story, and more. I’m so happy TTYD and Mario RPG are getting remake, and I hope they make new games like the old games again. EDIT- I also played ( and loved ) Super Paper Mario.

[@geschnitztekiste4111]

The for Kids argument makes absolutely no sense. I can remember different characters when they actually look different as opposed to if they all look the same. Especially as a kid, the new style would be needlessly confusing

[@zaneheaston8254]

Kids deserve better, & we the consumers deserve better

[@peco595]

Origami King is great though, don't throw that one under the bus

[@Kaisona2017]

@@peco595The bosses in Origami King as are as bad if not worse than the bosses in Sticker Star. All because of that ring system.

[@quangamershyguyyz7166]

They probably won’t ever be making any new games like the older ones.

[@brogoyle]

I’ll always say this about the “for kids” argument, adults sometimes get ‘turn your brain off’ content too, whether it be actually good, gloriously raunchy and absurd like aqua teen hunger force, or mid-to-bad like any super long lasting sitcom, animated or not. Kids can get smart content, adults can get braindead content. There really is no excuse to make a bad kids product, heck, even a bad “dumb” or silly kids product. Like if you really wanna make somethin’ stupid, you can still make it good.

[@basketbomberslackingson4417]

That and all the “you need a guide to figure out any of this” moments of sticker star.

[@AkameGaKillfan777]

Sometimes? That's 99% of every western "adult" animated show

[@Loner098]

"I've seen magical girl animes with better writing and characters better than Paper Mario: Sticker Star." - A loser (like myself) on the internet, probably.

[@brogoyle]

@@AkameGaKillfan777 hmm, i mean not all of them are bad and/or “stupid”/silly, Bob’s Burgers was well liked, i already mentioned Aqua Teen Hunger Force for being a great “stupid” piece of adult media, Boondocks, Bojack Horseman, Smiling Friends, Invincible, hell, people are even saying modern simpsons is starting to get good again very recently. Adult Animation is getting REALLY good, even if it has a few horrific blemishes like… idk, Velma or the goddamn NFT show

[@AkameGaKillfan777]

@@brogoyle For every one of those shows, there are dozens more that are terrible rip-offs or are just awful im their own right. King Star King, Mr. Pickles, Ren & Stimpy: Adult Party Cartoon, Allen Gregory, The Prince, Our Cartoon President, Chicago Party Aunt, Teenage Euthanasia, Legends of Chamberlain Heights, Drawn Together, Brickleberry, Paradise PD, and countless more out there that try to be "mature" but come off as an angsty teen's version of maturity.

[@10rayman]

Can’t wait til we get “Chugga Sticks It to Sticker Remaster” in about 10-15 years!

[@jasonthai1005]

Watch they completely overhaul the game and became better than the original. That’ll eat his fucking words.

[@victorford5047]

​@@jasonthai1005Why, though? Even if they remaster this game (which they won't since it's a stupid decision in all scenarios), this one will remain horrible as hell.

[@scoutlox158]

Poor you, mentally ill enough to like sticker star

[@Yuni-is-Schrodingers-Fox]

​​@@scoutlox158no, he doesn't? There's no indication that OP even remotely likes it..

[@harrietr.5073]

Sticker RemaStar

[@Magic_Ice]

I’ll be honest, your ending speech felt exactly like Jin from Xenoblade 2 and his resolution. Finally being able to let go of the past and the pain from it being over. It almost made me cry here. Thank you for making this series it was really special to see and I hope you make more video essays in the future.

[@vgmaster02]

Now everyone can shut the fuck up that got on his ass over him talking about this game. "God, chuggaa, the game is OLD at this point. You do NOTHING but rant and hate on it for over a DECADE now. Just shut up and move on already." HE HAS, PEOPLE!!! THIS ENTIRE REVIEW WAS HIS WAY OF MOVING ON FROM IT BY CHRONICLING HIS HATRED FOR THIS GAME! NOW LEAVE HIM ALONE ALREADY!!! Now can someone gift him Awakening so he can play it already? (Before the game becomes stupidly expensive)

[@LoraLoibu]

Oh. *Oh shit it does*

[@CinqAssocSouthSect5DonQuixote]

more emotional than kerstis death

[@gintokisakata514]

What a splendid soul you were, Emile

[@jameslawrenson1208]

Insert One Last You here.

[@selder_7]

The worst thing about Sticker Star is that they doubled down. It’s like if Sonic Labyrinth became the template for the series for a decade

[@darthgamer9861]

or like if Other M became the template for Metroid

[@JammyJam5588]

I seriously wonder HOW creatively bankrupt or utterly backasswards Tanabe and his team are to think doubling down on this garbage concepts were ever a good idea. I'D BE ACTUALLY FINE IF THEY TRIED LITERALLY ANYTHING ELSE WITH PAPER MARIO BUT THEY JUST KEEP REDOING THIS GARBAGE.

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

One Sticker Star is a creative experiment. Poking ideas that have been rattling around, laying groundwork for later titles or even IPs. I may not like the game, but I respect the process that birthed it. Two Sticker Stars is tone deaf leadership. They learned the wrong lessons from people's criticisms of the first game, and don't seem to have learned much from their own development of the first game either. It's heartbreaking when it happens, because it usually means the pain of the first game was in vain. This generally needs to be solved with a restructuring, or else a smashing of development hubris. Three sticker stars means someone is so convinced of their own brilliance, and obsessed with some "vision", that they aren't taking criticism, but are likely placing their own thoughts over the seas of criticism. They feel tautologically certain of the brilliance of that vision, that all the voices of criticism must have ulterior motives, and simply be too simple to understand. It's utter delusion at the directive level. It is no longer a tragedy, it has become a comedy, as you laugh at the lunacy of the people still doing it, and start investigating how people can get the position and job security to do this, because there's probably a story there. Anyone who can make Paper Mario a laughingstock three times and still have a job probably has a story. In the case of Paper Mario, we have the unique scenario of having it happen 3.5 times, with M&L Paper Jam infecting another series with the rot of Paper Mario. Thankfully, this also means we can say there have been more bad Paper Mario games than good ones. We can hope that the recent success of Super Mario RPG will be a kick to the pants of Paper Mario, but I doubt that will do anything that two decades of criticism and derision haven't. Mario & Luigi breaking the teeth of Paper Mario for a decade certainly didn't.

[@shadowsnake5133]

​@@JammyJam5588 and then they villianized anyone criticizing them in origami king... I seriously debated for a few years hard dropping Nintendo in favor of Microsoft. Actually no, I did, scratch that, I 100% did. Which considering my first consoles to myself were Nintendo, hurt. For a year, my switch just sat there, until a party came up, and even then it'd only come out of kids were part of the group. I'm glad it's over, but part of me still fears buying anything from Nintendo because of this, because they might decide to revert and consider me the enemy for liking their franchises. And now that Microsoft is going down the drain, my only real option of that happens is a company I don't own a console to, nor plan to, I like having a lot of storage sony, or the PC, which is just different, i don't get physical games with that.

