Mario and Luigi: Bowsers Inside Story discussion thread!

[Nintendogirl456]

Boswer is like Kirby in this game... ;-;

[Wolfie456]

Originally Posted by Nintendogirl456

Boswer is like Kirby in this game... ;-;

Well at least there are adorable BLITTIES.

And a really weird French Block.


Don't forget peps.

[TrainerJT]

Originally Posted by Nekobe

I think the plot and whole concept of the game is pretty bad, but as I haven't played it, I can't really make a judgement.

Still, based on the comments I've read, and my experience playing all the previous Mario RPG's, they have been getting progressively worse. Superstar Saga was awesome, but Partners in Time was too linear.

Totally wrong.

Partners in Time was linear. It was also not that great in general. The humor was bad, there were no sidequests at all really, it was too easy due to having a 4 person party, etc.

I could rant on and on about why it really wasn't all that great. This is especially true when you compare it to either its predecessor or its sequel. The only thing it did particularly well was utilizing both Nintendo DS screens in clever ways during battles.

Bowser's Inside Story is definitely not a step backwards. It's about 2 giant leaps forward. Bowser isn't a part of the Mario and Luigi party. They're separate throughout the game, which means that it's not necessarily a walk-in-the-park like Partners in Times was. There are also several sidequests, mini-games and interesting diversions. There's the gauntlet for super challenging bosses, and of course the very tough Cholesteroad and Massage minigames.

The level design starts out linear for the bros, but as the game progresses, you gain access to 3D levels that allow for a great deal more exploration. You can also go to areas Bowser previously explored using the Mario Brothers. Doing this allows you to find new secrets and unlock hidden challenges.

The moves are back to being SP based. You can no longer spam them as easily as you could spam Bros. Items in Partners in Time. Further, the moves are a lot more fun to use. Each move has its own little trick to master. Bowser's moves make use of the DS screen by implementing stylus controls. This kind of thing usually comes off as gimmicky, but it works in this game. You can tap goombas to set them on fire, play pong with koopa shells using the stylus, drag bob-ombs to set them into position, etc. All of the stylus control is really well-implemented.

There are also Giant Bowser battles that likewise use the stylus well. Unfortunately, these also occasionally require you to blow into the mic. Blowing into the mic not only doesn't work very well, but also crosses the border into gimmicks territory. If this game does have a flaw, that would be it. On the other hand, there aren't many Giant Bowser battles in the game, and everything else within them is well done. Thus, it's not really a huge deal. Plot-wise, this game is really more of a spiritual sequel to Superstar Saga. Fawful is back and bigger than ever. The game is just as funny as the first game too. The characters rival Prince Peasley, Cackletta and Popple in terms of personality. Bowser surpasses all of them. You'll constantly want to see what silly thing he'll do next. He's just that entertaining. Partners in Time was partially bad because the enemies and babies were thoroughly annoying. There was very little funny, amusing or clever about the Shroobs. The same goes for Baby Mario and Baby Luigi.

This is really one of the best roleplaying games for DS. There is a good reason why it scored so highly and why it's so highly acclaimed. It's the best in its series by far. I've played all the Mario RPGs, and would even nominate this as one of the best Mario RPGs period. By contrast, Partners in Time is one of the worst. If you own a DS, like RPGs, and don't own Bowser's Inside Story, you're doing it wrong.

[nintenrules]

I played partners in time, it was good.
This one is definately going on my chrismas list.

[Ballade]

There's a lot I have to disagree with what you said JT.

Originally Posted by TrainerJT

Bowser's Inside Story is definitely not a step backwards. It's about 2 giant leaps forward. Bowser isn't a part of the Mario and Luigi party. They're separate throughout the game, which means that it's not necessarily a walk-in-the-park like Partners in Times was. There are also several sidequests, mini-games and interesting diversions. There's the gauntlet for super challenging bosses, and of course the very tough Cholesteroad and Massage minigames.

Except those side quests are literally just limited to the boss rush, special mini-games, and getting the Mushroom balls in the two areas. Even then, the boss rush is only useful for getting coins and the mini-games for getting useless equipment later on unless you have a plan built specifically around them. The hidden boss fight is also fairly pointless and easy when you first have access to it.

The level design starts out linear for the bros, but as the game progresses, you gain access to 3D levels that allow for a great deal more exploration. You can also go to areas Bowser previously explored using the Mario Brothers. Doing this allows you to find new secrets and unlock hidden challenges.

The areas for the Bros in 3D aren't that great since you literally just roam about the actual world with your major goal just collecting various items that Bowser can't get, like beans and items that require a Bro action.

