More Bros, less fury
Partners in Time starts off showing a scene in which Princess Peach and a few escorts travel back in time to the Mushroom Kingdom of the past with Professor E. Gadd's recently finished time machine. However, when the time machine returns to the present, Peach is nowhere to be found, and time holes start popping up around the Princess' castle. Naturally, Mario & Luigi use these time holes to go into the Mushroom Kingdom of yesteryear in search of the princess, but they discover an alien race called the Shroobs has taken over the world and captured the princess. They also meet their baby selves while in the past, and they enlist their help and become a quartet of heroes in an effort to defeat the Shroobs and save Peach.
The story is pretty solid, and the time travel element works very nicely in it for a little added depth. The dialogue is also very likable, although not as much of a constant treat as in Superstar Saga. The game has fewer characters that come in throughout the story, which gave the writers less of a chance to show their writing skills as we saw so brilliantly in the first game. Not that the writing is bad, it still reveals each character's personality remarkably well and is pretty entertaining to read, it just doesn't quite measure up to my expectations after playing the original game. And it lacks the proper dose of Fawful (ignore that last sentence if you haven't played Superstar Saga). Partners in Time does retain a wonderful sense of personality by both dialogue and visual humor, though, as Luigi always seems to fail at calming down the crying babies and the Toadsworths also try to keep the baby princess entertained. Despite the setbacks from Superstar Saga, the story elements do their job very nicely to keep the game going strong.
The biggest change in Partners in Time over Superstar Saga is definitely controlling all four characters rather than just the adult Mario & Luigi. The babies travel on the adults' backs and they can split up to reach higher places and go into smaller spaces. The two sets of bros. each have their own set of abilities that enable them to trigger certain events and solve puzzles. Partners in Time shines brightest in the use of the four bros. all at once to solve puzzles, though. Often you must split them up and alternate between both duos to allow the other to progress, and eventually reach your goal. These puzzles are rarely very hard but they are very creative and extremely entertaining to solve. Actually, this is probably the one element of this game that beats Superstar Saga.
The use of all four characters also plays an important role in battle, for better or worse. Solo (well, more like duo) attacks involve both the adult and the corresponding baby now, and either jumping on an enemy twice or whacking them harder with a hammer can do more damage. These attacks are fun to do, but what made the battle system in the original game so fantastic was the Bros. Attacks. Unfortunately, they have not made a full return, and have been replaced with Bros. Items, which involve such acts as kicking a Koopa shell at an enemy or jumping on a foe repeatedly. They are pretty fun to use, but when compared to the spectacular Bros. Attacks from Superstar Saga, they really have no appeal at all because they lack just about all the creativity and satisfaction. Overall though the battles are still very fun, but just slightly held back due to the change in Bros. abilities.
As a DS game, Partners in Time utilizes the two screens very nicely. The lower screen is where the action takes place and the bros. are controlled. The top screen is used as a map outside of battle, which is extremely useful, and it also shows the babies when the bros. are split up for puzzle solving. In battle it is used as an extended range for enemies to go into and attack from. There is only one instance in which touch controls are required in the entire game, but the two screens are put to such great use all the time that it's easy to forget that touch controls were even an option for the developers. The game works wonderfully with regular button controls anyways.
The overworld in Partners in Time remains pretty straightforward, and isn't all that open. Peach's castle in the present serves as the main hub of the world, and the time holes appear in various parts of the castle, each taking you to a particular area in the past. None of the areas link to each other, though, and there is never a reason to revisit any of them, giving the game a much more enclosed feel than Superstar Saga, where you had the whole world open for you to explore. The game works just fine in these boundaries, but on the whole Superstar Saga did a much better job of feeling free and open.
Partners in Time's graphics are very similar to Superstar Saga's, only slightly improved. The cartoon quality is very good as everything is bright, colorful, and smoothly animated. The graphics hit a slight quality boost from the GBA game, but not by very much. They still look pretty much the same, except maybe for slightly better overall animation quality. The main difference in graphics is definitely the 3-D effects, which are used for a few enemies' attacks, and they look very nice and add a layer of depth to the graphics on those occasions, however rarely they occur.
Sound is another strong point for Partners in Time. The sound effects are very good and fit the game's style nicely, including the babies' crying and the adults' occasional gibberish. The music is very fun and catchy, especially in battle. The sound quality is also very good, as the DS is most certainly capable of.
Partners in Time can take about 15 hours to complete, which is a pretty good length. It feels a little shorter than Superstar Saga, but it's still long enough. There really isn't anything to do once you've beaten the game, though, except play through it again, but like its predecessor it's fun enough to be worth replaying in the future.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is a great game, and it succeeds in just about everything it attempts. The strong sense of personality is very evident, the puzzles are a treat to solve, and the DS' two screens are used very nicely. What holds it back from being so amazing like its predecessor is that just about all of these elements are on slightly lower levels of quality, the battles aren't as entertaining due to the change in Bros. abilities, and the world lacks the openness that Superstar Saga had. Despite the fact that it just can't measure up to its fantastic predecessor, it's really a great game.
Positive:
+ great sense of personality
+ clever puzzles are a treat to solve
+ top screen map is very useful
+ smooth, colorful graphics
+ fun, catchy music
Negative:
- Bros. Items aren't nearly as fun or creative as Bros. Attacks
- world isn't as open as before
- lacks the FURY of the original
(if you haven't played Superstar Saga, ignore that last one)
LAST WORD: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is a great game, just not as incredible as its predecessor. If you enjoyed Superstar Saga you will undoubtedly enjoy this game, if not then play Superstar Saga first. I can guarantee you will look to Partners in Time for more, though, and it does deliver an entertaining, wholly worthwhile experience.
SCORE: 8.8/10