Bowser (and Baby Bowser, pretty much everyone has their own baby counterpart here) is up to his usual hijinks of kidnapping and knavery, but this time a mysterious force from outer space known as the Shroobs is also wreaking havoc upon the world. Utilising time travel, Mario and Luigi (and the Babies, who join up via a Time Portal) set off on an adventure to set the world right, receiving help from the various Toads and Koopas who inhabit the Mushroom Kingdom. The best part of the tale is not what the characters are saying and how it affects the story, but rather how they are saying it. The plot is passable, but hardly inspiring and isn't something anyone will bother remembering – unlike some more mainstream RPGs.
What is worth remembering is the quirky and often laugh-out-loud funny dialogue. A lot of this comes from Stuffwell, a sarcastic and subtly funny item bag (yes, an item bag) who offers tidbits of advice and tutorials regarding gameplay. Expect clever wordplay (Festooned? Badliness?) and satire on the entire world of videogames, including 1337-speak, n00bs and the DS functionality itself. Surprisingly, this narrative style fits perfectly with the sub-genre and overall Mario theme. Dialogue like this would not hold attention for long enough in a console RPG, and it would detract from the action in another genre of Mario. It reminds players not to take anything too seriously, and that everyone is there for a great time.
It's all about big dinosaurs and big explosions.
The basic overworld is somewhat claustrophobic; the Princess’ Castle is used as a world hub, and time portals unlock throughout after reaching certain points. The portals will then transport your team to various locations around the Mushroom Kingdom, at various points in time. These are your standard varied worlds – Yoshi’s Island, a snow level, a desert, a volcano etc. Mario and company must then travel through the worlds, fighting baddies and solving basic puzzles – then fight a boss and collect a Cobalt Star Shard.
Both the worlds and battles are conquered by utilising various abilities that the team learns along the way. For example, Mario and Luigi have a Spin Jump, which can be combined with the babies to make the Baby Spin; Baby Mario can use a hammer and Baby Luigi can tunnel underground. There are more to unlock, and you will know almost instantly which move to use in order to progress. Combat uses the same basic premise; combo moves and weapon techniques learnt as you progress will be the best bet for defeating enemies in the subsequent world. It is difficult to label Partners in Time a standard RPG; rather it could be considered as an action RPG fused with a dungeon crawler. Battles are turn-based, yet rely more on real-time combat actions.
Battles begin by running into enemies on the map, triggering a change to the battle screen. The combat is all turn-based, yet success relies much more on reflexes and timing than character stats. Almost every move utilises some kind of timed button-press; at least if you want it to do any kind of respectable damage. For example, a standard jump attack will do extra damage if A is pressed just as it connects, combo moves are performed by timed button presses from both Mario and Luigi, and evading enemy attacks is solely dependent on timing and reflexes. This leads to a battle system which enthralls equally as much as it frustrates.
You can be on top, I'll be on the bottom.
For example, Mario and Luigi’s jumps are controlled using the A and B buttons, respectively. When it comes time to select Luigi’s attack, press B once and B again for the timed function. Mario uses A. When Baby Mario and Luigi come into play, things really get complicated. If Mario is carrying Baby Mario, he can perform a standard jump attack by pressing A. Baby Mario’s corresponding button is X, so that can be pressed upon impact for an extra attack, then A again as Mario comes down for a finishing move. It is complicated, and becomes even more so when using Bros. Item attacks (combo attacks using Mario and Luigi) and even moves that involve timed presses of all four buttons.
Herein lies the problem – it's immensely satisfying when a massive chain attack with all kinds of shells and explosions is performed with perfect timing, and maximum damage is attained. It is equally infuriating when the turn is over, and the player now needs to react to the enemy onslaught using similarly complex timed button presses – and if you aren’t good at it, you will die very quickly. After fighting the same enemy several times, attack patterns will be memorised and battles can often be easily won. With bosses it becomes a different story, having to face an onslaught of brutal and fast attacks (requiring fast button pressing) that you will not have come across before. This is what sets the battles apart from standard RPGs; the reliance on skill over statistics. Some will love it, some will hate it – but even those who find it frustrating should not become excessively so, as the light-hearted tone, overall length and easy difficulty of the game make it more bearable.
Even when you are getting stomped on, the game presents it extremely well. Some particularly flashy animations have a nice 3D aspect to them, but in general all is bright, colourful and crisp 2D. The DS hardware could stand the leap to more advanced graphics, but this title is such that it requires aesthetics and function over technology. The characters emote well and face no movement restrictions that could appear in a 3D game. A good example of this is the constant screen shifts. During gameplay a world map is seen in the top screen, while the characters are in the bottom – but they can affect one another. For example, a large Shroob ship can be seen flying overhead on the map, and send a fiery blast to the ground. In the bottom screen, Mario and the gang will see and feel the full effects of the flames. In battle the moves often make use of both screens, usually for projectile attacks, which subsequently affect the timing of button presses. Overall the graphics are well done, and the extra world detail (or lack of, in some circumstances) is pretty much required for this genre, as opposed to using a fairly tried and true format for Mario platformers.
Enemies aren't as easy as they used to be.
The sound effects, including speech samples, are done very well but the music is somewhat disappointing. At any given time during one of the many conversations, Mario and co. will jump around, express themselves wildy and also utter something appropriate to the situation. If resident assistant Toadsworth asks a question in text, Luigi responds by saying “Oh yeah!” Mario, Luigi and the babies don’t have text lines, but generate enough expression to the let the other characters unfold the story for them. Mario and Luigi sometimes converse in Italian-esque gibberish, much like characters speak in The Sims. It’s fun, simple and does the job well. The music is a let down, with practically unaltered Mario themes for Peach’s castle and some other areas, and music for the surrounding Mushroom Kingdom areas and their battles is almost always repetitive and never catchy. Repetitive themes can work for Mario, but without a hook it becomes lost.
So, how does all this come together in the big melting pot of Mario? Pretty well, actually. The game offers around 20 hours of play for the first time through, with several sidequests. Unfortunately, the mediocre story doesn’t have enough impact to keep players enthralled for the full playthrough, and it suffers from a linear, generic world-home-world structure. Still, Partners in Time squeezes as much fun into the little cartridge as possible, and is almost certain to make you smile. Any Mario fans should give it a try, as they will probably be able to overlook the flaws and have a great experience.
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