Two words are probably enough to sum up my opinion of Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story for Nintendo DS – it sucks. Maybe I should leave it at that, but I’m a huge fan of the other Mario games on the DS, so this was a huge disappointment. More of the awful details are called for so I can convince you not to waste your money on this crappy game.
I won’t go into the stupid story, but the basics of the game revolve around a takeover of Princess Peach’s castle by Lord Fawful. Naturally, you have to get it back. Mario and Luigi get inhaled by Bowser, who has eaten some bad mushrooms that make him suck wind. You get to control Bowser, but also have control over the tag team of Mario & Luigi, who are stuck in Bowser’s body for much of the game. One of the sort of fun aspect of Bowser’s Inside Story that I kind of like is that the things you do inside Bowser’s body affect what he’s able to do in the outside world.
The combat is kind of strange, and I sure don’t like it as much as Super Mario DS or New Super Mario Bros., both truly awesome games that are fun to play and have lots of replay value. Combat in Bowser’s Inside Story is turn based – Mario gets a crack, then Luigi, then the monsters. Lather, rinse, repeat. This isn’t really so bad, but it’s not as much fun as the real time combat of the other games.
My biggest complaint is that there’s just too much dialogue. What could be more boring than clicking your way through endless conversations with “cutesy” characters who are trying to be funny but are just wasting your time and making you frustrated. Enough already! Let’s get to the gameplay, please.
There are lots of power up and special moves to be found, and I don’t really have complaints about the actual gameplay. It’s different than the other Mario games, but except for the endlessly stupid dialogue with other characters, I wouldn’t mind it.
If you haven’t played Super Mario DS or New Super Mario Bros. you should go out and buy those a hundred times over before you buy the boring and disappointing Bowser’s Iniside Story. Trust me, avoid this game and spend your money on something that’s actually fun.
