Recently I was gifted a copy of Dream Team (Bros), the 4th Mario & Luigi game. Having already played the third, Bowser’s Inside Story, I decided I should go back and catch up on the others before playing the latest, which apparently references the previous installments. I think I made the right choice in playing the older ones before the newest one, because I’ve done both 1 and 2 now and they seem to be improving with each one (in my opinion, common consensus seems to be first is best).
But let’s not get too ahead of ourselves. The series has carved out a niche very distinctly from Paper Mario, which has quite gone off the rails in its last couple of entries. And unlike the latter, it seems to retain a core through each one, not changing too much at once. This may seem a classic Nintendo recipe for stagnation, but I say there'senough each time to keep it relatively fresh, and refinement of a formula can be rewarding—evolution as opposed to Paper Mario’s contentious revolution.
Er, more getting ahead. I can’t help but make these broader comparisons though, going from the third back. And I can’t help but feel hard done by on the still clunky design aspects of the first installment. For example, there are a ton of different modes and configurations for actions in the overworld. You get jumps, combo jumps, front and back hammer options, hand powers, and they all change depending on which Bro is in the lead. The difficulty curve is also a little wonky in places. We also have a lot of mandatory minigames that aren’t much fun, but at least break up the grind a bit.
These gripes are pretty minor though. As I said, the core is there and it is strong. The mix of isometric 3D puzzle platforming and RPG gameplay is a winning formula. Making it feel like Mario with these unfamiliar elements is an accomplishment. In fact these RPGs are my favourite Mario games, filling out this colourful world with imaginative settings and fun writing and characters. That skillful execution of these aspects is a big part of their appeal, and fortunately pretty much all the RPGs have it, despite some design shortcomings at times.
The Beanbean kingdom is an odd choice for location, taking us out of the Mushroom Kingdom. Ultimately it’s a great idea, fleshing out this world and playing with bean-related variants on familiar drones and such, as well as bringing in an interesting political dynamic at times. The antagonists and secondary characters are memorable, with recurring rogue agent Popple amusing and Fawful especially stealing any scene he shows up in, leading to his prominence in the third game. Cackletta is not as great as Fawful unfortunately but she gets the job done. Prince Peasley is fun too.
What really sells the game though is the Bros. dynamic, with Mario and Luigi playing off each other both in battles and the adorable cutscenes (not as adorable as the second game’s babies, though). Pulling off special moves is satisfying, but hard to do (so I didn’t use them often at all, except boss fights…). Their animation is wonderful, very fluid and expressive with plenty of cartooniness.
Anyways with this game apparently coming soon to Wii U Virtual COnsole of all things, it’s worth checking out for sure. But I do feel that the sequels build on the formula, as well as streamlining certain things to improve the experience. Now that I think of it though, this one probably edges out the others in its cast of characters and its immersive interconnected world (the second’s world is quite segregated and the third’s is too complicated). So I’d dispute the general feel that the first is best, but it does have its strengths and is in itself a great game. So if you just write it off, I will have fury! (it’s something Fawful says guys)
