by Ron Williamson - April 22, 2005

Disaster! The mushroom Kingdom is in trouble�again. The evil Cackletta has set a plan in motion to take over the world. First stage of the plan, steal Princess Peach�s voice. As Mario and Luigi, Plumbing Brothers extraordinaire, you are given the charge of recovering her voice and saving the world before Cackletta can complete her mysterious scheme. Get your thumbs ready for a work out as you dive into this action packed role-playing game.

B�..no A�uh�B�B&A!!

RPG�s have been around for years. Final Fantasy defined the genre and many games since have followed in its footsteps. The nature of competition forces people to create new and innovative ideas to set their games apart from the rest. Many different fighting systems have been created, each with its own characteristic quirk that makes it unique. One thing you don�t see very much these days in RPG�s is the use of a turn-based fighting system. Why? This is mainly due to that fact that it is quite unrealistic and doesn�t tend to be very exciting. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga uses a turn-based fighting system, but it manages to be neither boring, nor unrealistic. The only negative aspect of it being turn-based is that you can take as long as you need to select your attacks, and usually enemies aren�t so polite as to let you take your time defeating them. The main draw of this game�s fighting system is its ability to let you actively dodge or counter-attack. It�s not like other RPG�s where you select ahead of time to defend so you take less damage or you set it up so you automatically counter attack. During the battle you can actually finish entire battles unscathed by simply having good reflexes. While you are being attacked, depending on the enemy and attack, you can either dodge the attack or attack the enemy preemptively. This is done by pressing the A and B buttons for Mario and Luigi respectively. An icon appears over the appropriate characters head indicating the opportunity for salvation. Mastering this technique can prove invaluable as many of the bosses you will face are quite tricky and are difficult to defeat. This addition to the typical turn based fighting system makes for an engaging and exciting fight every time.

Another great aspect of the game is the use of the �Bros. Attacks.� Varying from the typical MP (Magic Points) or even Mana, this game uses BP (Bros. Points). You use these points not for spells but for special attacks both Mario and Luigi participate in, regardless of who initiates the attack. These attacks also use the A and B buttons actively. At certain times during the attack you must hit the proper button to further either Mario or luigi, as they gear up to deliver some of the most devastating attacks in the game. This also keeps you in the game and actually battling your foes. Yes, summoning attacks can be very pretty to watch, but they can be a little drawn out at times (cough�FFVII's Knights of the Round) and they sort of bring you out of the action. The only drawback to the Bros. Attacks approach is that you must have both part members alive and with enough BP in order to complete the assault.

Attacking solo is also engaging. You have the choice of three different solo attack modes. You can jump (of course), use a hammer, or even a new unique �hand� technique. Each of these also requires that you time your attack perfectly to deliver the maximum amount of damage. Independently you can also use items, which are nostalgically assigned. In order to restore health you use mushrooms (different mushrooms give back different amounts of HP), to bring your sibling back to life you have 1-Up mushrooms, and so on. Also you assign badges to each of the brothers. Different badges can do different things such as restoring health each turn or increasing any one of your stats. These can be combined in various clever ways to make your team even stronger. As with most RPG�s you can also change armor, though, in this game you change your overalls. This will also affect your defense and up to two other attributes. They can for example reduce poison damage, make you attack more frequently, or even increase luck depending on how many mushrooms you have in your bag. Speaking of stats, you do, as in most RPG�s level up. Most of the stats are pretty typical: HP, defense, speed, etc. Superstar Saga also adds �Stache points�, referring of course to mustache points. These are an interesting addition as they affect certain people�s opinion of you. They allows you to persuade shop owners to sell you things for cheaper.

Everything mentioned affects how the flow of the battle will go, but getting into the battle is also pretty cool. You encounter enemies a la the Zelda series where you can actually see them in front of you as opposed to being ambushed by random invisible enemies. The difference is that when you actually make contact with the villain it switches to a more Final Fantasy type system where your party is on one side of the screen and the attacking party is opposite you. Entering battle brings about one of the only flaws to the game: the control. It is fun in the way that you can preemptively attack with a jump or a hammer hit. The only thing is the control is a little off. There will be times when you are sure you have your hammer all lined up only to miss and be attacked by the goomba you were sure you snuck up on. Lining up some jumps can also be a little annoying and you can fall and have to re-traverse and entire screen to get back up, which is not really fun. Also, while simply walking around the world Mario and Luigi can team up to get past obstacles by super-jumping or helicopter spinning. These options are selected by pressing the R and L buttons. The only problem with this is that you have to cycle through them to get to the one you want. Also, when the hand techniques are added you have even more to worry about. You can�t jump if you have you hammer selected and if you jump on some enemies it will actually hurt you, so while trying to find the hammer you could get attacked, which is slightly bothersome. These are, however, only minor annoyances and don�t really detract from game play. Once you get used to the control you can pretty easily master most of these techniques without a problem, and you usually won�t find it too difficult.

