| Mario and Luigi 2: Partners in Time review |
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The original Mario and Luigi game on the GBA was heralded as a classic, a slightly rounded take on the popular Paper Mario game and one that was lauded by all. That was two years ago; now that the DS has come along, it's time for Alpha Dream to produce a sequel for it.
Ah yes, time. Professor Elvin Gadd has built a time machine and Peach, naive princess at hand, decides to take a trip in it. It takes no degree of brainpower to foresee it goes as well as President Bush swallowing pretzels, and it is up to Mario and Luigi to save the day again from an impending invasion in the past. They are ably assisted by themselves along the way. Due to the way these storylines work, the plumbers run into their younger selves and must work together for victory.
Partners in Time has its ups and downs, and whilst great in its own right, sadly does not quite live up to the first game. Part of this is due to the time travel concept itself; there are no cross-time puzzles or manipulations affecting the other zone, all it does is give a convenient reason why there are two sets of brothers going on a mission. This is a pity because it could have greatly added to the game as a whole.
Anyone familiar with the Paper Mario series or Superstar Saga will not have too many issues getting to grips with the system in place here as it is very similar. Alpha Dream to their credit has managed to ingeniously utilise both screens in a way seemingly eluding many other developers, aside from including the ubiquitous map screen. Actually the map is rather useful within the game, and allows the player to keep track of where the brothers are, especially when split up.
Unusually, the majority of the action takes place on the lower (touch) screen, even though there is very little stylus use. This allows everything else to take place above the normal action, including when the babies split off and do their own thing, and during combat when many enemies will literally "fly" or "grow" into the top screen to attack. Cutscenes will also use both displays to describe what's going on.
With the babies on one screen, and the adults on the other, a new dimension of tandem puzzles is possible. Quite often this doesn't get too complicated, with one set of brothers usually having to affect something in their part of the screen to allow the other set to progress. Occasionally there is a puzzle which keeps all four on the same screen at once and requires some intricate manipulation to get them out of the location together. Sometimes this isn't possible, and thankfully the designers saw fit to include a number of pipe blocks, which allows the missing set of brothers to immediately appear in the current location.
All of this works, in the gaming sense of the word. It seems so natural and second nature to do it that realising that it is happening is what snaps you back to reality. It also adds a new dimension to combat as an eye has to be kept on both screens to watch for which enemy will be attacking next and whom they are going after.
In addition to using both screens when fighting enemies, all four face buttons are used to attack and dodge, one corresponding to each brother. If this wasn't enough extra work on the thumb, the new combo attacks available quite often involve everyone as well, with the result that your hand could easily become tied in knots attempting to get all the button presses in time. Practice makes perfect however, and once a reasonable command of them has been achieved, they become close to second nature to pull off effectively. On a whole, they are far more flamboyant, effective and stylish than those in Superstar Saga.
All these benefits and plus marks within combat come at a cost though. As the trigger for each combo move is via an item pickup, and that said items are almost readily available, then there are usually not that many instances where normal moves need be used as there are more than enough items to go around. Add the facts that combo moves are more powerful than before, and that enemies don't appear to have as many hit points, and the result is that combat overall is relatively much easier, and hence you are far less likely to get into trouble or be anywhere near dying.
Unlike Superstar Saga, the previous Zelda-like open environment has been replaced with a hub-like system with each individual level available as a time hole from within the castle. On one hand this streamlines the game somewhat and makes it more focused; on the other hand, it negates to a degree the thrill of exploration and finding new, seemingly random places and items on the map. Partners in Time is definitely a more linear experience. Aside from one point where the choice of where to go is uncertain, the next location to visit is always marked on the map.
Much of this may sound like criticism but when Superstar Saga is rightly held up as one of the greatest GBA games of all time, these niggles are irksome, however little the drop in quality may actually be. The translation work is still top-notch and pop culture references come subtly and at regular intervals. In fact, it could be said that the jokes, knowing nods and overall level of humour within Partners in Time is better than Superstar Saga. There's even a small cameo by someone "loved" from before...
Partners in Time sits as a worthy sequel to Superstar Saga overall. It does some things better, and it does some things not quite so well. Regardless of the comparisons, in conclusion it is a fun, engaging, thoughtful and compelling game in its own right, and a definite purchase for those entranced by earlier iterations.
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System: Nintendo DS
Genre: Role Playing Game
Developer: Alpha Dream
Publisher: Nintendo
Players: 1
Version: United States
Reviewed: Jan 2006
Writer: Mat Allen
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Pros:
- Improved battle variety and attacks
- More subtle humour and nods
- Good use made of both screens
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Cons:
- Central hub produces linearity
- Over-reliance on bros. items
- No direct use of time travel concept
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Mario and Luigi 2: Partners in Time Video: 3.2MB
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