Mario and Luigi at thier finest, plus having Bowser as a playable character, make this adventure one to remember.
The game itself starts out very slow, so the first few hours are somewhat dull and feel very much like a tutorial, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. But still, it feels like quite a long time before you are out on your own without Starlow stopping you every 5 minutes to say something completely obvious. So even if this is your first Mario & Luigi RPG, you shouldn't have too much of a problem getting into it. Most of the details including combat and just how to play the game are explained very clearly. The combat and leveling up system give the feel of a true RPG.
For a little while you'll be playing as Mario and Luigi of course, but soon enough you'll be taking control of Bowser and all he can do. The game really mixes up what you can do between the characters, which is really nice. At some points you can switch over to Mario & Luigi as they are inside Bowser's body, and vice versa. And the funny thing Bowser has no idea the Stache Bros. are inside his body. Instead the whole time he is talking to Starlow, A.K.A "Chippy". At times Mario and Luigi even go outside of Bowser's body, only to return inside again through random pipes. So there's a lot going on in this story.
I definitely have to give props to the writing of this game. There is plenty of humor, and other elements that should keep anyone interested or entertained. The dialogue is great... sometimes a little corny, but it's just fine.
The combat mechanics are surprisingly good. More and more attacks and special attacks are added to both sets of characters over time. Boss fights are pretty good, even if some of them do seem virtually like repeats. The graphics are just fine for the DS at this point in its lifetime. Sounds match the environment and mood well. The gameplay is great and there is a lot of variety in what you do between characters. There are tons of unique gear and other goodies to obtain or buy through coins that are obtained from battling.
So overall there is definitely a lot to keep one busy while playing this game. There are a few items to collect like Blitties, and those bean things that boost your stats. But once the story is finished, it's over. You can't go back and do anything, or collect anything that may have been missed. That's one thing that left me disappointed. After completing the story by finishing off the last few bosses, you get some "happy ending" credits and some humorous cutscenes, and it's over. There is a final comment about how high you got ranked as well. I apparently didn't reach the super-maxed-out rank for all the characters, so I got some sort of comment about that... then it goes back to the title screen. So if you want to go back to the game you finished, it will leave you at the last place you saved, which would be before you beat the last boss, which is kind of lame.
Fortunately this adventure should last anyone atleast 20 hours, but probably around 30 depending on how much of the game is rushed through. For a DS game this one is well worth the time to play through, and although there is nothing to do once it is beat, it's still worth a purchase, especially anyone whom is a fan of Mario.
8.9/10