Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Rather than the usual Mario-fare where Bowser turns up, snatches Princess Peach from the Toadstool Kingdom and whisks her away to his evil domain in a remote location, whilst sending out his troops to slow down the unwitting plumber's rescue-mission progress, there is a slight twist here. Bowser arrives at the Princess's castle all ready to hoist her off when he realises that somebody has stolen her voice and replaced it with volatile symbols that explode as soon as she expels them from her mouth. Disheartened that his own castle would be destroyed if he kidnapped her now, he begs that Mario (and Luigi, who gets dragged along in a highly comical manner) dashes off to find the culprit, return her ability to speak so that he can conclude his evil plan...

There is just one matter that has to be brought to attention before talking about anything else

 

Aping Paper Mario's and Yoshi's Island's style, Superstar Saga plumps for a cartoon-ish approach to graphics in order to complement the sense of humour found throughout the title. Whilst looking at still images might lead you to believe that not much effort has gone into the presentation side, it is only when you witness this marvel in motion that you will fully understand why Alpha Dream has been so ultimately successful in its operation. The animation is the key, with many little peculiar facial expressions making an appearance at regular intervals and comic slap-stick action between the two Mario brothers that give the general feeling of watching a comedy cartoon show. Mario & Luigi exudes charm and will frequently have gamers grinning and chuckling at the humorous, and highly colourful, on-screen antics.

Music to my ears...yes...indeed

 

Well, not exactly...As mentioned in the storyline, it is her voice you are trying to save

 

Thrown into the mix, to round off such a magnanimous gaming product, Alpha Dream