Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story Review
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
DS Nintendo game reviews
“Easily Best in the Series”
Pros : Funny story, plenty of creative puzzles, Terrific moves and Combo, vibrant visuals.
Mario and Luigi’s eternal struggle against the forces that threaten the Mushroom Kingdom—and frequently kidnap Princess Peach—continue in Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, the latest in the lighthearted, action-oriented role-playing game series.
I’ve been trying to think of a single word to sum up Nintendo’s latest role-playing game, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, and I think I’ve settled on one at last: “exuberant.” “Disgusting” was a close second, but ultimately I think the game’s infectious cheer and energy win out over the fact that you spend so much of your playtime wallowing in the soft inner tissues of a megalomaniacal turtle-dragon. Admittedly, there is a scene in which a fatty fairy-creature emerges from a pool of lipids in a grotesque parody of A Link to the Past’s wishing fountain?so it’s a pretty close call.
But, no: Exuberance it is. Everything about Inside Story, from its battle system (in which our heroes bounce enthusiastically in syncopation to the onscreen action, and timing is everything) to its visuals (which feature some of the most colorful classic-style 2D sprite work you’ll ever see) to its dialogue (which is hilariously self-referential), shines with the sort of earnestness far too lacking in the medium these days. In any other game, it might seem forced or affected; but this is Mario, and he can pull it off.
Thankfully, Mario’s relentless pluck is offset by his brother’s shivering cowardice, and to an even greater degree, his goodness is balanced by the game’s other hero — or rather, its ostensible co-protagonist, the series’ primary villain, Bowser.
This time, series staple bad guy Fawful has tricked Bowser into eating a particular strain of mushroom that causes him to inhale the court of the Mushroom Kingdom, Mario, Luigi and Princess Peach included. There’s also a nasty Toad affliction going around, known as the Blorbs that needs curing. Of course, the goal is to save the Mushroom Kingdom and rescue Peach, with much of that work being done by Mario and Luigi, trapped inside the anatomical depths of the King of Koopas himself.
Players will control both Mario and Luigi and Bowser, offering two very different styles of play but with a common goal. Should you dive into Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story?
I can’t say enough good things about how effectively developer Alpha Dream has made use of the game’s combat system. Although Inside Story employs the same mechanics as the first two Mario & Luigi games, the whole affair feels far more polished this time around. There’s a tangible difference between Mario and Bowser’s fighting styles, and the game rewards players who possess good reflexes and a sharp eye. You can boost attacks with precisely timed button presses, and dodge enemies by reacting properly to their strikes. For the first time in the series, the game’s difficulty curve feels just right: The second half of the adventure is considerably more challenging than the first, but the path from the first battle to the last climbs a smooth gradient. And by the time the going gets tough, players will have armed themselves with a ton of extra gear to even the odds and shore up their gameplay deficiencies.
Finally, this is a modern Nintendo game, meaning the game never quite lets up on the tutorials until very nearly the end of the quest — although unlike certain other games (e.g., recent Zeldas), you don’t feel quite so much like your hand is being held the whole way. Inside Story can be pretty tough beyond the midway point, and you’re always left to puzzle out your enemies’ tells on your own. Until you get the tics and timing down, you can expect to face some grueling fights. These minor issues aside, the latest Mario & Luigi is quite simply the best Mario RPG to date.
Gamespot Score : 9.0
IGN Score : 9.5
Available at Amazon.com
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