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DS Review: Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Alex Tretrop
The Mario and Luigi series debuted way back on the Game boy Advance in 2003. Nearly 7 years later Mario and Luigi’s RPG escapades are still going strong because of the light hearted humor and simple RPG battles in their games. And since its inception the series has made the jump to the DS, starting with the sequel to the original, Partners in Time, which saw Mario and Luigi joined by the baby versions of themselves and going forward and backward in time to save the princess. While it was a great game it wasn’t as funny or as challenging as the original to me.
Now Alpha Dream is on to its third game in the series, Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story and I was interested because it swaps out the babies and replaces them with Bowser, whom I thought, would be a much more interesting character. Does Inside Story innovate the series far enough to be interesting? It's not a reinvention of the wheel but it gets the job done to make another interesting tale in the franchise.
Read on for the full review
Story: The Mushroom Kingdom has seen better days; a new illness has started ravaging its toad population. Called the Blorbs, it makes anyone who catches it inflate to massive proportions and incapable of movement. Combine this with Bowser being tricked by Fawful, who you may remember from the first game in the series, sucking Mario, Luigi, and the Princess into the Koopa king's body and you have a recipe for a game that delivers some memorable moments and interesting dialog that are some of the best in the series.
The story, throughout most of the game is very strange and though it's not impossible to follow, it somehow makes sense in a strange way as you progress further into it.
Graphics: Inside Story delivers in the graphics department as well. Since most of the game takes place within the bowels of Bowser's body it's comforting to know that it's well detailed and full of color and variety. As for the character models on Mario and Luigi, well they look basically the same as they have for the whole series. Some of Alpha Dreams best looking enemies yet make their way in Inside Story: giant plant monsters that take up two full screens, evil plaque, and..... well let's just say appropriate looking enemies as you get further down in Bowser's body.
When you play as Bowser, the locales and places you visit are always vibrant with some of the Toad Towns being noticeably filled with lots of life, which is something you don't see much of in Mario games. Since Mario is always jumping on Goomba's head with lack of regard for anything else going on in the world, it's a nice change of scenery this time around.
Gameplay: Along with the story, this is where Inside Story really shines and starts to become a very addicting experience. Like Partners in Time, Mario and Luigi are joined by another playable character, however, this time around you control Bowser on the top while Mario and Luigi are confined to the bottom screen. While Bowser goes on his crazy adventures on the top screen, Mario and Luigi are secretly helping him with all the problems in his body.
When you're exploring the overworld as Bowser you'll visit strange and funny locations like Toad Town, Dimble Woods, and Bowser's Castle among many others, not to mention get to interact with the many strange characters. I mean, Bowser's shop keeper is a French?
Anyways, when you’re in Bowser's body Mario and Luigi kick it old school and are confined to sidescrolling to navigate Bowser's insides. Many parts of Bowser's body play out like Mini-Games; for example if Bowser is trying to pick up something heavy, Mario and Luigi need to head to Bowser's Arm Center to play a small rhythm mini game that help make his muscles grow so that he can lift the object. These mini games tend to happen a lot, and while they do repeat themselves, they are all pretty fun and interesting to play.
Of course, that's just navigating the overworld. Since this is an RPG, anytime Bowser, Mario, or Luigi touch an enemy they are brought to the battle screen. When you first enter a battle you realize that just like the other games in the series that this is far from your average turn based RPG. You definitely still choose which attack you'll use and what items to equip each character with, but the huge difference comes when the enemy attacks. Rather than just having to sit there and take the damage, you have a chance of dodging the attack and sometimes damaging them as well! Basically what happens is if an enemy attacks they usually give hints about the way or order in which they are going to attack you (think Punch Out). If you figure out the pattern and time it just right, you could end up taking no damage at all, plus doing a counter move.
Considering this game is very fast paced compared to other RPG it's a great part of the game that ensures you won't be spending very much time in the menus. That being said, the game can be very easy with almost no difficulty at all.
Audio: There’s a diverse amount of music and it's pretty noticeable when battles comes around, as tunes become more subtle in the overworld. You'll always remember some of the music when an important character appears since they sound appropriate to the hilarious style of the game, like how Mario and Luigi’s fake Italian always adds to the hilarity of the situation. That was probably the most memorable piece of audio throughout because it’s so distinctive and silly and it will never cease to put a smile on your face.
Difficulty: As the game goes on you’ll find it starts to get harder but most of the game can be really easy. Some monsters can start to get a little tough but with ample healing mushrooms and Retry Clocks, which restarts the battle as if it had never happened, all push this game in the easier direction. While some of the battles can get challenging further along in the story, it’s not too bad if you know what you’re doing. And since it's a Nintendo game the pacing is done in a way so you won't need massive amounts of grinding to catch up if you're straggling behind.
Who is this game for? This game really defined, at least for me, what it means to be accessible to everyone. There’s tons of laugh out loud humour and it can appeal to pretty much everyone because it stars the two iconic plumbers, and the RPG aspect of it is so easy to get into that anyone can really enjoy the game. It's nice and long and will most definitely keep you interested as the story heads to its conclusion. A lot of people skip Alpha Dream's products which, in my opinion, is a real shame because they make some great games. Young or old, you need to play this.
Final Thoughts: Many of the "main" Mario games were serious adventures and this one is most certainly not one of them. A strange and silly, yet effective story, fun combat, and nice graphics make this title a game that anyone can truly enjoy. It has lots of appeal with Mario and Luigi starring alongside Bowser and adds an interesting RPG aspect that is a lot more fast paced and easy to pick up when compared to other hardcore games in the same genre. While it can get repetitive and its challenge is nearly absent, this game gives an experience that everyone can enjoy and, while many people may not buy it, it's still definitely worth your time.
