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MARIO & LUIGI: PARTNERS IN TIME

Introduction

On my quest to play all of the Mario & Luigi games, which I started before Brothership was announced (LET'S FUCKING GOOOOO!!!!!), Partners in Time was my next stop. After the absolute fun time that was Superstar Saga, I was looking forward to returning to one of my childhood classics. Nowadays, the general consensus among the fandom seems to be that PiT suffers from middle-child syndrome, and I don't entirely disagree. It is unfortunately right in the middle of two iconic, excellent games: Superstar Saga and Bowser's Inside Story, which makes it hard for the game to stand out. Despite all of this, I still love the game.

Of course, as a kid, the game was too hard for me in certain aspects, so I would often ask my older brother to do certain sections instead. But I still remember loving the game overall. Does it still hold up? Absolutely, and I do think that it is generally an improvement over Superstar Saga.

What I liked

Gameplay

There isn't much to say here that I didn't already mention in my page on SS, but whatever. Overall, the game is fun and has a wide variety of playstyles. Like the previous game, exploration of the overworld is made fun through all of the various abilities that the Bros. can get, which is made even better with the introduction of the babies. Although there might be a smaller skillset compared to SS and later games, PiT does a great job at incorporating all of the various abilities into overworld exploration. It takes advantage of the DS's two screens to offer varied gameplay and puzzles involving control of the adults and babies separately rather than as a whole.

But of course, where the game really shines is battles. Even more so than the previous game, battles are both fun and challenging, taking all of the gameplay elements and turning them up to max. This time, battles are affected by which Bros. go in, though most of your fights will probably involve all four. You can jump on the enemy, use the babies' hammers, and use Bros. Items, which are different than the Bros. Attacks from the previous game. Rather than having moves to unlock and points to use them, you have various items you can attack with instead. These are all fun, engaging mini-challenges that can get really difficult when trying to deal more damage. As such, they add a great deal of depth to the battles.

Characters

This could just be the nostalgia talking, but all of the characters in this game are pretty great. Starting with the main characters, the chemistry between the Bros. takes various interesting spins with the addition of the Baby Bros. The adult Mario and Luigi begin to act like dads or big brothers to the babies, picking up after their messes and caring for them deeply. While the babies get up to their shenanigans, Luigi is left to reprimand them, only for them to end up bawling their eyes out and Mario to get pissed at Luigi for making their baby counterparts cry. It's a really nice dynamic to see and makes the game far more engaging and funny.

Of course, the side characters are also great, although a little underutilized. Kylie Koopa, ace reporter, might be my favorite. Every time she popped up, something strange was going to happen for sure. Toadbert, the dynamic between the two Toadsworths, and all the other characters were also fun to watch.

Story and Humor

Many people say that Partners in Time has one of the darkest stories in a Mario game, right up there with Super Paper Mario. Although you can only get so dark with a franchise like Mario, I am inclined to agree. The story is pretty incredible. It centers on the invasion of the Mushroom Kingdom of the Past by the evil Shroob aliens, who seek an alternate energy source and a new planet after their homeworld dies. Although the game rarely frames it like this, it is a fight for survival on both sides, which is reflected by the tragic tone to the final boss music. Either the Shroobs win and everyone dies, or the world is saved but the Shroobs go extinct. Throughout the game, Mario and company try their best to survive.

The dark elements of the game were pretty clear to younger me, although now of course, they are almost insignificant. Still, some parts were surprising...

Hey! This time I actually have examples of the game's humor! There were just so many quirky jokes and mannerisms that amused me, so I had to take multiple screenshots. Here you go.

Say what you want, but the game is just as funny, goofy, and wacky as the one that came before it; despite being lauded as the darkest one in the series.

Music

From her success and bangers in Superstar Saga, Yoko Shimomura returns to compose the soundtrack for Partners in Time and it's still pretty good! Although not necessarily being as iconic as the other two games in the first trilogy, the game still has many great tracks that enhance the experience. Once again, the area themes are the real stand-outs: Yoshi's Island, Thwomp Volcano, Toad Town, Hollijolli Village, and more. However, the various battle themes are pretty good as well. The emotions exuded by the final boss themes are incredible, really giving off the vibe that this is a fight for survival of either the Toads or the Shroobs. It's tragic and isn't afraid to show it.

What I didn't like (SPOILERS AHEAD)

Gameplay (SMALL SPOILERS AHEAD!!!)

There are some aspects of gameplay which I felt PiT either did worse than SS or was just bad in its own regard. Firstly, when it comes to battles, the HP of certain enemies seems to be heavily inflated. I heard that this was a change done to the North American localization for all of the bosses, and while those battles certainly took very long compared to SS, they were manageable for a while. However, oftentimes enemies in the late game would have difficult attacks that dealt unreasonable amounts of damage for the hits required to kill them.

Speaking of the battles, the game seems to count on you using Bros. Items a majority of the time. Although unproblematic for most of the game, it becomes a problem near the final battles, which take ages even when using Bros. Items perfectly. I shudder to think what would have happened if I wasn't using the Ulti-Free Badge and ran out of attack items, forced to try to beat such a difficult boss with just jumps and hammers.

Lastly, I want to discuss the balance between overworld and battles, which is something I praised SS for previously. Unfortunately, I felt that PiT leans a little too heavily towards battles compared to its predecessor. This is not entirely a bad thing, as the battles are very fun, but oftentimes when I found myself wanting a break, there were more enemies to ambush me around the corner, preventing me from enjoying the puzzles ahead. It was kind of a buzzkill and made me less inclined to continue playing the game for that session.

Shrowser (SPOILERS!!!)

After defeating Elder Princess Shroob, which was easily the best battle in this entire game, the kingdom seems to be saved. However, there is no new victorious music playing, and pretty soon, you are given control of the Bros. again in the castle. "Hmm... what's going on?" I wondered before entering the throne room and groaning after realizing there was one more fight to go through before I could complete the game.

Seriously, why is this battle a thing? The climax of the game had already taken place. Mario, Luigi, and their baby counterparts had already defeated the Shroob princesses and saved the Mushroom Kingdom of the Past. Why did the developers feel the need to force this battle on us. As a battle, it is inoffensive and far less difficult than the previous boss, only requiring you to dodge attacks until the spirit of Princess Shroob was defeated and Bowser was no longer possessed; but WOW, is this unnecessary or what? It just felt like such a forced version of "Zant syndrome" it's insane. Did we REALLY need to have a Bowser battle as the final one? Come on, guys.