{"id":1171,"date":"2017-10-02T10:30:00","date_gmt":"2017-10-02T10:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/10\/preview_jumping_for_joy_with_mario_and_luigi_superstar_saga_plus_bowsers_minions"},"modified":"2017-10-02T10:30:00","modified_gmt":"2017-10-02T10:30:00","slug":"preview-jumping-for-joy-with-mario-luigi-superstar-saga-bowsers-minions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/2017\/10\/02\/preview-jumping-for-joy-with-mario-luigi-superstar-saga-bowsers-minions\/","title":{"rendered":"Preview: Jumping for Joy With Mario &amp; Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser&#8217;s Minions"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"picture embed centered picture-900x img-900x\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a title=\"3DS_Mario&amp;LuigiSuperstars_Bowser_sMinions_artwork_02.jpg\" href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/10\/preview_jumping_for_joy_with_mario_and_luigi_superstar_saga_plus_bowsers_minions\/attachment\/0\/large.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/10\/preview_jumping_for_joy_with_mario_and_luigi_superstar_saga_plus_bowsers_minions\/attachment\/0\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"3DS_Mario&amp;LuigiSuperstars_Bowser_sMinions_artwork_02.jpg\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>Nintendo is keen to prove that the 3DS has life in it yet, and it&#8217;s doing a bang-up job. First we got <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/3ds\/metroid_samus_returns\">Metroid: Samus Returns<\/a><\/strong>, and now we have another reimagined classic in the form of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/3ds\/mario_and_luigi_superstar_saga_plus_bowsers_minions\"><strong>Mario &amp; Luigi: Superstar Saga<\/strong><\/a>. Does it hold a candle to Samus Aran\u2019s latest outing? We\u2019ve spent some quality time with the final game and have some impressions to share.<\/p>\n<h3>The Bros. are Back<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s difficult to believe, but the original Mario &amp; Luigi: Superstar Saga was released <em>fourteen<\/em> years ago, in 2003. The Game Boy Advance title was well loved and started a series of spiritual successors to the Super Nintendo Square-developed hit, <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/snes\/super_mario_rpg_legend_of_the_seven_stars\">Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p>If you played the original GBA version of this classic the first thing you\u2019ll notice is the new art style, which eschews the more cartoony aesthetic in favour of something a bit more akin to the pseudo three-dimensional art of the IP&#8217;s 3DS predecessors. The change is bound to be a divisive topic among fans, but the more we\u2019ve played of the game, the more we\u2019ve come to enjoy it.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture strip\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/10\/preview_jumping_for_joy_with_mario_and_luigi_superstar_saga_plus_bowsers_minions\/attachment\/2\/original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/10\/preview_jumping_for_joy_with_mario_and_luigi_superstar_saga_plus_bowsers_minions\/attachment\/2\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"3DS_MarioLuigiSSBM_char_16.png\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>In this game Mario &amp; Luigi are in search of Princess Peach\u2019s stolen voice. A new villain, Cackletta, has taken it with plans to rule over the Mushroom Kingdom\u2019s neighbour, the Beanbean Kingdom. Mario and his green-shirted bro set out on an adventure that sees them taking on familiar enemies in unfamiliar places.<\/p>\n<p>Despite being an RPG, Mario &amp; Luigi doesn\u2019t adhere to genre norms, even in 2017. While the genre has begun to shift away from random encounters, with some games like Bravely Default even allowing the player to turn them off, Mario &amp; Luigi follows in its cousin\u2019s footsteps and displays bad guys in your surroundings.<\/p>\n<p>Every part of Mario &amp; Luigi is a joy, and the combat is the stuff we wish all turn-based RPGs were made of. Rather than leaving whether an attack hits or misses up to chance, as with most games of this type in the genre, a well-timed jump or swing of your hammer will help you evade or counter an enemy\u2019s attack. It\u2019s a simple idea, but one that works so, so well in practice; it\u2019s surprising more games don\u2019t take this approach.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"picture strip\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/10\/preview_jumping_for_joy_with_mario_and_luigi_superstar_saga_plus_bowsers_minions\/attachment\/3\/original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/10\/preview_jumping_for_joy_with_mario_and_luigi_superstar_saga_plus_bowsers_minions\/attachment\/3\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"3DS_MarioLuigiSSBM_char_19.png\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>The overworld is far from dull, either. Exploring environments throughout the Beanbean Kingdom is made enjoyable by the environment puzzles presented. Everywhere you turn there\u2019s a chest in a seemingly impossible to reach spot or an enemy in a weird spot. Using the skills you unlock as you progress through the story you&#8217;re able to reach new areas on a regular basis.