"Because four brothers are better than two!"

When Nintendo collaborated with Squaresoft in 1996 to release Super Mario RPG they birthed a new style of RPG: The Mario RPG. While Squaresoft set a few of the standards that have remained in every incarnation of the series, the second Mario RPG: Paper Mario set the series on a new course by making the battles more interactive and far more entertaining.

Many years later, a break off studio from Intelligent Systems going by the name Alpha Dream sought to further evolve the Mario RPG with the release of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, released in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance. The Mario & Luigi break-off series took the interactivity of the battles to a whole new level with each brother having their own button exclusively for actions. That game also featured "Bros. Attacks" where you would hit combinations of buttons with the proper timings to execute special moves on enemies. The sequel, Mario & Luigi: Partner's in Time(also developed by Alpha Dream) has swapped the "Bros. Attacks" out for "Bros. Items". It has also mixed in the addition of the younger brothers from the past and dual screen gameplay. And now on to the main body of the review for Mario RPG 5.

Presentation 9/10

Professor E. Gadd has invented a time machine, and Princess Peach has decided to be the first to use it. As everyone awaits the Princess's return, the time machine comes back all beaten up and there's a gruesome creature in it, and Peach is nowhere to be found. A group of alien's called the Shroobs have decided they want to invade the Mushroom Kingdom of the past, and next thing you know our heroes are traveling to the past, teaming up with their younger selves, trying to discover the whereabouts of Peach, and stop the Shroob invasion all at the same time. It's a pretty standard Mario RPG affair(I.E. not serious at all). There are a fair number of plot twists to keep things interesting, and comic relief is just through the roof, as it has been in the last few Mario RPG's. It cannot be stated enough: This game definitely has outstanding dialog, and you should find yourself laughing out loud numerous times while playing this game.

All of the game menu's are very efficient, and get the job done. The general feel of the game is very "Mario-esque" in nature, as it should be.

Gameplay 20/20

While they did away with the Bros. Attacks that were great in Superstar Saga, they replaced them with Bros. Items. Bros. Items transform the gameplay dramatically. Think mixing addicting, frantic, and fun mini-games from the likes of Mario 64 DS & Mario Party into a turn based RPG and you get the picture. Most of them rely on reflexes and button mashing, but they are very fun and addictive. By the time you get a few hours into the game you will find yourself addicted to specific Bros. Items, and anticipate using them over and over again to see how high of damage you can rack up with them. It's all about your skills here, and you'll be surprised at how insanely good you might be able to get(with some practice) at some of the Bros. Items, and the insane damage you can rack up.

Besides that, the addition of the younger brothers adds new depth to the battle system originally carved out in Superstar Saga. Now all four brothers each have their own specific action button, but there are still technically only two on the field of battle, as the younger brother's piggy back on their older selves. However, there is interactivity with the older brothers and the babies when they are joined in a group of four during battles. For instance when you go to jump as a four party group you will hit the younger brother's action button first, which causes the older brother to flip up in the air and come back down, at which point you will hit the older brother's action button to deliver the final hit for much higher damage. The same basic idea applies to using the hammer too. You can also divide up the groups and fight battles with the younger or older brothers if you wish.

The battles are represented by enemies running around on screen, and you will have to touch them to activate a battle. There are no random battles in this game. Also, enemies will re-spawn if you leave the general area you are in, but they are generally easy to avoid.

The gameplay while moving about the game's various locales is very similar to Superstar Saga, as you will have to use abilities to solve puzzles to advance. The quality of these puzzles is as good as in Superstar Saga, and some are very clever, entertaining, and sometimes rewarding when you figure them out. Nothing overly challenging and off the wall here.

Design 8/10

The dual screen use during battles should not be understated: Alpha Dream did a great job with implementing two screen action in battles that is wholly entertaining. For instance, you may have enemies on both screens, and you'll have to jump out of the way as they shoot, or drop on you from the top screen. One of my favorite Bros. Items is a trampoline, and all four brothers will jump high up into the air and you will have to press the button corresponding with that particular brother as they land on their foe. There is just no way this could be executed properly on a single screen system.

