List of Paper Mario: Sticker Star glitches

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This is a list of glitches in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Unless otherwise noted, all names are conjectural.

Audio

Mario theme outside of Enigmansion glitch

In The Enigmansion (World 4-3), occasionally the player can turn on the music after the original owner returns and the song stays on after being turned off. It plays regardless of where the player is. Saving and exiting the game stops the music.

No Album sounds

By collecting a sticker and opening the Album immediately after, the sound effects for the album cannot be heard, except for the ones that play when a page is flipped and after organizing stickers. This can be ended by returning to normal gameplay.

No Paperization music glitch

In Damp Oasis (World 2-4), if Mario Paperizes anywhere in the oasis area (except inside of the house) the usual Paperization music does not play. However, by selecting a sticker and moving to the bottom left corner of the picture, the music fades in. Also, the music that plays when Mario is near the red Toad in the water plays for a split second right when Mario begins and stops Paperization.

Overlapping underground music glitch

Sometimes when returning from the Secret Door area of Shy Guy Jungle, the Underground Theme continues to play over the normal level music, along with most other areas Mario enters such as the world map. Entering another Secret Door or other areas that play the Underground music will end the glitch.

Graphics

Cooligan animation glitch

In Ice Flow, waves of Cooligans normally jump onto the icy slope and begin waddling or sliding towards the bottom. However, occasionally the animation will not be loaded properly, resulting in a row of Cooligans stuck in their default standing position as they travel.

Invisible branch glitch

In Leaflitter Path behind the area where Wiggler rests in the second room, there is a tree with collision for a branch on its left side, despite such a branch not being visible.

Invisible bush glitch

In Strike Lake (World 3-4), right after the player finds one of Wiggler's body parts in the bush situated in the first area of the level, if the player goes to the next area and then comes back, the bush is still laying on the floor, but Mario collides with it as if it were not.

Jungle flower collision glitch

Mario standing in midair next to a jungle flower

The large jungle flowers in Shy Guy Jungle have leaves on either side which can be stood on. After hammering the flower these leaves appear to slump to the ground, however the collision does not get updated to match this behavior. This can make it seem as if Mario is floating in midair above the leaf.

Leaving in midair glitch

By hitting a loading zone and entering a battle at the same time, Mario will not leave the area until the battle is complete. However, gravity is not applied to Mario and he will walk in mid-air as he leaves rather than falling to the ground first. This is most easily achievable in Bowser's Snow Fort due to Shy Guys spawning from the loading zone.

Toad animation oversight

Most Toads use a standardized animation as a response to being struck by Mario's hammer, however this animation does not account for Toads with more unique positions such as sitting. This results in the Toad standing up and taking the blow, then jarringly returning to their original pose.

Freezes

Battle freeze

During the Bowser, Gooper Blooper, and Mizzter Blizzard boss fights, if the player uses a Bowling Ball and performs the action command, the game will freeze when they collide. Using any throw thing sticker (Billiard Ball, Curling Stone or Bowling Ball) on an enemy can also result in a game freeze, though this is much less likely. This glitch may not work for all game cards.

Decalburg Shop freeze

After performing the Decalburg out of bounds clip, it is possible to walk through a wall into the shop without using the door. Attempting to purchase stickers will cause the game to freeze.

Goomba Fortress freeze

During the windy segment of Goomba Fortress, if the player encounters one of the 1st Paragoombas that fly by and then flees the encounter, sometimes, the game will freeze.

Sound test glitch

In the Sound Exhibition Mode in the Sticker Museum, if Mario waits for the current music to stop and keep pressing the button when the song cover turns, then he is able to freely move around when the song plays. If he then sits on the chair, then keeps pressing the button, the quantity of music notes coming from the speakers starts to increase, and eventually the game freezes, returning the player to the HOME Menu. This is because there are more entities than the game can handle, and ends up using more than the amount of slots available.

Physics

These glitches result from how Mario and/or other characters and objects interact with the world.

Bowser's Snow Fort clip

In Bowser's Snow Fort, after entering through either the normal line or VIP entrance into the next room, if the player jumps between one of the posts and the invisible wall, Mario will be pushed through the other side, resulting in a Game Over.

Buzzy Beetle glitch

In the underground section of Hither Thither Hill, attempting to stomp on a Buzzy Beetle as it climbs down the side of the ground will not work properly. Instead Mario will slowly descend while staying above the unharmed enemy.

