Customer Reviews

Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story

5 star:		(68)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(16)

 

 

I've played and beaten all seven Mario RPG's (not just the Mario & Luigi games, all seven Mario RPG's), and Bowser's inside story is, without a doubt, the best one. That's incredible because I never played a Mario RPG I wouldn't give a score of at least 85/100 to. Bowser's Inside Story is the best Nintendo DS game made so far. Bowser gets a huge portion of the gameplay, and it's awesome. There are three different battle systems. One for Mario and Luigi, one for bowser, and one where Bowser becomes huge to fight huge enemies (This is the best part of the game, it's epic). It will take the average player 25-30 hours to beat the game, while there are 5-8 hours of extras. What's really amazing is that there's so much diversity in the gameplay, it NEVER ONCE gets repetitive or boring.

Good Things
- Never boring or repetitive.
- Three different, all amazing battle systems.
- 25-30 hour adventure.
- Great graphics and sound.
- Worth replaying at least two times.
- Unique, unpredictable, epic RPG.
- All-around incredible game.

Bad Things
- A VERY MINOR complaint, the game has lame box art.

Presentation- 97.5/100
Does a very good job getting you into the game, I liked the game so much, it's all I did in my free time until I beat it.

Graphics- 95.5/100
Strictly 2D, but still incredible.

Sound- 98/100
Sounds incredible. Sounds like a Mario game should, but the music is a little less cheery than a typical Mario game.

Gameplay- 100/100
So many different parts of gameplay, and they all come together perfectly!

Innovation- 96/100
The game designers really got creative with this Mario RPG, that's for sure!

Replay Value- 98.5/100
You should replay it at least twice and try to see all the extras it has to offer.

Difficulty- Medium
It's not quite as hard as Partners in Time. It seems easy until the final part of the game, where the difficulty goes up significantly.

Overall- 99/100
Bowser's Inside Story comes out to be a near-perfect game, overall, and amazingly surpasses Kirby Superstar Ultra to become the best game on the DS.

I bought this game primarily for my 8 year old son (and a bit for his 5 year old sister). As it can only save information for only two players at once, only me and my son have played. We have both been extremely impressed. He says it is definitely his favourite DS game (we have super mario brothers, as well as bunch of other non-Mario titles). He finds it interesting, never boring, challenging and a lot of fun. I have never played a RPG before and also find it a lot of fun if a bit challenging at times (likely due to my lack of experience). It is likely much too complicated for a 5 year old (even one who reads very well) but age 7 and up is probably great. Enjoy! Hope this helps. My son comparing it to Super Mario Brothers said --- it is so much better because you don't have to keep repeating the same levels over and over again. (i sort of agree though I do like super mario brothers a lot).

I want to start off by saying that this game does almost everything right and hardly anything wrong. The gameplay is great. You use Bowser on the top screen with the D-Pad and X makes Bowser punch and Y makes Bowser breathe fire. Mario and Luigi are controlled by the D-pad and the A and B buttons. The action is very smooth and well done in this game. The Bowser battles are a lot different then the Mario and Luigi battles but that helps make the game even greater. The characters in this game all are full of life, color, and humor. The boss battles are fun, and the battles that Bowser grows and you have to turn your DS around like a book are very fun. The storyline is crazy but its funny, and the text in the game and actions of the characters are 100% classic. Some of my favorite parts of the game are when your Bowser and you meet up with any of his minions that always leads to a funny moment.

Fun Factor- A+
Graphics- A
Sound- A
Controls- B+
Lasting appeal- A

(I would like to put a disclaimer that 3 1/2 Stars means Good, not Bad)

I'm beginning to think if you stick Mario's name on any game, it becomes a bonafide hit: he's conquered platforming, racing, sports (kinda) and once agian, role playing. Mario and Luigi BIS carries the quality that we've grown to expect into another good role playing game.

