Partners in Time is often considered as the black sheep of the Mario and Luigi series, and to be frank, it's not hard to see why. It certainly is a lot rougher around the edges than it's prequel and it takes a lot of time to come to grips with it's mechanics in comparison to those of every other Mario and Luigi. Hell, the closest the franchise ever came to something like it afterwards was Paper Jam and even that was considerably different.
However, inspite of those things being very notorious...yeah I can't bring myself to hate this game. I mean come on, it's the sequel to my favorite GBA game of course it was bound to be good. But Partners in Time isn't only good, it's excellent. It doesn't exceed Superstar, and pressumably won't exceed Bowser's Inside Story (although I've not yet played it), but it is a wonderful time nonetheless.
I suppose we should get the negatives out of the way first however. Firstly, the OST, yeah, hot take, but most of the tracks here aren't nearly as memorable as the ones in the last game. There's still some good songs don't get me wrong, and none of the OST is...that bad per say, but it ultimately still comes off as forgettable in my eyes. Second, while I understand why the hammers were made exclusive to the babies in an overworld point of view, it makes the fights where you're solely Mario and Luigi a lot more tedious, and the same applies the other way around since the babies are most likely to be WAY underleveled by the time it's the late-game, even if you boost their stats as much as you can. Third, limiting your amount of Bros. moves is one of the stupidest changes in the series imo. The system was perfectly fine in Superstar Saga, so why bother limiting it? You can equip a badge to make one of your characters never run out of them, but A) This hinders their attack, and B) It's something that ultimately comes out of a problem artificially created by the game's choice to limit them in the first place. Not like if it's gonna matter anyways cuz as long as you have around 20-30 of each move your never gonna run out thanks to the admittedly generous placing of multiple of the moves in the overworld. Last but not least, the early game feels like it drags for to little to long. You got Bowser's Castle, which is fine, but then you get back to back boring areas with the Shroob Factory and the first half of Yoshi Island, which really hinder the pacing of the whole thing compared to Superstar Saga where even the first areas felt enticing and fun.
But...that's about it when it comes to my major quelms with Partners in Time. Everything else here is either only a slight downgrade, on par, or improved in some way from Superstar Saga. The spritework is an upgrade over that of the first game, boasting a much cleaner and beautiful style that would go on to define the aesthetic of the Mario and Luigi series going forwards. The adding of the babies in combat creates for a much more challenging and creative battle structure, as well as a lot of variety on what the enemies might pull out of their sleeve next. The puzzles making use of all of Mario, Luigi and their younger selves mechanics, while predictable after a while, still manage to remain engaging and get specially good in the Shroob Castle. The overworld of the past Mushroom Kingdom is worse than the Beanbean Kingdom, and yet it still manages to feel so unique and alive in it's own respect (something which I assume doesn't carry over in that of the present seen in Paper Jam), and the characters, both new and old, manage to add a lot of their usual charm. Kylie Koopa specially was a personal favorite.
And that's really what it all comes down to for me, the charm of these games. There's really nothing quite like the Mario and Luigi series for me, that lets be be enthralled by these character, immerse myself in the expansive world they form a part of, and manage to make it such a one-of-a-kind experience...can you tell I've never played a Paper Mario?
But the biggest improvement, and it's not even close, is the story. One of the darkest in the entire series, yet still light-hearted and engaging all the way. It might not have as many twists and turns, and it does feature a few plot holes (seriously how the hell did Peach survive getting eaten by Petey Pirahna), but at it's core, it is easily one of my favorite stories in the series, and it's gonna be a very high bar for Bowser's Inside Story to clear.
Overall, yes, Partners in Time is quite a hard game to get into and to understand the quelms of, but once you learn to play by it's rules and meet at it's level, it becomes as much fun as it's prequel. Very much looking forwards to how the original trilogy of these RPG's concludes.
Oh and also that Princess Shroob fight goddamn shit was PEAK.
However, inspite of those things being very notorious...yeah I can't bring myself to hate this game. I mean come on, it's the sequel to my favorite GBA game of course it was bound to be good. But Partners in Time isn't only good, it's excellent. It doesn't exceed Superstar, and pressumably won't exceed Bowser's Inside Story (although I've not yet played it), but it is a wonderful time nonetheless.
I suppose we should get the negatives out of the way first however. Firstly, the OST, yeah, hot take, but most of the tracks here aren't nearly as memorable as the ones in the last game. There's still some good songs don't get me wrong, and none of the OST is...that bad per say, but it ultimately still comes off as forgettable in my eyes. Second, while I understand why the hammers were made exclusive to the babies in an overworld point of view, it makes the fights where you're solely Mario and Luigi a lot more tedious, and the same applies the other way around since the babies are most likely to be WAY underleveled by the time it's the late-game, even if you boost their stats as much as you can. Third, limiting your amount of Bros. moves is one of the stupidest changes in the series imo. The system was perfectly fine in Superstar Saga, so why bother limiting it? You can equip a badge to make one of your characters never run out of them, but A) This hinders their attack, and B) It's something that ultimately comes out of a problem artificially created by the game's choice to limit them in the first place. Not like if it's gonna matter anyways cuz as long as you have around 20-30 of each move your never gonna run out thanks to the admittedly generous placing of multiple of the moves in the overworld. Last but not least, the early game feels like it drags for to little to long. You got Bowser's Castle, which is fine, but then you get back to back boring areas with the Shroob Factory and the first half of Yoshi Island, which really hinder the pacing of the whole thing compared to Superstar Saga where even the first areas felt enticing and fun.
But...that's about it when it comes to my major quelms with Partners in Time. Everything else here is either only a slight downgrade, on par, or improved in some way from Superstar Saga. The spritework is an upgrade over that of the first game, boasting a much cleaner and beautiful style that would go on to define the aesthetic of the Mario and Luigi series going forwards. The adding of the babies in combat creates for a much more challenging and creative battle structure, as well as a lot of variety on what the enemies might pull out of their sleeve next. The puzzles making use of all of Mario, Luigi and their younger selves mechanics, while predictable after a while, still manage to remain engaging and get specially good in the Shroob Castle. The overworld of the past Mushroom Kingdom is worse than the Beanbean Kingdom, and yet it still manages to feel so unique and alive in it's own respect (something which I assume doesn't carry over in that of the present seen in Paper Jam), and the characters, both new and old, manage to add a lot of their usual charm. Kylie Koopa specially was a personal favorite.
And that's really what it all comes down to for me, the charm of these games. There's really nothing quite like the Mario and Luigi series for me, that lets be be enthralled by these character, immerse myself in the expansive world they form a part of, and manage to make it such a one-of-a-kind experience...can you tell I've never played a Paper Mario?
But the biggest improvement, and it's not even close, is the story. One of the darkest in the entire series, yet still light-hearted and engaging all the way. It might not have as many twists and turns, and it does feature a few plot holes (seriously how the hell did Peach survive getting eaten by Petey Pirahna), but at it's core, it is easily one of my favorite stories in the series, and it's gonna be a very high bar for Bowser's Inside Story to clear.
Overall, yes, Partners in Time is quite a hard game to get into and to understand the quelms of, but once you learn to play by it's rules and meet at it's level, it becomes as much fun as it's prequel. Very much looking forwards to how the original trilogy of these RPG's concludes.
Oh and also that Princess Shroob fight goddamn shit was PEAK.