Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga Review

What could a holiday season be without Mario? This year saw the release of quite a few Mario titles, including Mario Golf, Mario Kart: Double Dash!!, Super Mario Advanced 4, and Mario and Luigi: Super Star Saga, all good titles in their own respect. GBA alone has seen rehash after rehash of classic Mario titles, many of which all Nintendo fans were getting sick of; Mario and Luigi breathes some fresh air into everyone’s favorite handheld.

Mario and Luigi is the unofficial sequel to Paper Mario (N64), meaning it is an action-RPG. M and L is unique from other games in the genre, since you control two players, one of which is in front of the other. Pressing A controls the person in front and B controls the person in the back; you can switch between them with the start button.

You start out with a single jump move, which you use to climb and attack enemies by hitting them in their head. Action icons show you what actions you can perform at any given time. By not running into enemies, you can avoid battles; you can go into a battle with damage to your opponent by jumping on them or hitting them with your hammer that you will be provided with later in the game. If Luigi hits an enemy that you jump on, no damage is taken to your enemy and Luigi is unable to move in battle.

By using defense tactics, you can easily save HP, quickly gain experience, and finish battles at a faster pace. You can evade attacks by jumping or hitting an enemy when they get near you. Mario and Luigi, like most RPG’s, is turn-based, meaning you take turns between you and your enemy. At first you are limited to the single attack, but you will earn team combos, hammer, etc. as you go through the game. M and L is a long handheld game, with well over 10 hours of play. I suggest picking M and L up today, it is the best Mario game since Sunshine and one of my favorite RPG’s of all-time.