I don't really remember how I heard of this remake of one of my favorite games ever. Nowadays, it seemed to have randomly spawned into my head. I think I was browsing Gamefaqs randomly for Superstar Saga guides and I saw Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions on the results page. I remember freaking out. This was my favorite game as I made mention of in the previous review of the original. I think they did a great job with this remake. Really, it's more an enhanced port. Graphics, Music, Boss HP, and some other small differences have been updated to fit in line with later games in the series, but the plotline remains largely the same. It isn't quite as easily broken either.

This includes word for word dialogue for the most part. The only thing that didn't appear in the original was the small story prompt telling of a strange Goomba with a flag on his head running South in Beanbean Fields. This is here to tell you to check out Bowser's Minions for the explanation of why a Goomba is running around. The game is in 2D despite being a 3DS game but in my humble opinion, it didn't need 3D, and it brought back memories on why the original really is a great game. The GBA version didn't have 3D, so it's a glorified GBA game.

I will be reviewing this game and telling you why I think you should check it out (if you have a 3DS) as well as Bowser's Minion mode and informing you of the accomplishments I had during the game. This serves no purpose though. I just wanted to brag
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++


Graphics: With a 3D engine, the graphics are obviously improved. Bowser towers over Mario and the size difference is notable. I personally like the improvements to the graphics. While I hold favor over the GBA version, I really like how they made everything "pop" more. The level design has been improved. While it remains the same, they added some decorations where there wasn't before.

Music: They remixed the soundtrack significantly. I read that people didn't really like the remixes, but I think they are swell and definitely are pretty catchy. Some I like more than others of course, but I definitely prefer some songs I didn't much care for in the original in this version. I especially like the final two boss fight songs (so menacing) Bowser's Castle, and surprisingly enough the Teehee Valley song. I didn't much care for it in the original game. I think they did a good job with the songs, but I will leave a "It depends on how much of a purist you are" note here. It wasn't divisive for me, but it might be for you. Mario and Luigi are now a lot more vocal in this game. They will yell like they do in future installments if hit, and their boots make noise when moving like in Dream Team (I always liked that) so while this is the same game, they took elements from later games.

Addictiveness: I loved this game. It brought so many happy memories from the original. In a few months I totally will play it again. I went out of my way to collect everything in this game. This doesn't include mini game Hee Beans as I always sucked horribly at them in the original. I am decent at the Little Fungitown Mini game, but not by much. They took away the score attack method of the original and for the rest of the mini games outside the first two, they show you the score you have to beat and how many beans you will get. But other than that, I did everything else. I got 100% in my collections screen. This means Coin Boxes, Bean Hollows, and the Soundtrack. (ala Dream Team) Most of this I didn't even do in the original. I never went after all the Monty Moles, played the Surfing Mini Game (this is in the same sea you eventually use to travel to Joke's End, my favorite dungeon in the entire game) or made all the Coffee items either. I wanted to get done as much in game stuff as I was able to do. IT was definitely addicting!

Story: The story is the same. They didn't change anything in the story. They took away a few scenes such as the scene at the end where Cackeletta throws a bunch of Kooplings after Mario and Luigi just after you arrive in the final dungeon, but other places elude me. Chances are if you played Superstar Saga, you would remember what to do. This game is the same. If you use guides to find collectables, for the most part they are in the same place. They changed some things around or added more boxes, but for the most part they are in the same area.

Depth: This game is just as long as the previous incarnation. They even added a bonus mode Bowser's Minion mode which adds a decent length campaign. Like all side stories, it's not as long as the main game, but it isn't over and done with in a short while. It should keep you busy.

Difficulty: Okay, now this is going to sound odd, but they made this game easier AND harder than the original game. Some enemy attacks are slower, especially the more annoying ones. It took me a while to learn the gimmick behind Bro Attacks. I can't really explain it. They are color coordinated (on Normal Mode) a Red or Green circle will surround the designated brother and you have to time it correctly. I failed the tutorial trying to learn this. It took a while to consistently learn the trick. My advice to you is to wait for the circle to grow smaller before pressing that button. Press it too soon and you might fail it. It's extremely hard to explain.