Mario rpg's have always been known for the fun dialouge. Of course, BIS keeps the fire coming with more witty dialouge, and fun characters. Bowser has sucked the Bros inside his body in a hair-brained scheme to take over Mushroom Kingdom (that went horribly wrong, as usuall). They must work co-operativly to retake the Kingdom from Lord Fawful. All characters dialouge is well written, especially Bowser, but does tend to drag on more than it's needed.

Combat varies from fun to tedious. The mechanics are classic turn-based Mario rpg attackes, but another trend BIS brings with it is too common enemy encounters. The fun sucks out quick by not necessarily hard fights, but long ones. Thankfully, whenever the game reaches a lull (whether in combat in or bland level designs) the pace does get mixed up nicely with constant new mini game mechanics.

Mario and Luigi BIS sticks to it's core basics, whether it be in combat, the writting, or in length (20 hrs plus is what I think I'm gonna be looking at), but if you are looking for a good DS RPG, this is the hottest game on the market....Love that box art too, by the way.

I am a die hard RPG fan. Since first discovering Final Fantasy 8 from a Pizza Hut demo disc as a young teen to playing Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon in recent months, I just can't get enough of them.

I would border on calling this a "lite" RPG. It is not going to be as complex as any of the big console rpgs, and it is not supposed to be. You can pick it up, play for 15 or 20 minutes and get back to working (shhh, don't tell). The leveling system is very nice as there is minimal involvement in how you build your characters. When you gain a level, the only input you have is what bonus the characters will receive, ie. hp, power, defense, luck etc. You also will rank up, allowing additional gear to be worn or better items to be purchased.

The game play is very addictive as well. Each of the enemies has a little quirk to them, and makes each battle fresh and fun to play. Personally, I feel there aren't enough battles in the game! Again, I think this is more of a "lite" rpg, as your actions are limited in battle as well. You can do your usual stomp, hammer, item, or special attack. As Bowser you will have your fire, punch, item, special and vacuum options.

Yes, you can play as Bowser, and boy is he very fun to play as! Offering new attacks, specials and own set of environment interactions, he is just as fun to control as the Italian duo. It is a nice change to play as Bowser, and only adds to the greatness of the Mario RPG series.

This is one of the best games to come out this year on any console, period. Buy it and enjoy the experience!

If you like Mario games, odds are you will enjoy this game. So many throwback references, and all the charm and color and atmosphere you've come to know and love from the Mario universe. There's a lot of open-ended exploration, varied gameplay, some fun puzzles, lots of minigames and some challenging sidequests. Just a lot to see and do, and a good length of game. The game has a great sense of humor as well. The generic italian jibberish that Mario and Luigi speak is hilarious (I hope Italians don't find it offensive ;-)... political correctness will be the death of us), and the dialogue in general has a lot of funny moments.

I think this game is the best in the series. It just barely edges out the original (Superstar Saga), which I also love, but it destroys Partners in Time, which I found rather disappointing.

On the negative side, much of the action is a bit on the easy side. I barely play RPG games, but after the first few hours, this game became fairly simple since I had done enough battles to level up my characters. I began accumulating way more items than I had use for. Maybe I grinded more than most people who play this game would, though. But I think they should have made the enemies a bit more challenging. Still, it's challenging and rewarding to execute the timed special attacks and whatnot in battle.

One thing to keep in mind is that there is a decent amount of reading, as there is in any Mario RPG (from SMRPG to the Paper Mario series to this series), but as long as you don't have a two-year-old's attention span, that shouldn't be a problem if you ask me. So I don't consider this a negative point, but some people might.

There are many things to say about Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. It seems as though every one of the game's elements is incredibly well done, enjoyable, hilarious, and creative. In fact, I will pose no questions concerning the game's quality in this review because that would just feel wrong. Seriously, Bowser's Inside Story is pretty much the best DS game available to date, and is worth owning for just about anyone because just about anyone can find something (or many somethings) to love about it.

