Partners in Time mixes classic Mario style with traditional role-playing. Fans of Superstar Saga won't be disappointed.
This time around, the Mushroom Kingdom is under attack by a fierce (and yet strangely cute) alien race, the Shroob. Apparently, the Shroob didn’t take very good care of their planet and are in search of a new kingdom to pillage for resources. And wouldn’t you know it? They happen to find Princess Peach and her portly Mushroom companions. What follows is the tried and true formula that any Mario fan will be irritatingly familiar with. The catch? All of this mayhem takes place in the past, and it’s up to Mario and Luigi to rescue their beloved Princess and return the Mushroom Kingdom to its rightful owners. You’d think by now Peach might consider investing some of her royal fortune in better security.
If you played Superstar Saga on the GBA, you’ll find Partners in Time immediately familiar. The gameplay has remained essentially intact for the DS crossover with a few minor (yet nonetheless enjoyable) tweaks. You’ll spend the majority of your time exploring the various Mushroom Kingdom territories, solving puzzles, and bouncing on baddies from both past and present Mario titles. Each characters’ actions are mapped to one of the four face buttons so that Mario and Luigi are controlled with A and B, while their pint-sized counterparts rely on X and Y. Throughout the game, you’ll have to separate into pairs to progress through different areas. Each set of brothers is controlled independently of the other, and switching between the two on the fly is easy. Both teams feature different abilities that you’ll utilize to solve the game’s simple yet entertaining puzzles. Mario and Luigi can perform a spin jump that allows them to cover great distances or roll into a ball to maneuver quickly in confined spaces. The babies can use a set of hammers to hit switches or dig underground, spit water to put out fires, or flatten into pancakes to fit through tight spots.
Unlike most RPG titles, there are no random battles in Partners in Time. With the exception of boss battles, you’ll always be able to see enemies approaching. Whether this is good or bad depends on your tastes, but it does help alleviate some of the tedium commonly associated with the genre. Defeating enemies will earn you experience points for the game’s simplistic leveling system and coins to purchase the occasional clothing or badge upgrades. Clothing (or armor) items must be equipped by one set of brothers or the other. Badges, which offer various abilities or upgrades, may be equipped by any of the four teammates. Again, whether you like this system or not depends on your personal tastes. It’s safe to say, however, that anyone who enjoyed Superstar Saga will be happy with this more-of-the-same formula.
Where the DS title improves the most over its GBA predecessor is in the midst of combat. You’ll find that controlling four partners often leads to interesting combo attacks, and deciding how to make use of the added firepower is always an entertaining endeavor. In Superstar Saga, Mario and Luigi learned new cooperative attacks as the game progressed. Partners in Time, however, transfers these unique cooperative efforts over to various “Bros. Items” that can be purchased or earned by defeating enemies. For example, Mario and Luigi’s traditional fire flower will deal increasing amounts of damage to all ground enemies depending on how fast you hit either A or B. Pressing X or Y gets the babies in on the act and divides your attack between air and ground enemies. The battle mechanic never strays too far from the established norm, but it improves on its predecessor by managing to keep combat from getting too repetitive.
One of the biggest criticisms of early DS software was that developers forced their games to conform to each of the system’s unique features. The results were games with awkward touch-screen controls or less-than-useful microphone functionality. Thankfully, Alpha Dream decided to focus solely on one of the system’s unique features – its second screen. Rather than fiddle with unnatural control scheme, Partners in Time utilizes the DS upper screen for an ever-present and surprisingly useful area map. During battles, the top screen is also used to extend the playing field and allow for some interesting attack patterns. As an added bonus, the game also supports the DS Rumble Pak that came bundled with Metroid Prime Hunters.
Visually, Partners in Time remains faithful to the style established in Superstar Saga. Each of the characters animates beautifully, and the superior DS hardware allows for a few improvements over the GBA original. The series retains its cute and bubbly presentation, but don’t let that fool you. Gamers of any age will enjoy its unique sense of style. Timing during battles can sometimes be frustrating because of the game’s angled perspective, but seasoned gamers will quickly come to appreciate the challenge it offers.
Mario & Luigi’s audio is, by far, the game’s weakest selling point. Remixed versions of classic Mario themes are some of the series’ best, but they are few and far between. The new melodies are decent offerings, but you won’t be humming along to the soundtrack. Music during battles is redundant and anticlimactic. Mario and Luigi intentionally speak gibberish, but the voices work well against the game’s fluffy backdrop. The babies’ voices are incredibly cute, but you’ll find yourself considering unthinkable acts just to get them to stop crying. All of this makes for an uneven soundtrack that isn’t particularly terrible. It’s just not that great either.
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is an altogether enjoyable gaming experience that mixes the right amount of classic Mario style with enough new content to keep veteran fans interested. Although it’s missing much of the self-referential humor that made Paper Mario and Superstar Saga hilarious trips through Mario’s past, the script still manages to entertain. If you’re a fan of Mario or role-playing games in general, Partners in Time is definitely worth a play-through. And with a good 10-15 hours of gameplay, you’ll get your money’s worth.