[@N12015]

​​@@shadowsnake5133I forgot King Ollie is basically the image of the ones who don't like how sterile Paper Mario became, complaining how everything looks the same and wanting to reform it, aka the old fans.

[@PichuBro8]

I always headcanoned the Paper Mario Series as a story book version of Mario's adventures, and the reason he's so famous world wide despite just being Some Guy. Kids read books about him, picture books full of adventure and mystery and humor, showing the heroic and caring and silly side of Mario and Co. In that same vein then I imagine Sticker Star to be an unlicensed knock off of the in-universe series just trying to ride off the coat tails of a popular book series without really knowing what made the book so lovable in the first place. Sticker star never really happened to Mario and co. It was made up by some Toad Author on Mushroom Amazon just trying to make a quick buck off a public domain series.

[@Emmariscobar]

It being writen by some toad would also explain why like 90% of the characters are just different colored toads.

[@Reginald_Ritmo]

And then that Toad (Let's call him Laze Z. to fit with Paper Mario N64's naming conventions) gets enough funding to make his books even more grandiose, while still failing to capture the magic of what he was plagiarizing.

[@voopu]

Kersti's death made me sad. Imagine how amazing this moment would've been if that moment was in great game with actual character development. A team who reluctantly work together because their goals overlap. Kersti can still be snippy, annoyed that she has to explain everything because she knows all, but can't do everything, so more of a facade and make her blaming Mario a projection on her part.. Over multiple hurdles she learns to respect Mario, let's the facade slip and open up, slowly but surely warming up to him, her final breakthrough being when Mario saves her, being her most vulnerable moment. Then she sacrifices herself as Mario being the final hope and as a thank you for all he has done, no snide, just genuine feelings, no facade. THAT would've been so much better. And I came up with that in five minutes. ANY more creative input in terms of writing would improve this game massively, all janky mechanics aside.

[@saiyanscaris6530]

fun fact. you can defeat bowser without using kersti at all

[@deleetiusproductions3497]

This relies on Kersti being actually useful, however.

[@MoonlitWood]

If I had to guess, the number of writers compared to how little dialogue there is in the game is a sign not that there wasn't enough creative input in the writing room, but rather than nobody was willing to come to a decision on quite literally anything in terms of the story, and eventually someone higher up had to come in and tell them to sit down, bang out a rough, bland plot as fast as possible, and get on with their lives.

[@z-mac664]

The previous game in the series managed to make me feel bad for a bunch of weirdo murderers.

[@LinkyLove123]

I think a good way to compare this being done right is Midna from twilight princess, someone who was originally meant to be annoying or rude but after character development the possibility of them dying really impacted the player, and when they left it was a genuine disappointment

[@SomeDonkus1212]

Damn dude...i felt your pain when you talked about your first playthrough of sticker star. I hope you havent had a worse week since, with all the joy you bring people you really deserve the best.

[@SomeDonkus1212]

@LucasThePhantomThief *cough* metroid other m! *cough, cough*

[@prometheustv6558]

@LucasThePhantomThiefreminds me of when someone ate Ross’ sandwich in Friends

[@CharaPresscott6982]

I mean...I am sure the week during the Kirby Triple Deluxe playthrough where he had to go to a funeral comes to mind...playing Platinum after Teddy's death comes to mind.

[@AlphaStormMusic]

I would kill to see more video essays like this. This was such a joy to watch progress! I think showing how well a few sentences aged, and then ending with the hope for the future, and a basic "Good Riddance" for Sticker Star was a fantastic way to end. Please do more of this!

[@Loner098]

I mean, there are still a decent number of video essays regarding poorly designed and/or disappointing video games like videos that go hours long on for video games like Kingdom Hearts 3 and Pokemon Scarlet & Violet (this one most notably by AcousticHarmonia).

[@jordanhunter3375]

Hopefully, Chuggaa's next video essay miniseries is for a game he actually enjoys

[@theclown2257]

That rant about it made for kids was spot on. Just because it was designed in a way kids can enjoy doesn't give them an excuse not to try. Some of my favorite pieces of fiction we're designed for all ages. I'm happy that a lot of people understand that "it's for kids so who cares?" Is bad mentality to have. Even if it was a valid argument (which it isn't) our kids deserve better than this

[@leargamma4912]

Same. Look at avatar the last airbender, for example. Its primary audience is for children. And yet people of all ages can relate to its world, characters, story, themes, and even some of the animation can be exciting for adults too!

[@lrgogo1517]

The last part feels a little redundant. 'This concept is invalid, and even if it was valid, which _it is not,_ it actually also isn't valid.'

[@NotsilYmerej]

Many things that adults enjoy are “made for kids” The Pokémon series, the Legend of Zelda, Star Wars, most Superhero movies, and Mario. Just because the target audience is children, doesn’t mean it has to be bad, or simple. Especially with how complex stories made for children could get before Sticker Star.

[@thevioletbee5879]

Also this wasn’t designed in a way kids can enjoy. I mean I’m sure some did, but I HATED this game as a kid. It was borderline impossible to play without the internet, which children shouldn’t be encouraged to use without adult supervision. Children don’t like things that are frustrating, obtuse, tedious, and lacking in creativity.

[@mtgstudios1556]

@@lrgogo1517 you need to read it a couple of times to put it together. He basically said that even in a world where it was ok to develop in the "its for kids" mentality that our kids would deserve better.

[@Shaymaru]

Ending a rather (deservedly) bitter review on such an optimistic note is one of those things that makes me deeply appreciate people who help create videos like this. It’s a very heartfelt, creative endeavor. Thank you for sharing this.

[@ScribbleSpirit]

This series has been the best thing to ever come out of Sticker Star's existence LMAO. Thanks for the awesome video essays Chugga!

[@Poondaedalin]

Fun fact: you can go back the way you came after beating Kamek and exit the level. If you save your game, Kamek will be permanently dead, and will not reappear on subsequent playthroughs of the area.

[@ethantran5679]

10:53 one little fact is that once you freeze the fireballs, you can then use any fan-related thing stickers to launch them upwards and hit them back at bowser

[@proyoshi24]

14:52 I laughed so fucking hard at this. The fact that you can just toss Kersti is actual gold

[@lrgogo1517]

I think that may have been footage of a debugger?

[@mimi73829]

@@lrgogo1517you can beat bowser without using kersti and toss her before saving peach

[@ZorotheGallade]

Kirstyeet

[@InsertName41]

@@mimi73829 i genuinely want to fact check that myself because it sounds possible because of how backward this game is

[@asherrudick3912]

@@mimi73829all thanks to one sticker that they didn’t even bother thinking about: the Megaflash Infinijump. From now on, I’m not even gonna bother using her, unless I just wanna listen to the awesome music. Even then, I could just use KZbin.