The other thing they improved is the HP. Bosses have way more health and can't be gimmicked as in the original game. I didn't do the Power Upgrade constantly strategy as I know this game and it would have bugged me after awhile of it being so easy. That's what Easy Mode is for. I didn't need it. As in the 3DS titles, bosses flash when low on health (the final boss turns an evil shade of red, and the heart flashes green. It really does indicate how hectic the fight became and how close to the end you are. I loved it) so you have an indicator.

The Koopling fights in the end have been drastically changed since the original game. I would easily say Wendy and Ludwig gave me the most trouble. Wendy more so than Ludwig! They have dialogue and voice samplings and a harder fight script. Ludwig's battle script is similar to Shrowser in Partners in Time as well as Thunder Sass from Dream Team. It probably isn't hard for someone who can get the proper hammer attack down, but it messes with my brain after awhile and I press the right or wrong button too soon or too late at some moments.

Wendy has the Doppelganger attack. This isn't that hard as you just watch the "real" one... wrong, toward the end, she splits into multiple forms... still not a problem? Well she spins faster than normal and faster than is strictly fair. It became a guessing game. Keep in mind that Wendy has a Time Bomb here. You are pressed for time! No more can you kill them instantly as in the original game.

Some enemy attacks are easier to dodge (Such as "Rookie's" Hammer attack) and they improved the cheap tactics. So in short they improved the mechanics a little while increasing the difficulty of other stuff. Some Bro Attacks are hard to learn the timing of, but once you figure out the trick, it eases up!

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Ordinarily, I would have wrapped up my thoughts here, but there is still one other thing to review. The main game remains largely the same outside of improvements, but what many of you probably sorta wondered about was what Bowser's Minions mode is like. Like Separate Ways from Resident Evil 4 (the first example that popped into my head) this tells the story from the Minions prospective (no, not the yellow, banana loving kind, but Bowser's Minions) and covers up a few minor plot holes (reveals a minor one in the end, but is easily ignorable for the most part) that were never really explained in the original.

Because this is largely the same game minus a few things, I won't have the same layout as it would be redundant. So I will just explain this mode, my thoughts, and a few things to look out for. I will give a number rating for it later.

So what is Bowser's Minions Mode? It tells the story of one of the Goombas Mario puts in the barrel as part of the tutorial at the beginning of the game! I know it hit me too! So the story is essentially a Goomba, Boo, Koopa Troopa, and Shy Guy go on a journey to track down their missing king after the Koopa Cruiser crashes! (Thanks Fawful!)

First off, this is the first official (that I know of anyway) Strategy RPG Mario game. You will notice it's a very bare bones one, but strategy it is nevertheless. As will be revealed there are three major classes in this game. Flying, Melee, and Ranged. Each have their Strengths and weaknesses. Flying is strong against Melee (probably other flying to some extent, but I don't know) but weak to Ranged fighters. Melee is strong against other Melee as well as Ranged, (never mind how they can probably snipe the Melee from afar, I am just going by the in game explanation) and Ranged is strong against Flying, but weak to Melee.

So, already we are off to a pretty good start. Player input is limited. While you aren't strictly watching the fight, you don't do quite as much as in the main campaign. Every now and then your allies will get a red check mark over their heads and you will have to time a button press if you want to pull off their attack. It doesn't always happen though. I don't want to spoil too much, but to summerise, a captain has a few abilities. They can prevent a special attack of the enemy team, or a bunch of random moves they learn over the course of the game. Each Captain move takes up one or more CP (captain point?) and you get a small amount of them back (up to 3 over the course of the game, but it starts out at 2) after each stage of battle. This can go as far as 6 stages to a battle. But that comes much later.

My favorite Captain is Boo as she (Boo's are voiced by a dude, but in my head canon they are female. Plus this captain reminds me of a girl. So we are going to abide by my head canon here) is the funniest and very sarcastic heavy. Shy Guy is the support team. He cheers up Captain Goomba when he is having a crisis or the first to motivate him. I don't want to spoil what Koopa does or get very in depth about their personalities. It isn't a major spoiler though.

To progress, you have to build a team made up of the three classes (Made up of 8 total characters) and making sure that the team balances out the weaknesses of the enemy team, and send them off to fight. I will admit, I had some trouble trying to make teams but Strategy games are a genre I am not partial to. I can play them, but I barely know what I am doing. This doesn't reflect on my opinion of the game, it's my own fault, but sometimes, when a team I was sure would work, failed, it took me awhile to figure out the proper team setup.

