Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time
December 4,2005 - Returning with the series’ trademarked sense of humor, Mario & Luigi seek to deliver another round of RPG goodness starring the plumbing brothers and a whole cast of Mushroom Kingdom extras. Utilizing the dual screens of the Nintendo DS and incorporating the standard gags, sounds and timed-button battles so well-known to fans of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Alphadream Studios delivers a package to delight new fans. Yet with a whole slew of changed gameplay mechanics and puzzles to solve, skeptical veterans will find just as much here to love as any gamers new to the series.

The story of Partners in Time, not surprisingly, involves time travel and those lovable mustachioed mates, the Mario Bros. Princess Peach, of Mushroom Kingdom fame, has been invited to test out a new Time Traveling device invented by Mushroom Kingdom celebrity scientist, Dr. E. Gads. With a 99.9% chance of a perfectly safe journey, Gads feels no worries for a safe return. Mario and Luigi are not so sure though. When the time traveling contraption returns from the Mushroom Kingdom’s past, it carries no Princess Peach, but instead a grotesque mushroom-looking monster that immediately attacks the dynamic duo. After safely dispatching their foe, Mario and Luigi travel back in time where they are joined by baby versions of themselves. Teaming up for great justice, the four set out to stop the invading mushroom-like alien forces of the Shroob empire, and rescue Princess Peach. In the past. With baby versions of themselves.

Interspersed with token fall-down slapstick humor, clever characters names, and some of the more interesting and creative boss fights seen since the last time around, Partners in Time may have a drunkenly pieced together plot, but the laughs more than make up for any plot holes. Time Travel plots are like that.

The gameplay of the series returns mostly intact, with a few new additions and not-missed omissions that change up the style just a bit. Not quite an action RPG, Mario and Luigi are guided through different screens of a level map where they must jump on, over or into different enemies to enter battle. Battles are turn-based with a twist; at any point either Mario or Luigi, usually with piggybacking babies, can attempt to dodge an attack by jumping or using another weapon type. To simplify the choices in the matter, the game automatically queues up the correct attack/dodge choice for the player and displays a prompt on the left of the screen to notify the gamer. Defeating enemies yields experience, gold and items, the standard RPG fare, and Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi each gain levels independently, with a bonus given at each level to apply to any stat of the player’s choice. Battles are kept fresh by being so interactive; sleepy gamers will quickly be wiped out by enemy hits that actually hit hard! Luckily, the game is also forgiving with its distribution of healing mushrooms and 1-up reviving mushrooms.

As the party progresses through levels, new abilities are learned and new weapons picked up. In addition, new clothing and badges (accessories) can be picked up or bought throughout the game. Nothing new here in regards to either the series or the genre, but it’s a comfort to see the equipment system done well enough.

The other meat of the Partners in Time sandwich, though, is the puzzle solving aspects of gameplay. While Mario and Luigi must usually carry the younger “thems” on their backs, the party can be split up and moved in separate pairs of Young and Old. Younger M&L can use a hammer to hit things, tunnel into the ground to find beans for a game-long collection quest, carry bellies full of water for spitting out fires or travel underground to enter passageways the older boys cannot. Older M&L are left with higher jumps, the return of the gap-spanning spin jump and the ability to turn into a two-man ball for entry into tunnels and faster travel. To benefit the team, by traveling together and entering battles enpiggybacked, attacks carried out by the partnered teams can be done by both younger and older Mario or Luigi at once. By pressing the corresponding character button at the right time, first Baby Mario and then older Mario can attack almost at once, turning a simple jump attack into double the damage!

The flaws of the game only come out in the battle sequences. Entering new areas means facing new monsters, and early battles against new enemies can be brutal to the point of party-wiping. Yet once monster attack patterns have been learned, traversing through the rest of the puzzles on any particular stage becomes almost too easy, as a well-times dodge makes the party nearly invincible. And almost every enemy can be dodged if not countered every time they attack.

Partners in Time brings back the same graphic style of Superstar Saga, reminiscent of the forefather of the series: Super Mario RPG for the SNES. Characters are cute and full of expressions, and the animations of characters both in and out of battle are flawless in their attempts. Yet the attempts seem to jump only as high as the standards of a GBA title. Levels are pretty and vivid, yet seem overly simplistic. Dual screen splits provide for a few good distractions from the menace of mediocrity, but for the most part the game seems like a GBA port rather than a DS innovation. Not to say the game’s graphics are not enjoyable, but they come across as completely uninspired.

Firing all cylinders, the sound designed for Partners in Time seems to be the location of all that unused graphic inspiration. While the soundtrack is oft only adequate, or even bordering on annoying as the designers reprise the same Mario theme music that’s been recycled for the last 15 years, the sound effects aim for the stars. Crying babies, Luigi and Mario “mime but for meatballs” Italian-accent moments, and every splat, clunk and boom from a vanquished goomba provide half of the ROFL moments. This is a title made for turning the volume up during the cut scenes.

Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time combines rock-solid and dynamic gameplay with an actually funny sense of humor. Returning gamers will find a bag full of changes, while those new to the series will have an easy time picking this up and running with it. The plot may not hook players with its drama and intensity, but this is the kind of game that’s hard to put down. Because who wants to miss the next Baby Bowser vomiting moment?

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