[@skumsprjt9145]

Months ago, i introduced my girlfriend to the world of rpg games with non other than the 3 Paper Mario games(she had only played 1 or 2 Pokemon games). She became incredibly attached to the franchise just like how i was when i played those 3 games in my preteen years. When i showed her the horrors of sticker star with these videos, she refused to watch the rest as she became incredibly furious. We both were screaming in excitement and almost cried in joy when we saw the trailer for Thousand Year Door HD! What an amazing time we live in!

[@Dexuz]

Pretty much this comment. When something is good, it shows, no bearing with nostalgia. So similarly, when something is awful, it too shows.

[@justsomewheel9379]

this reads like a r/tomorrow post

[@zeroSEA]

the portion with the TTYD remake was rather emotional. Its as if after the journey of trudging through Sticker Star again, there was an unexpected light at the end of the tunnel.

[@Dakress23]

Dude your ending speech was fantastic. Major props from my end. Also I agree 100% that people using the "well it's meant for kids!" excuse is just evidence of them trying to salvage something that's objetively BAD at worst, or utterly forgettable at best.

[@angel-of-light-kelly1355]

Isn’t Nintendo supposed to be trying to make games that the whole family can enjoy? This just feels like they’re saying “you play this as a kid, and then throw it away once you grow up and learn what better games are like.” It feels like the opposite of replay value, where you go back and realize “huh, my childhood sucked.”

[@BigBuckies]

yeah, the "it's for kids!" defense has always been one of the worst defenses ever, some of the greatest media of all time has been made for kids, take the og avatar: the last airbender show, objectively made for kids, but is considered one of the greatest animated shows ever made, you can make media for kids that's actually good and has value beyond trying to appeal to a demographic that doesn't understand what good media is, just because children will accept almost anything regardless of quality doesn't mean all kids media has a free pass to be bad and it's very annoying when someone seriously tries to argue that

[@Super_star_remix]

Facts. Shrek was made for kids and adults can also enjoy it. Also mario oddsey and many other great things

[@Loner098]

"I've seen magical girl animes with better writing and characters than Paper Mario: Sticker Star."

[@darko-hexar]

I can't wait for the day where the TTYD remake comes out, outsells the last three games completely and gets glowing reviews across the board. The more people get to appreciate it, the higher the odds that whatever comes after will actually follow in TTYD's footsteps rather than stomp all over it.

[@hankboog462]

I hope it sells well so bad. On one hand, they're marketing it like it's a brand new game so far, which is cool and could help boost sales alongside glowing reviews, but on the other hand, the switch is entering its twilight years, and it may be difficult for anything not on the level of tears of the kingdom or Mario wonder to overcome that hump. Fingers crossed

[@TwilightYonder720]

@@hankboog462Mario RPG remake already had a big launch of 300k physical sales in Japan which is the most for a MRPG since the first there, so it’s doing very well

[@NicoTheCinderace]

@@TwilightYonder720 I think we're in good hands. If the Mario RPG remake is selling like hotcakes in _Japan?_ We're more than likely in the best timeline.

[@captainpep3]

I want it to sell well too, and if it does I do hope TTYD fans will be able to appreciate origami king more for the great game it is rather than being the game they wanted it to be but didn’t get (the game still has issues that I won’t deny, but I feel a lot of TTYD fans won’t let themselves like it because of their love of the first three paper Mario games)

[@twotruckslyrics]

⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠​⁠@@captainpep3absolutely agreed!! i want it to sell nice, but pmtok is my favorite always 😅 i went into pmtok expecting it to be terrible bc id heard that everywhere but like it wasnt, aaat all? its got issues but i love the stationery bosses, love the MUSICC, love the silly puzzle rings lol.

[@grunkleg.2934]

For all the bad things you can say about Sticker Star, they still managed to give Kamek more to do in this game than in Mario Wonder

[@dustymcwari4468]

Its pretty odd they even decides to have Kamek be in the game, when Bowser and Junior were very much doing everything by themselves because the wonder magic let them do almost whatever they wanted without the need of any of his assistance, even for summoning ships Kamek felt kinda unnecessary because Bowser can easily materialize whatever he wants by just thinking about it, something he does in levels too

[@ericriley1985]

​@dustymcwari4468 You know, thinking on it, I wonder if Kamek was shoehorned into Wonder due to the movie.

[@dustymcwari4468]

@@ericriley1985 I think an interview said they weren't paying much attention to the Movie's development, so stuff like Kamek's presence and Bowser having a rock concert are purely coincidental Though yeah, it would make more sense if Kamek was there just because he was in the movie, albeit still a weak reason to include him because he's still not doing much

[@aaronTGP_3756]

The game was basically perfect. But the bosses just had to be the weakness.

[@Rocket02025]

thats not a good argument

[@Cerebrum123]

Sticker Star is almost entirely due to the ego of Kensuke Tanabe. He felt slighted that his joke involving Toads folding themselves into a staircase for Mario to use was dismissed. He mentions in an interview that it was over a decade before he finally got to put his idea into the series and how it was rejected until he got control of the series.

[@Aaaa-g6u8e]

I recalled looking at a list of roles each team provided for the games. iirc, Tanabe was the character designer for the first 3 games. I find it baffling he got promoted to director, and yet, he's done a terrible job. Not to mention he's been especially lying for over 10 years about the Mario Mandates since that wasn't really a thing.

[@Cerebrum123]

@@Aaaa-g6u8e Every time I know about him having control over a game has gone bad. Chibi Robo Ziplash, and Metroid Prime Federation Force are some notable examples. He's actively admitted to being lazy in the past and only takes the jobs he sees as easiest. It looks like he failed upward to me.

[@northwindkey]

@@Cerebrum123 Huh? He had entire control over the ORIGINAL Metroid Prime Trilogy lol. He was the lead creative on all three of those games. To deny his impact there is baffling. Hell, he had LESS to do with Federation Force. Which also wasn't even that bad of a game, it was just poorly timed and had a bad art style.

[@Cerebrum123]

@@northwindkey ​He was only a producer for the original Metroid Prime. The directors and creative leads were primarily other people. The director, Mark Pacini, seems to be much more involved in creating what fans like about the games. Kensuke Tanabe has been a producer for many games but he usually did paperwork and team management. For example, he worked on The Thousand Year Door and Super Paper Mario but despite being a producer his creative ideas were shot down time and time again until Sticker Star where he was given full creative control. On Wikipedia Tanabe is featured much more extensively in creative decisions for Federation Force while only minor tweaks like difficulty are mentioned for the first three games. The only game I can find where he was the lead director or a creative producer that is genuinely good is Super Mario Bros. 2/Doki Doki Panic. On an objective level, Federation Force might not be the worst game but the fact it was released right after Other M nearly killed the franchise. Without the help of Retro Studios, it is still undeniably worse than the original Trilogy and Metroid Prime Hunters. Heck, even Metroid Prime Pinball was handled better.

