Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

"Short, cute, and lacking any true substance"

We've all been guilty of having a sweet tooth at one time or another. Popcorn, chocolate, gummy bears; the temptation affects almost everyone across the board. Place a child in front of a nutritious home-cooked meal and a handful of pixie sticks and he'll go for the sugary goodness nine times out of ten. Sweets offer a moment of happiness in the form of a quick burst and then that's about it. There's not much long-term benefit to them and they can oftentimes do more harm than good. In a nutshell, that's Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time.

Mario games have never been known for their stories. Even the best plotlines of past Mario RPGs still reeked of genericness, so it's no wonder that this one again leaves something to be desired. Professor E. Gadd has invented a time machine and allows Princess Peach to be the first person to try it out in a jaunt back to the past. When the machine returns to the present the princess is no where to be found and in her stead is a nasty mushroom-like alien known as a Shroob. The brothers handily defeat the baddie and then take it upon themselves to go back in time to rescue her royal highness while the baby princess takes refuge in the present. They soon realize that the alien forces are too much for them to handle alone, so in an interesting turn of events they team up with their younger, infantile selves.

Time travel has been used as a plot device in video games before. However, in Mario and Luigi the game handles it in a rather thoughtless way. Nothing done in the past has any direct bearing on what occurs in the present. In fact, no one seems to remember anything of this adventure, except for one instance of E. Gadd getting an idea for an invention. Also gone is a present or past overworld. The brothers get around through time portals that have conveniently popped up in the present-day royal castle which transport them to specific areas in the past. To prevent players from going to the wrong place at the wrong time each successive portal requires either the babies or the older brothers to learn a new skill set in order to reach it, such as the ability to roll quickly or flatten into pancakes.

As the two sets of brothers move around, they'll encounter various puzzles along the way that will impede their progress. The key to most of these encounters is to separate the brothers (the babies normally ride piggyback on their respective older counterpart) so that the adults do one thing while the babies do another. Oftentimes the screen will split to show the babies on the top and the adults on the bottom, although for the majority of the game the top screen only functions as a crude map. None of the puzzles in this game are very difficult to figure out, although a few do require precise timing and practice. Cooperation between the two duos is tantamount to their continued success in freeing the Mushroom Kingdom from the evil hold of the Shroobs. The game also tends to reward players for ingenuity in their exploration, allowing access to a previously barricaded item block or a buried bean, which can be redeemed for secret equipment later on.

The combat is rather simplistic and easy to catch on to, even if you've never played a Mario RPG before. Timed button presses are the key to the game's turn-based combat. On offense, hitting the button of the brother who is attacking can lead to some extra damage or other effects. Defensive button presses are even more important to master, however, as they can lead to avoiding damage or, even better, crucial counterattacks. Battles transition from an exploration to a combat screen rather seamlessly and how you enter a battle (attacking the enemy or being attacked) can have a direct impact on whether the brothers deal bonus damage or are incapacitated for a turn. It is usually simple to tell which brother the enemy is attacking from observing telltale clues. The only time some confusion can result is when a battle utilizes the top screen, as it may throw off the delicate timing needed when attacks transition from top to bottom. Even if a brother happens to take a temporary dirt nap, it's not the end of the world as he is shoved off-screen and his respective baby takes his place.

For some extra power when stomps and hammer swings just won't cut it, the brothers can reach into their inventory and use item attacks. Gone is the magic points-like system from games past, as it is now replaced completely by items. Some items heal the brothers or revive them from unconsciousness, but the most useful ones are those that put them on the offensive. From jumping on trampolines to riding on chain chomps to combining all their powers into making one huge fireball, the brothers have quite a varied arsenal. And just like normal attacks, hitting the correct button at the correct time is not only necessary to increasing the item's overall damage, but it is also dictates how long most items last, for if you make too many mistakes with your button presses then the turn is over.

Battles for the most part are fairly simple, but that doesn't mean the brothers come in empty-handed. Each one comes ready with his own slots for a pair of pants and a badge. The former usually improves power and defense while the latter adds some type of effect, such as gaining more experience after a battle or increased healing from mushrooms. Some of these can be bought at a few shops along the way (including a secret one run by a certain villain from the previous Mario and Luigi game), although the more useful ones are usually found in item blocks or appear as one of the spoils from battle. The entire inventory is stored in Stuffwell, the brothers' informative, and sometimes annoying, talking suitcase. Finally, a hefty bonus to their stats can be obtained after a level-up, as each brother then has the opportunity to further improve an area, from HP to attack power to luck.

All the characters and enemies in the game are drawn in a cartoonish way, yet they are surprisingly detailed. Each have distinctive animations in battle and on the exploration screen that it can sometimes be a little more amusing to watch what is happening than moving on to the next area. Each brother has his own mannerisms as well, such as Baby Mario's constant hammering to Adult Luigi's pitiful weeping. The environments are filled with lush color and are usually interactive, while the backgrounds really contribute to the overall feel of an area. There is no serious voice acting (most of the story unfolds in dialogue boxes), but there are assorted clips here and there from an “Oh no!” when something goes wrong to a “Babies!” when Mario is happy to see the little tykes are alright. The music has no truly memorable tunes, but it does get the job done and fits the area it's in, becoming more dramatic for big battles or moments of heightened tension.

Humor is once again one of the biggest parts of the game. Mario and Luigi's antics are even more inane as they not only have to attend to the events happening around them but they also have to watch out for their younger selves. There are a few charming moments during these interactions as the babies can sometimes be downright adorable or cruel. Don't feel ashamed if you sometimes catch yourself laughing or sniffling at certain points in the game.

The game's most glaring fault is its length and lack of difficulty. A full game, even for those who enjoy exploring, won't take any longer than fifteen hours. As mentioned before, most battles won't even cause the player to break a sweat and only a handful of boss battles are truly challenging since the brothers' attack items can lay waste to just about everything in their path. Once the game is over, there's no real point in replaying it, as power-leveling just becomes tedious after a while and there are no true sidequests anywhere.

At the end of the day, the game just feels a little unfinished and rushed. It always feels as if it is missing something, although this won't stop you from enjoying the short time you have with it. Hilarious hijinks and a saccharine storyline can only take a game so far before it has to show its true core. And for Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time, only after playing for too long do you realize the saddening truth: it just doesn't have one.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 09/29/06