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System:
Nintendo DS
Genre:
RPG
ESRB Rating:
E
Release Date:
1- 2005
RPG
ESRB Rating:
E
Release Date:
1- 2005
Publisher:
Nintendo
Developer:
AlphaDream
Nintendo
Developer:
AlphaDream
Magma
Published:2- 2005
User Views: 4952
User Replies: 0
On the overworld, your job is basically to get from Point A to Point B. Of course, there are many puzzles to solve using the various Bros. moves you learn as you progress through the game. And if that's not the solution, you'll usually have to separate the quartet, since the babies can fit into small spaces, while the adults can jump higher. The A button controls Mario, B is Luigi, X is Baby Mario, and the Y button controls Baby Luigi. This remains true in battles as well.
Roaming the overworld are many enemies. Initiating a battle is as simple as touching them, but you can gain the upper hand by jumping on the enemy to deal damage to the whole enemy party at the beginning without wasting a turn. Likewise, if an enemy gets one of the brothers from behind, that brother becomes stunned. As far as the actual battles go, to attack you select either Jump or Hammer and then follow the given timed hits instruction. If you time the attacks just right, you'll do extra damage. You can battle as a pair or with all four characters. Mario and Luigi are stronger than their younger counterparts, who are faster than their future selves. When you battle with all four characters, your health is that of Mario and Luigi's. When one of them die, their younger selves battles in his place. Using a 1-Up Shroom will revive the character, and your team will be whole again. When you attack as a quartet, each attack involves two action commands, in which Mario and Baby Mario both attack, and likewise for Luigi and Baby Luigi.
Of course, there are special items you can use that resemble the Bros. Attacks from Superstar Saga. These are called Bros. Items, and require precise timing. However, they are much easier to perform than the Bros. Attacks of old, which is a good thing. The difficulty of Bros. Attacks was the number one complaint for Superstar Saga. However, this means that when fighting a boss character, the best attack option is always to use the strongest Bros. Item you have. To top that, you should always have enough coins to spend on restocking Bros. Items, assuming you fight every enemy you see (which you should).
And then comes the art of evading enemy attacks. It's not too hard to dodge most attacks. You simply jump or hammer when you think the attacks will miss. However, it's also entirely possible to not only evade damage, but deal damage as well when an enemy attacks. However, this is harder to time and usually results in you getting hit if you miss the timing.
In the many scenes in the game, you'll encounter tons of excellently translated dialogue. Most scenes involve incredibly hilarious situations. This is what most people liked about Superstar Saga, so the developers tried to expand on that this time around. This leads to a ton of scenes that attempts to be funny and fail, as if they're trying too hard. But back to the good points, one of my favorite scenes is when Mario and Luigi are separated from the babies, and the children have to face hypnotized Hammer Bros., who speak l33t to them. Here's how the dialogue there goes: "n00bs still not pwned! Gonna destroy! YOU WILL BE PWNIFIED." That's nothing close to how it actually goes, but it's along those lines.
I'll talk about time travel now. You'll spend about 95% of the game in the past. The only place you can explore in the present is Princess Peach's Castle, which serves as the game's hub. You return to the castle between adventures in the past. This is what irks me the most; so many innovative level design ideas and puzzles could have been added if the game included a method to explore the world in both time periods. This is really my only complaint for the game. This feature could've been utilized so much better.
You won't find a better 2-D game. I often wonder how this game would work in 3-D, but perhaps it's better for M&L to handle 2-D and Paper Mario 3-D. The sprites are all gloriously detailed and able to show emotion and body movements perfectly. The backgrounds are bright and colorful, as you would expect from any Mario game. Overworld graphics and battle graphics are different. The characters are even more detailed in battle and move fluently.
I don't believe any Mario game with a functioning storyline has disappointed me here recently. The music is always appropriate for the situation at hand, from the dismal Toad Town music to the exciting theme of Baby Bowser (two of my favorite tracks). You always know they put some work into this when even cutscenes have music made especially for them.
When it comes to sound, it has all the classic noises you'd expect from a Mario game: the jumping noise, the bling of getting a coin, etc. As with most handheld Mario games of late, the main characters are given voice files. Characters that have such voice files are Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Bowser, Bowser, Baby Princess Peach, the present-day Peach, and all of the Shroobs. Don't misinterpret me, though; they are not voice-overs, but instead various calls the characters make, such as the babies crying or the princess yelping for help. There aren't any atmospheric noises as with more realistic games, but most people don't enjoy the Mario series for its realism.
Overall, the game is a must-have if you own a DS and are a fan of Mario or RPGs. The storyline is great, and it's not easy to kill enemies with perfection. The game improves on Superstar Saga in almost every way in my own opinion, though many would disagree with me.
The innovation of controlling four characters at once keeps the Mario & Luigi formula for success fresh and doesn't allow fans of the first game to get bored with the same gameplay elements.
And for fans of the original, Fawful IS in the game, though you'll have to do a little searching.
| Depth |
7
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| The game is lucky to have gotten the above score. Unfortunately, the game is too short. I clocked in at about 21 hours, which is paltry for an RPG. However, the game is definitely fun while it lasts, but has virtually no replay value. |
| Gameplay |
9.5
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| The overworld puzzles are easy to solve, but the battles are exciting and get the player involved more than any other turn-based RPG I know of. The storyline is funny and new. Also, the DS's unique features are actually useful, and use of the touch-screen is required at only one point in the whole game, which is something to be thankful for. Since the game is in 2-D, the controls also work well, and once you have memorized which button controls which characters, they won't seem awkward at all. |
| Graphics |
8.5
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| The best you're gonna get from a 2-D game. The only reason the score isn't higher is because I'm tired of developers not using the DS's graphics engine to its fullest. |
| Replay Value |
4
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| You might want to come back and play the game again to re-experience the game, but otherwise there is no motivation to replay the game. The lack of sidequests also contributes to the low score. |
| Sound |
8
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| The music is never bad and is always appropriate. The sound is also great for a Mario game, though everything sounds better when headphones are plugged in. The voice files are put to great use, as I doubt there will ever be any extended voiceovers in most Mario games. |
| Overall |
8.5
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| You can basically ignore the above score. The game is great; go out and get it now if you're a fan of Mario, RPGs, or Superstar Saga. The only flaw is that the time travel gimmick could have been utilized better, and the villains are less than inspiring. |
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