[@papershadow]

@@Aaaa-g6u8e There's a genuine irony to me, that he worked as a Character designer for the first 3 Paper Mario games, and yet an uncreative cast amounting to maybe 3 new designs per entry is one of the most frequent criticisms of the Sticker Star-onward games that he presumably had more creative power over. Tetsuya Nomura similarly went from a Creature/Monster designer to a director for several SE games, and the character design variety still has a lot of variety and even his memetic trademarks like belt spam. If anything, the "every NPC is a Toad except your partner" issue is literally the last thing I would expect from a Tanabe-directed Paper Mario series among the myriad of other shortcomings it produced from troubled development.

[@danganmachin8349]

Even if Sticker Star shouldn't be played, I don't think it should be forgotten. While it was a misguided attempt at changing the Paper Mario formula, I think it also provides an important lesson as to what you shouldn't do. There was a sense of learning, a sense of appreciation that I believe I gained by experiencing Sticker Star. I am more familiar with the M&L series than Paper Mario but playing the most recent entries of both series made me remember the good times I had with the older entries even more. They were even more grandiose because they were unique. And I think that this rememberance that I am sure I am not the only one to have will help the future Mario RPGs. That is why I am glad Sticker Star was made, it helped me to see the value of the past entries that I saw as just games. So I will say it because I know you never will lol. Thank you, Sticker Star.

[@Tonatact]

It's like they say "Those who forget their mistakes are bound to repeat them."

[@jlev1028]

This is the same point Linkara made about One More Day. It shouldn't be wiped from existence, it should serve as a teaching moment.

[@JammyJam5588]

@@Tonatact And that's why we got the same Sticker Star formula 3 games in a row.

[@northwindkey]

@@JammyJam5588 We really didn't. Most of SS' mistakes, outside of aesthetics and the bad battle system, were gone in CS already (Level design, pacing, all that was entirely different). And OK then got rid of that battle system for its own weird puzzle one. Which, okay can be hit or miss, but it's better than just picking consumable stickers or cards and hoping they work. The only thing similar between SS and OK is that the characters are still bland. That's hardly enough to be the same general formula.

[@TheRedGuy]

This was such a great journey, for the longest time there was a lack of critical analysis on this game even with it's negative reception. I had my time to rectify that with my own massive review for it, and to see you tear into it as well was very cathartic. I've greatly enjoyed this and look forward to more of this style of content!

[@ladyginchio4909]

Hi TheRedGuy!

[@TheRedGuy]

@@ladyginchio4909 Hey!

[@NeoPeewee]

Actual goosebumps at the end when the TTYD opening theme started playing. Its so refreshing to be back...

[@TheDMan2003]

During the endscreen? I think that was the piece that plays at the very end of 64 after the credits are finished, where Mario and Peach watch the fireworks from Mario’s house.

[@tatltails3923]

No, the TTYD opening played when Chuggaa was talking about TTYD and how bringing it back was a good diea@@TheDMan2003

[@TheDMan2003]

@@tatltails3923 Yeah, you’re right. I’m an idiot. I thought he was talking about the very end of the video…

[@akionlizard]

That whole damn ending sequence had me crying so hard

[@selder_7]

“It’s for kids” isn’t an excuse to not be good

[@Superstrike_11]

Amazing video series. One of my favorite things about Chuggaaconroy is how consistent his passion is. If you asked him in 2006, "What do you think about [Nintendo game]?" he would answer with just as much enthusiasm as in 2023. In the modern "short-form ecosystem", I feel blessed that he has continued making the kind of content that we, the slim minority on KZbin, really enjoy. Thank you Chugga!

[@GenericGMR]

Glad he can finally *CLOSE THE BOOK* on this! In all seriousness, this series has been great. Phenomenal storytelling, fun jokes, and tons of insight into the game’s (flawed) mechanics. …all stuff that the game should have had.

[@AiLoveAidoru]

Honestly, Emile. You have a way with words that not many creators do. You know how to balance humor with serious moments, and your timing is perfect. Do more of these essays. Hell if there’s a game you love that doesn’t quite work as an LP, you should definitely make it into an essay like this so you can still talk about it with the same level of passion!

[@atotalfiasco4213]

Even if we never get this kind of video essay style from you ever again, I'm forever grateful that you made these incredibly entertaining and special videos in the first place.

[@darkiusmc979]

I believe he confirmed that he would make more essay videos in the future, and the only reason he hadn't made any prior was because school made him think he hated writing essays. He hated writing essays on things he didn't care about, like I'd imagine most people feel.

[@FadeToBlackOps]

@@darkiusmc979As a current college student, F A C T S!!! I love to write! I just don’t like being stuck with a prompt/topic I couldn’t care less about.

[@ComicalStudios75]

27:50 Ahh, this line! I love it so much because as a fan of Alphadream's worked and someone who played Paper Mario 64 on the NSO months ago, not only does this feel like Emile's putting his foot down, but it gives much more context to why he's made the "Stick It To Sticker Star" series in the first place and I love it 👏👏👏

[@massimo5477]

I would like to list some of my story and event changes in the game. 1. Kersti would get a character arc: She would start as someone rash rude and general unhelpful (just like the whole game) but eventually she is called out by the party members you got throughout the game (you can make up who they are). Even Mario would be angry about how she acts, eventually with her realising that she isn't a great person and tries to change that going forward. 2. Bowser actually has character: His story would be that after getting the crown he would be his normal self, but as the game continues and we keep flashing back to his shenanigans we see him zone out or become more irritated, until he goes berserk, becoming how he is in the actual game. This is revealed to be the crown corrupting him, turning him more crazy. 3. More story events: Because of Bowser going crazy his minions flee the castle for safety but Bowser turns most of his minions shiny signifying that they are under his control, subsequently making any prior enemy stronger from older areas. The last of his minions such as Bowser jr, and Kamek would then ask for help to get Bowser back, making the story a mission to not defeat Bowser, but save him. 4. A better final boss: When Mario finally meets Bowser he only roars and growls but seems uneasy and unbalanced. The fight begins with Bowser doing the typical thing of fireballs, punches and all of that, until, after the first phase the crown finally takes full control mutating into a freakish monster, becoming more powerful and leaving Bowser dangling by the crown as the crown wildly attacks. Then after more fighting the crown mutates one final time becoming more grotesque and more importantly invincible, after seeing what the crown has become Kersti and Mario think of one final option. After selecting Kersti as an option, Mario in a surprising move grabs and tosses away his iconic cap, and sticks on Kersti, he tenses up spinning around eventually revealing. STICKER KING MARIO. In this form both Mario and Kersti can defeat the crown with well timed, attacks, dodges and even counter attacks. Once done the crown lets Bowser go as it stumbles back, but it isn't quite done, since it makes a final leap for the duo, but Bowser after quickly waking up grabs and keeps the creature still for Mario and Kersti to land the final blow. The story concludes with Peach, Bowser and all his minions being saved, and everyone's wishes finally being granted, as Kersti fulfils her duty as the sticker star.

[@WHYvernmaster]

That's the game we SHOULD have gotten.

