One of the best parts of having now rekindled my love of video games is on top of all the new games I’ll be trying out for the first time, I also have a good excuse to replay a bunch of older titles I feel like revisiting. In this case it’s a bit of both, as I’m also playing through this (and Partners in Time) to prep for when I finally play Bowser’s Inside Story later in the year.
Now then, how about I actually talk about the game now. As is almost standard with most pre-Sticker Star Mario RPGs, AlphaDream forgoes using Bowser in favour of their own original villains. In this case we have the evil witch Cackletta and her henchman Fawful, both of which are endlessly entertaining throughout all the interactions with them. Along with them, as well as side villain Popple who’s also great, is a menagerie of other fun characters, from big players like Prince Peasley to more minor ones like Hermie. Of course just because he’s not the big bad doesn’t mean Bowser isn’t along for the ride as well, and it’s honestly quite funny how the game near endlessly craps on him.
Perhaps the biggest stand-outs for me are, well Mario and Luigi. Despite speaking in almost entirely gibberish for most of the game their personality shines stronger than ever, and many funny and endearing moments between the 2 are scattered throughout the adventure. Also with the Bros exploring totally new terrain via the Beanbean Kingdom, the game gets a chance to craft out a distinct mould for itself whilst still playing on the classic level tropes. (grassy fields, scorching deserts etc) The overworld maps also integrate platforming and puzzle challenges frequently, so it doesn’t feel like you’re just slugging around from place to place randomly encountering enemies occasionally.
Now for what is in my eyes the stand out feature of this series, the combat system. While not quite as ridiculous as they got in later entries, the Bros Attacks in this game are still quite engaging and fun to pull off, and the fact you can actually dodge enemy attacks unlike most RPGs (to my knowledge) is also a welcome feature.
Seeing as how this is a remake I might as well highlight the few things that are vastly improved upon compared to the original. While not terrible graphically a lot of designs in the GBA version do feel rather dated, particularly when it comes to Bowser who looks really squat when put against other characters. The addition of the touch screen also allows for a quicker way of accessing specific Bros Moves on the overworld as opposed to just cycling through most or all of them just to find one thing. Perhaps my favourite change is the omission of the massive difficulty spike during the final boss. (if you know, you know)
My only major problem (besides the new Minion Quest mode introduced in this version being ass) is that you‘ll end up having to backtrack a good bit, namely in the 3rd quarter for what’s basically an over glorified fetch quest. It’s not a massive deal-breaker or anything, but it’s just kinda repetitive and dull, especially when it’s immediately followed by Joke’s End, otherwise known as the area so infamous that I’m not even gonna talk about it. Pretty much everyone who’s played Superstar Saga can’t stand it, and rightfully so.
Overall even despite that it’s still a fantastic game, and easily the definitive way to play Superstar Saga. If you haven’t played it yet, I’d highly recommend either seeking out a copy or buying it off the eShop before it closes. I’ll see you all back here when I cover Partners in Time, cheers!
GBA version: 8/10
3DS version: 9/10
Now then, how about I actually talk about the game now. As is almost standard with most pre-Sticker Star Mario RPGs, AlphaDream forgoes using Bowser in favour of their own original villains. In this case we have the evil witch Cackletta and her henchman Fawful, both of which are endlessly entertaining throughout all the interactions with them. Along with them, as well as side villain Popple who’s also great, is a menagerie of other fun characters, from big players like Prince Peasley to more minor ones like Hermie. Of course just because he’s not the big bad doesn’t mean Bowser isn’t along for the ride as well, and it’s honestly quite funny how the game near endlessly craps on him.
Perhaps the biggest stand-outs for me are, well Mario and Luigi. Despite speaking in almost entirely gibberish for most of the game their personality shines stronger than ever, and many funny and endearing moments between the 2 are scattered throughout the adventure. Also with the Bros exploring totally new terrain via the Beanbean Kingdom, the game gets a chance to craft out a distinct mould for itself whilst still playing on the classic level tropes. (grassy fields, scorching deserts etc) The overworld maps also integrate platforming and puzzle challenges frequently, so it doesn’t feel like you’re just slugging around from place to place randomly encountering enemies occasionally.
Now for what is in my eyes the stand out feature of this series, the combat system. While not quite as ridiculous as they got in later entries, the Bros Attacks in this game are still quite engaging and fun to pull off, and the fact you can actually dodge enemy attacks unlike most RPGs (to my knowledge) is also a welcome feature.
Seeing as how this is a remake I might as well highlight the few things that are vastly improved upon compared to the original. While not terrible graphically a lot of designs in the GBA version do feel rather dated, particularly when it comes to Bowser who looks really squat when put against other characters. The addition of the touch screen also allows for a quicker way of accessing specific Bros Moves on the overworld as opposed to just cycling through most or all of them just to find one thing. Perhaps my favourite change is the omission of the massive difficulty spike during the final boss. (if you know, you know)
My only major problem (besides the new Minion Quest mode introduced in this version being ass) is that you‘ll end up having to backtrack a good bit, namely in the 3rd quarter for what’s basically an over glorified fetch quest. It’s not a massive deal-breaker or anything, but it’s just kinda repetitive and dull, especially when it’s immediately followed by Joke’s End, otherwise known as the area so infamous that I’m not even gonna talk about it. Pretty much everyone who’s played Superstar Saga can’t stand it, and rightfully so.
Overall even despite that it’s still a fantastic game, and easily the definitive way to play Superstar Saga. If you haven’t played it yet, I’d highly recommend either seeking out a copy or buying it off the eShop before it closes. I’ll see you all back here when I cover Partners in Time, cheers!
GBA version: 8/10
3DS version: 9/10