Topic: The Future of Paper Mario

@FishyS I think it was considered better by critics because they didn't really compare it that much to the rest of the franchise. Sticker Star did have some problems, like the battle system, no exp, generic characters, bad story, confusing gimmicks, bland areas, not interconnected like the previous entries, no partners besides a Huey/Olivia equivalent, worst music in the franchise, etc...Actually I have no idea how it was that high that is pretty much the whole game.

Origami King shares some of the flaws, but is certainly much better. The first 2 games don't really have any of the problems listed above, which is why they're considered the best. Super doesn't have the greatest gameplay, but the plot still stands very well and there are some really cool characters like the villains (but the Pixls are not that great, especially considering they replaced the unique partners from the first 2 games).

I would argue Super does have the best combat of the ones I have played, but that is a matter of perspective; I don't dislike turn-based combat but none of the turn-based Mario RPG games I've played have had combat I was especially excited about. I would love it if the series made another action RPG. Origami King is probably my second favorite combat-wise.

I think the reason why Sticker Star still did decently with critics is that at its core, it's still a polished game. It looks nice, sounds nice, plays well, there's barely any noticeable bugs, and everything works as it should. This sounds like the bare minimum, I know, but if you're a game critic who's played a ton of games from across the spectrum of quality, and also aren't as invested enough in the Paper Mario series to really feel the same kind of betrayal that fans did, Sticker Star comes off as pretty unremarkable and inoffensive in the grand scheme of things.

Also, a common trend I'm noticing with reviews of Sticker Star is that critics seem to really love the paper-themed world and paper puns, so that's interesting too.

@FishyS Yeah it kind of depends on your taste. Personally, I love battling and using strategic badges, and I also find getting exp/leveling up very satisfying and rewarding. Choosing between BP, HP, and FP is a really good concept done very well in my opinion.

@StarryCiel

Some things are more subjective, but I can only see the following as bad game design:

The ordinary stickers have little to no value. The feedback loop of getting coins to buy stickers to win battles in order to get coins... is not satisfying and does not encourage you to take part in battles.
Lack of XP/levelling up isn't necessarily a problem in of itself, but they didn't replace it with anything else that gives the player a sense of progress.

Key stickers are easy to miss, and quite easy to not have space for if you do find them.
You don't know how big a sticker will be, and therefore how much space you need to free up, until you get the sticker.
Little to no indication what key sticker is needed for a boss until you get to the boss.

Kind of reminds me of the reviews for Donkey Kong 64 at the time.
I love the game, but I accept that it has bad game design.

Origami King doesn't seem to be for me, but it doesn't appear to be fundamentally flawed like Sticker Star.

Sticker Star & Color Splash are basically FF VIII for me in term of using the abilities and Summon 3D Objects as disposable items.
Since I like FF VIII gameplay, I like both Sticker Star and Color Splash.
Origami King battle system by arranging the enemies into a line by time limit was turned me off after some battles and I stopped playing Origami King since then.