If you liked superstar saga then this is more of the same. The game is very funny and the battle style is just as inspired. However, including the babies adds a new spin on puzzles and fighting. Of course, the storyline is very wacky because they had to create a reason for the babies to be teaming up with their adult selves.
Story
Mario and Luigi get in a spot of bother and Princess Peach sets out to rescue them. Aha fooled you! Princess peach decides to test out a time machine on her own. Sh e vanishes into the past and what returns is a big ugly monster. Mario and Luigi have to go and rescue Peach in the past by jumping into a time hole. When they get there they discover that the kingdom has been invaded by evil alien shroobs (from a creepy creepy planet). They find their past selves and team up with them to rescue the future Princess.
Gameplay
With the addition of the babies, the two screens are used well. The adults and babies can split up to solve puzzles seperately or together. Because the babies are small they can fit into crevices that the adults can't. The adults can throw babies onto ledges and do extra-high double jumps with them. For example, the babies crawl through a tiny space. On the top screen the babies face a dark treacherous path with spikes either side. Mario and Luigi on the bottom screen find an extra large block with a big 'M' on it. When Mario hits the block it sends up a shine block above the babies. The babies hit the shine and have light for a few seconds The light fades. This time Luigi hits the block because it has a big 'L' on it. This carries on until the babies navigate their way out.
Battles
The enemies wander around the screen and you can avoid battles by purposely not bumping into them. The battles are turn based with added attack power if buttons are hit at the right time. When the whole group is together, adult Mario carries baby Mario on his back and baby Luigi is on adult Luigi's back. Thus you only get 2 turns per round rather than 4. The babies make a big difference in battle, especially when bros. items are used. The four DS buttons are assigned to each character: A for adult Mario, B for adult Luigi , X for baby Mario and Y for baby Luigi. Advanced bros. items require fast combos of all four buttons A, B, X and Y. For example, an early 4 button item is the cannonball. The cannonball chucks all 4 members up in the air in the top screen and they all come crashing down onto a selected target. The tricky bit is that they can come down in any order so you need to be quick at recognising which button belongs to who - pressing the correct action button just before impact increases the damage dealt. Boss fights are just as demanding and require good use of bros. items.If adult Mario and Luigi are caught in a battle they will perform the battle as a pair. Similarly, if the 2 babies are on their own, when they encounter an enemy, they will battle as a pair only.
Graphics
Graphics are the same cartoon style of the GBA. They aren't breakthrough but they are very pleasing to the eye.
Sound
The sound is excellent and uses the surround capabilities of the DS well. The babies' crying is annoying though!
Conclusion
All in all an excellent game. A must have if you have a DS. It won't be as fresh to you if you've played superstar saga or any Paper Mario. This is the first time I've felt that some sections were tedious and some boss fights were on the long side. Also, the game is easy all the way through. I never felt challenged. It would be very hard to top superstar saga and in my opinion they didn't quite make it. This does not reflect badly on the game since superstar saga was a 10/10 for me.
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