(This is a review of the Superstar Saga part of the game. I did not try out Bowser's Minions and am not interested in doing so either due to what I've heard from it)
Aw hell yeah baby. Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga is my absolute favorite GBA game. It's such a wonderful time that oozes a vibe like no other, with it's simple yet addicting battle system, phenomenal soundtrack specially considering the soundfont of the console it was on, beautiful spritework and memorable characters, there really is no other game like it on that system. So seeing as I recently got myself a 3DS, I decided "Screw it why not?" and played the remake of the game released back in 2017, as well as adding the other Mario and Luigi games onto my list of to-do's.
Now, before I get into my review proper, I'd just like to say right out of the gate that this is a phenomenal remake for the most part. The sprites have been remade to match the 3DS' power and look absolutely gorgeous, as does the rest of the game with it's lighting really helping bring the already alive world of the Bean Bean Kingdom to the fullest of it's visual potential. My only real complain was how they changed that one storage facility in Chuckula Woods from purple to blue but it's such a small area that it doesn't bother me enough to hinder the graphics as a whole.
This next point might be a bit controversial, but I actually prefer the music in the remake to the original. That's not to slander the original tracks of course, most of them are still great and that unique crunch definitely adds quite a bit of style, but the cleaner compositions and more fitting music placements like putting Cackletta's theme on Fawful's rematch rather than Popple's ultimately just lead to a better OST.
Gameplay wise, there are some things I don't like that much. FIrst of all, while I understand why the double jump from the later Mario and Luigi games was integrated into this one, it ends up feeling like the extra hit makes some of the early-game fights way to easy. They also changed the way Knockback Bros. Advance functions to make it so that it can't go on forever and targets multiple enemies rather than just one which is stinky but whatever. However my biggest issue here, is how you can only switch brothers when using abilities, which like, yeah I get why that was cut, but at the same time being able to switch from Mario to Luigi at any time was just a nice little feature in the original that is lacking here, plus you end up losing some of the little animations of the bros getting mad at each other when trying to execute hammer/hand moves from behind without unlocking them, which again, small detail, but the fact they bothered to add something like that at all really just helped to enhance the charm of Superstar Saga.
But I'm willing to take those sacrifices for all the other enhancements on display. From the extra warp pipes, to the separating the normal and advanced bros. moves (which feels a little odd for Cyclone Bros. specifically but whatever), to making the bosses more challenging, to having the map actually be useful for once, all the way up to being able to run away like a little bitch without losing coins are all more than welcome additions that help improve the game significantly, specially for new-comers.
However, probably my biggest gripe with this remake and the thing that ultimately prevents me from liking it more than the original, is the loss of some of that charm. Not having the unique designs for Koopas and Hammer Bros; replacing Binky with just a normal skeleton, taking out the uniquely colored Toads in Little Fungi-Town. Stuff like that that, while yes, ultimately insignificant and nitpickly on it's own, adds up into feeling much less unique, which kinda sucks when that's a big part of what makes me love Superstar Saga so much.
Overall however, this 3DS remake is a must-play. It may not be the version I'll be going with by default in the future, but if your new to Mario and Luigi, this is the way to go. I wish that this game got the Majora's Mask 3D treatment and recieved a restoration mod in order to iron out those little quirks here and there, but oh well, most of this really just comes down to my own personal preferences.
Aw hell yeah baby. Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga is my absolute favorite GBA game. It's such a wonderful time that oozes a vibe like no other, with it's simple yet addicting battle system, phenomenal soundtrack specially considering the soundfont of the console it was on, beautiful spritework and memorable characters, there really is no other game like it on that system. So seeing as I recently got myself a 3DS, I decided "Screw it why not?" and played the remake of the game released back in 2017, as well as adding the other Mario and Luigi games onto my list of to-do's.
Now, before I get into my review proper, I'd just like to say right out of the gate that this is a phenomenal remake for the most part. The sprites have been remade to match the 3DS' power and look absolutely gorgeous, as does the rest of the game with it's lighting really helping bring the already alive world of the Bean Bean Kingdom to the fullest of it's visual potential. My only real complain was how they changed that one storage facility in Chuckula Woods from purple to blue but it's such a small area that it doesn't bother me enough to hinder the graphics as a whole.
This next point might be a bit controversial, but I actually prefer the music in the remake to the original. That's not to slander the original tracks of course, most of them are still great and that unique crunch definitely adds quite a bit of style, but the cleaner compositions and more fitting music placements like putting Cackletta's theme on Fawful's rematch rather than Popple's ultimately just lead to a better OST.
Gameplay wise, there are some things I don't like that much. FIrst of all, while I understand why the double jump from the later Mario and Luigi games was integrated into this one, it ends up feeling like the extra hit makes some of the early-game fights way to easy. They also changed the way Knockback Bros. Advance functions to make it so that it can't go on forever and targets multiple enemies rather than just one which is stinky but whatever. However my biggest issue here, is how you can only switch brothers when using abilities, which like, yeah I get why that was cut, but at the same time being able to switch from Mario to Luigi at any time was just a nice little feature in the original that is lacking here, plus you end up losing some of the little animations of the bros getting mad at each other when trying to execute hammer/hand moves from behind without unlocking them, which again, small detail, but the fact they bothered to add something like that at all really just helped to enhance the charm of Superstar Saga.
But I'm willing to take those sacrifices for all the other enhancements on display. From the extra warp pipes, to the separating the normal and advanced bros. moves (which feels a little odd for Cyclone Bros. specifically but whatever), to making the bosses more challenging, to having the map actually be useful for once, all the way up to being able to run away like a little bitch without losing coins are all more than welcome additions that help improve the game significantly, specially for new-comers.
However, probably my biggest gripe with this remake and the thing that ultimately prevents me from liking it more than the original, is the loss of some of that charm. Not having the unique designs for Koopas and Hammer Bros; replacing Binky with just a normal skeleton, taking out the uniquely colored Toads in Little Fungi-Town. Stuff like that that, while yes, ultimately insignificant and nitpickly on it's own, adds up into feeling much less unique, which kinda sucks when that's a big part of what makes me love Superstar Saga so much.
Overall however, this 3DS remake is a must-play. It may not be the version I'll be going with by default in the future, but if your new to Mario and Luigi, this is the way to go. I wish that this game got the Majora's Mask 3D treatment and recieved a restoration mod in order to iron out those little quirks here and there, but oh well, most of this really just comes down to my own personal preferences.
RedBackLoggd
4 months ago