One thing to note about this game is its dialogue. Text-based, as with most traditional RPG�s the story is developed through written words. There is a ton of great dialogue in the game and it is genuinely funny. Many of the jokes are accented by very well thought-out animations of the characters responses to jokes. The written and visual jokes are plentiful and definitely make the game much more enjoyable.

Respectable, but not �Super�

As with most handheld games on the GBA this game uses Sprites exclusively. And we have all seen some really impressive sprite work in other titles, but it�s not really present here. The graphics are not bad, by any means, but they just don�t really strike you as anything new or impressive. The world is very stylized and everything fits together very well. It actually seems like it�s a plausible environment for this adventure to take place. Most of the levels have a certain platforming element to them, but aren�t typically too complicated. Everything in the game is very obviously what it is supposed to be and the sprites are crisp and everything is animated fairly well. The colors are rich and appropriate. There just isn�t a great level of detail. There are many things they could have added to the environment to make it a little less 2D. The world just seems very flat and manufactured. This does not detract from game play, however. The graphics are pleasing and are welcome and familiar to anyone who has ever enjoyed a Mario title. And if anyone were to have a gripe with the simplicity of the sprites, it is countered by the cornucopia of different sprites there are. So much of the humor and style of the game is achieved through graphics that they added tons of sprites to make it more believable. There were certain animations that aren�t repeated at all throughout the game, but are necessary for that situation. Somehow they manage to pull off many great expressions despite the simplicity of the sprites.

BOING!

Anyone who has ever played a video game, even the casual gamer, has to have played a Mario game at some point. So everyone will recognize many of the sounds in the game. The game does a great job of updating all of the classic Mario sounds while keeping them very true to the originals. The familiar �boing� of a jump, the pleasant �pop� when you jump on a Koopa Trooper, and the delightfully sinful �bling� when you get coins are all here, immersing you in Mario�s world. The music is good, but less nostalgic. It features an almost entirely new score, though many songs do remind you of other Mario games. The music, like the graphics, doesn�t really offer much in the way of originality or impressiveness. It does a good job giving breaking the silence, but that�s about as far as it goes. The only really good thing about the sound in the game is the effects. The effects also include the voice acting. Sparse as it may be, the few lines Mario and Luigi offer throughout the game also add a lot to the humor of the game. Hearing an �Oh yeah!� or �Here we go!� at the right times can really increase the laugh-factor of a good joke. And there are a few other true sounds in there, like Cackletta�s laugh, just for good measure. So where the game falls through in music, it makes up for in sound effects.

Here we go!!

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a great game. It features many inventive aspects of game play, especially in the battle system. It has a great atmosphere with inventive levels. The graphics, though a little bland, help create the world and make it really immersive. The addition of the platform elements into the world are a great feature. Though they can be a little annoying from time to time, what platformer isn�t guilty of being a little annoying? It does really add to the game play, making it a little more realistic than just walking from town to town. The puzzles in the game are usually simple, but they do add a little bit of fun to the game as well, and they don�t throw anything at you that you are going to get upset over. It�s all pretty obvious; you just have to figure out the best way to accomplish it. The fighting in this game is really where the money is. Even most real-time or active-time battle RPG�s aren�t as fun to play as this game. The addition of reflex based countering gives a whole new dimension to the game. Whether it�s solving a puzzle, super jumping up cliffs, or thwarting your opponents attacks this game is non-stop action and there is never a dull moment.

Don�t Sweat the Small Stuff

Nothing is perfect, and someone will always have a contrary opinion to everything you ever do. No game developer serious tries to please every single gamer in the world. You would never finish your title, and even if you did, you�d be disappointed by someone�s disappointment. Alphadream Studios did a great job of pleasing a lot of people with this title. For people who think RPG�s are dull and slow paced, they will be delighted by the action packed fighting system and platforming aspects. RPG fans will delight in the familiar concepts of HP, turn-based fighting, and text-based dialog. There is enough of everything in there that I think most people, regardless of what you usually play, could find this game enjoyable. The few minor flaws this title has do not, in anyway, overshadow the great game play and enjoyable story.

Just do it

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a hit. Even if you are really a mobile gamer, but you have or know someone who has a Game Boy Advance, give this game a shot. If you don�t know someone with a GBA go buy the GBA player for your Game Cube. It�s cheaper than the GBA and will let you play it on the big screen. You won�t be disappointed. The graphics aren�t amazing, but really, who has expected mobile games to look as good as they do now and for a portable RPG this game really delivers. This game is fun, action-packed, cheap, and overall impressive.