Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Mario & Luigi 3 NA Cover.PNG
North American box art
Developer(s) AlphaDream
Publisher(s) Nintendo
Director(s) Hiroyuki Kubota
Producer(s) Toshiharu Izuno
Akira Otani
Yoshihiko Maekawa
Writer(s) Hiroyuki Kubota
Composer(s) Yoko Shimomura
Platform(s) Nintendo DS
Release date(s)
  • JP February 11, 2009
  • NA September 14, 2009
  • EU October 9, 2009
  • AUS October 22, 2009
Genre(s) Action RPG
Mode(s) Single-player
Rating(s)

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, known as Mario & Luigi RPG 3!!! (マリオ&ルイージRPG3!!! Mario ando Ruīji Ārupījī Surī?) in Japan, is a console role-playing game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS handheld game console in 2009. It is the third game in the Mario and Luigi RPG series, following Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

The game's plot is unrelated to that of its predecessors, which involves Mario and Luigi being shrunken and inhaled into the body of their nemesis, Bowser. The Mario brothers learn to assist Bowser, who is unaware of their presence, as he combats Fawful, who has taken control of the Mushroom Kingdom. The gameplay focuses on the co-operation of the trio, who use their specific abilities to solve puzzles and fight enemies and thus progress through the game. Similar its predecessors, its role-playing style emphasizes a turn-based battle system focused on timing accuracy, and is comedic in nature.

Bowser's Inside Story was first revealed at Nintendo's Tokyo Press Event on October 2, 2008,[1] and its English title and Western release dates were announced at E3 2009.[2] The game was both critically and commercially successful, gaining an aggregate score of 91% from GameRankings[3] and 90 from MetaCritic,[4] and selling 4.13 million copies worldwide as of April 2011.[5]

Contents

Gameplay

The game switches between three characters. Mario and Luigi are found together inside Bowser for the majority of the game, exploring 2-D platform-style environments inside various locations of his body. However, battles are still turn based, and are initiated by coming into contact with enemies. Bowser explores the Mushroom Kingdom in a 3/4 overhead-view world, much like previous Mario & Luigi games. After a certain point in the game, Mario & Luigi can go outside of Bowser's body to explore the overworld as well. They can then use pipes found throughout the land to return to the inside of Bowser's body as necessary.

The battle system from the previous two Mario & Luigi games has returned for this installment. In addition to Mario and Luigi, Bowser is now a playable character as well. Bowser's battle system is similar to Mario and Luigi's, but Bowser fights alone and has more advanced stats than the Mario Bros., and Bowser gains the ability to consciously inhale certain of his enemies, enabling Mario and Luigi to fight the enemy inside Bowser.

Bros. Points (BP) have been brought back from the first game in the series, only this time, they are called Special Points (SP) because of Bowser's playability. In this installment of the series, the bros.' special attacks are acquired by collecting 10 "Attack Pieces" from a specific area in the game. Upon collecting all 10 pieces of an attack, the player may use the attack repeatedly, but using it will require a certain amount of Special Points. Bowser can also gain special attacks by freeing his minions or, in one case, by collecting 15 kitten-like block beings called Blitties from enemies in the overworld. Bowser's special attacks all use the stylus, while Mario and Luigi's use buttons, as usual.

There is also a new ranking system feature, where players increase their rank as they level up to certain levels. Earning ranks will allow Mario, Luigi, or Bowser to equip more items, buy more equipment, and possibly earn a new item. There are six ranks for Mario and Luigi, starting from the "Mushroom Rank" and going up to the "Rainbow Rank", and four ranks for Bowser, going from the "Bronze Boss Rank" to the "Silver Boss Rank" to the "Gold Boss Rank" to the "Final Boss Rank".

The badge system has also changed. Instead of badges that grant certain skills, badges are now used to get bonuses whenever the player gets a "good", "great", or "excellent" during an attack on an enemy with Mario or Luigi. The effect changes depending on the type of badge each Mario Brother has equipped. Such incentives include Health or Skill-point recovery, increase in coins earned after battles, or attack power increase.

