Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story Review

Panic in the Mushroom Kingdom! Mysterious blorb shrooms are causing Toads to swell into giant spheres and roll around uncontrollably. When a committee is formed to consult about the epidemic–including the Mario Bros and a Star Sprite named Starlow–Bowser intrudes only to be defeated and find himself in a forest, where the real villain lurks. Fawful (from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga) is up to his old tricks, and fools Bowser into eating a mushroom that makes him inhale the Mario Bros, Peach, and many of the Toads on the committee. You’ll have to take control of both the Mario Bros inside of Bowser’s body and Bowser himself to stop Fawful’s nefarious plans in this wildly silly and entertaining RPG.

The story really is quite absurd, in the best way possible. Part of it stems from Fawful, one of the most bizarre and goofy characters in the history of Mario, and part of it comes from the fantastic, humorous writing that distinguishes the Mario & Luigi series. Keep in mind that the story is meant to be silly and you’ll be able to appreciate a lot of the humor, and don’t worry, it’s not all about kid-level jokes–adults should find a lot to enjoy here as well. Regardless of your age, Fawful and Bowser really steal the show: the game may be called Mario & Luigi, but the true highlights of the story are Fawful’s amazingly abstract dialogue and Bowser’s often bumbling interaction with other characters. That’s not to say that this is a bad direction, but the Mario Bros. and their cohorts have taken a back seat to the comedy pairing of Fawful and Bowser.

Mario and Luigi will have to fix Bowser's flame pipes to help him progress.

At heart, the Mario & Luigi series is an RPG series, meaning you’ll fight enemies on a battle screen, select commands from a menu, earn experience points to level up, and buy equipment to boost your stats. What set Mario & Luigi apart from standard RPGs, though, are the little touches, such as dealing bonus damage with well-timed button presses, or earning bonus stat points from a roulette when leveling up. Special attacks are engaging affairs, requiring timing and concentration, else you’ll be left with a weak attack and wasted special points. This attention to detail ensures that battles rarely become boring or repetitive, and really ensnares your attention for the entire duration of the game. There’s some aspect that makes the game hard to put down, which speaks to the quality of the game and the seamless way that the story progresses.

Ultimately, though, it’s Bowser that’s the most fun to control. With earth shattering punches, fire breath, and an iron stomach, the Koopa King’s portions end up being more fun than the iconic plumbers’. Mowing down enemies with devastating attacks is always a blast, and Bowser’s sections offer a whole different way to play compared to previous games in the series. Of course, Mario and Luigi often offer a helping hand from within Bowser’s gut, by increasing his strength, easing his pains, or allowing him to grow to a gargantuan height and decimate giant sized enemies. Most of these events are triggered through minigames, and there are a lot of minigames here, especially in the first half of the game. They’re in danger of overrunning the game, but they’re generally a lot of fun, and since they’re integrated into the main game, you won’t have to put off progress to enjoy some side-games.

Bowser can change conditions inside his body to help Mario and Luigi progress.

As in previous Mario & Luigi titles, the controls are divided to accommodate both Mario brothers. In and out of battle, the “A” button controls Mario and the “B” button controls Luigi. Additionally, “X” and “Y” control Bowser, making it easy to alternate between the two screens–while controlling Mario and Luigi, press “X” and you’ll switch to controlling Bowser, and vice versa. Though the majority of the game is played through this relatively traditional button scheme, the developers haven’t forgotten the DS’s unique abilities. Minigames and special attacks make use of the touch screen, such as Bowser’s special attack Goomba Storm where you tap on goombas to light them on fire and increase their attack power. You can even blow into the mic to have Bowser breathe fire when he is particularly powerful. This format is a smart and convenient way of using the touch screen while not forcing the player to take out the stylus every other second, and is much easier to manipulate than many other DS games that try to incorporate both.

The graphics have a cartoonish quality, but are also surprisingly detailed. The colors are particularly vivid and really bring the Mushroom Kingdom–and Bowser’s guts–to life. The music is similarly cheery and well done, and little sound clips of some of the major characters, such as Mario and Luigi jabbering in Italian, are nice touches to the game. The whole presentation exudes light-hearted fun and really emphasizes that inimitable quality that marks all of Mario’s games.

When Bowser gets super-powered, turn the DS sideways and unleash his fury with the touch screen.

The game lasts approximately twenty hours, but you can easily pad that length by exploring the Mushroom Kingdom to its fullest or by taking on boss challenges and special attack chains. Both will reward you with cash or items, and both are meant for those gamers looking to get the most out of the game. If grinding levels isn’t your cup of tea, the game’s difficulty never forces you to go above and beyond a straight forward approach, so any style of gamer can play as he prefers.

The Mario & Luigi series has distinguished itself as a delightfully comical RPG series with plenty of Mario-style flair, and Bowser’s Inside Story is no different. The story is fun, the gameplay is addicting, and the overall presentation is wonderfully entertaining. Pepper in some choice use of the DS’s functions, an appearance by Fawful, and some great Bowser sequences, and you have one of the best DS titles of the year.

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