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Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Mini Review
Chris Leyton
08/02/2006
Mario & Luigi return however this time around the babies are back...
Whilst Mario and his cohorts continue to sell themselves out in a string of mildly amusing yet highly derivative releases such as Dancing Stage Mario Mix and Mario Smash Football, the return of Mario and Luigi in Partners in Time is a refreshing change for long suffering fans, offering the most authentic Mario title since... well its predecessor, SuperStar Saga, arrived on the scene.
Partners in Time follows very closely to its platform/RPG predecessor, this time around the adventure finds the bros teaming up with their younger selves in an attempt to thwart an evil race of aliens known only as the Shroobs - not forgetting the obligatory quest to save Princess Peach in the process. Along the way many classic characters make an appearance as Mario and Luigi and their baby counterparts travel back and forth through time, from the l33t speaking Hammer bros (who quickly thank Mario & Luigi for literally knocking sense back into them) to the Yoshi's on Yoshi Island. As is the case with previous Mario RPG titles (dating back to 1996's Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars), Mario teams up with his arch-nemesis Bowser to fight the Shroobs. The overall storyline may suffer from the typical issues that previous Mario titles have when stepping away from the central Mario/Bowser theme, however the dialogue and overall tone will please long-standing fans and younger gamers alike.
Unsurprisingly Partners in Time plays very similarly to its predecessor, albeit with a number of significant changes made possible by some of the DS advantages. Once again each character is assigned to a face button, which is used to jump around the environments or to perform a variety of unique abilities based on the character in question. The big change for Partners in Time over Superstar Saga naturally comes from the ability to take control of both pairs of the Bros, young and old, thanks to the increase of face buttons on the Nintendo DS. Each character has a unique ability such as Baby Mario's aptitude for blowing up like a balloon by swallowing large quantities of water or the older siblings teaming up to roll around like a ball, which combined with the level designs has allowed Nintendo's finest to go crazy when it comes to carefully thought out puzzles. Combat follows the turn-based timed style of its predecessor, but this time around different techniques are available depending on which of the four siblings are around to team up. The RPG aspects border on the light side of thin and largely revolve around levelling up and collecting items, however this certainly isn't a bad thing as the Mario RPG series have always been about injecting fun into the experience. Partners in Time retains its platforming roots by placing a heavy emphasis on timing, with the many puzzles and various techniques available during combat all relying on good timing, opening up the scope for more powerful attacks and counters.
If there were any complaints it's that the accessible approach has a habit of walking you through the adventure, though that's not to say certain boss strategies and the occasional puzzle will leave you satisfactorily stumped at times. Beyond the gratification of this being a true Mario game that's where Partners in Time - much like its predecessor - excels, the game's puzzle design, enjoyable combat and amalgamation of the various different elements with style creates an experience of yesteryear and one you'll find hard to put away.
Perhaps the only real disappointment is the game's inability to make use of the DS touch capabilities; yes the dual screens are utilised to good effect, however beyond the need for four face buttons there's very little that marks Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time out as a Nintendo DS title over what could be achieved on the GameBoy Advance.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is a game to restore some of your faith in the plumbing pair. Recent times haven't been too kind for Mario fans, however this is one game that will well and truly put a smile back on your face and a bounce in your step, it's Mario back to what he does best.
mario/zelda fan
Date Added:Thu 7th Jun 2007 20:24
Anonymous
Date Added:Sat 13th Jan 2007 21:00