Before I start, I feel I should say that I have a massive weakness for any Mario RPG. Rightfully so, as they have a history of being fun/funny, interesting, smart and jam-packed with Mario goodness.
The third addition to the Mario and Luigi series, Bowser's Inside Story came available on the Nintendo DS in North America today (September 14th, 2009).
Prologue:
The game begins with a toad rushing home for dinner. His mother scolds him and tells him to fetch his lay-about father. Suddenly, a giant inflated toad crashes through the wall! His father has caught... THE BLORBS! This pandemic has spread across the Mushroom Kingdom, it's up to Princess Peach to figure out how to stop it. She calls a meeting of the top officials in the Kingdom and a Star Sprite (to-be-named Chippy who will act as a voice for Mario and Luigi throughout the game (well... beyond the sound effects of Mario going LUIGI! whenever there's trouble.)) Chippy tells them there's nothing he can do to cure the Blorbs, so they call in their secret weapon... Mario and Luigi! After a brief explanation of the controls, our heroes are debriefed (Luigi is catching some zee's though. Not like he needs to know anything anyway.) Suddenly, the meeting is interrupted by the holler of an enraged and neglected Bowser, exclaiming that as a citizen of Mushroom Kingdom he has a right to be in on this discussion as well. Apparently not, and Mario proceeds to wipe the floor with him. The game allows you to now control Bowser as he was blasted into a forest. After another (one of many, many, many) tutorial, Bowser is seduced by a strange (and potentially familiar!) cloaked figure exclaiming, "A WINNER IS YOU!" The stranger gives Bowser a Lucky(?) Mushroom that will supposedly give him ultimate powers to crush Mario! Despite the anxious pleas of his tag-along, Kami Koopa, Bowser gulps it down and begins feeling queasy... suddenly his mouth is a vacuum and he's sucking up all of Mushroom Kingdom, with Mario, Luigi and Peach included! Dun dun duh...
For most of the game you play as Bowser on the overworld. Initially he can only punch things (for mega damage!) but as the game goes on you can vacuum and breath flames. Probably more, too, I'm not that far. You switch between the Brothers and Bowser using A/B and X/Y respectively. The Brothers can travel internally through Bowser (their portion is side-scrolling), although it's fairly limited. A lot of the environments are interactive, which means you're going to find yourself smashing or flaming everything in your path to find all sorts of goodies or portals (which replace tubes as quick transportation to places you've visited (these have a story all their own.)) There's a small gathering area with shops and a resting spot, as well as an Arcade with absolutely nothing available from the get-go. Later, there are tons of mini-games that make good use of the touch-screen and microphone.
If you've played either of the prequels (or any Mario RPG) you basically know what to expect. The battle system is essentially the same as always with timed attacks for extra damage. Battle can switch from Bowser to the Brothers occasionally by vacuuming smaller enemies into his stomach. The Special Attacks are comparable to Partners in Time as opposed to Superstar Saga (by this I mean they don't level up through successfully completing attacks.) Also, one of the games side-quests is completed by vacuuming block kitties (blitties) out of certain enemies across the Kingdom, which is kind of a nice change of pace from normal fetch quests.
This game is paced much better then it's predecessor which suffered from long, boring dungeons and poor use of the dual-screens, although this one also feels like it has a little too much space, but I guess it's better than having everything all squished together. Oh, and it's got some of the best and most detailed pixel-art in any game to date.
Anyway... I want everyone here to buy this game. It rules. Buy it. Tomorrow morning as soon as you wake up. It's $39.99. BUY IT. It's awesome.
[youtube]vWdX1cB_Oig[/youtube]
The third addition to the Mario and Luigi series, Bowser's Inside Story came available on the Nintendo DS in North America today (September 14th, 2009).
Prologue:
The game begins with a toad rushing home for dinner. His mother scolds him and tells him to fetch his lay-about father. Suddenly, a giant inflated toad crashes through the wall! His father has caught... THE BLORBS! This pandemic has spread across the Mushroom Kingdom, it's up to Princess Peach to figure out how to stop it. She calls a meeting of the top officials in the Kingdom and a Star Sprite (to-be-named Chippy who will act as a voice for Mario and Luigi throughout the game (well... beyond the sound effects of Mario going LUIGI! whenever there's trouble.)) Chippy tells them there's nothing he can do to cure the Blorbs, so they call in their secret weapon... Mario and Luigi! After a brief explanation of the controls, our heroes are debriefed (Luigi is catching some zee's though. Not like he needs to know anything anyway.) Suddenly, the meeting is interrupted by the holler of an enraged and neglected Bowser, exclaiming that as a citizen of Mushroom Kingdom he has a right to be in on this discussion as well. Apparently not, and Mario proceeds to wipe the floor with him. The game allows you to now control Bowser as he was blasted into a forest. After another (one of many, many, many) tutorial, Bowser is seduced by a strange (and potentially familiar!) cloaked figure exclaiming, "A WINNER IS YOU!" The stranger gives Bowser a Lucky(?) Mushroom that will supposedly give him ultimate powers to crush Mario! Despite the anxious pleas of his tag-along, Kami Koopa, Bowser gulps it down and begins feeling queasy... suddenly his mouth is a vacuum and he's sucking up all of Mushroom Kingdom, with Mario, Luigi and Peach included! Dun dun duh...
For most of the game you play as Bowser on the overworld. Initially he can only punch things (for mega damage!) but as the game goes on you can vacuum and breath flames. Probably more, too, I'm not that far. You switch between the Brothers and Bowser using A/B and X/Y respectively. The Brothers can travel internally through Bowser (their portion is side-scrolling), although it's fairly limited. A lot of the environments are interactive, which means you're going to find yourself smashing or flaming everything in your path to find all sorts of goodies or portals (which replace tubes as quick transportation to places you've visited (these have a story all their own.)) There's a small gathering area with shops and a resting spot, as well as an Arcade with absolutely nothing available from the get-go. Later, there are tons of mini-games that make good use of the touch-screen and microphone.
If you've played either of the prequels (or any Mario RPG) you basically know what to expect. The battle system is essentially the same as always with timed attacks for extra damage. Battle can switch from Bowser to the Brothers occasionally by vacuuming smaller enemies into his stomach. The Special Attacks are comparable to Partners in Time as opposed to Superstar Saga (by this I mean they don't level up through successfully completing attacks.) Also, one of the games side-quests is completed by vacuuming block kitties (blitties) out of certain enemies across the Kingdom, which is kind of a nice change of pace from normal fetch quests.
This game is paced much better then it's predecessor which suffered from long, boring dungeons and poor use of the dual-screens, although this one also feels like it has a little too much space, but I guess it's better than having everything all squished together. Oh, and it's got some of the best and most detailed pixel-art in any game to date.
Anyway... I want everyone here to buy this game. It rules. Buy it. Tomorrow morning as soon as you wake up. It's $39.99. BUY IT. It's awesome.
[youtube]vWdX1cB_Oig[/youtube]