Damp Oasis clip

Mario standing in midair behind sand dunes

In Damp Oasis, at the start of the level, Mario must walk towards the left. After seeing the first brown patch of grass on the ground, Mario must jump towards it. If done correctly, Mario should jump behind the scenery. Trying to walk to the left or the right causes the graphics to glitch out, and walking towards the middle of the stage causes the camera to warp around the stage, trying to catch up with Mario. If Mario walks left or right towards the normal entrance to the oasis then walks towards the screen, he falls off the ground and get a Game Over.

Additionally, after entering the area with the oasis, just to the left is a brown patch of grass in the corner. The player must jump towards the right side of the bush and if done correctly, Mario will be pushed out of bounds and get a Game Over.

Decalburg clip

Mario hiding behind a tree

In the main area of Decalburg it is possible to clip between a fence and the house leading to the Sticker Museum. Attempting to paperize while at the very back of the room will cause the camera to zoom out after exiting the mode, and the camera position will correct itself if Mario gets close enough to the middle of the room. It is possible to enter the Sticker Shop through the wall using this clip. Leaving the shop will cause all music to stop playing.

Drybake Desert clip

In Drybake Desert there is faulty collision in the room found after the Save Block. By jumping between the rock and the wall that sit above the quicksand, Mario will clip behind and fall out of bounds, resulting in a Game Over.

Hovering Mario glitch

Mario floating in Chomp Ruins

In Chomp Ruins (World 5-4), in the room before the Big Chain Chomp battle, there are spinning blades. If the player jumps on top of the blades near the edge, the blades spin and Mario floats away from the blades. After they have stopped spinning, Mario falls to the ground.

Loop Loop River clip

In Loop Loop River it is possible to get underneath the ground where a scrap is found. By walking up-right between a leaf platform and the wall, Mario can be pushed through. From here the player can jump up to reach the scrap earlier than intended.

Midair Goomba glitch

In World 4-2, Ice Flow, at the end of the stage, the player must have the Shiny Goomba standing on the frozen river chase him off the edge. The Goomba follows the player off the edge of the waterfall, and walks in midair. After losing Mario, it returns to where it once stood.

Mine cart actions in midair glitch

While jumping in a mine cart in Bowser's Snow Fort, there is a brief window where other actions can be initiated. This is most easily performed by pressing the associated button and jumping simultaneously. For example, pressing the and buttons together will open the album in midair.

Normal walking speed in Sticker Museum glitch

Normally, inside the Sticker Museum, Mario's running speed is faster than normal to make traversing the huge rooms much easier. However, if he goes inside one of the special exhibition rooms then leaves, he walks in the lobby at his normal speed.

River raft glitch

Mario submerged in the river

This glitch is performed in the split path section of Long Fall Falls, and the raft must consist of at most 3 logs. After taking the left path if the player holds down-right, Mario will repeatedly fall off and back onto the raft, causing the slight bobbing animation to be constantly interrupted. This results in Mario and the raft slowly descending through the water, though eventually the game will correct this and the raft will float to the surface. Because of this it is possible to walk on the ground surrounding the river, though Mario is still restricted to the confines of the raft. If Mario rises back up where a wall seperates him from the raft, he can fall out of bounds and receive a game over.

Rugged Road clip

In Rugged Road, on the part where Mario must jump on platforms to avoid falling in the lava, if the player jumps exactly when the platforms sink into the lava, Mario falls into a hidden area under the level. The player can then go through the walls and explore, but if he goes too far, Mario falls for about 30 seconds and gets a Game Over. Alternatively, the Walk on lava glitch can be used to escape the normal boundaries.

Secret Door glitch

In Yoshi Sphinx (World 2-2), if the player, without having paperized the Secret Door, goes to the top of the Yoshi Sphinx's front right claw and paperizes, the player can see the sticker panel for the door without being anywhere near it. Note that the door can actually be paperized and stuck on in this state.

Yoshi Sphinx clip

In Yoshi Sphinx, when the player gets to the top of the Sphinx, they can knock a wall down. The player must hit a Koopa Paratroopa and the wall at the same time, which triggers a battle with the Paratroopa. When the Paratroopa is defeated, the wall pushes Mario through the floor and he gets a Game Over.

Mario standing in midair behind the Sphinx

Additionally near the stairs preceding the Comet Piece, if the player faces upright and falls just between where the platform and the left wall meet, Mario can be pushed inside of the Sphinx. The trio of Paratroopas fought later in the level are stored beneath the ground in their attacking forms, and can be seen while out of bounds. By navigating to the backside of the Sphinx it is possible to climb a section of geometry, and reach the Comet Piece without engaging this Paratroopa trio.

Scripting

These glitches abuse interactions that cause objects or displayed information to perform unintended behaviors.

