Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story "Shooooowtiiiiime!" — Bowser Protagonist(s): Mario Luigi Bowser Genre(s): Role-playing Platform(s): Nintendo DS Nintendo 3DS Release: Original: JP: February 11, 2009 NA: September 14, 2009 EU: October 9, 2009 AU: October 22, 2009 KOR: July 21, 2011 Remake: JP: December 27, 2018 NA: January 11, 2019 EU: January 25, 2019 AU: January 26, 2019 Developer(s): AlphaDream Publisher(s): Nintendo Country: Japan Series: Mario Predecessor: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Successor: Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is a role-playing game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS. It is the third game in the Mario & Luigi RPG series, following Partners in Time and preceding Dream Team.

A remake of the game was released in December 2018/January 2019 for the Nintendo 3DS, entitled Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, nearly ten years after the original game's release. It is the thirty-first and final Mario game released on the 3DS, and the (currently) final Mario & Luigi game overall due to AlphaDream's closure in 2020.

Why It Rules

1. This is the first game in which Bowser has ever been a main protagonist in any Mario game (although he was a playable character in four Mario RPG's, starting with Super Mario RPG) and he has some witty dialogue to go with this.
2. The plot and writing are just as good as its predecessors, going for a more comical tone akin to Superstar Saga, compared to Partners in Time's serious one. To go with this, there are many funny and awesome moments in the game, such as:
   • The Elite Trio (Private Goomp, Corporal Paraplonk and Sergeant Guy) betraying Bowser at Blubble Lake. This becomes funnier later on when they ask to be forgiven at the end of the game.
   • Chakron, the Guardian of the second Star Essence, forces Mario and Luigi to create an earthquake using a Bros. Attack known as Snack Basket (whose Attack Pieces can be found in the Dimble Wood). When Luigi uses this, he becomes huge and chubby.
   • While finding the Dimble Wood Attack Pieces, Mario gets kidnapped by Sockops, and Luigi masters the courage to save his older brother. This is an example of brotherly love at its finest.
   • The Dark Star replicates Bowser's DNA to form Dark Bowser and absorbs Fawful to become the Dark Star Core, both of which make for an excellent combined final boss (and it's satisfying to finally defeat Fawful and send him off with a literal bang!)
3. In addition to playing as Bowser, you are still able to play as Mario and Luigi as per usual, both inside and outside of the Koopa King. Just like the Baby Bros., you are able to swap between the Mario Bros. and Browser by pressing the face buttons (A/B for the Mario Bros. and X/Y for Bowser; the 3DS remake only uses X to swap to Bowser, since Y uses the Team Jump instead).
4. Similarly to Kirby, Bowser is able to inhale smaller enemies in battle after consuming the Vacuum Shroom that Fawful (disguised as Kamek) gives him; unlike the Strong Star Warrior, however, the enemies that are swallowed end up fought by the Mario Bros. inside of Browser rather than going to a pocket dimension.
5. Some of Bowser's interactions in the overworld open new areas inside of him for the Mario Bros. to interact with (except when he gets electrocuted at the Toad Town clinic, which segues into a boss fight).
6. Bros. Attacks are no longer tied to Bros. Items like they were in Partners in Time, and instead use BP like in most other Mario & Luigi games. They are still as fun to use as ever, with some of them being Green Shell, Fire Flower, Super Bouncer, Snack Basket and Falling Star.
   • Bowser has his own version of Bros. Attacks called Brawl Attacks, which utilize the stylus and his minions to attack enemies. Some Brawl Attacks include Goomba Storm, Shy Guy Squad, Magikoopa Mob and Broggy Bonker (which can be obtained once you find all the Blitties).
7. Great graphics that utilize the same art style as Partners in Time (in the original version) or Dream Team (in the remake), with the latter even utilizing 3D graphics in the Giant Battles.
8. Amazing soundtrack composed by Yoko Shimamura, with standout tracks including "The Grand Finale (the final boss theme)," "The Wind is Blown at Cavi Cape," "Deep Castle" and "Through Thick and Thin at the Plains."
9. During some boss fights, you'll play as Giant Browser while holding the DS/3DS vertically, and they are just as interesting and awesome as they sound, with the exception of the Fawful Express.
10. The new characters are fun additions to the franchise, as with most new characters in Mario games.
    • Starlow, while sometimes mean-spirited (see BQ #4), makes for a cute new ally for the Mario Bros. and a worthy successor to Stuffwell. She even interacts with Bowser sometimes, with him calling her "Chippy."
11. Broque Monsieur and Broque Madame are block-like characters who give Bowser tasks (the former needs his Blitties from each location, while the latter gets a massage from Bowser's Brawl Attack Challenges).
12. Fawful returns to his usual antagonistic self, and is still a hilarious antagonist.
13. The bosses, both normal and Giant, are really fun to fight, including Dark Fawful, the Dark Star, Blizzard Midbus, Junker and of course, the final fight against Dark Bowser/Dark Star Core.
14. Decent replay value, primarily due to Bros. Attack challenges inside Bowser, Broque Madame's Brawl Attack challenges and the ability to refight bosses (and Giant Bosses in the 3DS version) in the same Challenge area as the Bros. Attack ones.
15. Many improvements have been made in the 3DS version, making it just as good, if not better than, the original.
    • It also adds Bowser Jr.'s Journey, a mode similar to Minion Quest where Bowser Jr., his siblings (the Koopalings) and his father's army fight off the Best Fitness Fiends (now renamed as Brute Force Federation) while looking for ingredients for Skeletone Formula :D in the first half and his Koopalings in the second half.
    • You are able to scan amiibo to gain items, but the same one can only be used once per day.
16. In Bowser Jr.'s Journey, there are lots of good morals that people can understand:
    • Be grateful to your siblings, even Koopalings, and do not take things for granted especially when a sibling say something to you.
    • When a person encounter something in a first impression, do not argue or fight back, greet them nicely.
    • Help them as a team to win, do not fight solo without anyone's help.
    • Be nice when someone is giving you a gift.
    • Act nicely, do not say shut up or anything that can intercept others' speech, especially from a common courtesy. Saying shut up is justified when a person does annoying habits, insults, or when they fight or argue with one another.
    • In the case of Ludwig, be courageous and work as a team, do not surrender easily.
    • In the case of Bowser, do not eat supplements too much or you will have side effects.