Various minigames featuring Bowser's body have been added to the main story, unlike the previous game (which featured only three). The minigames' locations include the "Arm Center", where Mario and Luigi hit spark-like items into a muscle to strengthen Bowser's arms; the "Leg Outpost", where Mario and Luigi stomp on leg muscles to strengthen Bowser's legs; and the "Gut Check", where Mario and Luigi help digest food that Bowser eats. One location, the "Rump Command", has the player accumulate adrenaline in order to supersize Bowser if he gets crushed, which then allows the player to enter a new battle system where the DS is held vertically like a book, and attacks utilize the stylus and microphone instead of the A, X, B, or Y buttons (blowing through the microphone makes Bowser breathe fire, for example).[6]

Plot

An unknown disease called "The Blorbs" is spreading across the Mushroom Kingdom. Toads that become infected with the disease inflate to many times their normal size and roll around uncontrollably. A council is immediately called at Princess Peach's castle to discuss what can be done about the epidemic. Starlow, a representative of the Star Sprites that watch over the Mushroom Kingdom, also attends. At the meeting, it is discovered that all those affected had previously eaten a "Blorb Mushroom" given to them by a salesman, who is later revealed to be Fawful. Bowser invades the castle attempting to kidnap Peach, but is defeated by Mario and expelled from the castle.

Bowser later finds himself in Dimble Wood where he is tricked by Fawful into eating a "Vacuum Shroom." The mushroom causes Bowser to mindlessly inhale everything in sight. He inhales Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Starlow before finally passing out. With Peach gone and the majority of the population incapacitated from the disease, Fawful then proceeds to take over Peach's castle while his assistant, Midbus, takes over Bowser's castle. Mario and Luigi, who have shrunken to microscopic size, navigate Bowser's body and manage to revive him. Bowser has no memory of the event and as a result is unaware that the Mario brothers are inside his body. Bowser only communicates with Starlow, who nicknames herself "Chippy" to avoid suspicion. Bowser then proceeds to chase Fawful in an attempt to reclaim his castle with the assistance of the Mario brothers.

Fawful eventually extracts Peach from inside Bowser's body and takes possession of the Dark Star, an evil and powerful entity with a seal that could only be broken only by Peach. After a barricade prevents the trio from entering the castle, Mario, Luigi, and Bowser are told by the town doctor that they are required to gather the three Star Cures in order to create the Miracle Cure, a magical medicinal object. The Star Cures are eventually collected and the Miracle Cure destroys the barricade and also heals the Blorbs disease in the process.

Bowser confronts Fawful in Peach's castle and defeats his assistant, Midbus. The Dark Star's seal finally breaks and enters Bowser's body, where it begins to leech on Bowser's cells and absorb his DNA. The Dark Star escapes and is briefly taken back in possession by Fawful, who is then defeated by Bowser. The Dark Star absorbs Fawful's remains and, using Bowser's DNA, becomes a shadowy, powerful doppelgänger of Bowser. Bowser then battles Dark Bowser and, with the help of Mario and Luigi, destroys the Dark Star. Fawful, having been inhaled by Bowser during the battle, initially feigns remorse but suddenly self-destructs in a last-ditch effort to destroy the Mario brothers. The explosion causes Bowser to regurgitate everyone he had inhaled. Enraged by the discovery, Bowser proceeds to fight the Mario brothers, but is defeated and retreats back to his castle. The two castles are rebuilt and Peach sends Bowser a cake as gratitude for his unintentionally heroic efforts.

Development

Nintendo revealed Mario & Luigi RPG 3 at a press conference in Japan.[1] Nintendo of Japan revealed details of the game relating to the plot and game play, as well as the fact that it would involve extensive use of the touch screen.[7] AlphaDream, developers of Superstar Saga and Partners In Time, developed this game along with experienced contributors to the Mario series such as Yoko Shimomura and Charles Martinet working on music and voice acting respectively. At E3 2009, it was revealed that the official English name of the game would be Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and that it would be released in fall 2009 for North America and Europe.[2]

Reception

 Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator Score
GameRankings 91%[3]
Metacritic 90 out of 100[4]
Review scores
Publication Score
1UP.com A-[8]
Edge 9/10
Famitsu 35 out of 40[9]
GamePro 4.5 out of 5
Game Revolution B+[10]
GameSpot 9 out of 10[11]
GameTrailers 8.9 out of 10
IGN 9.5 out of 10[12]
Nintendo Power 9.5 out of 10[13]

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story received critical acclaim. The first North American critic to review it was the magazine Nintendo Power, who scored the game a 9.5/10 saying it is "the best RPG-style Mario adventure ever made," and that "Anyone who loves the Mario characters, role-playing games, or even action games should absolutely give Bowser's Inside Story a look."[13] IGN awarded it a 9.5 as well as an Editors Choice Award. GameInformer awarded this game with a 8.75 out of 10 and gave it an award for "Handheld Game of the Month". GameDaily gave the game 10/10. Official Nintendo Magazine gave the game 92%, saying "Bowser's Inside Story is the freshest, most vital RPG on the DS for ages". GameSpot gave the game a 9.0, and awarded it with an Editors' Choice award, praising the overall plot and story.[14] X-Play's Blair Herter gave the game a 5 out of 5, highly praising the plot.[15] Giant Bomb's Brad Shoemaker gave the game a 5 out of 5, and the website later named it the Best DS Game of 2009.[16][17]

