Mario and Luigi Partner in Time Review, Impo - 8/10
Adrift for years in a vast ocean of party games, remakes and reissues, kart races, dance contests, sporting events, and shameless guest appearances, we keep vigilant watch for our rescue, aka the next real Mario game. But every now and again, a fortunate wind guides us to an island -- dry land that, though not quite home, reminds us of what we're missing and keeps hope alive. While not "true" Mario games, the RPGs (Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario) provide reassurance that the beloved mascot and his motley crew still have meaning beyond 3-on-3 basketball.
Mario and Luigi Partners of Time is a brilliant game introducing some baby characters to the game, look for yourself with this video
Partners In Time is set up like your traditional RPG in concept only. You move around a map, encountering monsters, leveling up, and discovering items and power ups. What makes it different in the classic sense is that there is an enormous emphasis on action-oriented elements and more "twitch-reliant" (the good twitch - not bad) aspects. The game is heavy on plot and story as well, but all of it good.
The controls are basic in the game, jump, talk and allow you to be Baby Mario & Baby Luigi or Mario and Luigi, but never one. But when you further in the game you learn new commands with aid of people in Peaches Castle, which is one of the things i love about this game.
The visuals stay faithful to the look and feel of the GBA game and bring the familiar locals of the past and present Mushroom Kingdom to life with large sprites that animate well. The adult and baby versions of Mario and Luigi sport some nice, subtle bits of animation that give them unique personalities. The same holds true for many of the non-player characters you'll encounter. The DS allows for some added flair in the special-effects department, which is most noticeable during some of the brothers' attacks and during the assorted time distortions that occur as you make your jaunts between eras. The only blemish on the presentation is that you'll still find the occasional spot where making jumps is trickier than it should be and pulling off some of the counterattacks is rough due to the angled perspective.
Once you get into a fight (by running into an enemy), you'll see some of the other changes that have been made to the battle system. When you initiate combat while controlling the player, you'll be able to use the babies as added firepower, which comes in handy. The babies can be used for an added stomp during a jump attack if you time your button press correctly or for a hammer attack from on top their older counterparts' shoulders. The babies also come in handy during the brothers' attacks, which have undergone an interesting change. The unique sibling attacks are now based on items you collect or buy, rather than being specific attacks you learn, which was the case in the GBA game. As a result, you'll find a wide variety of attacks that make inventive use of different combinations of the brothers. Some items can be used by a pair of siblings in battle and are enhanced when the babies are around. For example, green and red shells that require you to kick a shell off your foe between the two brothers can have their damage augmented when you've got the babies in tow, as one of the brothers will ride the shell and do added damage to your target. Other items will let you use all players and dole out mega damage if your button pressing is on point.
Graphics: 10/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Sound: 6/10
Replay: 0/10
Overall: 8/10
Submitted by impoman
03/08/2008
23
5
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