Reviews// Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time (Nintendo DS)

As you would expect, it would take something rather time-paradoxical to get the Babies and the Oldies teaming up together. Professor E. Gadd (who we assume is still living in Luigi's Mansion Basement) builds a time machine and Princess Peach is sent to the past, then 'unexpectedly' captured. We were kinda hoping for hoverboards, future almanacs and mad cries of "We have to go back!" at this point - Gadd certainly has an Emmett Brown quality to him. It doesn't quite turn out like that, but the story is rather light-hearted and comical, and adds a great barrel-full of depth to Mario and Luigi's personalities. We found ourselves giggling like schoolgirls whenever an Italian soundbyte played, or whenever Luigi addresses the babies and starts an impromptu dance. Seeing '1337 HaX0rz' Hammer Brothers is something else entirely.

Partners in Time is a big, big game. We've been through forests, castles and even cloud islands fighting some strange alien mushroom dudes called Shroobs. They have laser pistols, don't you know. You get into a separate battle mode screen when you encounter one of these cretins and teamwork is just as important, as control is used to make Mario and Luigi attack and avoid enemy assaults. Pressing the button that corresponds with each character, you can jump Bullet Bills and time jump attacks to give your opponent an even bigger smackdown. We even found a green shell item which Mario and Luigi use as a football to bounce against the squishy mushrooms of evil. The button combinations for battle become more complex when teamed up with the Babies, but successful execution deals more damage.

It's not just these weird old Shroobs you'll be dealing with either. Some classic Mario enemies can be found like Lakitus, Piranha Plants and Goombas. The worry when starting to get to grips with the combat system was that the ability to avoid the enemy's attack sounds a little like making the game too easy. A few rounds with different enemies put paid to that, with each enemy having different attack patterns, and with many different types of enemies facing you, it can be difficult to pull off every single time unless you're a timing master. And after spending what felt like an age taking down a boss, you'll be thankful there's a way to protect yourself besides healing mushrooms. Essentially, it's a bit of a twist to the classic RPG battle style (unless you happen to play or own Superstar Saga).

The graphics are very similar to its prequel, if not a touch more polished. The animation on the Mazzas is quite impressive, and as far as 2D graphics go, the cartoonish style certainly suits the comical storyline and dialogue. Despite the fact that it's all too similar to the GBA prequel, one thing remains. Does it get tedious? Fortunately not, because the extent of the battling and the locations you'll visit will surely attract your attention, we're talking classic Nintendo primary colours here. And it's not a short game either - we thought we'd be done after the third (relatively large) map, but it turns out entrances to about four more levels popped up. We did feel a little bit of deja vu playing later levels compared to earlier ones, as the adventure fields all feature similar puzzles. Plus the battles can drag on if you're inexperienced and happen to be facing a boss battle as well. But they can't help it if we suck. And there are no random battles, surely the bane of many an RPG lover. Another loveable comical adventure from the house of Maz'.

SPOnG Score: A

It's a game that feels very familiar, but because Superstar Saga was such a refined and unique RPG we don't feel ashamed to be playing more of the same thing. As the classic saying goes, why fix what isn't broken? An impressive sequel to a Mario spin-off that didn't actually cock it up.