Mario and Luigi are iconic Nintendo mascots who have been through many adventures, both together and separately. Thankfully, the adventures they go on together end up being a lot funnier. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is the third game in the Mario & Luigi series, which started on the GameBoy Advance with Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Like the two games before it, Bowser's Inside Story has a self-contained plot, a ridiculous and hilarious story, and an engaging battle system that tests your observation skills.

Graphics

Bowser's Inside Story features some of the smoothest animation I've seen in sprites. Everything in the game is colorful and light-hearted, even when you're in the depths of caves, the ocean, even Bowser's Castle itself. Those who "stop to smell the flowers", so to speak, are in for a lot of fun little details. The graphics are largely simplistic, but you can't help but smile when watching Luigi's silly animations or recoil at the gross things that go on in Bowser's belly. Overall, the game practically oozes polish and attitude, just how we like our Mario games!

Music

Most of the music in the game is quite nice, and suits each area well. The music in Bowser's Castle can get a little annoying if you've been stuck for a while (like I was), but aside from that the music is great. The battle music in particular is good, and that's a plus because you're going to be fighting a lot; a given in RPGs. My favorite track would probably be Blubble Lake or Cavi Cape. At any rate, the music won't let you down.

The sound is simply awesome! Mario and Luigi still have their Italian-sounding gibberish, and Peach retains her typical high-pitched, damsel-in-distress voice. New to the scene is Bowser, who sounds a little more "fearsome" than you'd expect. It's still awesome, though. The sound effect for dizziness is very amusing; probably my favorite.

Difficulty

Veterans to Mario & Luigi will find that the timing for actions is a little tighter than in Superstar Saga and Partners in Time. That's good news for us. Those who lack good hand-eye coordination will find it a little difficult to get used to at first, but hopefully will be pulling off Excellent hits like second nature before the end. One of the features I enjoyed, even as a veteran, is the "Demo" arena where you can practice using Special Moves at no expense. Completionists take heed: You will need to master every special move!

Newcomers to gaming in general will be met with a rather large challenge. Enemies start out rather easy to kill, but later on you're going to need the precise timing and complex coordination if you hope to make it against the game's toughest enemies and bosses. Everyone's got to start somewhere though, and this game is a great one to start with. My sister (a newbie to gaming) was able to get through most of the game without help. If she can make it, I'm sure many others can as well.

A handy feature in the game is an item called the Retry Clock, which allows you to restart a battle if you get defeated. This saves players the trouble of having to reload from their last save. Thankfully these items are expensive and rare, so you will still have to earn your keep. :) Ultimately, the difficulty is just right for veterans and, though challenging to newcomers, the developers threw in plenty of helpful features to make the game less frustrating.

Gameplay

The main event! If I had to put it in one word, it would be "satisfying". As a veteran gamer who was pining for something really solid and fun, I greatly enjoyed this game for the 20 hours or so it took me to beat it. Playing as Bowser for the first time since 1995 or so is very fun, and makes you think differently about how you would fight a foe. It was a refreshing take on the same system. The game's also full of little minigames that you use to help Bowser out from the inside, or solve puzzles and complete quests. At the very least, they offer a change of pace. In addition to the established overhead view, Mario and Luigi can travel through the side-scrolling areas inside Bowser, and Bowser has a handful of giant boss battles that are handled exclusively with the stylus and microphone. Those fights were truly awesome and are a great example of what the DS was designed for. The game is truly innovative, and a blast to play. I would play through it again in a heartbeat.

Final Verdict

In an industry that continues to be pumped full of shallow, cheaply made games, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story stands out as an example of what other developers should aspire to create: enjoyable and challenging games that leave a lasting impression. If you own a DS or DSi, what are you waiting for? Buy this!

Metadata

Platform(s): Nintendo DS
Release date (US): 2009-09-14
Genre: Action, Platformer, Turn-based RPG
Developer(s): AlphaDream
Publisher: Nintendo
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone