Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (Spoilers)

[Cmtz]

Did anyone get this game? It's out today. I haven't heard any reviews. This is a game I really want to get, but don't know if I will.

[THATinkjar]

It is out on Tuesday... And 1Up are supposedly loving it.

[Kuros]

I can't wait. I loved the first Mario & Luigi game and this one looks promising. I like the fact that enemies will fill up 2 screens, it makes way for huge bosses.

[GrandAmChandler]

I am also excited for this one. Super Star Saga was awesome, and I cannot wait to see how this one is! I expect nothing less than a great super mario RPG type game. Go Nintendo for keeping this series alive!

[s1lence]

I know I'm going to be picking it up, the first one was great.

[jdc]

Our local shop knows enough about me to automatically put one aside for me. I don't even have to mention it! The joys of spending too much money on videogames.....LOL

It sounds like one of those "settle down in a comfy chair on a snowy afternoon" games.

[THATinkjar]

Our local shop knows enough about me to automatically put one aside for me. I don't even have to mention it! The joys of spending too much money on videogames.....LOL

Haha, I'd love to have a relationship like that with my locals. But I'm just one of many mugs they appropriate cash from during the course of the working week. Makes me sad :( I used to have a semi-friendship happening with a security guard at PC World, but he retired. Boo.

[maxlords]

I hope this one is beatable. I haven't beat the first one yet because of the end guy being so ridiculously hard....

[drummy]

I hope this one is beatable. I haven't beat the first one yet because of the end guy being so ridiculously hard....
He's actually doable. I know because I suck at video games and I was able to defeat him with some effort.

[Jorpho]

I actually had the chance to try this out a few weeks ago. As I lack a DS, I shall now have to rent one.

(There is something immensely amusing about watching Baby Mario pick up his unconscious older self and haul him off the screen.)

[THATinkjar]

IGN gave it a 9.0 (http://ds.ign.com/articles/671/671781p1.html), which means instant-pickup in my book!

[videogameking26]

Picking up tomorrow before I go to work

[Kuros]

I checked it out from work today and I must say, it's worth a buy.

Some of the new attacks take a bit getting used to, but they are pretty easy to learn. The game starts slow with all of the tutorials, but other than that it's very fun.

Edit: HA! The hammer bros. speak l33t.

"Area restricted. all noob intruders 2 b haxored by us l33t hamm3r broz."

[Biff_McFresh]

This game looks wonderful...damnI need to get a DS already.

[goatdan]

I'm nearing the end of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. I've decided that once I complete Superstar Saga and Paper Mario on the GameCube that I'll get this one. Because of how much I've been enjoying both of those games, I've progressed in SuperStar Saga faster than just about any other game in the last decade.

Great stuff. Very funny.

Must.... finish... Paper Mario... before I get the DS one!

[Chronodriftersx]

well this thread is wrought with SPOILERS! :angry:

[FantasiaWHT]

I'm about 10 hours in so far, it's good, but I'm not liking it as much as the first one.

I don't like the hub system. The Zelda-esque layout from SSS was much better, imo.

It's missing the self-deprecating humor. What passes for humor now is babies and adults hurting themselves.

Where's the tons of fun mini games?

I do like the battle system better tho! Much more variety than in the first one.

[Jasoco]

I have three dang RPG's in progress right now and I really want to try an beat them fast. Final Fantasy VI, Dragon Quest 8 and the original Mario & Luigi. I am literally to the final stretch in M&L, I spent a lot of time last night trying to level up in it so I can take the bastards on. I asked for Partners in Time for my birthday, so I hope to finish the original by Wednesday. (My birthday.)

The original is so fucking awesome. From the crazy ass storyline, to the design of the world and characters, to the huge homage to past Mario games. (My favorite part. I especially loved the Mushroom Kingdom Embassy being an original SMB castle with flag.) I love it! I really really hope this one lives up to it. Anyone played it yet? How good is it? Is it as good as the original?

[FantasiaWHT]

So far I say it's definitely not as good as the original.

The combat has improved, but other things took a step backwards. I miss the exploration- the hub setup is dull. And the writing/story isn't anywhere near as good. The best part so far was when you run into fawful (not going to say where)

[Jorpho]

Whew! What a ride. I wasn't sure I'd be able to finish this during a two-day rental, but twenty hours later, here it is...

Unfortunately, I have nothing to compare it to but the original Super Mario RPG. It must indeed be said that the game could use a lot more to break up the "monotony" (although monotony is really too strong a word here). Mario & Luigi's gibberish Italian is hilarious; pity there isn't more of it.

The difficulty level is reasonable, though I barely ever had to buy items from the store and hence spent my vast fortune on a huge number of healing items near the end.

(I imagine these things are so much more enjoyable if you can actually take your time with them... Oh well, that's the way it is.)

[Lothars]

I definitly want to try this but I have never played the original mario and liugi for the gbasp

but it's all good gonna try them both eventually.

[FantasiaWHT]

Well I just beat it! SPOILER ALERT









Definitely not as good as #1. No exploration for one. The difficulty was WAY WAY less than #1. Cakewalk the entire way through- the power on the bros items was too strong. Or there were too many of them. There was no incentive NOT to use them exclusively instead of normal attacks.

Also, I swear this is the only game that involves time travel that gets no real gameplay out of that concept. You never travel back and forth between the same places at different times, so they really could have gotten rid of that entirely, and explained the baby Mario & Luigi some other way. Really felt there was a lot of potential wasted there.

