I Miss My Brother

I could use a good RPG right about now. Something light hearted with some comical bros. comedy. I'm talking about some Mario & Luigi 3. The previous three games I've beaten and enjoyed throughly and with Nintendo possibly having a new one in 2009, I'm excited.

Super Mario RPG was a team up with Squaresoft and while I'm not as fanatically attached to it as some people, it was a great RPG for Nintendo to inject Mario into. The GBA game, Mario Superstar Saga was one of my favorite games. It has great music. A story that I felt attached to. And a constantly engaging battle system. My only really rough spot was the last boss which took be forever, probably because I was severely underleveled. The second in the series, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time was also a very solid title. It featured more of the same but with some quirky DS dual screen usage. The game wasn't as fresh and engaging, mostly they just added Baby Mario & Baby Luigi into the mix, but was still an enjoyable enough experience that I finished it and felt satisfied afterwards.

I love the battle system. While it's not exactly the most complex or out of this world, it does keep me busy during attacks, which is a problem I'm constantly having the other turn based RPGs. In Mario RPG games a player must hit a button during your attack to perform a clean hit. It cause more damage and can possibly be chained for more damage. It's a satisfying feeling when you're hitting all the parts to your combo, but it's also can be maddening when you lose your groove. The same timing mechanism is also be used to reduce damage on attacks received from enemies. This battle system has been a staple of the Mario RPG series since, well Super Mario RPG on the SNES.

It wasn't quite as developed as it is now. With Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, & Baby Luigi there are four buttons to keep track of, different attacks, and with different timings. It's become a little overwhelming. Something else I find a little overwhelming about the games are the amount of items and super moves. There are tons of power ups and special attacks to master. I'm one of those types of players who finds something they like and is effective and then sticks to it. It's not because I'm scared of change. Just call me old-fashioned.

Finally I'd like to point out that all three Mario RPG games featured a different boss, not named Boswer. For Legend of the 7 Stars it was Smithy. In Superstar Saga is was Cackletta. In Partners In Time it was Elder Princess Shroob. I had to look up that last one. I think it's an indication that the last villian wasn't exactly the most memorable. But the new bosses are definitely one of the reason's that the Mario RPG series are great. They leave the whole Peach, Mario, and Boswer love triangle out of the main story.

How will this new one be? My main concern is that there will be a forgettable story and forgettable boss. In Super Paper Mario, that's exactly what happened, which reminds me that I should try out the Paper Mario series. I'm fine with the battle system not being changed too much as long as the attacks for both the characters and enemies are engaging. I would like to see Nintendo give Luigi more of a backbone and have him more in the spotlight, but I'm sure that won't happen.

Hamma! Faya!
David