Post by Shoe on Sept 19, 2009 17:48:55 GMT -5
I just recently finished the main story in this fantastic and hilarious game for the DS. I'm sure everyone by now knows the general stuff, but just in case...
The Mushroom Kingdom is plagued by a disease known as the Blorbs, which causes its citizens to bloat five times their size, rendering them helplessly immobile. It seems only Fawful, an old enemy with strange, but quotable speaking habits, could come up with such a bizzare plan. What's worse, Fawful tricks Bowser into eating a magic mushroom that makes him inhale everything in his path like a big, angry vacuum. This, unfortunately, includes the Mario Bros., Princess Peach, Toadsworth, and several denizens of the Castle, who were attending a meeting to decide what to do about the Blorbs. They all become separated within Bowser's body, but with the help of a Star Sprite named Starlow, the Mario Bros. set out to find the others before contemplating an escape. The Mario Bros. soon find a curious switch, and upon hitting it, Bowser, having collapsed after inhaling everyone, is shocked awake. They now realize they can affect Bowser while inside his body, from giving him brief super strength, to making him as mighty and mean as a mountain with a nasty attitude. Bowser, unaware of the hitch-hikers, sets off towards his castle, only to discover that it has been claimed by Fawful and his hammy, right-hand muscle, Midbus. Of course, that's all just the beginning.
As for the rest of the story, it becomes all the more deeper as it's sprinkled with just the right amount of silliness to lighten the mood. While it wasn't incredibly deep, I got to know Bowser from the inside and out, and that in itself made the story all the more fresh and interesting, and it even served for the most hilarious moments in the game. Oh, and the final battle really hit the mark. It was spectacularly climactic and never let up on the action. Complimenting the tense finale were some fun and lighthearted scenes that were just right to provide excellent closure to the story. Nothing overdone with deus ex machinas or exaggerated dialogue there, just as it was throughout the entire game. Simplistic perfection, the best kind there is.
Now, onto other things! I found that the action commands during the battles were taken full advantage of and came out better than both of the previous two Mario and Luigi games. The timing for maximum damage was really challenging, but once I got it, the results were incredibly satisfying. The Mario Bro's. special attacks were especially challenging, zany, and varied, so it was never monotonous or tedious, but nothing beat Bowser's use of various groups of minions for his specials, like Shy Guy Squad and Bob-omb Blitz, and that's not even the half of them.
The characters' voice work was the most impressive I've ever heard of them. Mr. Martinet really made Mario seem his most energetic, and I smiled at Luigi's every whimper and whine. Bowser's dialogue, both voiced and text, was right on the money--impulsive, angry, and bossy, yet it still served for some great laughs.
The art direction was impressively spectacular, and it definitely completed the game's cartoony atmosphere. The animations were clean and smooth and were the very root of the game's zany humor.
The music is as wonderful as the last game's and certainly sets itself ahead of the original's musical score, in my opinion. Every song matched the mood of its respective area to a T, and I adored the Mario Bro's. accordion-esque battle theme and the finale's piano primed jam.
Rather ironically, exploring the 2D platformed levels of bruteful Bowser's insides was a colorful candyland adventure, complete with wavy, candy cane tubes with stripes of various, alternating colors, and bouncy, blocky platforms decorated with colorful patches of splotches and blobs. As for the overworld, while I loved being set in a lively, non-linear Mushroom Kingdom, unlike the previous game that seemed as though the areas were separated into levels, one thing I wished would have been done, although this may be strictly my own personal opinion, was the overworld map and how the areas were set up. I just thought it'd make more geographical sense if Dimble Wood and Cavi Cape had switched places. Then, a mountainous shoreline area, rather than a lush forest and a tiny plains area, would have separated Plack Beach from the rocky and later fiery Bowser Path. But, again, this is just a personal nit-pick. A bigger celestial area and deeper underwater exploration would have been greatly welcomed, though. One thing's for sure, it was all very visually pleasing.
