Trivia / Paper Mario: Sticker Star

• Adored by the Network: Following Sticker Star's release, all material involving the Paper Mario series, such as Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, primarily if not solely used things from Sticker Star as its basis, with the other games in the franchise barely represented.
• Creator Backlash: Interviews with the creators have stated that both Miyamoto and Tanabe were both actually bored by a prototype of the game when they tried it, leading the team to work on the overworld puzzles in the final version.
• Executive Meddling:
  • The game doesn't feature any original characters besides Kersti because Miyamoto asked the team to create a game using only characters already made from the Mario world (or at least "As much as possible"). He also requested that the game shouldn't feature a story, hence why this game is lighter on plot.
  • According to Iwata Asks, the original version of the game was closer to Paper Mario and The Thousand Year Door, but Miyamoto played it and "said it was just a port of the GC version" and told the development team to change it.
  • After years of speculation as to the exact nature and extent of the above meddling, a 2020 interview about twice-removed sequel Paper Mario: The Origami King with series producer Kensuke Tanabe revealed that these weren't just suggestions on Miyamoto's part: these were indeed mandates, enforced since Sticker Star.
    Tanabe: Since Paper Mario: Sticker Star, it’s no longer possible to modify Mario characters or to create original characters that touch on the Mario universe.
• Exiled from Continuity: The "Mario world only" mandate engaged with this game prevented the use of Paper Mario exclusive characters, barring cameos. This also meant that with the exception of Spear Guy, the many races from Yoshi's Island that never appeared in the main Mario titles were barred from appearing.
• Magnum Opus Dissonance: Despite the fan backlash, Nintendo themselves have praised the game on occasion, stating that it should be the template for the Paper Mario series going forward. Indeed, the game's influence can be seen in its three successors, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Paper Mario: Color Splash, and Paper Mario: The Origami King.
• Urban Legend of Zelda: In World 5-1: Shy Guy Jungle, one of the things Mario can find in the pile of trash is a serial key, "XD3R-B8HH-9ZR2-FL16". Some say that this is an actual serial key for something, but what it's for is unknown; it's not a Club Nintendo or eShop code, because both display the "wrong code" message instead of the "code has already been entered" message.
• What Could Have Been:
  • Whomps were going to be normal enemies, but were scrapped and reworked into the final fight with Bowser.
  • Fish Bones and Lakitus were going to be fought, but were changed to simple level hazards.
  • Enemies like the Crowber, Monty Mole, Inky Piranha Plant, Ptooie, Fishin' Lakitu, Deep Cheep, Bullet Bill, Bill Blaster, and Banzai Bill were planned to be fought but got cut from the game entirely.
  • Planned new enemies for Sticker Star, such as Shiny Dry Bones and Shiny Spiny, were cut from the game before release.
  • At one point in time, as early trailers and screenshots showed, partners were set to make a prominent appearance, including new partners that had never been seen in the series, such as a Toad and a Chain Chomp, and combat was going to be more like previous installments. However, partners were removed and combat was overhauled to better accommodate both the sticker mechanics and the story/character mandates.
  • Early screenshots show a maze of playing cards◊ and a King Monty Mole boss.◊ A screenshot found in the game files◊ shows a battle with a snake enemy with a Koopa-like head.
  • Several unused rooms exist in the game, including early versions of existing areas, an unused part of Decalburg, and an unused forest area with a warp pipe.
  • Unique mini-games were planned for Bowser's Castle, but were cut due to time constraints during development.

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