Airship shortcut

In Bowser Jr.'s Flotilla when the player reaches a room with Hammer Bros above them and Bob-ombs below, they are intended to complete a puzzle involving bullet bills and paperizing a Bonzai Bill launcher in the lower deck. Instead, it is possible to use the hammer projectile from one of the hammer bros to jump up to them. Due to the player skipping certain sequences, the walls that normally get broken by the Bonzai Bill are intact, and the crates atop the ship sit against the starboard wall, rather than shifting along the ground.

Album event avoidance glitch

Mario avoids a Goomba Trio in Warm Fuzzy Plains

Mario avoids Wiggler's abduction in Leaflitter Path

Also called the "Kooll Album", this glitch exploits the sticker album to avoid certain event triggers. With Mario positioned right next to an event trigger, the player should walk almost tangent to the trigger and press or tap the Touch Screen to open the album while entering the trigger. If positioned correctly, the event will not start and Mario is free to walk past the area.

If the album is used to bypass the event where Kersti is eaten by Petey Piranha in Rumble Volcano, Petey will be absent from the final area and thus the level cannot be completed without resetting the game.

This glitch does not work for triggers with boundaries extending parallel relative to the screen, nor for ground-based event triggers.

Collision loss glitch

In Snow Rise (World 4-1), the last area involves Mario trying to dodge snowballs that also have Shiny Goombas riding them. If Mario manages to get a Shiny Goomba at the bottom, and then get rolled up into the next snowball, he crashes, falls off, and has to fight one of them. After defeating it, he immediately has to fight the other one. After fighting it, Mario cannot gain coins, stickers, use the Recovery or Save blocks, or collect the Comet Piece until he exits the area and comes back, because he passes through them.

Decalburg Goomba battle skip

When attempting to leave Decalburg for the first time, a trio of Goombas ambush Mario and a tutorial battle starts. In early versions of the game it is possible to avoid this encounter. After getting close enough to the exit if the player performs a running jump either directly left or right, then changes directions to down in midair, Mario will hit the loading zone instead. The trigger for the battle remains there until it is activated. This glitch was fixed in later releases of the game.

Empty mine cart jump glitch

While riding a mine cart up to the section with a Save Block and Heart Block, if the player jumps right before reaching the drop off point and then presses again after dismounting, the minecart will initiate a jump without Mario inside.

Shady Toad glitch

The Shady Toad in Decalburg is programmed to open their sliding peephole when Mario is a certain distance away, and similarly will close the peephole a slightly further distance away. Normally this process is seamless, however if the player reaches the closer distance trigger and immediately leaves it, the game will not realize Mario is far away, thus the Shady Toad will not close the peep hole. Alternatively if the player reaches the far trigger while the Toad is visible and then quickly returns back towards the Toad, the Shady Toad will close the peep hole and Mario cannot speak to them.

Stationary fruit glitch

In Strike Lake, there are several trees with fruit in them. The player can knock the fruit out and it falls to the ground, opening and releasing a coin. When the player battles a Ninji or a Snifit at the exact moment a fruit falls out of the tree, the fruit stays on the ground unopened when the Ninji or Snifit is defeated. The fruit has no collision detection, so Mario cannot collect whatever is in the fruit.

Super Star exploit

The Super Star can be collected in multiple levels to defeat enemies on contact. Normally this effect ends at a specific point in the song loop, however the effect is prevented from ending while viewing the album or paperizing. Due to this programming oversight, it is possible to continuously prolong the Super Star effects and take it to areas normally too far away.

Text storage glitch

This glitch results in text being stored while other events are happening, such as being able to move or being in battle.

Toad and battle

By talking to a Toad at the same time an enemy strikes Mario, the battle will start but the text will still be on screen. After the battle is over, the player is given back control of Mario even if a cutscene would normally occur after the battle.

Wiggler

Performed after the flashback cutscene with Wiggler's head in Wiggler's Tree House. The player must immediately speak to Wiggler and then turn left as they press the button to speak to Wiggler. This will initiate the conversation while retaining playable control, so text will be on screen but Mario can still move, jump, etc. Attempting to use any loading zone is prone to crashing.

Walk on lava glitch

Mario standing in a river of lava

In Rugged Road, there are rocky platforms used to cross massive rivers of lava. To perform this glitch the player must ride a platform that sinks into the lava while still in bounds. As the platform finishes sinking, if the player presses the button to paperize and then cancels, Mario can be placed onto the lava. The game fails to check if Mario is in contact with lava in this situation, so Mario can walk, hammer, etc. From here it is possible to fall onto a lower ledge out of bounds, and navigating even further out can cause Mario to fall and Game Over. Attempting to jump and land back on the lava will end the glitch. This method of activating paperize to safely touch a hazard also works with floor spikes.