[@starvoltnexus3139]

I wanna play your sticker Star instead

[@sacripan4425]

That would have made Kamek and Junior potential partner, after being battled as minibosses

[@pinkiemeowstic89]

@@sacripan4425Still crazy that someone would want the most annoying character in the franchise as an ally (hint: of the two characters you mention here, it isn't Kamek)

[@sacripan4425]

@@pinkiemeowstic89 Junior is not annoying?

[@Cloudeefella]

One thing I don’t think many people talk about is how BOTCHED the end of chapter sequences are in this game. In past games, they gave you a chance to keep up with the bad guys and see what they were up to, how they felt about what you were directly doing. What you did in the world was affecting things!! It also built up the final dungeon and pumps you up to beat the final boss… but since the game doesn’t have a good villain OR a good final boss they opted for telling you… idk a big pokey got a sticker or something

[@papershadow]

I love the game telling you the story of the chapter after you have already played the Chapter. Ignoring snide remarks about the content itself, what the heck kind of structure is that supposed to be?

[@TriforceWisdom64]

​@@papershadowThat's how FromSoft games work

[@dustymcwari4468]

Even the Mr. Blizzard one, the only boss that I honestly cared about in the whole game, and one of the very few characters I liked despite his overly short appearance, don't just leave me with a Frosty the Snowman reference, I wanna know more about him >:u

[@lrgogo1517]

@@papershadow I can tell you would _not_ enjoy the methods of _Kimetsu no Yaiba_ . . .

[@dabluepittoo-aqua4213]

I remember one of my favorite authors who made my childhood said that he doesn't just write for the kids, but also the adults telling the stories. I think he had a point.

[@bazboyd44]

Was it reverend Wilbert awdry

[@ZACKMAN2007]

​@@bazboyd44he was the guy who made Tomas

[@PsychoGreen]

"And thus, it was believed that Chugga threw his copy of Sticker Star into a campfire in the forest, and relaxed in his freedom."

[@maximyllion]

"it's for kids!" yes, and kids are smart enough to also deserve good media.

[@Hectoreo]

Honestly, I couldn't imagine a more perfect end to the Sticker Star Saga, with a Thousand-Year Door remake finally bringing the series back on track 20 years later. Here's to what's hopefully a series of Paper Mario games that can stand alongside the originals.

[@100organicfreshmemes5]

@@Shyontheinternet99 I played Super as a kid but I can't say it's amazing personally. It's a good game, the story and characters are overall the best the series has to offer, but it felt too removed from the Mushroom Kingdom for me personally. You could swap Mario, Luigi, Peach and Bowser out for another group of 4 protagonists and nothing would really change. The gameplay was also lackluster, it's a very basic action platformer with some RPG elements tacked on. Flipping between 2D and 3D was neat but it felt more like a gimmick than a real fleshed out mechanic, I can't remember getting significant use out of it besides a few mandatory puzzles.

[@quangamershyguyyz7166]

The series won’t be going back on track after the remake. Don’t get too excited.

[@grantwilliams2571]

​@@quangamershyguyyz7166I'll quote you on that

[@shyguyrocks1]

​@@100organicfreshmemes5 What do you mean by too far removed? You know from the second the game starts pretty much you're going through dimensions. Of course it's going to be aesthetically different and unique. It can not be for you but I don't think that's an objective flaw. Some people might not like the aesthetic of the slums of Rogueport either. Gameplay is whatever. It has it's flaws but so does TTYD (suffers from typical RPG issues really). I personally didn't mind the change in gameplay much and the 3D cam actually reveal secrets and help out in fights. I'd give it more credit than "just for mandatory puzzles"

[@Ultimate_Charizard]

15:25 Oh there's actually something way worse about this. You see how you got a free sticker after Bowser hits you? When I first played this I reached the point in the fight where Bowser is completely unable to attack, and that's when I ran out of stickers. And since he couldn't hit me, I never got any free stickers. I was stuck completely unable to do damage while Bowser was utterly helpless. I passed multiple turns with the now useless Kersti roulette and couldn't do anything. And guess what? The run button works on that phase. I know because that's how I left the stage, I didn't close the game or anything, I was able to run away from the battle and return to the world map, which left me feeling weird that Kersti magically came back to life after exiting the level. Then I went and restocked on a load of stickers so I wouldn't run out this time and had to play through the entire stage again. For the last almost 11 years I was mad that they wouldn't give me even a basic attack so I could finish off the already helpless final boss on what was supposed to be the victory lap phase. Now I'm even madder because I see that they give you an out in the earlier phases, just not at the very end when the actual fight is already over. Thank you Emile, thanks to you I discovered that the worst moment in the game for me was even worse.

[@tylercoon1791]

You can rest now Chugga, you don’t have to suffer any longer.

[@brandonwilliams6119]

This is kinda bittersweet in a way, he’s come so far to this moment, he’s suffered for us exposing all of everything wrong with Sticker Star, the lore and story at the beginning was very sad and depressing and he was bold to choose Sticker Star over Awakening, and it’s culminated in this finale. Thank you for everything you done to dissect and analyze Sticker Star, it should be a lesson of how NOT to design a video game.

[@SoraFan23]

I know some people are still going to defend Sticker Star because they are just "sick of the hate" but it has to be said. At the end of the day no matter what game you like or dislike you cannot ignore the flaws it has. No game is perfect there is always going to be games that have great things to them but it has flaws. Eventually if a game is so bad then it should be called out and be improved. I do not support "harrassing" developers. They need to listen to the feedback and improve on games. It is how they get better as time goes on. Sure some may make the argument that when they make changes it is not what they want and they just want to act like everything "needs to be the same as it was". If it was like that every game would just feel the same as each other and doesn't offer anything "new" or "refreshing". When its done in the right way then it will give a new perspectivie on games and how it can inspire others to make better games. The point I am trying to make is that Sticker Star is not a good game. Like Emile says it fails as an RPG and it fails at Story. There is a reason why most people grew bitter towards Nintendo because of all the bad decesions they have made around the 2010s. Now in the 2020s they seem to be going back to their roots and they are taking the feedback seriously. Its a glimmer of hope that the Paper Mario series can be better and it can do things a lot better. When you look back at Sticker Star, Color Splash, and Oragami King, think about how much it has affected the community and think about how important it is to listen to feedback and to make sure to not make the same mistakes over and over again.

[@peco595]

It's certainly not a good game, but it's not a horrible game either. That's the real thing people who defend it take issue with. Across these videos I've seen people nitpick the game to pieces calling out every small weird thing as a massive failure to add on to the pile. Things like being able to do the final boss without using Kersti isn't a big deal because you have to go way out of your way to do that and nobody playing the game normally is gonna do that. Sticker Star has some major problems with a fair few minor problems and weird quirks. At the end of the day though it's a good looking, good sounding, functional video game. Story and battle system may be technically bad but they're also certainly still serviceable. Even the complaint about battles being pointless is overblown because the point to doing them on the first place is because they're fun. It's fun to press the buttons, hear the sounds, see the animations, all that stuff. Not everyone will find the battle system fun obviously and it being technically pointless doesn't help, but it's still certainly serviceable. Sticker Star is a 5 or 6 out of 10 kinda game, not the 1 or 2 out of 10 people want to say it is.

