User Rating: 8.6 | Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga GBA
Mario games aren't really acknowledged as RPG's. Since Nintendo and Squaresoft (now Square-Enix) brought us one of the greatest RPG's on the SNES, Super Mario RPG, and Nintendo also brought us one of the best games on the N64, Paper Mario, it seems Mario can actually "fit" himself into the RPG genre. Now another RPG adventure for Mario has arrived. Is it as good as it's predecessors, or is it just a lousy excuse for an RPG? Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is the next entrant into the growing library of GBA RPG's. This time around, Mario is finally teaming up with Luigi...something he never could do in both Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario...but now it has happened. It finally shows some spotlight on the unknown brother himself, Luigi, which is a good thing. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga has something very good going for it, and it's the combat system within it. It can only be described in one word: excellent. Unlike some of the more tedious thought-out combat system menus for many other RPG's, the combat system in the game is actually more "active" and a bit more fun to use, plus it's fast and easy to learn. Also, with the combat system, you can do multiple attacks on your enemies, dodge enemy attacks, do character combos, and other stuff. All this is surprisingly fun to do and use, and it's quick and simple to learn. What Mario & Luigi offers, it offers in a great way. Mixed up with some jokes, humor, and one-liners, it definitely shows something a bit more innovative. Although some jokes are hard to get, and some of them are meant to be funny, but aren't, you'll still be laughing by most of the jokes in the game, which offers a fun experience all the way through. Graphically, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga looks good in comparison with other GBA RPG games on the market. Although some RPG's on the GBA look much better and clearer than Mario & Luigi, the game has a nice visual presentation overall. The character sprites look better than decent, but the only real complaint is that the perspective of the game gets a bit annoying in some places, as you have to jump certain heights, thus your going to use your brain and judge how far to jump, or how long you need to jump for, which leads to tedious thinking. If you enjoy classic tunes of Mario games, Mario & Luigi doesn't fail to deliver that. The game offers some classic tunes with some new tunes. You'll also like the great scripted dialogue in the game, and the speeches made during the game as well. Choosing between two characters seems like something new to the Mario RPG series, but in some cases, it gets a bit difficult and confusing switching between characters. Also, add the confusion of using their different abilities and special moves. It will definitely take some time to get used to, but some people might forgive that fault. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is truly better than the average RPG. An RPG with humor, jokes, a nice and fun to use and learn combat system, and other neat additions is bound to succeed, but in some ways, it doesn't. The game does support a multi-player mode, but it essentially has the same characteristics that made the Mario Advance multi-player mode. The game also suffers pretty heavily from the gameplay, and switching between both brothers and using their attacks and abilities gets a bit tedious and confusing at times. Even with that, Mario & Luigi is still a great GBA RPG. Anyone looking for their next Mario adventure or looking for another RPG challenge is bound to have some fun with Mario & Luigi.
