Just like Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario before it, Mario and Luigi brings its own unique twists and sense of humour to the RPG genre. Alphadream has successfully created a game that's not only as good as the two above mentioned, but is perhaps more true to the Mario franchise than either of them. The story begins where the evil Cackletta, desguised as an ambassador for the BeanBean Kingdom (Yes, the game has talking beans...among other things) steals Princess Peach's voice and replaces it with explosives. Bowser can't kidnap the Princess in this state, so he agrees to help Mario and Luigi on a quest to get her voice back. Trust me when I say the story gets a lot more interesting later on. The only two members in your party throughout the entire game are the plumbers themselves. However they can do a lot together. Outside of battle, the A button lets whoever is in the lead to do something, such as jump, use a hammer, etc while B makes the person in the back do something. L and R toggle between actions. They can do quite a bit of creative things to each other. There's an element of platform jumping here, but nothing as in-depth as in an actual Mario side-scroller. You can see where enemies are and walking into them leads into battle. Or you can try jumping on them to start the fight damaging them. Or they can approach you from behind and ambush your two man party. Combat in this game is very unique and innovative. Remember the timed attack system in the Super Mario RPG/Paper Mario where your attacks can do more damage if you press A at the right time? That's here, except A is for Mario's attacks while B is for Luigi. And while you need not worry about purchasing weapons (the only armor upgrades you can buy are pants for defense and badges for special abilities) you can get up to three different attacks to choose from. Each work well in different situations but arre roughly the same in strength. Now remember how in those same games, pressing A at the right time when the enemy attacks lowers damage? Good, because it's a vital part of the game. During an enemy's attack, you will either be given the option to jump or swing a hammer, with Mario jumping with A while Luigi jumps with B. You must use this to dodge (and possibly counter) enemy attacks altogether to survive, for Mario and Luigi have little health. This is a vital part of the game. Timing is important. If the game has one flaw of notice, it's that for a combat system that's so timing-based, you can't pause in the middle of a fight. Why is this a problem? Because some enemy attacks can go on for awhile and there have been times where I wish I could save.) As I said before, the story here is great. The game has a great sense of humour, having a slew of little jokes about the Mario universe (And even a brief cameo from a well known Mario RPG character) The character design is very bizarre and ingenious. From evil crabs sitting under a Christmas tree to big, fat, talking beans, this game has it all. Mario and Luigi is a great game and a highly recommended purchase for anyone with a Game Boy Advance. Hell, if you don't have a GBA now, this would be a great reason to get one.
Other Helpful Reviews for Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Mario has had an ongoing streak of awesome RPGs, starting at the end of the SNES' lifespan and continuing through today. Mario & Luigi is the main handheld franchise of the Mario RPGs, starting with 2003's Superstar Saga... Read Full Review
Besides Pokemon games, I never had any really good games for the Game Boy Advance. All of that changed when I got Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga. It's easily my favorite game on the Game Boy Advance. I find the stor... Read Full Review