[@mtgstudios1556]

@@peco595 Actually its more a 2-3 out of 10 and not because its necessarily bad, its because the game was actually never finished before its release. During the development of sticker star they completely restarted their development which for any title would be a significant loss. A lot of the bad stuff in it is very similar if you look at it, and if you know a lot of how development goes you can see most of the stuff is what would happen at the end of normal development like play testing and stuff like that. Some specific things that you can see towards this include the sound room, the battle system not being important, the unexplained thing items, the horrible backtracking. Typically you'd see fixes to a lot of that after the skeleton of the game is made. So its very likely that due to them having to restart that the due date for release came up right as they were getting their first working Build of the game and had to release it like that because they wouldn't change the release date. So thats the main reason it doesn't score well, not because the concept was necessarily bad from the start, but they just were unfortunate enough to have to restart and it destroyed any chance they had of delivering a finished product because the release date was already given out to the world.

[@JammyJam5588]

@@peco595 Nah it's just bad Game's dont have to be glitchfests like Sonic 06 to be bad. They can just be a series of shitty ideas executed horribly.

[@peco595]

@JammyJam5588 That's the thing, that's not what Sticker Star is. It plays just fine, it's just on the boring side due to poor decisions.

[@mtgstudios1556]

@@JammyJam5588 I wouldn't say it was entirely just bad ideas. mostly just they didn't finish development. The product we got feels like a Beta to me.

[@XellosNi]

*"MAKE A NEW FRANCHISE"* Please give "Paper Mario" to Captain Toad, Nintendo.

[@SpecRose]

All that's left now, is Jon and Emile's final Colo Bonus stream. than Sticker Star can well and truly be put behind him for good. I'll be looking forward to it and I hope Emile manages to enjoy himself with that final hurrah of the game in his life.

[@TPrower]

I can't even begin to imagine what a relief it must be to be done with this game once and for all. It hurts even more to know that you played this during such a tough and stressful time, so of course the memories about it would be worse for you. That said, everything I've seen about this game from you and from others shows just how much they almost deliberately got wrong with making it, and while I had a lot of fun playing Origami King, it's easy to see how tightly the Paper Mario series clung to elements of this 'new status quo'. Like you, I also found it facepalm-worthy that they tried to make us feel bad for Kersti sacrificing herself, when she did nothing to endear us to her throughout this entire story, and Mario still felt she was worth bringing back to life with his one wish from the Royal Stickers. And after seeing Bowser have so much personality in other Mario games, seeing him reduced to a boring, mute blank slate in this is just painful. The big guy deserved better than that. The fact that Super Mario RPG received a remake (loved playing through it, by the way) and that Thousand-Year Door is also receiving one feels like a good sign that they've realized what aspects of the old formula fans loved and want to see come back. Thanks for taking us on this journey, Emile.

[@yggdrasilsaltar]

30:38 mario + rabbids in the weird era of time before the rpg remakes was honestly the *spark of hope* i had for mario rpgs being good again, even if it isnt a traditional one it showed that these games arent dead in the water and still have their place.

[@papershadow]

While the Gameplay wasn't quite the same style, I have been a proponent that the Mario + Rabbids games were the Paper Mario games we got while "actual" Paper Mario was folding in on itself. Treat the Rabbids as your Party Members and grant that Bowser is "only" there as a final boss in the first game and it gets everything it needs. For a basic as the story is, everyone involved has personality that shines through in the interactions (heck they don't even have dialogue and they're all easier to like than the talkative partners from the new Paper games). The gameplay structure borrows heavily from the Genre it fits into but has some unique elements that vary the gameplay and strategy options while the setting has a zany identity that the Mario cast still fits well into. I think the thing I admire most is that these games very much feel like they come from a team with a vision they wanted to realize and had a reverence for the IP(s) they were working with. If I take Tanabe's comments about wanting to get rid of systems like EXP at face value, it either means the team didn't like the systems for the old Paper Mario games but took the title as an excuse to peddle something else, or the developrs working on the game were pigeonholed into making something the series isn't. Whichever way it falls, M+R is a game made by developers who wanted to make something great, not just something different like these games, which focus so hard on how they THINK their brilliant ideas will function that none of them were considered for how they actually play out (see the coin redundancy, lack of battling incentive, terrible inventory management, and obtuse puzzle design)

[@lukebytes5366]

I hope an essay like this along with the remake can put an end to the tiring discourse. To say one last thing: to everyone out there who enjoys sticker star or color splash or origami king; that's great. There's alot of turd-flinging over how enjoying certain media is somehow disgraceful, whether it'd be for the "future of gaming" or otherwise. The reality is that there is nothing wrong with that, and im sure many old paper mario fans wanted to enjoy the later games. The series direction is not being criticized because we don't want people to enjoy the new games, it's being criticized because we want the new games to be more enjoyable for everyone. We want a battle system that can be consistently engaging and fun without relying on gimmicks. We want more recognizable characters that interpret the mario world in a new way. We want more stories that upend established tropes and characters while still being lighthearted and fun. We want the series to perfect itself rather than correct itself.

[@xX-DogSama-Xx]

26:20 I WAS a kid when this came out, it was worse playing back then trying to solve those obtuse "puzzles". Unironically Sticker Star forever changed how I play games, forcing me to check every single nook and cranny of every single room the moment I get there and inspecting every corner in and out before actually being able to enjoy any of the scenery, atmosphere, or story in fear that I'll have to come back and replay giant portions of the level again later because I missed something, wasting hours of my time just because I need something I wasn't told to find in a place I was never directed to. Great impression this game left.

[@mintystingmoon4787]

We take to the skies, only for it all to come crashing down soon after. Even though my least favorite level is something different, I totally understand why 6-3 is Emile’s least. A frustrating boss that exposes this game’s puzzling lack of a way to target specific enemies followed by a boss that is essentially the culmination of all the worst parts of various bosses in the game and more ends this game on a sigh of relief rather than a fond farewell. Edit: It’s also worth noting that Kamek 3 and final phase Bowser both have an attack (Bowser’s is blockable and Kamek’s is not) where if you don’t block it, it erases some of your stickers. Kamek 3 is also annoying if you don’t defeat him as soon as possible and he can fly slightly up making it so your slipper attacks can’t reach him.

[@rowan4327]

What's your least favourite level?

[@Woodenfan]

@@rowan4327 Probably something in Worlds 2 or 3. I'm curious too, though.

[@mintystingmoon4787]

@@rowan43272-3, the sand maze level. There’s just something about it where my interest in the game just drops. It’s slow and incredibly dull.

[@StarDev94]

I look forward to more video essays from you in the future, Chuggaa. This particular one has been nothing short of a wild ride.