Bowser's Inside Story was the top-selling game in its first week of release in Japan at 193,000 copies.[18] It sold 650,000 copies during the first half of 2009 and finished out the year as the 11th best-selling game at 717,940 copies sold in the country.[19][20] According to NPD Group, Bowser's Inside Story was the fourth best-selling game for its release month at 258,100 copies sold.[21] It continued to sell well in the following months and had sold 656,700 copies in the region by the end of December 2009.[22][23][24]

See also

  • Wikipedia books: Mario titles

References

  1. ^ a b "Nintendo Reveals Punch-Out!! Wii, Sin and Punishment 2, and More". 1UP.com. http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3170306. 
  2. ^ a b "Nintendo Introduces New Social Entertainment Experiences at E3 Expo". Nintendo of America. 2009-06-02. http://www.nintendo.com/whatsnew/detail/7-fLfhscB6OCe9JeJaD0JlvaUkmMHXiB. Retrieved 2009-06-30. 
  3. ^ a b http://www.gamerankings.com/ds/954368-mario-and-luigi-bowsers-inside-story/index.html
  4. ^ a b http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/ds/marioandluigibowsersinsidestory
  5. ^ "Supplementary Information about Earnings Release" (pdf). Nintendo. 2011-04-26. pp. 10. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2011/110426e.pdf#page=5. Retrieved 2011-04-26. 
  6. ^ "マリオ&ルイージRPG3!!!". Nintendo. http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ds/cljj/index.html. 
  7. ^ "Mario & Luigi RPG 3!!! site opens with new video". Joystiq. http://nintendo.joystiq.com/2009/01/28/mario-and-luigi-rpg-3-site-opens-with-new-video/. 
  8. ^ http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3176049&p=39
  9. ^ "Mario and Luigi 3 Famitsu review - more details". GoNintendo. http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=71551. 
  10. ^ http://www.gamerevolution.com/review/ds/mario-luigi-bowsers-inside-story
  11. ^ http://www.gamespot.com/ds/rpg/marioluigirpg3/review.html
  12. ^ http://ds.ign.com/articles/102/1023475p1.html
  13. ^ a b "Reviews: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story". Nintendo Power (Future plc) (246): p. 86. October 2009. 
  14. ^ "Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story Review for DS -GameSpot". GameSpot. http://www.gamespot.com/ds/rpg/marioluigirpg3/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review. 
  15. ^ "Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - Reviews - G4tv.com". G4tv. http://g4tv.com/games/ds/62008/mario--luigi-bowsers-inside-story/review/. 
  16. ^ http://www.giantbomb.com/mario-luigi-bowsers-inside-story/61-23983/reviews/
  17. ^ http://www.giantbomb.com/news/giant-bombs-nintendo-ds-game-of-the-year-2009/1813/
  18. ^ Jenkins, David (2009-02-19). "Japanese Charts: Mario & Luigi Dragon Punch Street Fighter IV". Gamasutra. http://gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=22379. Retrieved 2009-03-24. 
  19. ^ "Game Market falls 25% in First Half of 2009". Andriasang. http://www.andriasang.com/e/blog/2009/07/04/game_market_falls/. 
  20. ^ "2009年テレビゲームソフト売り上げランキング(ファミ通版)" (in Japanese). Geimin.net. http://geimin.net/da/db/2009_ne_fa/index.php. Retrieved 2010-08-02. 
  21. ^ Matthews, Matt (October 20, 2009). "NPD Top 20 Shows Strong Scribblenauts, Xbox 360 Performance". Gamasutra. http://gamasutra.com/view/news/25714/NPD_Top_20_Shows_Strong_Scribblenauts_Xbox_360_Performance.php. Retrieved 2010-08-02. 
  22. ^ Matthews, Matt (November 13, 2009). "http://gamasutra.com/view/news/26079/NPD_October_Top_20_Sees_Impressive_Demons_Souls_Showing.php". Gamasutra. 
  23. ^ Matthews, Matt (December 11, 2009). "NPD Top 20 Reveals Nintendo Titles, God Of War Remakes". Gamasutra. http://gamasutra.com/view/news/26492/NPD_Top_20_Reveals_Nintendo_Titles_God_Of_War_Remakes.php. Retrieved 2010-08-02. 
  24. ^ Remo, Chris (January 14, 2010). "NPD: December U.S. Revenue Up 4% In Best Month". Gamasutra. http://gamasutra.com/view/news/26822/NPD_December_US_Revenue_Up_4_In_Best_Month_Ever.php. Retrieved 2010-08-02. 

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