"A great game that lacks what the original game had to offer."

Mario RPGs are always eagerly awaited games, as they have yet to disappoint most fans. While many still prefer the original Super Mario RPG the most, there's no use denying how people loved the first Mario and Luigi game. While a bit short, it was fun, creative, and had a great sense of humor. This game is still all of those things, and it still feels fresh and new. This one is a tad bit shorter then the last however, the music is not as good as the previous, and it's far more linear in terms of exploration (though casual gamers, or those just looking for a light hearted not so in-depth experience won't mind at all). However, if games like Dragon Quest are your cup of tea, and you won't have your RPGs any other way, this game probably is not for you, due to it's linearity. Not much in terms of sidequests, ultimate weapons and armor, or anything like that.

Graphics: 8/10
By looking at a simple screen shot, the game doesn't look all that different from the original Mario and Luigi. That's not to say the original looked bad, in fact it was one of the better looking Game Boy Advance games. But that's all due to the fact that the screenshots don't move. This game has some of the best animation I've seen in a two dimensional video game. Characters a full of personality and flair, attacks look really cool and enticing, and the backgrounds are all fairly detailed. Where Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow may have had incredible still images, it lacked in character animation, and where Mario and Luigi lacked in great graphics by themselves, they greatly made up for it in animation. No doubt about it, Mario and Luigi is a very nice looking game.

Game Play: 8/10
Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time is a really fun game. For those who don't know, this game
while being an RPG, has action commands where you time jumps to avoid attacks, counter attack using your hammer, do more damage by timing your jumps right, and using special items with attack patterns to do as much damage as you can with them. Some people may be put off by the addition of Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, but they don't mess around to much with the formula. The allow for extended combos only, for the most part. The game is far more linear then the previous Mario and Luigi sadly, there isn't much of an overworld, and levels are very straight forward, just moving ahead type puzzles. Some may prefer this, others may hate this. It's not necessarily bad, but it's probably a slap in the face for RPG fans. However, I do know people who like this game, while hating RPGs, like my best friend, who likes it because it takes skill to do the battles. He hates turn based games, but because this one incorporated some cool timing and such, he enjoys it greatly. They also replayed Bros. Powers with Bros. Items, which no longer cost any points, but once you use them, they're gone. Fortunately, your given an overdose of them in levels, so you need not worry wasting them. I miss Bros. Powers, but I still think Bros. Items are cool.

Story: 7/10
Sure, the original Mario and Luigi may not have been epic, but it had clever characters, and the scenes themselves where funny and charming. This game still has a weak storyline overall, but it also does not have all that many good characters, such as the lack (other then a slight cameo) of Fawful. The bad guys are just speechless mushrooms. Also, because of the lack of characters, the scenes are no longer as funny as they used to be. I was pretty disappointed by the story, but it's still pretty light hearted in fun throughout. Not horrible, just not up to my standards.

Sound/Audio: 8/10
The voice clips are back, and as charming as ever. They added some more for the new characters in this game as well. Still, nothing beats the old characters. The music I must say though, has taken a toll. The battle music will be notable instantly as being changed, and in a bad way. They totally re-did it, and the new version is pretty bland, and annoying. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. The music overall does not stand up to the originals quality. The original was a masterpiece however, it's almost unfair to compare this game too it. If only they had reused the music, or even just re-mixed it from that last game. Everyone would have been happy.

Overall: 8/10
Mario and Luigi is definitely a great quick game to pick up. It's very light hearted, doesn't take itself to seriously, and is pretty funny at times. If you never played the original though, you should get it first. Not because of storyline aspects (these two games have nearly nothing but the main characters in common), but because the first one is overall a much better game. This game is also a good game for not RPG gamers, though in the other direction it may disappoint some more serious RPG gamers.

Buy or Rent: Rent
That is, if your local blockbuster or what have you has DS titles. Mario and Luigi is pretty short to be quite frank, it's not worth the full purchase. Still, if you can't rent it, go ahead and buy it if you've got the money. It does have some replayablity, so go for it.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/02/06