"Good Thing I Borrowed This Game"

I'm not saying that Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time isn't a good DS title, because it really is, for a handheld RPG . . . but “good” is about as good as it gets. I'm not much into buying “good” games so, it's a ‘good' thing I borrowed this title from a friend, because I really have no desire to play it again. (Okay, I'll stop saying ‘good' now) Within the game's formula, there's something absent from the sense of adventure normally associated with a RPG. Traversing Partners in Time was much akin to being led on a leash, through a multi-colored forest of cute enemies, slightly over-engaging battles, and exaggerated character animations. To say the least, this leash seems to be pulled by someone who hasn't qui-i-i-ite discovered the perfect balance of gaming elements which could have made this title so much better.

Partners in Time is a classic example of superb gameplay concepts being clouded over by glaring faults. The positives are immediately interrupted by counter-negatives, and because of this I never found myself becoming completely immersed in the game - almost, but never entirely. Here are some great pro vs. con examples of this:

Pro - The battle system (battles comprise roughly 50% of the game) is great fun. Anyone familiar with the previous Mario RPG handheld installment knows the drill. As opposed to your standard “attack, defend, item, run” option menu being the extent of your involvement (like many other RPG's), Partners in Time takes it one step further. Instead of just watching the battle play out, you can sway the action as it occurs with timely button presses. This is applied offensively, as well as defensively, which again means you will rarely be doing nothing with your thumbs during a battle. Also, I thought most of the enemies kept things fresh by each having more than one kind of attack to choose from, meaning a degree of victory based on your reaction time to constantly varying attack patterns. This is clearly where the game shines.

Con - For the love of God… as a friendly tip to help prevent headache as you play, when leveling up, dedicate ALL of your bonus points to more power. Power, and maybe speed, because the battles can take f-o-r-e-v-e-r, mostly due to underpowered characters and completely ridiculous ‘enemy-HP to hero-attack-power' ratios. Early in the game, you'll be battling standard, random enemies with about 70HP each. Problem is your characters only take off a few HP at a time with their regular attacks. Cue the battle items (bros. items), which make fights a whole heck of a lot easier, but are limited in supply. These items are great fun to use too, but when you reach a point where you're left with nothing but standard attacks, brace yourself. Fortunately, there seem to be enough of these attack items hidden throughout the game to last. A wise balancing of regular attacks and item usage is key to making it through comfortably. (Also, many of the enemy attacks seem to be a bit overpowered. Even just a couple of them, landed on a fully healed character, can sometimes mean death . . .)

Pro - The level designs are, for the most part, moderately engaging and somewhat entertaining. Having to not only utilize, but modify either pair (Mario and Luigi, or the babies) in order to fully explore areas is another rare and welcome RPG treat. Rolling up like a ball to move faster and ascend hills, spinning together like a tornado to traverse gaps, hammering baby Mario on the noggin when he's full of water to make him spit a distance and hit a switch: again, all wonderful deviations from your standard ‘walk around the perimeter, look for treasure, fight monsters, go to next room' formula. The map display on the top screen is a huge bonus too. I know hitting a button to access a map screen isn't that big of a deal, but this game has utilized the DS layout fairly well… as well as it could be utilized, I guess.

Con - While battles can be fun, and exploring can be exciting, nothing changes the fact that the game is largely linear. The whole “going through time” thing is nothing but a gimmick, and is not nearly as exhilarating as the title might suggest. In fact, after I had turned the volume completely down because I couldn't stand the sound of crying babies (or the insanely annoying, overly looped noise which is supposed to be babies crying), I kind of tuned out when it came to what ‘time' I was in. Past, present, future – I didn't care. Just check the map, and go to wherever the pointing hand is telling me to go. In any other game genre, this mindset might be more accepted – even helpful to some players, but in an RPG? Linear gameplay is pretty much the last thing you want, and this title seems to have it in spades.

Pro - The character animations during the ‘cutscenes' (conversation sequences with the same top-down graphics and perspective) are amusing to watch. Nintendo has done a pretty good job detailing the face and body expressions, to the point where the scripts the characters speak almost take second-stage to the occasionally hilarious antics . . .

Con - . . . just make sure someone's around to wake you up when these cutscenes are finished playing out. These character animations are, more often than not, overdone to a great degree. Yes, I see Mario shrugging his shoulders, and looking from side to side with a perplexed face. He's confused. I figured this out, oh, 20 seconds ago. MOVE ON.

So, to wrap things up:
Graphics – 7 – Nice effects, brilliant colors, but is this really for the SP, or the DS? It must be for the SP because there's no touch-screen functionality at all. **checks system he's playing the game on** Oh, no, my bad – it's for the DS. Could have fooled me . . .
Sound – 8 – Believe it or not, I thought the character vocals, sound effects and music were done fairly well; it's just too bad I didn't hear most of it because I'd turn the volume to 0 when the babies started crying. (Seriously, you will too . . .)
Gameplay / Control – 9 – I'm telling you, between solving puzzles, exploring new areas, and having to stay alert at all times during battles, this game can be very engaging.
Replay factor – 5 – Again, I personally feel the overbearing linearity prevents you from feeling anything substantially different could happen during a replay of this title.

And that's it. The average comes out to a 7.25, and I was going to give it a 7 anyway, so it all works out in the end! (Oh, and seriously, WHAT is with all the 10's for this game? Look, there's an easy way to tell if a 10 is a fluke. If that person has only written ONE review, and that's the 10, forget about it! Also if someone gives out 10's all the time, it's a good indication their opinions might be a little, er . . . excessive.)

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 03/31/06