- “As their caretaker, it's my duty to find all of them, or else I can't return to the Sticker Star!”
- —Kersti, Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Kersti is a sticker fairy who appears in Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Kersti grants Mario the ability to use the Battle Spinner and paperization. She is Mario's initial companion in the game, and his only companion for the vast majority of it. Kersti's name is an anagram of the word "sticker" but with the letter C removed. She also appears in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS as a trophy.
History
According to her introduction, Kersti came from the Sticker Star on the night of the Sticker Fest, as part of the process of granting everybody's wishes. Kersti first meets Mario at the site of the Sticker Fest, stuck to a sign after Bowser destroys the Sticker Comet and steals one of the Royal Stickers for himself. After Mario peels her off, Kersti goes off on him, believing it was he who destroyed the Sticker Comet, but after Mario offers to help search for the Royal Stickers, she forgives him, and they set off to find the six Royal Stickers.
At the end of their adventure, Kersti sacrifices herself in the final battle with Bowser, allowing Mario to use her as a sticker to increase his power and overcome the power granted to Bowser by the last Royal Sticker. However, after the battle, Mario brings Kersti back to life by wishing on the Royal Stickers. Having returned to the site of the rebuilt Sticker Fest, she gets angry at Bowser for trying to steal the Sticker Comet again. She then jokes about changing her career, and Mario, Peach, and Bowser laugh.
General information
Personality
Kersti is a friendly and generous sticker, often claiming to be a delicate and refined lady. However, her feisty side tends to stand against this claim, and she's easily angered and tends to make hasty judgments.
Powers and abilities
Kersti has the ability to "paperize" stickers by pressing 
, turning the stickers into objects that can be placed into designated locations. She also has the ability to create a tool used during any battle she is present in called the Battle Spinner; this is a slots-type minigame where Mario must match up two or more images in order to use more stickers per turn, and if Mario gets three of the same image, a special effect will occur.
Like Goombario, Goombella and Tippi before her, she can perform tattles (by pressing 
), however she usually only provides insight on what the player should do next (and sometimes descriptions of places), as she cannot tattle enemies. Due to the nature of the tattle, only one particular one is usually available at any one time during the game, and changes as the player continues through the game. Thus in certain scenarios when Mario is separated from Kersti, he can't use these abilities. In the final battle with Bowser, Kersti sticks herself into Mario's album, and when used by Mario, creates a special battle spinner that always wins by landing on her image, restores 20 of his HP and allows him to use 5 stickers every turn for the rest of the battle. Mario also becomes shiny, allowing him to do normal damage to Bowser despite his Royal Sticker.
Official profiles
Paper Mario: Sticker Star sticker description
"Sacrifices herself to give Mario all her power, leaving everything to him."
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS Trophy
| Name | Image | NTSC-U Description | PAL Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Paper Kersti | 
|
A sticker fairy who went to the Mushroom Kingdom on the Sticker Comet, she is very strong willed. Though she appears paper thin, her heart runs deep, and she shows herself to be a loyal companion on Mario's quest to help the Mushroom Kingdom by recovering the Royal Stickers. | Kersti came from the Sticker Star to help grant everyone's wishes. Mario got the sharp end of her tongue to begin with, but she quickly proves herself to be an indispensable ally on their quest to find the Royal Stickers. She may be made of paper, but she clearly has a heart of gold. |
Names in other languages
Trivia
- Kersti slightly resembles a Pixl from Super Paper Mario.
- Kersti's name appears to be a rearrangement of the word "sticker (with the syllables being switched around).
- In both areas that Mario loses Kersti, the player is unable to save the game or return to the World Map. This is most likely so the player can't go to other places without Kersti.
- With powerful stickers, it is possible to defeat Bowser entirely without ever using Kersti. She will remain in the album after the battle and can be tossed like any other sticker. However, it is unknown how she would be otherwise used in the game, as stickers are not saved after the credits.
- Kersti slightly resembles Rosalina's crown, as both are silver in color and have turquoise gems on both sides.
- Kersti's personality is nearly identical to that of Starlow.