[@flameblade3]

All I feel I need to say is: never give up hope. One by one I saw people giving up on series I love- the Mario RPGs, Sonic, Pokemon, but seeing the remakes, the new ideals, the new ideas, it gives me the hope I’ve been longing for for so long. Our beloved childhood series will have their day in the sun again, and I’ll firmly believe that until the end of

[@LuznoLindo]

Time.

[@draconis17]

me when I bring infinijumps to the final phase, fully willing to sit out the 500 button presses, and then bowser does that one fire move that deletes an entire page of your inventory and I lose them all

[@AkameGaKillfan777]

Fatguy703 said in his playthrough that all stickers on the same page as Kersti are unaffected. It's how he beat Bowser without her

[@bruceify]

when Chuggaconroy said "11:59pm" around the 13:50 mark, I checked my clock and sure enough.... it's 11:59pm

[@tmfuentes2001]

We're finally approaching the end of this retrospective! Can't wait to see how it all ends today! 😁

[@Haesyx]

Just yesterday I saw a video in my feed called "In defense of sticker star" And I wondered, "Where's chuggaa to shut this shit down?" And like the legend he is, he appears

[@aprinnyonbreak1290]

In defense of Sticker Star They hadn't made a Sticker Star yet to know for 100% fact that making a game like Sticker Star was not a good idea. They could have predicted, quite easily, but, science must be done. Color Splash does not have this defense.

[@sonicrunn3r895]

I'm 90% sure I'll never forget how this video series started before either of the two classic Mario RPGs got remade, and now ends with one out and the other in the series of the video's contents on the way. If that's not fate conspiring perfect comedic timing then I don't know what is.

[@baxaina8121]

As a lone individual who really wants to write my own stories someday, it hurts me to see that this game had TWELVE writers and still had nearly zero substance.

[@austinhoward9052]

That's probably part of the problem. Trying to get 12 people to agree on something is hard, so it winds up bare bones because the creative spark gets snuffed out by endless discussion, arguments, and reworking. It's much easier to stay focused with just a few or even one person working on a single vision.

[@mtgstudios1556]

@@austinhoward9052 This is actually the reason I chose to throw away my videogame design degree and do it as a hobby instead.

[@LuznoLindo]

@@mtgstudios1556 Because there's no point in running the risk of the vision of your game being butchered to the point where it becomes something as bland and as meaningless as this game.

[@Loner098]

So that's why indie games have between 1-3 writers at most.

[@mtgstudios1556]

@@LuznoLindo Bingo. In the end it boils down to the fact where all of us look at things differently. So in big groups you get 12 people who each have their own version of what the project is supposed to be fighting over what is right. So, you just lose the original idea and get a mess instead.

[@christianboustani8284]

I started watching Chuggaa in high school during his Super Paper Mario let's play Now I'm 27 and it feels like we finally came full circle

[@nixienooo]

No fr. I was like 9 when I first started watching the SPM let’s play and now I’m nearly 21

[@sjonweiss6236]

I'd love to see video essays for the other two craft era Paper Mario games, even if they're just one offs. This has honestly been some of my favorite content you've ever put out. Not because of the venom towards the direction of the series, but the passion and catharsis you've expressed. Fantastic Work!!!

[@roaringthunder8069]

To this day i think awakening is my favorite fire emblem so that intro hit me super hard. I was lucky enough to spend the entirety of a winter break from school on my first playthrough of that and it was easily one of my top 5 experiences.

[@pokemonsliver]

This was a fantastic series. Getting to see Chugga be fully unrestrained as he ripped this game into pieces was both fun and informative. This wasn't some rage filled rant, this was a dissection fueled by passion. It also allowed me to experience Sticker Star without having to experience Sticker Star and for that I am eternally grateful Chugga.

[@StupidMarioBros1Fan]

(Warning: Long Comment because...well, this is Sticker Star we're talking about.) When my parents got me this game back in 2012, they also got me the Prima Guidebook because it was during a time where I would basically play games while reading a guide, and that was the _only_ reason I made it to Bowser. And even then, I gave up. I had a decent time with Sticker Star because whenever I got stuck I would immediately check the Guidebook, if I didn't already have it open. This meant that I had avoided developing any kind of hatred for this game because I had spared myself the pain of not knowing the very specific solutions to the various asinine puzzles, and then since I didn't have to think about the puzzles for more than a minute, I didn't stop to think about how awful they really were until years later when watching the playthrough you started with ProtonJon. I had of course noticed that the game was very different from the previous three games but at the time I simply wrote off a lot of that as "being a handheld game"...somehow forgetting that the Mario & Luigi games did everything just as well as Paper Mario on the previous handhelds. Sticker Star was visually nice, music was enjoyable, combat was lacking but overall it didn't feel like a bad game. It was tolerable enough for me to get to the end...and then I got to Bowser. I couldn't beat Bowser. I kept running out of Stickers during the last two phases and just couldn't take it anymore. This wasn't fun & the story was barely more than a typical 2D Mario game, I did not care enough about "watching the final cinematic to see how the story ends" to continue replaying the entire Boss Battle over and over again. Now looking at the Guidebook, it not only tells you the recommended Thing Stickers but also a few strategies for what Stickers to use like Super Boots and a Eekhammer for the Whomp so I should've won. It's been a decade now so I don't quite remember but I'm pretty sure it was purely a skill issue where I ran out of healing items after taking too much damage. Regardless, Bowser did not feel challenging like the previous Final Bosses, he felt cheap even if I didn't know what that felt like yet. Honestly, this was the game that taught me that games can be bad. I knew games could be different & I enjoyed some over others but I didn't think any were bad, and I had "Mario is Missing" but I thought it was just a weird game. Sticker Star though wasn't just weird though, it felt lacking and was occasionally unfun (again used a Guide to breeze past the awful parts) but when I realized that I didn't _need_ to see the ending I also realized that I didn't enjoy the game anywhere close to the others, and not just the Paper Mario games. As time passed, I had no desire to replay Sticker Star and I started developing hatred for it when Color Splash came out & saw that it wasn't just a one-time thing for a handheld game, Paper Mario had changed and it was because of Sticker Star. Color Splash was a lot better but the overall design wasn't like the old games, it was Sticker Star 2. And then I saw that there was a divide in the fandom, Sticker Star being on the 3DS meant it outsold all the other games which made it millions of people's first Paper Mario game, and then Color Splash using the same gameplay meant it had firmly established "Modern Paper Mario" As a Star Wars fan, this was worse than the "Original Trilogy vs Prequel Trilogy" because at least there were a lot of common aspects between the two. Classic & Modern Paper Mario share two things: Great Music and the overall Artstyle, and even that differs. Oh and it's the Mario universe. Gameplay is completely different, Story or lack-there-of is different, Characters are different, Character Design Philosophy is different, it's essentially two different series. Change the Artstyle and Modern Paper Mario is just a new kind of Mario spinoff. Even back in 2012 I had realized that the only reason it was called "Paper Mario" was because of the Artstyle, and it had effectively chopped the series in half. Origami King would go on to be a sort of bridge between the two, I consider it to be a sort of "Paper Mario 0.5" but Sticker Star had damaged the series. I don't care if you love the game, the fact that it's such a heated topic a decade later proves that it was a bad change. It _never_ should've been released as "Paper Mario: Sticker Star" it should've had its own Artstyle and been a new kind of Mario Spinoff...because it essentially was the start of a new series. While I had enjoyed Color Splash & Origami King, I nearly cried when the Thousand-Year Door Remake was revealed. THAT is Paper Mario, and it'll be so good to play it with revamped visuals and possibly new content next year. I also hope that Modern Fans will give the game a shot because even if you end up not liking the game, you will finally understand how different the series used to be. It's not just nostalgia, Paper Mario drastically changed as a series when Sticker Star became successful. Hopefully the next game will take some lessons from it and craft a new experience that pleases both kinds of fans. It's not just the different gameplay so it's totally possible to make a game that incorporates stuff from both sides. Or maybe the TTYD Remake is just the devs throwing us Classic Fans a bone which at this point is better than nothing, and it looks so good from just ONE Trailer that I will gladly take it. This comment has basically just been about myself so let me bring it around to the actual video: Thank you so much for doing this series. It is not only an in-depth look at Sticker Star & all its problems but a video series that fans can link to when asked about Paper Mario. It breaks down everything that does & doesn't work about the game in an easy-to-understand way and does so in a better way than a lot of us can articulate. I think even people who don't care about video games could watch this and understand how much passion was put into it. Once again, thank you for doing this.