The moves are back to being SP based. You can no longer spam them as easily as you could spam Bros. Items in Partners in Time. Further, the moves are a lot more fun to use. Each move has its own little trick to master. Bowser's moves make use of the DS screen by implementing stylus controls. This kind of thing usually comes off as gimmicky, but it works in this game. You can tap goombas to set them on fire, play pong with koopa shells using the stylus, drag bob-ombs to set them into position, etc. All of the stylus control is really well-implemented.

While the Specials are now SP based, that actually allows even MORE spamming of them, especially when combined with the Badge system to restore SP. After some time, you can use nothing BUT Specials which deal an immense more amount of damage than any possible regular attack, AND the amount of SP restoring items you'll get are baffling. I ended the game with over 30 star candies, and not even a third came from Mighty Meteor.

The special attacks are better than the other two games though, and the stylus commands are much better overall.

There are also Giant Bowser battles that likewise use the stylus well. Unfortunately, these also occasionally require you to blow into the mic. Blowing into the mic not only doesn't work very well, but also crosses the border into gimmicks territory. If this game does have a flaw, that would be it. On the other hand, there aren't many Giant Bowser battles in the game, and everything else within them is well done. Thus, it's not really a huge deal. Plot-wise, this game is really more of a spiritual sequel to Superstar Saga. Fawful is back and bigger than ever. The game is just as funny as the first game too. The characters rival Prince Peasley, Cackletta and Popple in terms of personality. Bowser surpasses all of them. You'll constantly want to see what silly thing he'll do next. He's just that entertaining. Partners in Time was partially bad because the enemies and babies were thoroughly annoying. There was very little funny, amusing or clever about the Shroobs. The same goes for Baby Mario and Baby Luigi.

The characters actually weren't as humorous as the ones in the first game. Starlow is just the voice for Mario and Luigi, and hardly ever got me to chuckle if at any time, and no other characters are really remembering. The humor got weak throughout the series and Bowser doesn't have that many silly moments. Whatever 'humor' there was, it was weak and ineffective.

This is really one of the best roleplaying games for DS. There is a good reason why it scored so highly and why it's so highly acclaimed. It's the best in its series by far. I've played all the Mario RPGs, and would even nominate this as one of the best Mario RPGs period. By contrast, Partners in Time is one of the worst. If you own a DS, like RPGs, and don't own Bowser's Inside Story, you're doing it wrong.

It IS a good game, but honestly, the series isn't going to be one of the best. It's a fun game, but the charm that the first game had, and even the second, doesn't appear in this one. It suffers from "sudden plot shift syndrome" with the blorbs AND the cure stars. It literally pulls an Earthbound with the Cure Stars and shoves them all into one little chapter and the cast of characters that are outside of Bowser worry about the blorbs but only for the first 20 minutes, so a lot of the plot just goes into the second place bin. Heck, the only reason the Cure Star is in there is for the sake of getting past the doors, which really just padded the game out some more. Fawful's big, giant plan had some actual real depth to it which made him seem like a threatening enemy instead of just the typical "take over the world" schemes where the bad guy does nothing but find the magical McGuffin without taking into consideration anything else; Fawful plotted a rather well detailed Xanatos Gambit and had back-up plan after back-up plan to achieve the McGuffin in the game.

The game is by no means BAD and it's certainly worth getting, but I wouldn't call it the best RPG on the DS by far. The extras are few and far between, the difficulty is nothing more than a bumpy road, and unless Fawful is on the screen, the plot just drags on.

[TrainerJT]

Except those side quests are literally just limited to the boss rush, special mini-games, and getting the Mushroom balls in the two areas. Even then, the boss rush is only useful for getting coins and the mini-games for getting useless equipment later on unless you have a plan built specifically around them. The hidden boss fight is also fairly pointless and easy when you first have access to it.

The bosses are challenging if you do them at or before the recommended levels.

There's also puzzles, the ability to backtrack to go to Bowser's Castle, and a few secret moves. Doing all of these things is quite useful.

Believe it or not, compared to Superstar Saga, this one has just as many sidequests. Superstar Saga had collecting beans for coffee, a few minigames (carts, jump rope, etc.), and similar collection quests as Bowser's Inside Story. Superstar Saga is also a shorter game. Replay it again and you'll see what I mean.

The areas for the Bros in 3D aren't that great since you literally just roam about the actual world with your major goal just collecting various items that Bowser can't get, like beans and items that require a Bro action.

It was clever that they designed the levels for both Bowser and the Bros, in my opinion.

While the Specials are now SP based, that actually allows even MORE spamming of them, especially when combined with the Badge system to restore SP. After some time, you can use nothing BUT Specials which deal an immense more amount of damage than any possible regular attack, AND the amount of SP restoring items you'll get are baffling. I ended the game with over 30 star candies, and not even a third came from Mighty Meteor.

The special attacks are better than the other two games though, and the stylus commands are much better overall.

