improves upon the original in almost every way - more customisation options , the mission structure is similar to the original but spices it up with the boss battles and being unlocked through the amount of cats in your colony rather than just collecting items from the game and going to the place (and getting good reputation with the other colonies in the original) and yes while the 'collecting items from the game' is here , that's to serve gathering cats which makes it feel different and more fulfilling . the rival marriages are a nice touch and so is the buddy system , both help make the characters feel more alive and the world more lived-in . you can date any cat and thats epic the only thing that kind of disappoints me is the fact you will always have 4 kittens , instead of the number being based on your marriage level or being random , but i think that's just a me thing and it doesn't actually detract from overall enjoyment .

despite being part of the new super series , this one stands out the best and feels like it has more of an identity compared to the later lineups in this series . the main game itself felt a bit short for some reason , depending on how often you make stupid mistakes like i did forcing you to replay levels over and over you can finish it all relatively quickly , i was surprised at how short the levels actually were when they seemed so much longer as a kid , but they're still a good length and enjoyable to play even if you continuously fuck up
the mini games make this entry stand out a lot more and i've sunk countless hours into them over the past 10+ years with and without friends . unfortunately the yoshi balloon one never seemed to really work ? i've played on several different ds' and other games that use the mic work fine but no matter what i do the mic just doesn't appear to work at all for this mini game .
the mario vs luigi mode , while not one i play often , is ok for a little bit it's not as engaging as the main game or the mini games but for what it is i'm glad it's still a part of the package .
this is really the only new super game i come back to , perhaps mainly for nostalgia purposes , but it's a lot more memorable of an experience and feels more special than the later entries .