Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is a game that combines elements of action and role-playing to create a unique adventure made exclusively for Nintendo’s dual-screened portable system, the DS. While this is the first experience of this kind to debut on the system, it is not the first role-playing quest to feature characters from the Mario universe. The distinction of being the premier Mario role-playing venture belongs to ‘Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars’ for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. This game was the result of collaboration between Nintendo and Square soft, a company known throughout the gaming community for their successful fantasy role-playing games. This adventure would regrettably be one of the last great games for the aforementioned system, as Square and Nintendo would eventually part ways due to differences in opinion regarding new technology.

Once the Game Boy Advance portable system was released, gamers clamored for original content regarding their favorite character. This demand was well-understood considering that the majority of the Game Boy Advance library consisted of games that had already appeared on earlier systems. Nintendo responded by releasing ‘Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.’ While this adventure shared many similarities with Super Mario RPG, it distinguished itself by having a more ‘active’ battle system and a plot that had more context than saving the princess.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga would become one of the GBA’s (Game Boy Advance) best-selling adventures; however, it would also cause gamers to demand that Nintendo release yet another extension of the Mario RPG franchise. It seems to be the norm for games: when one becomes successful, individuals demand another.

Nintendo did not release a sequel to Mario & Luigi on the Game Boy Advance, instead choosing to debut the product on their newer system, the DS. How does this adventure fare in holding up the Mario legacy?