"Mario x4= 4 Marios. Now what else could you ask 4?"

Introduction: Mario. Mario Mario Mario. Mr. Nintendo. We've been through this already. Mario is very mighty, and if it wasn't for Zelda, he would have no competition. Mario has to be THE longest running series to date. Ever. If you've been living under a couple of boulders for the past 20 or so years, Mario is a plumber that always has to save the princess in one way or the other. Well, now that we got the obvious out of the way, let's roll on here.

Story: 10/10 I expected nothing less from a Mario RPG. There is a creepy place where creepy people that are creeply called Shroobs just creeply stare up into the creepy sky, in a creepy way. That's basically how the game puts it. Get ready to see a lot of those Shroob guys through-out this game. But in another part of the Milky Way, we find little Baby Mario and Baby Luigi duking it out with, who else, Baby Bowser. After they hand him his, we tune over to the people who started it all. Mario and Luigi. We just go in to see them, doing what else, handing Bowser his. If you don't get what I'm going for here, what happens on one side, happens to the other. Then, of course, you got all your side stories, and this, and that. It's an RPG. It's supposed to be like that.

Controls: 6/10 Don't get me wrong here. I like the controls. It's really sweet how for babies Luigi and Mario they use X/Y instead of the ol' A/B. But....what I don't understand....why couldn't they fit a touch-screen control in here? I admit, it might not be the best, but look at SM64:DS. That didn't have the best touch screen, but it was still fun to use it every now-and-then. That aside, I really do like the controls for this game. They just missed out on some T-S action.

Graphics: 10/10 Once more, expecting no less. This game beats out the predecessor by about 3 rounds. Not really a surprise, but Superstar Saga's graphics was nothing to laugh at. The characters don't look as blocky, even though, like I said, they were pretty good in the last one. I can't really say that much on this one, other than it's pretty much easier on the eyes. That's how I would look at it.

Audio: 10/10 Look above. Once more, expecting no less. The character's talking has improved, though they still talk like they're Spanish or something. It only adds to the hilarity though, so you learn not to mind that. Music is also greatly improved. You almost never want to leave the "Press Start" screen, just so you can hear the music, it's that good.

Gameplay: 10/10 *Faints* Man, I can't believe this. Once more, nintendo pushes another amazing title onto the DS. Alright, we got a lot to cover here, so let's get started. Many a times in the adventure, you will find yourself in Princess Peach's castle. There you will talk to Prof. E. Gadd. Some know him from Luigi's Mansion. Some know him from Superstar Saga. Some don't. But anyway, P.E.G. is pretty much the "go here to continue in game" person. Then usually after you talk to him (more on that usually in a sec), he tells you to go to a new Time Hole that appeared. Time Hole's send you back in time, to the level that you need to go to. Or, if you've completed the mission, you get sent back automattically through a Time Hole. Now about that "usually." Sometimes, (it only happens 3 times) P.E.G. (Proffesor E. Gadd if you haven't figured it out) will send you out to the garden where the 2 Toadsworth's are (young and old). After a rather funny cutscene, the 2 old toad's will show you a new move. Most of us know them as Bros. Actions. They consist of spinning around in a circle and hover over tough spots (like spikes), rolling into a ball and spinning really fast (usually helps for puzzles). Then if you run into your juvenile counterparts while spinning in the air, you'll shoot them sky-rocketing and catch "monster air." This move makes it as easy as ever to cross super-high-or-far places. And then if you run over them in a ball formation, you'll shrink them down even farther than they are now. With this move, you can fit into really, really tiny places, and even make yourself a little lighter as well. You use all these moves in order to solve puzzles, and complete the game. That basically sums it up. Oh, I forgot about something. There's also beans in this game. Now, what could they possibly do?

Replayability: 9/10 I find myself picking this up very frequently. It's a super long game, with a bunch of twists and turns in the storyline that you might not suspect. Very great replayability. You'll have to keep playing to see what will happen next.

Final Verdict: Buy What were you expecting? There's nothing wrong with this game, except, of course, the missed-opportunity with the touch-screen. But oh well. Next time I guess. Hardly worth not getting this game for though. I think you'll enjoy this as much as I do, and trust me, in case you need your momma's help to figure things out, I really like this game.

Reviewer's Score: 10/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/06