|
Nintendo’s
newest addition to the NintendoDS’s line up is this sequel to Mario
& Luigi: Superstars Saga on the Game Boy Advance, Mario
& Luigi: Partners in Time. This is the first time that a full
Mario  RPG has been released on the NintendoDS; there have been many
others like, the Game Boy Advance predecessor, Paper Mario: The
Thousand Year Door on the GameCube, Paper Mario on the
Nintendo64 and Super Mario RPG on the SNES which,
unfortunately, never saw a release in the UK. These games have all taken Mario’s style and added enough stats
and figures to turn them into a recognizable RPG - which at times
may seem almost “dumbed down” - but the series has entertained
many, many people of all ages!
This new version of a Mario RPG keeps the Platforming, and
the “dumbed down” RPG element, but also adds another feature
only ever seen in a handful of other Nintendo releases. The ability
to interchange between four different people at any one-time, it’s
not quite as in depth as the feature seen in The Legend of Zelda:
Four Swords or the GameCube’s The Legend Of Zelda: Four
Swords Adventures, as you can only choose between two sets of
characters and can only play it with one player, but the idea of
having to use each characters’ special ability together and
individually to complete the tasks within the game is still there.
The story of the game follows Mario and Luigi as they travel
back in time to try and find Princess Peach who has some how become
involved in a Time Machine accident. It’s designed very similarly
to Super Mario64, with a HUB from which the title centres on,
namely Peach’s Castle. The Levels come in the form of little
warp-holes in the floor as opposed to paintings on the wall, and as
you complete each of the various holes another few will appear, till
eventually the castle is just a mass of warp-hole rooms.
Each time you jump into a different warp-hole you will be
taken to a totally different time zone, in which various bad things
have happened because of Princess Peach’s little trip. In each of
these areas you will be told as soon as you arrive what you have to
do, and be shown any moves you will need for that area. You then
have to travel around the Map trying to locate enemies and a piece
of the Crystal Shard that will put time back together. You do this
with the four characters at your disposal each controlled with one
of the four different NintendoDS buttons, the A Button for Mario, B
for Luigi, X for Baby Mario and the Y Button for Baby Luigi,
pressing the button individually will make the respective characters
jump, helping them overcome the platform element of the game.
The
respective  buttons are also used in the combat. Each time you run
into an enemy you will be taken to a turn-based fight, exactly the
same as in the Paper Mario series, here you attack the enemy
on your turn with jumping, hammers or items and counter-attack when
you are attacked. You do all this with the timing of button presses,
each attack you make becomes more powerful if you press the correct
Person Button when you attack, you can also do team-up attacks by
pressing your partners’ button at the right time as you attack.
Each time you complete a fight you will be awarded Experience Points
to each character that survived the fight, these add-up till you go
up a Level, which results in points being added to your statistics
that increase to give you more power, speed and other abilities.
The
puzzles in the game are not at all taxing, very much unlike its
predecessor, but they do greatly use the two/four-character
structure well, and give you the inclination to think, occasionally.
Also the game hasn’t used a single other feature on the NintendoDS
apart from the expansion of the ideal of the Face Button use and
placement seen on the Game Boy Advance original – which are also
featured on the GameCube  Pad, surprisingly – and the dual-screens,
which were used to better effect in The Legend of Zelda: Four
Swords Adventures. No other feature has even been attempted to
be used, even the Touch Screen, which brings me to ask: why has the
title been released on the NintendoDS? The graphics could be
achieved on a Game Boy Advance easily, especially when compared with
Gunstar Future Heroes or Banjo-Kazooie:
Grunty’s Revenge. The game even feels like a Game Boy
Advance game and it’s weird holding a very rectangular NintendoDS
to play it.
For
fans of the NintendoDS, all I can really see is disappointment. Its
fun, and a very good recommendation for those who loved the first
title, but because of the lack of use of the NintendoDS’s features
it would be so much better suited to another Nintendo format. Had it
been released on the GameCube or the Game Boy Advance, I would be
happy to suggest you pay it as much attention as possible – as
there’s no denying; it is a great Mario RPG - but on it’s
current platform, the NintendoDS, there is no need of it. Mario
& Luigi: Partners In Time is certainly not a bad game, on any
other format, it would garner much respect and credibility. However,
being a NintendoDS release has stunted an otherwise respectful game,
an unusual Nintendo release that seems to undermine it's chosen
system, rather than reinforce it, simply due to its lack of innovation and construction specifically
around the NintendoDS’s capabilities. 
|
