Box Front
Box Back
Member Rating
88%
(33 votes)
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Console:
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Nintendo Game Boy Advance
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Region: | |
Year:
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2003
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RFG ID #:
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U-074-S-02890-A
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Part #:
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AGB-A88E-USA
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UPC:
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045496733438
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Developer:
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ALPHADREAM
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Publisher:
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Nintendo
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Rating:
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| (ESRB) |
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Genre:
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RPG
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Sub-genre:
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Players:
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1-2
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Controller:
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System Controls
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Media Format:
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Cartridge
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Collection Stats:
- 401 of 7626 collectors (5.2%) have this game in their collection
- 23 of 7626 collectors (0.3%) have this game in their wishlist.
- 3 of 7626 collectors (0%) have this game for sale or trade.
Overview:
In 2004, the Alpha Dream Corporation released Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Gameboy Advance.
Taking many elements from the Paper Mario Series, this game does for the Gameboy Advance what Paper
Mario does for N64 and Gamecube. The story follows Mario and Luigi's exploits in the Beanbean Kingdom, where
they set off to investigate the disappearance of Princess Peach's voice, which has been replaced with explosives.
It is there that we explore areas such as the Stardust Fields and Hoohoo Mountain, and meet interesting characters
like the annoying Prince Peasley and the ever evil main villain, Cackletta. Perhaps the neatest thing about the game
is the reliance between using Mario and Luigi, as each has some special skills, and they must work together to use
these skills to solve puzzles and defeat enemies. Coupling this reliance with an awesome turn based gameplay
mechanic and witty storyline, and you have yourself an amazing game.
The back of the box reads as follows:
An adventure so big, you'll need both Bros.!
Prepare for an epic journey beyond the borders of the Mushroom Kingdom as Mario and Luigi team up for a
hilarious, action-filled role-playing game! The deep storyline and grippling puzzles of a role-playing game combine
with awesome action elements to make this adventure a Mario experience like no other.
- Cross the border! A huge cast of wacky characters and strange new enemies await in the vast lands of the
Beanbean Kingdom.
- Bros. power! A unique simultaneous control setup lets you control each brother separately or team them up for
supermoves!
- Buddy up! You'll need to team up to take on jumping challenges and an action-packed, reflex-testing battle
system.
- Get Linked! Link up with any Super Mario Advance games for multiplayer Mario Bros. madness!
Review:
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga was released during the holiday season of 2003 for a system that has its
fair share of RPGs, the Gameboy Advance. To make the game stand out, developer Alpha Dream took the Mario namesake
and ran with it, creating a turn-based RPG that takes elements from Paper Mario and expounds upon them, and
creates a story that is an extremely humorous and clever. The story begins when Princess Peach's voice is stolen
and replaced with explosive words by the evil Cackletta and her evil assistant, Fawful. Bowser then shows up, and
is not very happy when he finds out that if he kidnaps Peach his castle would be destroyed by her explosive
vocabulary. Mario, Luigi, and Bowser then set off in the Koopa Cruiser for the Beanbean Kingdom, where Cackletta
has ran away to. Upon the trip the Cruiser crashes, and Mario and Luigi end up in the Stardust Fields area of the
Beanbean Kingdom, where the story begins to unfold.
In Stardust Fields Mario and Luigi quickly realize the necessity of working together, as well as the horrible
exchange rate between Mushroom Kingdom coins and Beanbean coins. Each character is moved around in the game by using
the D-pad, but non-directional actions occur independent of each other. All of Mario's actions are handled by
pressing the A button, while Luigi's are taken care of by using the B button. This allows actions to be done
separately of each character. Mario could jump while Luigi stays on the ground, or vice versa. In addition, pressing
the start button will change the lead character between the two, which allows for different special actions to be
done. For example, only Luigi and do a high jump, and only Mario and do a spin jump. Using the special actions
allows Mario and Luigi to discover new paths and areas, and leads to some rather interesting puzzles.
The nice thing about Mario & Luigi is that battles are not random, and as such you can see where enemies
are. Thus, you could avoid all the enemies if you wanted, or attempt to avoid some really frustrating battles. When
you do actually battle you are brought into a turn based system that operates simlarly to the Paper Mario
system. The player is able to attack each individual enemy using a jump command, or later using the hammer or special
command. When Mario or Luigi is about to hit the enemy, it is necessary to hit the A button before hitting the enemy,
as this will inflict more damage on the enemy. The player is also able to perform Bros. attacks, where he is able
to inflict even more damage upon the enemy. When the enemy attacks, it is actually possible for Mario and Luigi to
avoid the attack and even perform a counter-offensive by pressing a defensive command button at the right time. For
example, it would be wise for Mario to jump on a Goomba rather than it ramming into him, and as such the counter-
attack allows for that to happen. This is a nice feature that I wish other RPGs utilized, as it adds a level of skill
to the game that is rather enjoyable.
The world of the Beanbean Kingdom is rather diverse and vibrant. The player could hang out in the Hoohoo Village
and mingle with with cactus like inhabitants, go to Little Fungitown and visit the immigrant community, or go to the
Beanbean International Airport and take care of a Pirahna Plant problem. There are also many other areas that I have
not mentioned that add to the game as well. All of these areas are explored while Mario and Luigi search for Cackletta
and Peach's voice. Overtime the necessity of Princess Peach's voice is realized, when this occurs the story changes to
facilitate this revelation.
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a breath of fresh air. It's a rather light-hearted, humorous RPG, and has
a battle system and story that is second to none. Owners of the Gameboy Advance who are also RPG fans should be sure
to pick this game up, and take it for a spin. They will not be disappointed.
RF Generation Review Score 95%
Extra Media:
Official Nintendo Player's Guide
Variations:
Related Games:
Game Trivia:
- The Hammer Bros. will work on your hammer a total of three times.
- Sequel due out in 2005 for Nintendo DS
FAQ's/External Links:
Page Credits:
Michael Collins: |
Page design, HTML code.
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Eddie Herrmann: |
Perl script.
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Laurel Settee: |
scans
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David Murnan: |
screenshots, Overview, Review, Trivia, Links.
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Anthony Terzi: |
Misc, Related Games.
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Paully3433: |
UPC, Media Format, Rating
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Zagnorch: |
Photos
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Last Updated: 2021-08-20 01:27:39 |
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