In a several years ago, a regular DS game called Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story finally hits store shelves in the west. As Nintendo's hard working pays off, they developed a first Mario & Luigi RPG game for the 3DS, Dream Team. Do you think Nintendo's hard working was paid off? Let's check out the review of the first 3DS game of the series Mario & Luigi RPG game, Dream Team!
Welcome to Pi'illo Island:
Pi'illo Island, a place where Pi'illo folks live peacefully. They are folks that can give joy to the island. Mario, Luigi and others are enjoying their vacation. However, peace is not going to last long because all the Pi'illos were in a nightmare chunk. The one who's responsible of putting them into a chunk named Antasma, the Bat King. Antasma stores the Pi'illos into the nightmare chunk by crushing the Dark Stone, causing the nightmare chunks to rain directly right at them. Then he joins forces with Bowser to take the Dream Stone when Peach was kidnapped. Now the Mario Bros. Mario and Luigi must look for the Dream Stone and defeat Bowser and Antasma once and for all!
Badges:
They are items that come in two. Each of the badges come in two. The first end is held by Luigi while the second end is held by Mario. When putting together badges, you can make as many combos as you can. During combat, you see the Badge meter on the touch screen. You can fill the meter up by attacking the enemy by the ranks, like OK, Good!, Great!! and Excellent!! Each Bros. has a meter fill by side. Once the meter is filled up all the way, a combo badge appears on the touch screen. You can activate the badge by touch the badge. Take Luigi's Mush Badge and Mario's Master Badge for example. It restores 50% of each Bros. HP. To get more badges, you need money to buy badges. You can earn money by looking for them in the field screen and the battle screen.
The Gameplay:
The gameplay comes in 2 types of worlds. In the Real World, the field screen is in 3D. During combat, Mario and Luigi enter together. Their skills are called Bros. Attacks. In the Dream World, the field screen is in 2D. During combat Mario has a minion of Luigis in his possession and it has hordes of enemies. That is called Luiginoids. You see Luigi sleeping in the bottom screen.
To learn Bros. Attacks and Luiginary Attacks, you need to find all 10 Attack Pieces on each area. They require a certain amount of BP. On each area in the Real World, look out for pillows scattered in the world. They represent Pi'illos are trapped in the chunk. Can you rescue them all?
The combat system has every basics from the previous games of the series. To enter combat, Mario or Luigi touch the enemy in any way. For entering the battle with an instant attack, Mario or Luigi uses a jump attack or a hammer. The battle screen has few options. Jump, Hammer, Bros. Attack/Luiginary, Item and Flee. Press the A button for Mario and press the B button for Luigi. On the Jump option, time their jumps for Excellent!! for better results. On the Hammer option, wait until the hammer flashes for Excellent!! for better results. In the Dream World, Luiginoids are in Mario's possession. Bigger holds on Luiginary Attacks does more damage. Bros. Attacks has a timing ability in the Real World. On both worlds, you can dodge the enemy's attacks by pressing their button. Look out for the enemy's tells so you won't take any damage. Also, you can counterattack enemies by looking for a chance to counterattack. A hammer would be great. Be careful, if you fail to counterattack, then you'll take damage.
In some parts in the Dream World, Luigi grows giant for a Giant Battle. A stylus is required for the battle. It has all those features and a finishing move. It only works when the boss' HP is critically low. In Giant Battles, there's no Easy Mode, so you just have to keep trying until you finally win.
In boss battles, if you're losing, it's a great idea to equip some gear that increases your stats. Not only equipping gear increases your stats, leveling up increases your stats. Once you level up, their stats increases but Stache. On the results screen, you see the Bros.' flagpole on their stand. The flag goes up as they gain EXP. If the flag part reaches to the top, the top part of the flagpole lights up. It means the Mario Bros. gained a level. Each of the Bros. have 6 stats HP, BP, POW, DEF, Speed and Stache. You can choose anyone of the stats of your choice. Since Stache won't increase when leveling up, you can choose to increase Stache.
After certain levels each, the Mario Bros. earn a rank. When earning a rank, you can choose one of the rewards on the bottom screen. However, there's a limit to it, so you can't choose them all. Each has 5 types of ranks, like Mushroom, Shell, Flower, Star and Rainbow.
Once their HP reaches 0, the game is over. If you're having trouble beating a boss, it's a great idea to go to Easy Mode for revenge. During Easy Mode, Mario and Luigi are stronger and they can take less damage. The Hints option allows you tips on how to defeat the boss when starting a battle over.
If one of the Bros. HP reaches 0, use the 1UP Mushroom. If their HP is low, use the items that heal HP. To gain BP, use the items that can regen BP. If you seem to be running low on items, go to the shop to buy items. All items require money to buy. You can buy them as many as you can. On the field screen, you came across a fountain with neon colors of the water. If you drink neon water on the fountain, they have a special dream, recovering HP and BP. At the end of a special dream, a "Game Over" phrase appears, but it's not really over. Don't let that get to you and deter you from beating it.
When Travelling in the Dream World:
As I mentioned before, the Dream World has some puzzles that are easy and hard to solve. When travelling there, there's a lot of magic going on throughout the world. Basically, when out of the Dream World, it's back to the real world. With that being said, it's possible to rescue all Pi'illos throughout each area. You get results for it.
The Best and the Worst:
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team is a must-play-and-enjoy RPG game. Fans would not miss out on the game. Overall, it's one of the fourth games in the series. Ever since Nintendo's hard working pays off, you do not want to miss out on. It was actually a game for everyone. If you're a big fan of the series, then chances are, there's no doubt that a high score would be given.
Pros:
+Badge combos are interesting
+Gaining a certain number of levels each earns you a rank
+Awesome gameplay experience
+Easy Mode is interesting
Cons:
-Giant Battles are frustrating
I gotta say, Dream Team is flat out awesome! It's one of the first Mario & Luigi RPG games I have ever liked on the 3DS! Sadly, the game's overall doesn't match the previous games of the series and been lacking any franchise because of the frustrating giant battles. But that does not matter because it's one of my favorite Mario & Luigi games! It was a big hit that it hits stores. That is why I'm giving Mario & Luigi: Dream Team a solid 9.0 for superb! Good job, Nintendo, you had me worried for a second!
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