Bowser's Inside Story's stage is set when a terrible disease called the Blorbs is spreading throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, causing Toads to inflate and become immobilized by their roundness and sheer size. Interrupting a meeting regarding what action should be taken to fight the disease, Bowser inhales the whole gang: Mario, Luigi, Peach, Toadsworth, and others, and then sets out to stop the evil and fury-filled Fawful from taking over the Mushroom Kingdom. The story is great because it's more than the average Bowser-steals-Peach cutscene, and puts more at stake than the Princess' place of residence.

Well, the true reason the story is so great is really because it opens up plenty of opportunity for dialogue. The dialogue is just as brilliantly written as in the original Mario & Luigi game (Superstar Saga), causing the game to be just as hysterically funny as it is fun to play. Bowser's attitude is still cocky and his lines hilarious, and Fawful is probably the funniest villain in the history of video games with his many quotable and laugh-out-loud funny lines. Every character in the game also exemplifies a very particular and acute individuality just by the way their dialogue is written, giving the entire game a strong feeling of charm and personality.

Bowser's Inside Story also has other strong elements to back up its story, the most important of which is the gameplay. Gameplay is split pretty evenly between Bowser and the bros. who are usually inside Bowser. Actual progress is made while playing as Bowser, but on many occasions progress is hampered by some obstacle or injury Bowser is unable to overcome. At that point, it's up to Mario and Luigi to figure out what's wrong with Bowser and how they can fix the issue from inside of him, which involves navigating a 2-D area of Bowser's body and playing a minigame of some kind. This pattern repeats a lot throughout the game but it works very nicely for balance and creativity.

Playing as Bowser is just like playing as the bros. from previous games in the series in that the action is seen with a bird's eye view and 3-D environments. Bowser relies on pure power to get through his sections as he even lacks the ability to jump, resorting to punching and breathing fire. Playing as Bowser is a nice change of pace for the series and even the entire franchise; in fact this game could have just as easily been called 'Bowser's RPG of Awesomeness' (because we all know that's what Bowser would want it to be called).

Gameplay as Mario & Luigi, however, involves navigating through 2-D stages inside Bowser, and this is where the game's creativity really shines. Exploring the vast internal structures of the Koopa King is just plain fun, with fresh, exciting, and creative puzzles awaiting in every area. Usually a 2-D section concludes with a minigame that will help Bowser in some way or another, such as activating his nasal passages to make him sneeze a miniature hurricane or reviving him when he has been crushed by a walking castle (believe it or not, there are actually a few of these in the game).

Battles are as fun as they have ever been in a Mario RPG. The turn based system works wonderfully as always, granting players the ability to block or dodge enemy attacks and increase attack damage with precisely timed button presses. This timing element is enhanced in this game with a few levels of attack ratings that depend on exactness and do more damage. Bowser has the ability to punch, breathe fire, and summon minions for touch screen controlled attacks that are fun and effective. Mario and Luigi can jump, use a hammer, or team up for bros. attacks. These attacks still aren't quite as epic as they were in Superstar Saga, but they are certainly very creative with attacks that fire the bros. out of cannons and bash enemies with meteors. There are even several scenarios where Bowser can inhale an enemy for Mario and Luigi to fight inside of him, which links the two major parts of the game together nicely. Battles are great fun just as they have always been in the Mario & Luigi games, and the new levels of precision and ability to play as Bowser keeps it fresh. Bowser's Inside Story's gameplay is outstanding both in and outside of battle.

Bowser's Inside Story also addresses a common grievance players had with its DS predecessor, Partners in Time, and that is the implementation of the DS' unique capabilities. Bowser's Inside Story is made much more as a DS game than Partners in Time was, using the touch screen in many creative ways. The minigames that aid Bowser are always unique and only have one or two slight control issues. Bowser also fights a few battles that are played holding the DS sideways and use the touch screen for command inputs, and these fights are totally epic and fun due to the sheer size of Bowser and the enemy and just how well they are executed on the part of the game developers. The DS' other unique features are also used well, such as the mike (used to breathe fire in the epic Bowser battles) and the other screen (used as a map).