The bean system was much weaker than the original too. I only bought one badge with them- the EXP badge. I liked the old system of multiple types of beans!

[Bluteg]

SPOILER WARNING!

I'm on the verge of finishing this as well. 22 hours in right before final boss, I believe. I can't wait for it to end so I can start FFIV Advance. This seems horribly rushed compared to the first with many features that seems bare and stripped compared to the first. For instance were is the fun LttP esque overworld? It feels like they started on an overworld after finishing the story and dungeons while in the end just gave up and decided to do those lazy time warps through out the castle. There are no side-quests except for collecting those now useless beans. The one shop that accepts the beans has nothing useful and I have yet to spend a single one, yet I have 133 of them and intentionally missing a few because there is no purpose in collecting them.

The neat mini-games from the first were transfered into the battle system. I really can't stand the items because it's like completing the same mini-game over a few hundred times. The plot is uninteresting and seems clone-like. I guess all Mario games with RPG elements now have to have random evil end boss from space. I love Super Mario RPG but it seems they took out what made the game great and built a new game around it and added a few gimmicks. PiT seems to be missing side-quests, a non-predictable plot, choice of weapons, non linear gameplay, and definatly an improved battle system. M&L:SSS was good but no SMRPG but moderatly evolutionary and still fun on its own. This is a definate step down much in the way the new Lunar was.

[Jorpho]

Say, did anyone manage to get the prize in that one gem-collecting minigame? What did it turn out to be?

[Jasoco]

It may not be as good as the original, but I'm having megaloads of fun with it. Except that I agree boss battles sometimes take way too long. But I think that may be because you spend too much time trying to figure out the secret to beat them. Which actually is fun and challenging. So far I've only had to "cheat" on one boss because I couldn't figure out why the hell it wouldn't die after 30 minutes. Turns out I was WAAAAAY off.

Each boss has a different method of defeating it. As well as weaknesses and strengths. I had a lot of fun figuring out how to do the Wiggler boss. Took me a few minutes to put 2 + 2 into 4, but once I did, I was on my way.

Also, I am becoming a pro at Bros Shells. I got all the way to 100, my fingers were going a mile a minute. AND I was getting the extra baby spin damage in every hit as well. Niiice. But I suck at some of the ones that require me to hit each characters button when they jump on the enemy. Trampoline and cannon and chomp etc. I mess up with those so I end up using a shell. Fire Flowers are also good, I can occasionally get a good bit of damage with them.

But I'm going through mushrooms and 1UP's like candy. So I just buy a lot when I get to a store.

I like what few new references I've seen so far. Like the guys on the carpets from SMB2.

I am enjoying a lot of the music too. Best version of the original theme I've heard as well as best underground theme too. (Basement) And I'm up to the Thwomp Volcano, I'm digging this tune. Also, the giant Yoshi music rocked.

Speaking of the giant Yoshi, I loved the level design there. I am a big fan of levels where the characters are wandering around inside another character. Whether it be Chapter 4 (The Whale) in Star Tropics or the bio-mechancal shark in Banjo-Kazooie or this one, I love it. It was robotic, yet also living at the same time. Weird. But cool.

The graphics are definitely nicer this time. It's like they were able to break free of the constraints of 16x16 pixel sprites of the first and just paint each level as one big canvas. Also, the characters look cooler, sometimes bigger. Bowser looks more like himself than he did as well.

And while some may consider Luigi's Mansion the bastard child of the Mario universe, I love the continuous references to that very special game. Professor Elvin Gadd has dug himself a place in my heart as a real Mario universe character.

LOL, when the team met E. Gadd in his house on the volcano, I couldn't help but replay that scene from Back to the Future in my head. "I came here in a time machine.. that YOU invented!" That's gotta be a reference.

And Mario and Luigi's interaction with their infant selves is priceless.

[THATinkjar]

Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers

Well... I just finished M&L2. I've played it pretty much non-stop these past few weeks, finishing it in just under nineteen hours. Not a bad time, considering I went hunting for every block, enemy, bean, etc.

While I haven't played Superstar Saga, and thus have little to compare this game to, I really enjoyed the linear nature of this game. I liked being led, so I could spend less time searching for the right place, and more time enjoying the direction I was being taken on. If that makes sense? I was just along for the ride, really.

The puzzles are relatively easy (some may struggle, of course), and toward the end of the game I did get a sense of... going through the motions, a little. But it never got boring. The difficultly is certainly on par with what you guys have been saying... this game is straightforward. The biggest obstacle I faced was the final encounter with the Shroob sisters, which took three attempts (tip: Mix Flowers for the win). The game is made easy by too many items, coins, beans, shops, etc.

Personally... I found the attack system heaps of fun. The moves may be simple, but mastering them proved challenging and enjoyable. Which is pretty much how I would sum up the entire game. I had a blast, and would encourage anyone sitting on the fence to pick this up.


Say, did anyone manage to get the prize in that one gem-collecting minigame? What did it turn out to be?

I got 46, and stopped trying. I'd be interested to hear what the prize was, though. Those blocks were hilarious... "We go DOWN!".

[Jorpho]

The FAQs that have since been written state that it is the Simple badge, which powers up the attack strength of Bros Items when you're running low on them. Not so good methinks. (I recall finding the special Stomp badge to be the most useful.)

In contrast, Super Mario RPG would have had some utterly cool and completely unique item there, like the Super Suit, the Lazy Shell, the Sheep Lure, or maybe even the Fireworks.