In Partners in Time, a badge literally let you never run out of items. Money was also rarely an issue anyways. By the end of the game, there was only one item you ever needed to use--Mix Flowers. By contrast, Bowser's Inside Story has a fairly lengthy amount of very useful items.

Mighty Meteors-These are a godly skill in terms of utility. They hit multiple enemies, they lower power (I think), and give you a free item. While not as damaging as some other skills, they come at a low SP cost.

Snack Basket-Useful for hitting multiple targets at once. It's great for certain bosses.

Magic Windows-Arguably the strongest skill in the game, but it comes at a high SP cost. It can also dizzy opponents.

Falling Star-The strongest skill against a single enemy. This also has utility against the very-late game bosses. It can lower defense.

If you want to save some SP, there are other skills that aren't too bad either. Those 4 are definitely the best though.

The characters actually weren't as humorous as the ones in the first game. Starlow is just the voice for Mario and Luigi, and hardly ever got me to chuckle if at any time, and no other characters are really remembering. The humor got weak throughout the series and Bowser doesn't have that many silly moments. Whatever 'humor' there was, it was weak and ineffective.

You didn't laugh at, "I didn't push Dance. You are broken," or any one of the other absurd lines in the game?

Regardless, it definitely was funnier than Partners in Time, which was almost 100% dull. The Shroobs were bland, generic enemies that you couldn't even understand for the entire game. The second game was so out of ideas that they resorted to 12 year old 1337 speak humor at one point.

In terms of fun, I think this is the best RPG on DS. Granted it might not have the depth of Pokemon, The World Ends With You, and some others, but it's certainly better than the crappy Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy game ports that have been shoveled onto the system lately.

[Ballade]

Originally Posted by TrainerJT

The bosses are challenging if you do them at or before the recommended levels.

Not really, in the early stages yeah, but later on you can handle being under about 5 levels at most to take them on. If you do them at the recommended levels, you'll blast through the bosses.

There's also puzzles, the ability to backtrack to go to Bowser's Castle, and a few secret moves. Doing all of these things is quite useful.

Believe it or not, compared to Superstar Saga, this one has just as many sidequests. Superstar Saga had collecting beans for coffee, a few minigames (carts, jump rope, etc.), and similar collection quests as Bowser's Inside Story. Superstar Saga is also a shorter game. Replay it again and you'll see what I mean.

If a side-quest takes only half an hour to do, then there's not that much to begin with. The Shroobs are insanely easy, the rewards they give out are pointless, and outside of getting some field items and beans, there's not much for the Bros to do outside.

It was clever that they designed the levels for both Bowser and the Bros, in my opinion.

True, but they both stop at intervals

In Partners in Time, a badge literally let you never run out of items. Money was also rarely an issue anyways. By the end of the game, there was only one item you ever needed to use--Mix Flowers. By contrast, Bowser's Inside Story has a fairly lengthy amount of very useful items.

If you want to save some SP, there are other skills that aren't too bad either. Those 4 are definitely the best though.

Except you didn't need to save SP, there was so many SP restoring items to get that it was basically useless. You had to hunt down the badge in PnT in order to get it's effect; you essentially have the ability to use Specials nearly infinitely right near the beginning. Plus, the only skill worth using with Bowser were the Bob-omb squad and Broggy or whatever the dog's name is since they dealt the most damage.

You didn't laugh at, "I didn't push Dance. You are broken," or any one of the other absurd lines in the game?

They were more like 'pie in the face' jokes done intentionally, the humor was lost after the first couple Mario RPGs.

Regardless, it definitely was funnier than Partners in Time, which was almost 100% dull. The Shroobs were bland, generic enemies that you couldn't even understand for the entire game. The second game was so out of ideas that they resorted to 12 year old 1337 speak humor at one point.

Humor wasn't really BIS's strong point either since they just tripped and fell flat. Both games had a more interesting combat system than the first game though.

In terms of fun, I think this is the best RPG on DS. Granted it might not have the depth of Pokemon, The World Ends With You, and some others, but it's certainly better than the crappy Dragon Quest and Final Fantasy game ports that have been shoveled onto the system lately.

RPGs should always be about the story and characters involved with, and with Mario, you really can't do that. Granted, BIS has the strongest story of the M&L games, it still could have been better.

Like I said, the game was fun, but there are better RPGs than it on the DS.

[Nekobe]

I played farther into it. It's better than Partners in Time, but nowhere near Superstar Saga.

[Wolfie456]

Originally Posted by Nekobe

I played farther into it. It's better than Partners in Time, but nowhere near Superstar Saga.

Originals are the gods of a game series, SF is the only exception to this.

[TrainerJT]

RPGs should always be about the story and characters involved with, and with Mario, you really can't do that.

This is where I disagree with you on multiple levels. The rest of your points I can see what you're saying.

However, all games should prioritize game play first, in my opinion.

Beyond that, I also don't think the story is bad.