Comments on: Mario & Luigi Bowser’s Inside Story

By: Charles Evans

Charles Evans — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 17:38:17 +0000

Review by Charles Evans for Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story Rating: It is hard to go wrong with a Mario game for Nintendo - all of the games are age appropriate and offer hours of fun. "Mario & Luig Bowser's Inside Story" (I will call it "Inside Story" from here on out) is a great blend of all of the Mario games of the past. It is highly addictive, I have noticed that as I get older fewer and fewer games keep my interest enough to continue playing. I need for them to be fun, but not so complicated that I have to devote hours to learning the story (I just don't have time). "Inside Story" is perfect it walks you through the game controls while introducing the story line.

"Inside Story" allows you to play as Bowser on the top screen and the Mario/Luigi combination on the bottom screen. You see, Bowser inhaled Mario/Luigi and the whole cast of characters, so while Bowser is trying to find out why he is feeling funny Mario is trying to escape from Bowser's belly! The result is probably the best game i have ever played on the DS - it combines Mario 64 with Zelda.

As you progress in the story you are given the ability to buy or find new equipment, abilities, and helpful items. In typical RPG fashion you advance through levels which gives you stronger attacks, better defense, and other characteristics. At first , I was skeptical in introducing a RPG format for Mario, but "Inside Story" really does combine the best of both worlds.

Other Observations

- Nice graphics
- At times there is a little too much dialogue which does slow the game down
- Ample save points
- Age appropriate - probably not for kids under the age of 8 since it does require a fair amount of reading
- I love playing Mario and Luigi at the SAME TIME!
- Nice length - you will not finish the game in one (or ten) sittings
- The ability to do power-ups is a nice introduction to the Mario series

Final Verdict-

A great game for the Nintendo DS - if you enjoyed any of the previous Mario games you likely will not be disappointed.

5 Stars

By: S.Papstein

S.Papstein — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 17:28:15 +0000

Review by S.Papstein for Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story Rating: (I would like to put a disclaimer that 3 1/2 Stars means Good, not Bad)

I'm beginning to think if you stick Mario's name on any game, it becomes a bonafide hit: he's conquered platforming, racing, sports (kinda) and once agian, role playing. Mario and Luigi BIS carries the quality that we've grown to expect into another good role playing game.

Mario rpg's have always been known for the fun dialouge. Of course, BIS keeps the fire coming with more witty dialouge, and fun characters. Bowser has sucked the Bros inside his body in a hair-brained scheme to take over Mushroom Kingdom (that went horribly wrong, as usuall). They must work co-operativly to retake the Kingdom from Lord Fawful. All characters dialouge is well written, especially Bowser, but does tend to drag on more than it's needed.

Combat varies from fun to tedious. The mechanics are classic turn-based Mario rpg attackes, but another trend BIS brings with it is too common enemy encounters. The fun sucks out quick by not necessarily hard fights, but long ones. Thankfully, whenever the game reaches a lull (whether in combat in or bland level designs) the pace does get mixed up nicely with constant new mini game mechanics.

Mario and Luigi BIS sticks to it's core basics, whether it be in combat, the writting, or in length (20 hrs plus is what I think I'm gonna be looking at), but if you are looking for a good DS RPG, this is the hottest game on the market....Love that box art too, by the way.

By: Brandon

Brandon — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 17:02:16 +0000

Review by Brandon for Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story Rating: I want to start off by saying that this game does almost everything right and hardly anything wrong. The gameplay is great. You use Bowser on the top screen with the D-Pad and X makes Bowser punch and Y makes Bowser breathe fire. Mario and Luigi are controlled by the D-pad and the A and B buttons. The action is very smooth and well done in this game. The Bowser battles are a lot different then the Mario and Luigi battles but that helps make the game even greater. The characters in this game all are full of life, color, and humor. The boss battles are fun, and the battles that Bowser grows and you have to turn your DS around like a book are very fun. The storyline is crazy but its funny, and the text in the game and actions of the characters are 100% classic. Some of my favorite parts of the game are when your Bowser and you meet up with any of his minions that always leads to a funny moment.

Fun Factor- A+
Graphics- A
Sound- A
Controls- B+
Lasting appeal- A

By: Zedada

Zedada — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:59:35 +0000

Review by Zedada for Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story Rating: I bought this game primarily for my 8 year old son (and a bit for his 5 year old sister). As it can only save information for only two players at once, only me and my son have played. We have both been extremely impressed. He says it is definitely his favourite DS game (we have super mario brothers, as well as bunch of other non-Mario titles). He finds it interesting, never boring, challenging and a lot of fun. I have never played a RPG before and also find it a lot of fun if a bit challenging at times (likely due to my lack of experience). It is likely much too complicated for a 5 year old (even one who reads very well) but age 7 and up is probably great. Enjoy! Hope this helps. My son comparing it to Super Mario Brothers said --- it is so much better because you don't have to keep repeating the same levels over and over again. (i sort of agree though I do like super mario brothers a lot).

By: Mark E. Valenti

Mark E. Valenti — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 16:22:14 +0000

Review by Mark E. Valenti for Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story Rating: I've played and beaten all seven Mario RPG's (not just the Mario & Luigi games, all seven Mario RPG's), and Bowser's inside story is, without a doubt, the best one. That's incredible because I never played a Mario RPG I wouldn't give a score of at least 85/100 to. Bowser's Inside Story is the best Nintendo DS game made so far. Bowser gets a huge portion of the gameplay, and it's awesome. There are three different battle systems. One for Mario and Luigi, one for bowser, and one where Bowser becomes huge to fight huge enemies (This is the best part of the game, it's epic). It will take the average player 25-30 hours to beat the game, while there are 5-8 hours of extras. What's really amazing is that there's so much diversity in the gameplay, it NEVER ONCE gets repetitive or boring.

Good Things
- Never boring or repetitive.
- Three different, all amazing battle systems.
- 25-30 hour adventure.
- Great graphics and sound.
- Worth replaying at least two times.
- Unique, unpredictable, epic RPG.
- All-around incredible game.

Bad Things
- A VERY MINOR complaint, the game has lame box art.

Presentation- 97.5/100
Does a very good job getting you into the game, I liked the game so much, it's all I did in my free time until I beat it.

Graphics- 95.5/100
Strictly 2D, but still incredible.

Sound- 98/100
Sounds incredible. Sounds like a Mario game should, but the music is a little less cheery than a typical Mario game.

Gameplay- 100/100
So many different parts of gameplay, and they all come together perfectly!

Innovation- 96/100
The game designers really got creative with this Mario RPG, that's for sure!

Replay Value- 98.5/100
You should replay it at least twice and try to see all the extras it has to offer.

Difficulty- Medium
It's not quite as hard as Partners in Time. It seems easy until the final part of the game, where the difficulty goes up significantly.

Overall- 99/100
Bowser's Inside Story comes out to be a near-perfect game, overall, and amazingly surpasses Kirby Superstar Ultra to become the best game on the DS.