Otherwise, I didn't spot anything that should keep any gamer whose tastes meet the game's style from buying it. Then again, I never did see Yoshi.
The Mushroom Kingdom is plagued by a disease known as the Blorbs, which causes its citizens to bloat five times their size, rendering them helplessly immobile. It seems only Fawful, an old enemy with strange, but quotable speaking habits, could come up with such a bizzare plan. What's worse, Fawful tricks Bowser into eating a magic mushroom that makes him inhale everything in his path like a big, angry vacuum. This, unfortunately, includes the Mario Bros., Princess Peach, Toadsworth, and several denizens of the Castle, who were attending a meeting to decide what to do about the Blorbs. They all become separated within Bowser's body, but with the help of a Star Sprite named Starlow, the Mario Bros. set out to find the others before contemplating an escape. The Mario Bros. soon find a curious switch, and upon hitting it, Bowser, having collapsed after inhaling everyone, is shocked awake. They now realize they can affect Bowser while inside his body, from giving him brief super strength, to making him as mighty and mean as a mountain with a nasty attitude. Bowser, unaware of the hitch-hikers, sets off towards his castle, only to discover that it has been claimed by Fawful and his hammy, right-hand muscle, Midbus. Of course, that's all just the beginning.
As for the rest of the story, it becomes all the more deeper as it's sprinkled with just the right amount of silliness to lighten the mood. While it wasn't incredibly deep, I got to know Bowser from the inside and out, and that in itself made the story all the more fresh and interesting, and it even served for the most hilarious moments in the game. Oh, and the final battle really hit the mark. It was spectacularly climactic and never let up on the action. Complimenting the tense finale were some fun and lighthearted scenes that were just right to provide excellent closure to the story. Nothing overdone with deus ex machinas or exaggerated dialogue there, just as it was throughout the entire game. Simplistic perfection, the best kind there is.
Now, onto other things! I found that the action commands during the battles were taken full advantage of and came out better than both of the previous two Mario and Luigi games. The timing for maximum damage was really challenging, but once I got it, the results were incredibly satisfying. The Mario Bro's. special attacks were especially challenging, zany, and varied, so it was never monotonous or tedious, but nothing beat Bowser's use of various groups of minions for his specials, like Shy Guy Squad and Bob-omb Blitz, and that's not even the half of them.
The characters' voice work was the most impressive I've ever heard of them. Mr. Martinet really made Mario seem his most energetic, and I smiled at Luigi's every whimper and whine. Bowser's dialogue, both voiced and text, was right on the money--impulsive, angry, and bossy, yet it still served for some great laughs.
The art direction was impressively spectacular, and it definitely completed the game's cartoony atmosphere. The animations were clean and smooth and were the very root of the game's zany humor.
The music is as wonderful as the last game's and certainly sets itself ahead of the original's musical score, in my opinion. Every song matched the mood of its respective area to a T, and I adored the Mario Bro's. accordion-esque battle theme and the finale's piano primed jam.
Rather ironically, exploring the 2D platformed levels of bruteful Bowser's insides was a colorful candyland adventure, complete with wavy, candy cane tubes with stripes of various, alternating colors, and bouncy, blocky platforms decorated with colorful patches of splotches and blobs. As for the overworld, while I loved being set in a lively, non-linear Mushroom Kingdom, unlike the previous game that seemed as though the areas were separated into levels, one thing I wished would have been done, although this may be strictly my own personal opinion, was the overworld map and how the areas were set up. I just thought it'd make more geographical sense if Dimble Wood and Cavi Cape had switched places. Then, a mountainous shoreline area, rather than a lush forest and a tiny plains area, would have separated Plack Beach from the rocky and later fiery Bowser Path. But, again, this is just a personal nit-pick. A bigger celestial area and deeper underwater exploration would have been greatly welcomed, though. One thing's for sure, it was all very visually pleasing.
Otherwise, I didn't spot anything that should keep any gamer whose tastes meet the game's style from buying it. Then again, I never did see Yoshi.
