Paper Mario Sticker Star

The fourth entry of the Paper Mario franchise, released in November 11, 2012 for the Nintendo 3DS. This game marks the franchise's return to the series' RPG roots as opposed to Super Paper Mario's platforming-RPG hybrid approach, but with a twist: every attack is a consumable item, with said consumables also serving as solutions to certain puzzles. And these items are stickers, which tie into the overarching plot.

The story is a lot simpler than the previous two Paper Mario games, and has Bowser cause trouble by trying to hijack a wish upon the wish-granting Sticker Comet, causing it to shatter into pieces and scatter them as well as other powerful stickers throughout the land. Oh, and he kidnaps Princess Peach as well. Teaming up with an irate sticker fairy named Kersti, Mario sets out on an adventure to rescue Peach and recover the five Royal Stickers that open the way to Bowser.

Tropes used in Paper Mario Sticker Star include:

Art Evolution: A mild case. Environments seem to be even more paper-y than usual, with the water appearing to be made out of construction paper with a watery flow to it, and a lot of the terrain and buildings being made of cardboard. The characters look pretty much the same, although several enemies have been updated to resemble their designs from New Super Mario Bros. and onwards.
- The paper-y parts extend to gameplay: one of Mario's special attacks is Scissors.
- The whole game reverts to the original's more story-book like presentation and combines it with Super Paper Mario 's graphical fidelity and platforming.
Big Bad: Bowser, marking his return to this role after becoming a goofy side villain in the second game and one of the main heroes in the third.
Breaking the Fourth Wall: Unlike in past games, the characters know that they're paper characters in a paper world. And they won't shut up about it.
The Bus Came Back: Ninjis and Bony Beetles make their first appearances in decades.
The Cameo: Despite original Paper Mario characters being Exiled From Continuity by order of an executive mandate, Goombella and Parakarry were snuck in via letters written by them that can be found in a pile of trash.
Cool Shades: The Cooligans rock a pair, much like they did in New Super Mario Bros. Wii.
Cute Giant: Wiggler is a lot bigger than most members of his species, and completely dwarfs Mario and Kersti. It doesn't stop him from being lovable and adorable, though!
Enemy Mine / My Species Doth Protest Too Much: Some stickers give Mario the ability to summon friendly mooks, like a Koopa to kick into enemies.
Escort Mission: One level in World 1 forces you to walk a Green Toad back to Decalburg, and if you two get separated or he gets attacked by an enemy, he'll book it back to where you found him.
Green Hill Zone: World 1, shockingly enough.
Heart Container: Because you can't level up like in traditional RPG's, you get more health by finding HP-Up Hearts through the game.
The Heavy: Bowser is the main villain, but Kamek is the one running around and causing trouble on his behalf.
Jerkass: Kersti's first scene is her unfairly blaming Mario for the destruction of the Sticker Comet, and when he explains that it was Bowser's doing, she accuses him of ducking responsibility and passing the blame onto others. She gets a little better later on, but is still very snarky and snippy for the most part.
Lethal Lava Land: Late into world 5, it goes from a tropical jungle to more of a volcanic setting.
Lighter and Softer: The second and third Paper Mario games had darker stories that culminated in a demon possessing Peach and the attempted destruction of reality itself. This game's a lot more light-hearted and has more of a typical "save Peach from Bowser" kind of plot.
Logical Weakness: Maybe not at first, but the boss's weaknesses make a surprising amount of sense when you think about it.
- Megasparkle Goomba is ultimately a giant sheet of Paper Goombas bunched together. By using the Scissors, you cut them into individual pieces and focus down the single Goomba controlling them. Alternatively, the fan lets you blow them all away.
- Tower Power Pokey is fought in an ancient baseball field, and all of his body segments are perfectly spherical. ergo, treat him like a bunch of overgrown baseballs and bat his segments away.
Marathon Boss: If you don't want to use a boss's weakness (or don't even know what it is), you're in for a slog. Save for Megasparkle Goomba's respectable 90 HP, they've got ridiculous triple digit health pools to eat through, and will half or even quarter all damage dealt to them. They're just as much an exercise in patience as they are in skill.
The Monolith: One gameplay segment shows a giant paper electric fan slowly rise up and blow away a large stack of goombas as a Suspiciously Similar Song version of Also Sprach Zarathustra plays.
Ruins for Ruins' Sake: The desert world has a few, most prominently Drybake Stadium.
Scenery Porn: It's Paper Mario in 3D. This is inevitable.
Shifting Sand Land: World 2 is as typical as a desert gets, complete with ancient ruins, sphynxes, and an oasis. The ruins being an ancient baseball stadium is fairly unique, though.
Silent Antagonist: Bowser. What's really weird about this treatment is that he was chatty as all hell in previous games and responsible for a lot of their funniest dialogue.
Slippy-Slidey Ice World: World 4's about as standard as it gets when it comes to ice levels in a Mario game.
Smug Snake: World 1 has several encounters with Goombas that are empowered by stickers, and they can't resist trash-talking Mario before trying to overwhelm him with their superior power. Too bad they get their asses kicked with little effort on his part.
Support Party Member: Mariachi Shy Guys, which will play music to empower or heal enemies. If they're the last guys standing, they'll forfeit and make a break for it.
Third Is 3D: Depending on whether you consider Super Paper Mario part of the main series or a Spin-Off.
Unique Enemy: The Accordion Guy and Maraca Guy variants of the Mariachi Shy Guys appear exactly once, and that's in a skippable group encounter atop the Yoshi Sphynx. There are also the Mural Koopas and Mural Goombas, which are unique-looking Heiroglyphic enemies that you only fight in a single floor of Drybake Stadium, and in a single trio for either enemy. Finally there are the Broozers: you only fight two of them, and it's in one of the last levels of the game.
Video Game Cruelty Potential: Unlike in past Paper Mario games, friendly NPC's will crumple up when you smack them with your hammer. One of the missing Toads at the beginning of the game is also hiding under a mat, and will scream in pain if you hammer him.
Wake Up Call Boss: Megasparkle Goomba. The first bosses in the first two Paper Mario games had 20 HP. This guy? 90, and your attacks do half their total damage against him. If you don't want to burn through most of your stickers fighting him, you'll need his weakness (the Fan or Scissors) to cut through most of his health. This is the ideal strategy for every boss, and they only get harder from here.