In a world where two brothers can peacefully co-exist as our favorite plumber-duo, things cannot go wrong. At least that is what we kept telling ourselves until we played Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, one of my favorite games of 2003, and simply put, one of the best games you can find on any platform. With a hilarious storyline full of colorful characters, plenty of nostalgia-inducing details, and innovative gameplay that took the Mario RPG formula to new heights, we really could not ask for more. So what would happen if the Mario brothers took a trip down memory lane? A worthy follow-up to a superstar production.
Facts and Features:
Baby, One More Time
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is yet another game in the Mario RPG universe; a universe that — as most hardcore Nintendo fans probably know — has been passed through the hands of several capable developers. The first game, Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars, was developed by the RPG powerhouse Squaresoft; the Paper Mario series was created by the geniuses at Intelligent Systems. In 2003, Alphadream — a practically unknown development house — was chosen to create the handheld iteration of the Mario RPG formula. Even though this developing team were practically newbies, playing their final product made us realize that not only were they very capable game creators, but it also that we could not wait for them to develop the sequel. And here we are, after two long years, finally ready to return to the Mushroom Kingdom for another wacky adventure.
After defeating the evil Cackletta in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the Mario brothers are preparing to take a long vacation, where they will finally be able to enjoy peace and silence. But who are we kidding? This is Nintendo, and Nintendo does not like messing with tradition, so naturally, they will take us to a place where the brothers are ready to once again face an upcoming trouble: the past.
When Professor E. Gadd of Luigi’s Mansion fame creates a time machine that will allow anyone who enters it to travel back in time, Princess Peach decides to try it out. This time machine sends the damsel in distress back in time, and of course, this means that the Mario Brothers will have to return back in time to save the princess. Are you experiencing deja vú yet? I am. Yet, we gotta hand it to Alphadream for surprising us with a fantastic and incredibly funny plot twist near the beggining of the game, where all goes incredibly wrong (duh!) and upon returning back to regular time, the Mario Brothers realize that not only will they have to watch out for their own lives, but they must also babysit a couple of familiar babies: infant versions of their own selves.
The puzzles are clever and plenty
Cute enough? Yeah, it is. But keep in mind that a world with baby Mario Brothers (And a cute baby Peach, aww!) is probably also home to a little mischievous Bowser as well. So who is the bad guy? Well, besides the annoyingly funny Bowser Jr., there is also an alien force of weird mushrooms called the “Shroobs” whom are led by the lovely Princess Shroob. This Princess desires to take over the Mushroom Kingdom because aparently, it is a great place to live in. I will not spoil the rest of the story for you, but just be informed that once again, the talent of Nintendo’s localization and writing teams is visible.
Bring Extra Diapers?
Anyone who played Superstar Saga will find that the same innovative gameplay is still present in Partners in Time, with one little addition… actually, make that two. Now, instead of just controlling Mario and Luigi individually (with the A and B buttons), you have to also control their younger versions (with the X and Y buttons), making it a total of four characters to control on the battlefield at the same time. On the map, however, you just have to move the big guys as they will take care of carrying their baby counterparts.
And who said being little was a disadvantage? Those little guys can enter places that are just too small for the big brothers to enter, and coincidentally, this makes for some of the most difficult and clever puzzles in the entire game. Sometimes you will have to split the party and use each one of the characters to open a door, press a switch, or just move to the next area. Here is where the dual screens help a lot, because when you divide your party, the babies will be using the top-screen, where as the old dudes will work their way through the bottom screen. Now, before you start thinking that this sounds a bit too difficult, just remember that you will only control one of the groups at a time, but you will be able to switch between them whenever you want.
Other brothers techniques involve jumping and hammer-use with each respective pair. As you may remember, in Superstar Saga, the brothers already had these abilities, yet in Partners in Time, some of these are exclusive to the grown ups, while others will be baby-specific. Sometimes, a single brother’s jump will not be enough to reach new heights, so you will need both of them, and maybe even the babies, to accomplish the task. The game is full of puzzles that involve not only exploring your territories, but also experimenting with your party’s abilities.
The same can be said about the combat system, in which you will need to master many moves to ensure that victory will be yours. Gamers who played Superstar Saga will find that the same system is used in the sequel, except with added mechanics that require extra precision in those timed attacks so that there is an extra boost of attack/defense. With the addition of the two extra characters, you will have to pay more attention than ever before to the many combinations that the characters can pull off in this sequel.
One of the best things of the last game were the famous “Brothers Attacks,” in which you can combine the power of the brothers to create even more powerful attack moves. But, as many should remember, the Brothers Attacks in Superstar Saga were a bit on the difficult side. In Partners in Time, pulling off a “Brothers Attack” doesn’t require as much learning and memorizing as was needed in Superstar Saga, but you will need to time your attacks even more this time around.
