Road to Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door— Part 2
Y’know, maybe turn-based RPGs ain’t so bad. At the very least, they ain’t bad when Mario is involved.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga sacrifices some of the heart and atmosphere of Paper Mario when adapted to the GBA. The plot is a nonstop barrage of jokes, one-liners, and slapstick that rarely ever takes itself seriously. Thankfully, it all works due to how consistently silly and hilarious the entire adventure is, to the point that it comes off as an affectionate parody of traditional RPGs.
The characters are amazing. This game really solidified Mario and Luigi as characters: Luigi is the lovable coward who’s basically used as chew toy by everyone around him, and Mario is the supportive, more straight-faced (yet still goofy and cheerful) big bro who looks after him. The two have such an adorable dynamic with each other; they share numerous bro hugs throughout the game and whenever one of them falls during battle, the other will run over, put him on their shoulders, and keep fighting. Awwwww.
Aside from Luigi, the game’s main sources of comedy are the trio of Cackletta, Fawful, and Prince Peasley. Cackletta and especially Fawful are both excellent villains with over-the-top personalities that perfectly contrast each other; Cackletta, despite being more serious and powerful, is also pretty damn gullible, while Fawful, despite his ridiculous speech patterns and obvious psychosis, is MUCH smarter than he appears. Prince Peasley has a comparatively smaller role, but his rampant egotism is always funny and charming, thanks to the fact that he’s still friendly and helpful to the Mario Bros. in spite of his overconfidence.
I loved the overworld. The Beanbean Kingdom is structured almost exactly like a Zelda game, which is obviously high praise from me. You use whatever new abilities you’re given to navigate Mario and Luigi across new terrain, find dungeons, and solve puzzles, some of which have genuinely clever solutions. On the topic of dungeons and puzzles, the penultimate one, Joke’s End, is reminiscent of Zelda dungeons in all the right ways. It’s confusing, long, and oh-so-challenging. I love it. The music kinda grates on me, though…
I won’t talk about the combat too much, since I don’t know a lot about RPGs. All I’ll say is that it’s fun and fluid, but not as deep as Paper Mario’s.
Overall, Superstar Saga is an impefect, yet fast-paced and awesome start for a handheld RPG series.
Y’know, maybe turn-based RPGs ain’t so bad. At the very least, they ain’t bad when Mario is involved.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga sacrifices some of the heart and atmosphere of Paper Mario when adapted to the GBA. The plot is a nonstop barrage of jokes, one-liners, and slapstick that rarely ever takes itself seriously. Thankfully, it all works due to how consistently silly and hilarious the entire adventure is, to the point that it comes off as an affectionate parody of traditional RPGs.
The characters are amazing. This game really solidified Mario and Luigi as characters: Luigi is the lovable coward who’s basically used as chew toy by everyone around him, and Mario is the supportive, more straight-faced (yet still goofy and cheerful) big bro who looks after him. The two have such an adorable dynamic with each other; they share numerous bro hugs throughout the game and whenever one of them falls during battle, the other will run over, put him on their shoulders, and keep fighting. Awwwww.
Aside from Luigi, the game’s main sources of comedy are the trio of Cackletta, Fawful, and Prince Peasley. Cackletta and especially Fawful are both excellent villains with over-the-top personalities that perfectly contrast each other; Cackletta, despite being more serious and powerful, is also pretty damn gullible, while Fawful, despite his ridiculous speech patterns and obvious psychosis, is MUCH smarter than he appears. Prince Peasley has a comparatively smaller role, but his rampant egotism is always funny and charming, thanks to the fact that he’s still friendly and helpful to the Mario Bros. in spite of his overconfidence.
I loved the overworld. The Beanbean Kingdom is structured almost exactly like a Zelda game, which is obviously high praise from me. You use whatever new abilities you’re given to navigate Mario and Luigi across new terrain, find dungeons, and solve puzzles, some of which have genuinely clever solutions. On the topic of dungeons and puzzles, the penultimate one, Joke’s End, is reminiscent of Zelda dungeons in all the right ways. It’s confusing, long, and oh-so-challenging. I love it. The music kinda grates on me, though…
I won’t talk about the combat too much, since I don’t know a lot about RPGs. All I’ll say is that it’s fun and fluid, but not as deep as Paper Mario’s.
Overall, Superstar Saga is an impefect, yet fast-paced and awesome start for a handheld RPG series.