Bad Qualities

1. You are unable to refight Giant Bosses in the original DS version unless you create a new save file. Additionally, you are unable to refight normal Bowser's bosses in either version.
2. The way Mario and Luigi shout at each other when one gets knocked out in battle is both strange and annoying. Fortunately, this is toned down in the remake.
3. While the original game runs at 60fps, the remake only runs at 30fps for unknown reasons.
4. As before stated, Starlow can be bossy and mean-spirited, espeically towards Luigi and Bowser (although the latter I more justified).
5. Cavi Cape is the smallest area in the game and is barely visited except to teach the player how to control Bowser in the field and battles, and later finding the Blitties there. However, the music is still good to listen to.
6. The Fawful Express is considered the worst boss in the entire game, in part due to the player basically being timed as the train reaches the station and the fact that only Fire Breath will damage it.
7. Bowser Jr. is very unlikable in Bowser Jr.'s Journey, as he is very bratty and lazy while bossing the Koopalings around (his own siblings, no less!). Thankfully, Kamek sets him straight later on and this behavior evens out. Near the end of the game, he could have just pay attention to the Koopalings in the flashback where Bowser Jr. should treat respect with them, but they did not, which explains why the first half shows Bowser Jr. belittling his Koopalings.

Reception

The original Bowser's Inside Story received critical acclaim (scoring 90/100 on Metacritic), while the remake received generally favorable reviews (this score being 84/100). Many of the praises went to the improved gameplay, storyline, humor and Bowser's role as the focus character for most of the game.

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