[@MechaDokk]

I never wanted to admit this in a public space but when when sticker star was still somewhat new I cried when I noticed that the final royal sticker looks like kersti since I thought she would be the final one. I cried because of a plot twist I made up in my head. I was like 9 at the time but still. I also blame this game for why I don't cry because of media anymore since I cried it all out because of a nonexistent plot twist.

[@AkameGaKillfan777]

Arumaru, where you at?

[@redactedinfo8557]

​@@AkameGaKillfan777 I was about to comment another joke but you know what now that you mention it it's hilarious that the most impact sticker star had on the world was being the host for a goddamn KZbin comments section

[@Case_Talos]

So a small story. I remember a long time ago in middle school a friend of mine brought his 3DS and Sticker Star to school. I feel bad about this but I saw he left out his game out in the open so I grabbed it and took it home to play it. Honestly he wasn’t far in it. But I think I saved him from the most disappointing experience of gaming history.

[@crocketlawnchair259]

“…I think that’s the worst thing entertainment can be: unnecessary.” That’s a damn good thesis statement Chuggaa. All art is ultimately impractical but that really summarizes why soullessly made art is so sucks.

[@RebelliousTreecko]

The most I ever saw of a Sticker Star playthrough was from these videos. lol

[@joew1237]

There is exactly 1 worlds worth of good content in this game.

[@danielthelevel100]

I don’t care if I get hate because of this opinion, but the giant Bowser theme is my favorite paper mario final boss song.

[@solarflare9078]

**500 replies later....**

[@lukebytes5366]

Because you're like 9. Haven't even played the other games I guarantee you

[@grandtactician9801]

This whole series was easily one of the best video essays I’ve ever seen. I’m usually not one for overly negative reviews, but the way you’ve done it was just simply superb and I don’t think I can praise it enough. I would definitely love to see more video essays from you in the future, I think you have a knack for this sort of thing.

[@TheDMan2003]

There’s one thing that Chugga didn’t talk about. Probably my favourite thing in this game: the back alley. Word is, there’s a Toad behind the houses of Decalburg after you first leave town. If you go back there and talk to him, he’s got something good. EDIT: Okay, time to come clean. I set this comment up, hoping Emile would go into that alleyway and see if I was right. And believe it or not, there really is a Toad back there, and he does have something for you. He’ll start the price off at 500 coins, but you can lower him down to 25; say no at that, and he’ll close up shop for good. And what is this awesome thing he’s got for you? A Poison Mushroom. That’s it. That’s all he gives you. Call me all the names you want; I’ve heard them all. But I really wanted to see Emile’s reaction to this moment. And I actually meant it when I said it’s the best thing in the game; since when would this game of all games try to scam you like that? That’s something you’d expect in Thousand Year Door or something! I was there, I was in that chat, practically spamming it to check the alleyway… and he never did.

[@pokedude720]

Also the sidequest of saving that one toad in every world It's something with a micron of charm.

[@TheDMan2003]

@@pokedude720 Oh, yeah, I forgot about him! How? Simple: HE’S A TOAD! Yeah, he has a red vest instead of a blue one, but it’s still a Toad! At least with the postcards are still memorable.

[@T0MBGAURD]

The part of the context story where Chuga passed over Fire Emblem Awakening feels like such a fatal blow. Which is a subjective statement, because that's the game that got ME through some tough times back in the day, and despite never touching tactics games before it made the series, and genre one of favorites. And FE Awakening itself is among my favorite games of all time. There is a wild alternate timeline from that divergence point where Chuggaconroy is a diehard FE fan who is systematically Lets Playing every game in the series, I just know it.

[@FieryAnubis]

The "it's for kids" crowd really needs to shut up. Games being made for kids doesn't mean they have to be super shallow and unimaginative to the point where even a kid would hate it. My niece absolutely hated Sticker Star and then I introduced her to TTYD and she really enjoyed it. Sure it was a slow learning process, but she had genuine fun. If that doesn't say anything, I don't know what will. Kids can enjoy things that aren't super bland and boring. Heck, I enjoyed stuff like the first Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest as a kid. RPGs are how I basically learned to appreciate stories outside of watching anime on TV. And as I grew older, I started appreciating it more. It's what grew my imagination. And I'm sure Sticker Star would have the opposite affect on kids if it was the only thing they were exposed to in terms of RPGs. Especially now when we even have Mario RPG remake, a much better "first RPG" than this nonsense.

[@mintythedemon1785]

This series and Chugga’s lets plays can feel like documentaries. Chuggaaconroy is one of favorite KZbinrs because he’s both professional and friendly.

[@jaboca2]

And with that the curse has ended Honestly the video essay format was really fun to listen to, I hope you continue LPs but I hope you continue to make these as well!

[@anothergamer112]

It's genuinely impressive how the final boss manages to be consistently dogshit. The game just completely falls apart as everything wrong with it comes together. Ironically, that makes it the perfect final boss, as a final boss is meant to be a showcase of everything the game has had to offer. Also it screams "misplaced confidence" that this is the formula they cling to for every game after.

[@coachrenaldo]

This series took over one year to finish. Glad to finally see it through its end.

[@GKplus8]

9:02 A thought i had about Miyamoto with all this. SS is like if the Metroid Prime devs took the "bug head" comment literally. Completely misunderstanding the point of a creative exercise.

[@dinosaurusrex1482]

i though i was bad at puzzles turns out sticker star is just impossible without an internet guide