<\/p>\n<p>Mario &amp; Luigi is also full of nods to the Bros\u2019 storied history. You\u2019ll encounter enemies like Fighter Flies from the original arcade Mario Bros. to virii from Dr. Mario, as well as classics like Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Hammer Bros. and more. That isn\u2019t to say everything is a throwback, however. Mario &amp; Luigi boasts a whole host of new enemies and characters to fill out the foreign land the duo adventure in.<\/p>\n<p>On your way to defeat Cackletta you\u2019ll meet a colourful cast of new characters, all of whom need rescuing by the brothers Mario. You\u2019ll encounter would-be heroes like the always-fancy Prince Peasley to some more over-the-top characters like Queen Bean and Lady Lima. They may not have the same star quality of series mainstays, but they make up a great supporting cast. The dialogue is always good for a chuckle too. We\u2019re particularly fond of the running gag in which nobody can quite seem to remember who Luigi is.<\/p>\n<h3>What you gonna do, bad boys?<\/h3>\n<aside class=\"picture strip\">\n<div class=\"img\"><a href=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/10\/preview_jumping_for_joy_with_mario_and_luigi_superstar_saga_plus_bowsers_minions\/attachment\/1\/original.jpg\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"http:\/\/images.nintendolife.com\/news\/2017\/10\/preview_jumping_for_joy_with_mario_and_luigi_superstar_saga_plus_bowsers_minions\/attachment\/1\/900x.jpg\" alt=\"3DS_MarioLuigiSSBM_charset_01.png\" \/><\/a><\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<p>New to this version of Superstar Saga is Minion Quest, a side story that gives you an inside look at the life of those destined to be stomped by one of our mustachioed men of action. After reaching a certain point in the main campaign, Minion Quest will become available as an option you can hop into and out of with a tap of the touch screen.<\/p>\n<p>Minion Quest starts out aboard Bowser\u2019s airship; you\u2019re a Goomba trapped in a barrel, unable to get even a modicum of respect from your peers. When Bowser\u2019s ship is shot down, you and your fellow Goombas fall from the skies and are scattered. It\u2019s up to you to reassemble Bowser\u2019s minions and help locate and rescue your boss.<\/p>\n<p>The gameplay itself is reminiscent of <strong><a href=\"http:\/\/www.nintendolife.com\/games\/3ds\/miitopia\">Miitopia<\/a><\/strong>, Nintendo\u2019s other recent RPG; as you build a squad, you get into skirmishes with other groups of minions. You\u2019ll move along a path and battle automatically, with the only inputs needed from you being a push of the A button at times to land a critical hit, or a small range of limited &#8216;captain&#8217; moves on the D-Pad directions to disrupt the enemy&#8217;s attacks.<\/p>\n<p>Beyond that, you\u2019ll need to build your party based on what you\u2019re up against. Minion Quest operates in a sort of rock-paper-scissors format. Goombas are weak to flying enemies, and flying enemies are weak to Hammer Bros, where Hammer Bros. are weak to Goombas. You\u2019ll know what you\u2019re up against in advance, so you have to carefully plan who you\u2019re taking with you.<\/p>\n<p>Minion Quest interweaves with the main campaign\u2019s story and gives you insight into what Bowser\u2019s forces are doing while their boss is gallivanting around the Beanbean Kingdom. The banter between the baddies is often funny and the tone is lighter than the already lighthearted main story. It feels a bit feature-light be we\u2019ve enjoyed it thus far as a distraction.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>The years have been kind to Superstar Saga. The gameplay is still ahead of its time and the new visuals look great on the small screen. We&#8217;ll have much more on Mario &amp; Luigi in a few days right here on Nintendo Life, of course, including our full review. Are you keen to pick up this new take on one of Mario&#8217;s older adventures?\u00a0Let us know with a comment.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Nintendo is keen to prove that the 3DS has life in it yet, and it&#8217;s doing a bang-up job. First we got Metroid: Samus Returns, and now we have another reimagined classic in the form of Mario &amp; Luigi: Superstar Saga. Does it hold a candle to Samus Aran\u2019s latest outing? We\u2019ve spent some quality [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1171","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nintendo-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1171","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1171"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1171\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1171"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1171"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sickgaming.net\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1171"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}