Dual screen use in the field is also very adequate, there are many times when you'll need the two different groups of brothers in different areas to complete a puzzle, and the dual screen use makes these parts of the game flow more naturally than they would have otherwise.

Unlike it's predecessor, Partners in Time does not feature as consistent of an over world; the game's many locales basically feel more separate and to themselves. Level design, and puzzle design is all of relatively high quality. None of the areas in the game really feel bland, and there is a theme for each separate area that feels generally in line with the established Mario universe.

Behind the battle system lies a badge system. Badges are not standard equipment, they are more like enchantments. Some badges might give you extra experience for defeating enemies with Bros. Items, or some might increase your POW when you're low on HP etc. I personally found the badge system in Partners in Time to be more unimportant than previous Mario RPG's, but it's still something to pay attention to as you play through the game.

Other than the badge system there is a very basic equipment system, as each brother can only equip one pair of overalls, and that's it. However, any lack of customization that this might cause is somewhat made up for by the fact that when a brother levels up you are allowed to choose a stat to give a bonus buffer too.

The only possible design flaw I found was that the division between the two screens took some getting used to for some Bros. Items, and some of the timings on attacks that go across both screens. The game doesn't assume there is no space between the screens, so you may sometimes see things dissapear very briefly as they go between the two screens. For instance, there is a Bros. Item that has an endless number(so long as you can keep up with the speed of it all) of random brothers running across the screen and jumping on the enemy, and you have to hit the corresponding action button for that particular brother right as they pounce on the enemy. There were some bosses that were elevated, and so as your brother is jumping on them(using that particular Bros. Item) it is hard to see them as they are jumping into the divide between the screens, all of which messes up your ability to pull off as many hits as normal.

Graphics 9/10

Nearly all of the graphics in the game are 2D sprite based. They are all a noticeable step up from Superstar Saga. Quite a few of the locales feature surprisingly detailed and crisp sprites. The animation is also much improved over Superstar Saga. All around, a game with more than adequate 2D graphics.

Sound 9/10

The sound effects in Partners in Time are exactly how they should be in a Mario game. There are also a fair number of retro sounds thrown in for good measure, things like the classic Mario jumping sound. Mario & Luigi also retain the same Italian sounding jibberish voices they had in Superstar Saga, but with a few more thrown into the mix. It sounds like Mario & Luigi, what else is there to say?

The music also corresponds perfectly to what you would expect in a Mario RPG. There were a few songs that strayed from this mold, as was the case with Superstar Saga as well, and those songs were pretty good.

Overall a good audio package, and the audio quality is top notch for the DS(I.E. nearly as good as CD based systems).

Fun Factor 40/40

I cannot say it enough: there were numerous times while playing this game where the thought crossed my mind that I was possibly playing the funnest RPG in existence. The fact that this is coming from someone who's played roughly 70 RPG's to completion is not to be taken lightly. Mario RPG's are a great change of pace, and this is no exception. While the game is not a deep RPG experience, it is an incredibly entertaining, and humorous experience nonetheless. I would even still recommend it to RPG die-hards who prefer deep RPG's, just because everyone needs a change of pace now and again.

The only flaw in the game that could even come close to threatening this game's fun factor was the division between the screens during battle, but even this problem just took some getting used to, and didn't hinder the fun factor in the end.

Just like Final Fantasy games, you absolutely do not need to have played previous games in the franchise to get complete enjoyment out of Partners in Time. There are surprisingly few references to even Superstar Saga, and absolutely no connections to other Mario RPG games outside of maybe the badge system.

The game is roughly 20 hours just to get the credits, but there are a few extras, and the game is so wildly entertaining that you are likely to want to play through it at least one more time in the future.

The breakdown:

Presentation 9/10
Gameplay 20/20
Design 8/10
Graphics 9/10
Sound 9/10
Fun factor 40/40
95/100

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 12/12/05