The game Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Gameboy Advance was sitting on my shelf just begging to be reviewed. So, here’s the Review of Mario and Luigi for the GBA. I will grade on a scale of 0-10, with 0 being the worst and 10 being the highest. Also, the difficulty rating is my opinion of how good the difficulty is for the game, not how difficult the game is, making it kind of subjective. Well, here goes.

Graphics: 8.5
The graphics were pretty good for the GBA. I myself was impressed with the star that appears when you go into a battle, although it probably wasn’t very hard for the designers. It looked very smooth and moved well.  However, I took away 1.5 points for the character sprites, especially Mario and Luigi, since they look pixilated at times and very blocky.

Sound: 7.0
The sound effects weren’t too shabby, considering the system. I especially liked the voices, which never really got annoying like I thought they would. Nothing can beat the battle cry of “Go ‘uigi” as Luigi is going into a battle solo. Nevertheless, the other sound effects sometimes got a little unrealistic and synthetic sounding, and took three points off the score.

Music: 8.5
The soundtrack for this game is like most Mario games, having one original song and about fifty remakes of old Mario songs. I like the old ones better, though. It even has the Grass Land theme, one of my favorite Mario songs of all time!

Difficulty: 7.5
The difficulty is perfect for most of the game, with it erring a tad on the easy side. This is good, because nothing shuts me off to a game more than being stuck on a puzzle. The puzzles are of the best difficulty: they make you think, but they’re not impossible I’m never gonna figure this ^%&% thing out-type tricks. Unfortunately, towards the end, it turns into one big boss battle after another, and the last bosses are nigh impossible. This is why I dropped the score.

Controls: 9.0
The controls are extremely simple, and it doesn’t have a bunch of huge combos like A + B + L + quarter circle forward that you have to do. I do wish that the switch button was a little easier to get too, however. Maybe L or R, perhaps. But then, where would their functions be?

Battle: 7.5
Mario RPGs have always been different because you leveled up, but good reflexes could really help your game. You could press A at the right time and take ten less damage, for example. In Superstar Saga, they have taken that to the extreme. The action command, as it is called, can almost double the damage you deal, and rather than block attacks, as in previous games, you dodge them. This means that if you have really good reflexes, it is possible to go through the whole game without taking a single hit. As one Nintendo Power staff member put it, it’s more of an action platformer where you gain experience than an RPG. Also, the game suffers from a shortage of attacks, since there’re only eight Bros. Attacks total and three Solo Attacks. I was expecting a bit more variety.

Field Mode: 8.0
In Field Mode, all of the controls are perfect, and you get to experience the part of the game with nearly no flaws. The puzzles are well thought out, the landscapes are kooky and nice-looking, and the enemies behave like, well, enemies. Unfortunately, the Bros. move a bit slowly, which can get irritating. Of course, this is the part where the dialogue is, and that means…

Jokes: 7.5
The jokes are what everybody was raving about for this game, and it is a rather funny game, poking fun at the whole Mario franchise. However, if you were expecting a joke book that you play with, you’re going to be disappointed. It wasn’t as funny as it was cracked up to be, and only one part at the end made me really laugh, although that laugh was a good one. The jokes in the middle of the game get few and far between, and the game almost loses its touch there. Although I am a stone-faced kind of guy, despite my name.

Overall: 8.5
This is a very good game, and I would recommend it to anyone who wants something to keep them occupied for a few days. It is rather short, and a little disappointing in the humor department. But I think it’s worth the $30 to buy, although no more. Besides, get it to see the KOOPALINGS BACK IN ACTION!

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