Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (Nintendo DS) Preview

Well, I received the game I have been waiting for most since it was first announced yesterday evening and was absolutely itching to play it. Sure, I have a great love for some of the other recent releases I have obtained, such as Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow and Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, but my endearment to the Mario RPG series as a whole, and especially Alpha Dream's hilarious Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga on the GBA, meant that my usual routine of arriving home and collapsing on the sofa to watch TV before nodding into a snore-filled deep sleep was cast aside with a swift *whoosh*.

When I had first got time to dabble with the delights of the Baby Mario Bros, back in July 2005, I have to say I was not over-awed by the experience at all, mainly because the demo available did not have any audible sound (which makes a big difference as just hearing the garbled words from the various characters raises a chuckle on several occasions) and also because the crazy story had not been introduced, instead throwing players into the middle of a particular early section without much rhyme or reason.

Anyway, switching my DS on and navigating to the game, I was met by the scintillating hands of two clock-faces, one with Baby Mario on, the other infantile Luigi. Jumping right into the main storyline, it proves to just just as crazy and amusing as its predecessor. Seems like Alpha Dream's magical touch was certainly no fluke after all (although I know that more than others, having bothered to play the company's Hamtaro RPG-lite adventures and first GBA Japanese-only game, 'Tomato Adventure'...but maybe others think this is just the developer's second shot).

Okay, so maybe the graphics are still basically the same as the GBA iteration, but in all honesty they have definitely been cleaned up so much that their gleam is extraordinary. Plus, there are lovely little 3D effects thrown in for good measure, such as when travelling back and forth through time, and sections with lovely two-dimensional drawn images to guide you through some of the earlier moves (tutorials that you can skip for the most part if you are a veteran Mario RPG'er). The original music side has not struck me too hard yet, although the remixed classical Mario tunes are a really nice treat and the voice work proves highly chucklesome, as stated before. More time with the game will give me a better opinion on the soundtrack, no doubt.

Just as its younger brother, the difficulty level is not so hard that you will come away crying like you do with some Final Fantasy titles, yet not so easy that it looks like the game will be over within a couple of nights. And thankfully the tradition of wandering enemies, as opposed to random encounters is upheld. As for the battles themselves, the introduction of Baby Mario and Luigi into the mix with the older brothers means that various new moves can be activated, as well as extra 'Brothers' moves added to the original line-up from the GBA. The babies also play a large part in the general gameplay, throwing up all sorts of puzzles, with many sections requiring you to control one set of brothers on the top screen using 'X' and 'Y', whilst the others are on the lower, accessed using 'A' and 'B'. It all works so smoothly that it is ingenious and it makes you wonder if this technique will be used for future games because it works so well.

Therefore, overall my first impressions have left me dying for more, eager to get out of work (just four hours left...) and dive back onto my DS. Expect a more in-depth discussion of the game in the full review that should air on C3 in about two weeks' time...