Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
2005
- puzzle
- role-playing (rpg)
- adventure
- action
- comedy
- single player
The story
The famous Mario Brothers return in this sequel to the humorous Superstar Saga. In this adventure, Princess Peach takes a trip in a time machine, but when it returns, there's only a monster inside! The heroic brothers travel back in time only to discover that evil alien life forms known as the Shroobs have taken over the Mushroom Kingdom, and no-one is safe! They soon meet up with their younger selves, and set out to stop the alien menace, not to mention rescue the Princess!
What it’s like
Bright, hand-drawn pixel sprites on a handheld screen, with the Mushroom Kingdom rendered in saturated greens, pinks and sky blues that shift into cooler, gloomier tones when the story pulls into its alien-occupied past. Chiptune melodies bounce along cheerfully, and the battle themes snap with the rhythm of timed button presses. Movement is crisp and cartoonish, with stomping, hammering and jumping animated in exaggerated squash-and-stretch. Violence is slapstick: enemies are bonked, stomped or flattened into comic puffs, with no blood, and the undead and robotic foes are spooky only in a playful way. It suits a rainy Sunday, a commute, or a comfort replay, and the pace is leisurely, built from dialogue-heavy exchanges, light puzzles, and brief minigames between battles. Its tone is warm and gently absurd, and its heart is two squabbling brothers, one prickly and one anxious, slowly learning to work as a team across two timelines. It is for people who want a chatty, low-stakes adventure with plenty of humour, and for anyone who enjoys turn-based RPGs that feel gentle rather than grim.
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