Getting to know your enemies is important in Partners in Time, just as it was in its prequel. Sometimes, skill alone won’t win you a battle, but rather learning an enemy’s pattern of movement and behavior. The enemies will usually give away a little “hint” that will point out which way they will attack, or who/how they will perform an attack move on. It is things like this that make the Mario & Luigi franchise such an innovative, and most importantly, an interactive experience. You never feel like you want a battle to end, and then just move on to the next battle; here, you are always connected to the characters and battle arenas, always in the middle of some action.
Because there are no random battles (thankfully!), you get to choose if/when you want to fight an enemy. Even though running away from battles may sound tempting, I would not recommend doing it often, because you will need all the experience you can get early on. You will also have to collect coins, equip badges, and dress up all your plumbers with some very special pants — I swear it is not as kinky as it sounds. But do not dare try and dress up a baby with grown-up pants… they will not fit, silly! Each brother has a different pant-size, so only some will fit each. Badges, on the other hand, can be equipped by all brothers, allowing them to have a bunch of different effects. With all these items, you’re probably thinking that a portable drawer may not be such a bad idea, but Nintendo thinks about everything, and just like the previous game, you will get “Stuffwell,” a friendly suitcase that not only talks, but is hilarious!
The Mushroom Kingdom looks gorgeous!
However, the real star of the Mario & Luigi show is the fantastic script created by Alphadream. With its humorous approach to the usual Mushroom Kingdom premise, it will have you laughing out loud most of the times. The humor is not forced on you either, it is actually smoothly integrated into the game’s storyline, and in the end, the result is something brilliant. The characters are equally hilarious, and there are a couple of characters that will have any internet geek rolling on the floor laughing.
You are probably wondering how the game takes advantage of the DS’s special features, like the touch-screen, WiFi, and/or microphone. The answer is, it does not use them. Frankly, it does not need to, either. What Partners in Time does (and it does brilliantly, by the way), is implement the dual-screens on the gameplay itself. Bigger battlefields, gorgeous cinematics, and puzzle solving (when dividing the group of brothers) are just some of the elements that take advantage of the two screens. Rushed up touch-screen implementation? Pfft… who wants that, anyway?
Aww, Such a Cute Baby!
If you were to compare Partners in Time to the original Mario & Luigi, you would probably see that there is not much difference — graphically speaking — between the two. But who cares? We loved the wacky art-style and bizzare twist on the usual Mushroom Kingdom atmosphere that the original had, so why change anything? Similarities aside, there are many improvements on the title, such as better animations, more detailed character sprites, and even a bit of shading when it comes to both character and background design. Even though Partners in Time is a beautiful 2D title, there are some pseudo-3D effects going on here. Sometimes, a surface will change based on what is happening around it, so you will definitely see your share of nifty graphical quirks.
Great dual-screen use!
If there is any complaint about the graphics, it is that it uses an angle that is not top-view, not 3/4 view, and not exactly 2D. This unique view can cause some confusion, especially when jumping in some areas. The same problem plagued Superstar Saga, so I was hoping that it would be fixed by the time the sequel rolled in, but I guess it was just not meant to be. Regardless, if you dealt with it in the first one, it probably won’t be a bother to you now, then.
Listen to Baby Luigi!
The sound portions of Partners in Time are very well done. Mind you, this is coming from a studio that pulled off a fantastic soundtrack on the Game Boy Advance’s limited hardware, so it is not hard to imagine a great musical score on the more powerful DS hardware. The sound effects are fantastic and funny, especially when it comes to the character’s singular “dialogue.” The baby brothers are charming, and their cute voices can really grow on you, particularly when they start crying when something goes completely wrong.
Each area contains a different musical theme, so you will listen to many distinct tunes when traveling around the Mushroom Kingdom’s various locales. While most of the tunes are fantastic, some of them are not as memorable as the first game’s, but still round up a very impressive soundtrack when compared to other efforts on the dual-screened handheld.
Partners Until The End of Time
When Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time was announced, I immediately thought it would be the handheld game to own in 2005, so it is pretty obvious that my expectations for this one were high. And guess what? The game lived up to them, and definitely proved that this is one of those games that you have to play in order to understand its charm. Sure, you can hear the impressions, you can read the reviews, you can think: “Man, that sounds like a fun game!” But in the end, if you do not try it, you simply do not know what you are missing.
Gamers who are used to avoiding RPG games because of their apparent complexity should give Partners in Time a try, especially if they have a history with the Mario world. The fantastic storyline alone makes this game a must-own, and the gameplay is as fun as it gets when it comes to Role Playing. The game had a lot to live up to, but Alphadream took the challenge, and ended up with a product that is just as good as the original.
So what are you waiting for? Go buy a copy, insert it into your Nintendo DS, and enjoy one of the best RPG experiences on any handheld. Games like Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time prove that the industry is still not a complete pool of flair and shallowness, and that innovative gameplay and nostalgic charm are still very important parts of game design. It also proves that babysitting is actually fun — especially when you can hammer the heck out of an annoying baby, and still be called a hero.
— Miguel Yanez
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