November 17, 2003 - Back in 2001, Nintendo and Intelligent Systems created the unofficial follow-up to the SNES Super Mario RPG title in the form of Paper Mario, a wonderful and extensive Mario adventure for the Nintendo 64. For the holiday 2003, Nintendo and Alphadream (the development team behind the quirky Japanese Tomato Adventure) have worked together to create Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga the unofficial follow-up to Paper Mario. Mario & Luigi is an excellent adventure with as much focus on RPG elements as Paper Mario had on the Game Boy Advance. It's an incredibly weird and original gaming experience that never takes itself seriously, and it's something that definitely shouldn't be missed on the handheld.

Features

• Control two characters at once.
• Thirty hours of adventuring
• Cartridge save (three slots)
• Rumble support on Game Boy Player
• Includes Mario Bros. single and multiplayer, compatible with Super Mario Advance titles.

Players actually control Mario and Luigi in tandem for about 90 percent of the adventure. Moving one around the map will cause the other to follow, and without one, the other won't move. Each of the two start out with the basics (a simple jump), but eventually their abilities will evolve to accommodate character-specific moves like Luigi's Super Jump to get both characters up higher ledges or Mario's Helicopter Spin to propel across short gaps. A hammer comes into play which adds to the techniques; hitting Mario on the head will make him short enough to get through small openings. Pounding Luigi will drive him into the ground for some subterranean exploration. There are plenty of other techniques in Mario & Luigi which will unlock locations throughout the extensive adventure, but we won't ruin the surprises. Discovery is half the fun in this awesome adventure. The plot of Princess Peach's stolen voice only starts off the action; it's actually resolved in the early part of the game. But don't think this game's short, because there's a good 30 hours of solid and satisfying adventuring in Mario & Luigi.

Granted, much of that time is spent in the combat system, but unlike most Japanese RPGs Mario & Luigi's turn-based battle involves the player at all times that never drags on longer than it should. Mario & Luigi definitely shares a lot of elements from the N64 Paper Mario title, mostly in its combat system...but it expands on the design to incorporate the two Mario Bros. into the action. Attacks are handled one character at a time, with Mario and Luigi on the one side, attacking enemies on the other. Mario and Luigi can attack by themselves using their standard jump, or later a hammer or their special abilities, and these attacks are enhanced if the player hits the proper attack button at just the right moment. Or, players can spend what's known as "Brother Points," and perform special attacks that put both Mario and Luigi in the action. These attacks are very powerful...but only if the player times button presses at the proper time; players can adjust the power of these attacks by upping the level, but at the highest level the game won't give on-screen indicators of which buttons should be hit and when. And if the player misses the cue, it's a failed attack. If a Mario falls in battle, the other Mario must protect him (or give up a 1-up power-up. Defense is handled the same way; each enemy has an attack that's entirely possible to avoid or counter...but you have to have a keen eye for the pattern.

The other element that places Mario & Luigi in the RPG category is through levelling up the two plumbers. Each battle awards Mario and Luigi experience points that accumulate and, at specific points in the game, cause each of the plumbers to "level up," increasing attack, defense, speed, brother abilities, and other elements...including the "Stashe" ability that increases the chance for "Lucky" hits for super damage. After each "Level Up," the player can choose one element to increase through a random generator, adding a little bit of custom play to the adventure. I was going to complain about the fact that both Mario and Luigi earn exactly the same amount of experience points in battle no matter how much they were involved, but elements deeper in the game will definitely cause both Mario and Luigi to have distinctly different experience points. Like, if a Mario falls in battle, but the other Mario finishes...he's the one that gets all the experience points. There are plenty more situations, but that's for the player to discover...