Yup, I've got a Review for you guys for the 3rd week in a row :D. I managed to clear through the main story of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga which I acquired for free thanks to Club Nintendo's promotions as it was closing down. Fun fact, I actually got the game in its original form many years ago when it came out. I never cleared it however due to me being a frustrated youngster and quitting the game out of pure rage. Out of all of Club Nintendo's offerings, this was the one that interested me the most. So why not give it another shot...plus I had help from THE INTERNET. Yay online guides! Superstar Saga came out in 2003 for the Gameboy Advance and was developed by AlphaDream. This also kicked off the Mario & Luigi series of handheld RPG's.
If the title wasn't a giveaway, you control both the Mario Bros as you traverse through the crazy land of Beanbean Kingdom as you must rescue Princess Peach (shocker) from the clutches of the evil witch Cackletta. With controlling the 2 brothers at the same time, a twist in game mechanics is introduced. Using the A/B buttons, you input moves mainly when you enter a battle. Items and abilities can be unlocked which you can cycle through on the world map. This leads to doing things like hammering down rocks, starting fires, and doing special jumps. Battles get even more interesting.
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| World Map Gameplay! |
In battles, you can attack either singularly or together using what's known as Bros. Attacks. These take up Bro Points which serve as your "magic" so to speak. These moves are interesting to pull off as you follow the button commands. You can also change the difficulty of the moves which means that the guides won't show up. In exchange, more damage is outputted. Lastly, the Bro Moves can be further upgraded the more you use them. Carrying over from the other Mario RPG's, you can deal more damage if you hit the button at a certain time. Dodging attacks is also doable should you time things right.
Mario and Luigi can also wear equipment in the form of pants/jeans respectively. Badges also make a return having been a staple part since I believe Paper Mario. These can increase your attack, defense and add on other effects like First Strike, Poison Immunity and much more. As you level up, you're given a bonus increase to one of your stats. This increase is done at random and goes up by 1-5. For me personally, I had Mario act as the powerhouse, while Luigi was a defense wall. The Mario humor is ever so present and I feel like the RPG's pride themselves on this thanks to the genre's heavy focus on story telling.
The music was also typical of Mario games and even had remixes of classic tunes such as the Underground theme. The only bad thing I have to say is that the mini games are extremely frustrating. Throughout the story, you are halted progress until you had to complete a mini-game that focused on timing your cooperative control of the brothers. The last one I spent at least 30 minutes on and it definitely left me in a sour mood. I should not have been punished in halted story progression just to complete a mini game that mostly had little importance to the story itself.
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| Typical look of the Battle Screen |
Other than that gripe, I found enjoyment through everything else. Timing the attacks was ever so satisfying when I dealt major damage. The story was pretty good in terms of other RPG's I've played but not on like a Final Fantasy level. I even think some of the Paper Mario games were more memorable. Though the villains and some characters had great dialogue. Mario & Luigi: Super Star Saga is definitely a fun adventure and I gladly recommend it for any RPG lover or those who arel looking for a different side of Mario.
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| The writing can be pretty hilarious at certain points |
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| Sample look of the Item Screen |
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| Oh look, Mario fighting Bowser, WHO DIDN'T SEE THAT COMING? |
Should you Play this Game?
Yes! Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga kicked off an enjoyable RPG series and once again shows that Mario games can be fun as it racks up a variety of genres under its belt. The brother dynamic of controlling them at the same time is different and something I haven't seen before!