The quest to defeat Fawful's easily takes more than 20 hours. The game seems quite long, but when it ends players should find themselves wishing there was more. Unfortunately there really isn't more, and the game isn't terribly challenging to boot, but Bowser's Inside Story is definitely a game to replay just because of how fun it is. The game's epic moments and loads of chortles will certainly keep me coming back to it every once in a while as long as my DS still works.

The graphics in the game aren't amazingly detailed, but they are lively, colorful, and charming. The vibrant use of color helps make it pleasing to the eye and the sharpness of all the objects and animations is fantastic too. The graphics also do a great job of displaying the game's awesome sense of humor, giving every character a unique and likable expression. In the end, Bowser's Inside Story's graphics enhance the game's other fantastic elements even if they aren't completely amazing in and of themselves.

Bowser's Inside Story has some great sound effects and music that also contribute their fair share to the game's overall impression. The sound effects are nice and fit where they're placed, and there are even several occasions where a character will say a line verbally. These moments totally confirm suspicions players should already have about what these characters sound like as they fit perfectly to their personality as revealed in the dialogue. The music is also great, with plenty of fun and catchy tunes that go along with the action wonderfully.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is simply fantastic, and a complete redemption for the series after Partners in Time, which some players did not particularly enjoy. It brings the series back to the legendary status of the original Mario & Luigi game, almost surpassing it as greatest handheld game ever made. That, in my opinion, makes it the second best handheld game ever made, and the best DS game on the market. Just go and buy it now, because a DS owner's collection is simply incomplete if this hilarious, creative, and incredibly fun game is not in it.

Positive:
+ delightfully quirky story and hilarious dialogue
+ Fawful is the main villain (this game has FURY!!!)
+ wonderful sense of personality
+ playing as Bowser is a nice change of pace
+ many large areas to explore with very creative puzzles
+ outstanding gameplay in and outside of battle
+ the DS' capabilities are very well implemented
+ lengthy quest that is tons of fun all throughout
+ graphics and sound perfectly translate the game's personality

Negative:
- a little too easy

9.7/10

It is hard to go wrong with a Mario game for Nintendo - all of the games are age appropriate and offer hours of fun. "Mario & Luig Bowser's Inside Story" (I will call it "Inside Story" from here on out) is a great blend of all of the Mario games of the past. It is highly addictive, I have noticed that as I get older fewer and fewer games keep my interest enough to continue playing. I need for them to be fun, but not so complicated that I have to devote hours to learning the story (I just don't have time). "Inside Story" is perfect it walks you through the game controls while introducing the story line.

"Inside Story" allows you to play as Bowser on the top screen and the Mario/Luigi combination on the bottom screen. You see, Bowser inhaled Mario/Luigi and the whole cast of characters, so while Bowser is trying to find out why he is feeling funny Mario is trying to escape from Bowser's belly! The result is probably the best game i have ever played on the DS - it combines Mario 64 with Zelda.

As you progress in the story you are given the ability to buy or find new equipment, abilities, and helpful items. In typical RPG fashion you advance through levels which gives you stronger attacks, better defense, and other characteristics. At first , I was skeptical in introducing a RPG format for Mario, but "Inside Story" really does combine the best of both worlds.

Other Observations

- Nice graphics
- At times there is a little too much dialogue which does slow the game down
- Ample save points
- Age appropriate - probably not for kids under the age of 8 since it does require a fair amount of reading
- I love playing Mario and Luigi at the SAME TIME!
- Nice length - you will not finish the game in one (or ten) sittings
- The ability to do power-ups is a nice introduction to the Mario series

Final Verdict-

A great game for the Nintendo DS - if you enjoyed any of the previous Mario games you likely will not be disappointed.

