Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story Review [DS]



£17.99

I'm consistently amazed at the lack of penetration the Mario RPGs seem to have. The first was Super Mario RPG on the SNES, which was Squaresoft, and was highly acclaimed. The second, Paper Mario, was on the N64 so it's not entirely surprising that didn't do wonderfully. Since then, we've had a Game Boy Advance title, a Gamecube title, a Wii title, and – with Bowser's Inside Story – two DS titles. It's a well-received series, but not one that's spoken about in the same hushed tones as Final Fantasy or Dragon Quest.

It's a bit of a shame, because the Mario RPGs are brilliant. They're genuinely funny – and funny games are hard to come by; those that sometimes raise a wry smile are different to those that have you grinning the whole way through – and their blend of exploration with platforming, and RPG combat with timing minigames, make them unique enough that they're always worth a look.

And so it is with Bowser's Inside Story, which follows the well-worn Mario RPG treads with just enough charm and verve to make it an enjoyable romp.

A mysterious illness is sweeping the Mushroom Kingdom with its inhabitants being inflated to a giant (and useless) size  through unusual mushrooms being sold by a rather weird newcomer to the land. Before Mario and Luigi can really start to investigate, however, Bowser has a run-in with said stranger, who sells him a mushroom that causes him to inhale a large part of the kingdom. As you've likely guessed if you know much about the game, the stranger turns out to be recurring series villain Fawful, here given his own starring role. With all of the main characters out of the way, Fawful launches an assault on Bowser Castle with an aim to take over the kingdom for nefarious reasons that are revealed as the game goes on. It's up to Bowser to reclaim his castle and stop the villain from taking over “his” kingdom – with Mario and Luigi, unbeknownst to him, helping out by cleaning up his insides and boosting his power as events unfold.

It's typical RPG fare, albeit with enough Mario RPG-style humour to keep things ticking along. First and foremost is Fawful himself, whose translation is (deliberately) terrible. His cries of “I HAVE CHORTLES” tend to signify his appearance. Then there's “I HAVE ANGST,” and “That was a battle of fury,” and “You have energy like an angry little battery that has no friends,” and “I am feeling the power! It high-fives Fawful's face,” and many other countless, brilliant quotes I could fill this review up with.

Much as Fawful steals the show whenever he's around, the other characters are equally superb. Bowser is astonishingly well-written and despite his manipulable idiocy, he's endearing rather than irritating. Mario and Luigi – while not having any real lines, except for some audible gibberish – partake in a load of skits reminiscent of silent comedy.

Which is what matters, as those four are the primary characters: Fawful is the villain, Bowser is the accidental hero, and Mario and Luigi tend to end up secretly assisting him. For the majority of the game, you're controlling the three protagonists simultaneously. Bowser occupies the top screen as he wanders the overworld, while Mario and Luigi travel throughout his body, clearing up what problems they can and occasionally managing to venture outside. At times you'll have to swap between them on the fly – traversing one part of Bowser's internal organs is dependant on whether he's drinking a load of water or not, and thus whether or not it's flooded. There's a nice interplay between the characters with these sections, and frankly it's great fun to get to know Bowser a little more and to act like the dick you've always wanted to.