I bought this one for the wife, because she wanted to try a platformer that was maybe a little easier/more lenient, with a female protagonist. Turns out she still didn’t really like it, she’s just not suited to the genre. Actually getting it was an ordeal, the first copy we picked up was a cheap fake that didn’t work. The manual was a poorly-produced piece of work that seemed to reproduce a review of the game, and the card was misshapen. We had to drive back down just to return it.

I was very interested in the game, for one of the reasons I find Paper Mario fascinating—it’s a collecting point for some of the obscure Mario series elements that the bland main series ignores, especially enemies from Yoshi’s Island (my favourite Mario game by far). Its existence adds a lot to the Mario universe, not least of which is Peach’s capabilities. Exhibited here are mainly her umbrella combat skills (shown in SMRPG and Smash) and emotional control (she can turn them on and off at will). Plus Toad (yes, The Toad…probably) is playable in minigames and that guy needs some spotlight.

Anyways it’s done by TOSE, who are a little hit and miss but this one seems to follow in some ways their Starfy series I think, which is supposed to be good (from what I’ve heard). There’s a big bunch of unlockables and collectibles which I love. Although I still had lots of game to go by the time I bought everything in the shop, and accumulated way too many coins.

So this is like an action platformer, with levels that tend to branch occasionally. I found this frustrating as I wasn’t sure which way was the right way, got a little lost and often missed sections. You have a generous health bar, and an MP gauge that drains (quickly) with your emotion powers. These can be extended, and refilled easily enough. Said powers are used to pass obstacles and find hidden areas and stuff.

It is a fairly easy game (for me) but the controls do have some complexity, and as I said the levels can be confounding. Some of those “change the mechanics up with a vehicle” sections are tedious, too. All up though I had a great time here, running around, hitting Goombas with an umbrella, upgrading my powers, clearing out levels. The boss fights are good and the mishmash of different Mario games (mostly World and Yoshi’s Island, I think) was gratifying.

I’m currently playing the Superstar Saga RPG by AlphaDream and it has a similar feel, and even a graphical resemblance which makes me wonder about the development. I love the style by the way, and I’ve seen a few fangames that transplant a similar look into platformers that manage to utterly shame Miyamoto and co. Similarly, I’ll always dislike Peach being damseled when she kicks so much ass in this game.

It’s perhaps not for everyone but the Yoshi’s Island comparison I brought up earlier extends to the gameplay too, with the exploration, variety of mechanics, and environmental interaction that are fundamental to that game’s play. I’d feel ok to place this spiritually in the Yoshi lineage, in fact. As such I have high esteem for it, and being associated with such a great lifts it up, while being different enough to not suffer overly in comparison. Sure it’s a little simpler and the execution more flawed, but I had fun here and so will any fan of the flipside of the Mario universe. Oh and Perry=Mallow, think about it. I posted about this earlier. Look it up.