5 Stars

I just finished this game and I think this might be one of my favorite Mario Games (I have to say I haven't played any others on the Nintendo DS platform. I do however like Super Mario Galaxy for Wii and Super Mario for Nintendo 64). I would definitely give this a 4.5 but because we can't give half ratings, it has been reduced to a 4. Please don't think that it's a bad game because I didn't give it a 5 star.

Story: The citizens of Mushroom Kingdom have been plagued with something called "the blorbs." It makes everyone swell up, basically like a huge bowling ball and no one can seem to find a cure for it. Princess Peach calls a meeting, Mario and Luigi show up, and unfortunately so does Bowser. He storms the castle, trying to take Princess Peach (what's new?) and the brothers take him down and he's blasted to an unknown place. He's confused as to where he is and stumbles upon a shady merchant who offers him a Lucky Mushroom. Bowser is hesitant at first, but once he is told it promises strength (to beat Mario and Luigi), he eats the mushroom. Of course, the merchant was lying and Bowser begins to inhale everything in sight! He makes his way to Princess Peach's castle and swallows Mario, Luigi, Peach, and a few others from the kingdom. So in this game, you play both Mario and Luigi in his body for most of the game and you play Bowser as well. This was definitely something new and I really loved being able to play Bowser! Probably the coolest thing about this game.
There are 3 battling platforms. One: When you play Mario and Luigi. Two: When you play Bowser. Three: Bowser as a giant (you actually have to turn to D.S. vertically to play this way). There is at least 25 hours of gameplay, I personally played for 31.5 hours, and that's because I went back and completed extras. There is also a "Challenge" mode in Bowser's body that Mario and Luigi can do, this also offers a few hours of extra gameplay.
This is what I liked about the game:
-Interesting. There are different places to travel to, such as Bowser's Castle, Dimble Woods, Toad Town, and inside Bowser's body has Pump Works, Flab Zone, and Rump Command. It always keeps the game interesting!
-Lots of game play time. Like I said I played for 31.5 hours, and could have played longer.
-Great 2D Graphics.
-Playing Bowser.
-Addicting. Once I started playing I didn't want to put the game down.
My only problem was that near the end I found myself just wanted to get to the boss battles. I kept running into enemies (which you battle in a "Pokemon" type battling way) and this got a bit annoying because it's hard to go around enemies, especially when you are in Bowser's body. Also, in the game, you can't just stop and save, you have to have save points. While I do like this because it requires you to work up to a certain point before you quit, it can be annoying when you K.O and have a gameover and have to start over from the last save point. There were times when I had battles or couldn't figure something out and had to continue to restart from the save point. It also can be tedious when you K.O on a boss battle and have to see the same story (the characters going through a talking sequence) over and over. It would have been nice to have the option to skip this.

Other than those small flaws, I would really give this a 4.5. Don't just think this game is for children. I am a female, 20 years old and I loved this game. I hope my review helped you in deciding whether to get this game or not. Happy trails!

I also would like to add this:
[...]

I used this website when I was having trouble finding out what to do or where to go. If you'd rather figure out things for yourself, this might not be for you. But this was helpful towards the end of the game for me!

Pros:
--- The turn based RPG elements of the game work well
--- There is a good variety in the puzzles that you face in the game
--- The series' sense of humor is still going strong
--- The boss fights using the touch screen to control Bowser are fun

Cons:
--- Quite often, the puzzles that you face are unnecessarily challenging/counterintuitive because of the touch screen controls implemented for these sections
--- The game assumes that you know that Fawful, the main villain, is supposed to be funny. I, not knowing this, was constantly frustrated by his character because I thought that someone had seriously botched the translation.
--- Most of the boss fights using Bowser involve pushing the enemy past some line without the same happening to you or an annoying time limit. This eventually made me start to dread the Bowser fights.
--- Why do the Mario Bros. spend most of the game in Bowser?