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Overview: Throughout his video game career Mario, despite being a simple
plumber from Brooklyn, has forayed into multiple genres of game-play. He
has hosted countless sports games, starred in many puzzle games, and has
even took on the challenge of helping kids brush up on their mathematical
and reading skills. Unfortunately, it seems that with each new Mario Party
or Mario Strikers game that is released the little plumber gets a little
farther from what made him so popular in the first place: platforming. The
role-playing games such as Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi seem to remedy
that situation by combining elements of games like Final Fantasy with the
classic jumping mechanics of Mario into a fun and addictive adventure.
Although not directly platformers, these games still have many homages to
the original Super Mario Bros. games in that you jump around to make
progress in the level. Released back in 2005, Mario and Luigi: Partners in
Time is another one of these
oddities with a little twist: The Mario Bros. join forces with none other
than themselves from the past to conquer an evil alien race and save
Princess Peach once again.
Story: Partner in Time's predecessor Superstar Saga was well-known for
it's humorous plot-line that kept you laughing throughout the game. Though
the story does follow the basic concept of "save the princess" it does add
some new twists to make it a bit more interesting. For example, the Mario
Bros. must travel back in time to save their Princess who is being held
captive by an invading race of evil mushrooms called "Shroobs". Along the
way they must join forces with their younger selves while traversing the
Mushroom Kingdom from the past. The plot gets a bit more complicated as
the two sets of Mario Bros. must also find a way to thwart the evil aliens
who have succeeded in completely taking over the fair kingdom.
Unfortunately unlike Superstar Saga, the jokes in Partners in Time are
more slap-stick instead of text-driven. The Bros. interactions with their
counterparts are what you'll be laughing at most of the time, but as you
know nobody in the quartet actually talks so
jokes are really far apart in the script.
Game-play: As mentioned before, Partners in Time combines elements of
platforming from past Mario games and random battles from traditional
role-playing games in order to create a new and unique experience. You
take control as Mario and Luigi just like in Superstar Saga, but this time
around you must also manage the younger pair of brothers which usually
hitch a ride on the older bros. backs. When they seperate however, the
puzzles elements are really creatively fleshed out. Sometimes the younger
bros. are even controlled on the top screen while the older pair remain on
the bottom screen. You can switch between the two at the press of the
button, and this brings in some interesting game-play. The battles are
extremely engaging which is a surprising departure from other RPG battles
that tend to drone on with boring menu selection. Instead of just telling
your character what to do you actually directly control how the Mario
Bros. attack. Though it's still a bit menu-driven
and turn-based the battles are far more interactive than Final Fantasy.
You can press certain buttons at the right time to let Mario dodge, do
extra damage, or perform combo attacks with another brother. Though these
combos moves definately aren't as imaginitive as the ones in Superstar
Saga or Paper Mario because of the new "Bros. Items" which require
nothing more than a repetitive sequence of three or four buttons. Other
than that, the battle system remains intact and as fun as ever. The
puzzles however, while very innovative due to the four character control
system, tend to get repetitive and old as you near the end of the game.
Graphics: Partners in Time doesn't do anything amazing with it's graphics.
Most of the character sprites are just slight upgrades from their Game Boy
Advance counterparts with a bit more shading and detail. The animation is
a bit more fluid too, but it's nothing that really pushes the Nintendo DS
hardware. There is barely any 3-D in the game so the graphics could have
looked a lot better. Still, it has a cartoony look to it that suits the
mood of the game well. Plus the character artwork looks gorgeous. The
stills that are shown in the beginning and at the end of the game look
amazing. If there were more of those or even some animated sequences the
game would have been far more interesting visually.
Sound: All Mario games are known for the catchy tunes that stick to your
head for hours or even years after you've turned the game off and packed
it neatly away onto your shelf. Partners in Time includes some remixes of
those tracks as well as some new ones to make it sound newer. The sound
bites that accompany the cast of characters are often very humorous, too.
Replay Value: Most RPGs tend to lack in this area, and Partners in Time is
no exception. Unless you're into beefing up your characters to their max
levels and trying to get every item in the game you're only going to run
through the story mode once. The puzzles often tend to get old and
repetitive near the end of the game and the story, while very humorous,
isn't anything to warrant a second play-through. There are no secrets,
rewards, or easter eggs in this game either, so once you've beaten that
final boss you've seen everything the game has to offer. Fortunately there
is some interesting artwork that is shown while the credits are rolling so
there's some motivation to beat the final boss again.
Overall: Superstar Saga was very humorous and fun to play, and Partners in
Time continues the tradition by including the same elements. Though the
puzzles tend to get a bit repetitive after a while, you'll still have fun
playing through the game at least once. Still, the original is a much
better game story-wise and gameplay-wise so if you've played neither I
recommend trying Superstar Saga first. You'll enjoy the sequel much more
if you're already a fan of the "Mario and Luigi" branch of the Mario RPG
games.
Scores:
Story: (8 out of 10) The plot takes the whole "save the princess" bit in a
different direction and just like Superstar Saga adds a lot of humor into
the mix. Unfortunately it's a different style of humor that isn't
joke-oriented and is more slap-stick which probably won't fit the taste of
people who preferred Superstar Saga's direction.
Game-play: (9 out of 10) The interactive random battles are really what is
fun about this game, but the puzzles tend to bog down the experience after
you've hit a switch with your hammer for the billionth time. The inclusion
of the extra two brothers do make the puzzles a bit more interesting
though.
Graphics: (8 out of 10) Nothing amazing as it doesn't really push the
hardware very much. It basically looks like an upgraded Superstar Saga.
Most of this probably could have been done on the Game Boy Advance. The
style makes up for it though, and some of the character art is basically
eye-candy for those who love Mario.
Sound: (9 out of 10) The music is catchy and the sound bites for the
characters are very humorous.
Replay Value: (6 out of 10) You'll probably only play through this one once and then never touch it again, but it's an amazing experience while it lasts.
Overall: (8.0 out of 10.) Compared to Superstar Saga, this game could have
been a lot better. Still, that's saying a lot since it's predecessor was
nearly perfect. If you're a fan of the old game you'll love this one, but even if you're just a fan of Mario you'll still get a kick out of the old-school references.
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