LogFAQs > #934760113

#30. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story


Ive said this many times, but RPG Bowser is the single greatest character Nintendo has ever produced (although I guess Square deserves partial credit!). When I learned that he was finally getting to take center stage as the main character, I was all in. As you can see by its ranking here, Bowsers Inside Story lived up to those lofty expectations for me. I suppose there could have been some skepticism considering Bowser had never been the main character of a Mario game before. You could wonder if RPG Bowsers effectiveness was due to the fact that they gave him to you in small doses so it always left you wanting more, but I think this game stacks up with the very best stuff the series has to offer. He isnt self-titled the King of Awesome for nothing! Seriously though, one of the things that impresses me about most Mario RPGs is how clever and funny the writing is, and this game proves you can never have too much RPG Bowser (as an aside, one of Sticker Stars biggest offenses was reducing Bowser to just a generic bad guy and giving him zero lines of dialogue. Seriously, that game does not understand why people like Mario RPGs).

Anyway, the basic premise of Bowsers Inside Story is that Mario and Luigi team up with Bowser (unbeknownst to him since he unwittingly swallows them at the beginning of the game. It makes sense in context, trust me) to take down Fawful, who makes his return after skipping out on Partners in Time. I honestly wasnt a big fan of the guy in Superstar Saga (I thought his unique way of speaking was more annoying than funny), but they actually make him into an effective villain here. Mario and Luigi occasionally have to help power up Bowser from the inside to help him defeat the stronger enemies in the game through a series of mini-games that are pretty good, for the most part, if not a bit repetitive. Switching between controlling Bowser and controlling the brothers is pretty much seamless (you can basically do it whenever you want), and they make it work really well.

The core gameplay of Bowsers Inside Story is largely the same as the other Mario & Luigi games when youre controlling the brothers. The game emphasizes teamwork between the two of them, whether while youre exploring or in battle. You have a bunch of different abilities that you gain throughout the game that enable you to access areas you couldnt before, and the special combo attacks you can use in battle are really fun and can be pretty powerful once you get the timing of them down. Bowser adds a new wrinkle to the formula because he operates alone, but he can gain special Koopa Troop attacks as he finds various members of the troop. He can also inhale most enemies and let Mario & Luigi deal with them if you so choose. There are occasionally some giant Bowser battles, too, and those were some of my favorite battles in the game. Also, I have to say that Bowsers Inside Story absolutely nailed the final boss. Its one of my favorite final bosses in any game with one of my favorite final boss themes. The atmosphere is just off the charts. It brings all the gameplay elements together in a really fun way, and its really satisfying to win.

I didnt bother to get the Bowsers Inside Story remake they released on the 3DS last year though, and that was mostly because I didnt like that they changed the graphical style to resemble New Super Mario Bros. The art style of the Mario & Luigi games is part of their charm, so I just couldnt see it being as good as the original. I guess people agreed with me because I heard it bombed, and AlphaDream (the company that developed the Mario & Luigi games) declared bankruptcy back in October of last year. Its kind of sad to think that the days of great Mario RPGs are probably behind us now after how amazing they were for about 15 years.

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