There are 3 hidden characters. I don't know if they would be unlocked faster with Amiibo, but they are unlocked once you beat the game twice. (To get the true ending to this mode, you have to beat Superstar Saga. Otherwise you get a "fake" ending. This fake ending unlocks two characters. A certain Sparkly prince and one of my favorite characters of Bowser's Inside Story. The True Ending unlocks a certain "Young" Prince... so regardless, you get them anyway!)

Their are a bunch of minions that can join your party. There are 53 in total. Some of them are seemingly given to you at random during the story, but they mostly join you thanks to RNG. Some sources may say you have to keep a few enemies alive and head to the captain early (this is harder than you might think as you have no direct control over who goes to the captain early outside of a Goomba Captain specific command, but it isn't always wise to do that) but if you knock out or kill all the enemies before heading to the captain, sometimes someone is waiting to join (if you see a minion with a ... above them) regardless.

So now that I tried to explain what this mode was, what are my thoughts? Well I enjoyed my time playing this game. There is the trademark humor Mario and Luigi are known for. We finally get some character development for an oft ignored factor of these games. Bowser gets character (he's the best part of these RPGs) Mario gets character, and even Luigi gets character (the main selling point of these games to any Luigi fan out there) but minions to Bowser very rarely get any screen time.

For the first time, we learn how Goombas think. Even Bowser's team think they are useless. Even other Goomba's don't think highly of Captain Goomba. So this is a very big deal. It isn't quite as good as Superstar Saga's portion, but for what it is, it can be pretty entertaining.

We meet pretty major characters from later games and Superstar Saga (mostly as far as Bowser's Inside Story.. though there are cameos to later games in the main portion of the game) such as Starlow, the Elite Trio, among others. Even a few enemies as well!

I had a tough time with the strategy portion, but it's otherwise a good mode. Some people may not like it, but I can only speak for myself. This mode clears up a few small questions I had during the main game.

While not a complete list by any means, (spoilers and a little bit of laziness) here are a few small revelations you will find out about in this mode.

- How "Rookie" met Popple

- How Popple "recruited" Birdo

- How Peasely and the Piranha Bean met one another

- How Beanbean Castle Town was destroyed

Not a lot of major revelations. But if you played Resident Evil 4, and know of Separate Ways, it pretty much plays out the same.

This was a pretty good campaign. Despite some self imposed difficulty and annoyances, it was pretty fun and addicting. While not as good as Superstar Saga, this doesn't mean that you should avoid it. I managed to max out everything in this mode as well. I didn't max out in level as that would take a lot of grinding (I hated grinding out some parts of this mode. I am not annoyed by grinding and actually spend most RPGs level grinding. I just didn't like it here) which slows things down a little.

I recruited everybody pretty easily. I only really had to go out of my way for the Magikoopa class of allies. For whatever reason, I was easily handed everybody else with minimal effort. In the Record area, I have obviously Allies, Enemy data, Skill (Some Allies in a certain party give you certain stat boosts. For whatever reason, this is called Skills) and Challenges are 100% I also did every mission. There are Captain challenges where each of your four captains take on a group of enemies on their own. These are locked behind a Level (technically party level) of 35 as they are pretty difficult to do lower leveled.

Also, while this may have been just my own dumb fault, there was one mission in the final stage (the same final stage as the main game) that was really difficult for me. It's called Pokey Panic for those curious. The reason it seemed to give me a hard time (even above by 4, the recommended party level) was the random Skill chance time always defaulted to hit everybody in my party for damage. Then I would lose 4 of my 8 party members randomly in a span of 2 seconds. I don't know why that particular stage was so difficult, but it gave me the hardest time in that world. The final battle also gave me some trouble, but that was on me. I was underleveled. Just a warning! In case it wasn't just me.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Final Thoughts: Like I said in the original game's review. This game is very special to me. This is one of the few times in my life where I played the original game as a kid, and the remake made it so much more than just Nostalgia blind. My experience was improved and I dare say this is the definitive way to play purely on minor annoyance fixes in the original, updated graphics, and remixed songs. As soon as I heard (somehow) that this was getting a remake, I was really excited.

I even got some accomplishments in that I never managed in the original game. In addition to getting 100%, I also had some interesting things happen.

-Beating the final boss on my first try when I would always die at least once and only after seemingly getting lucky

-Later in the game you get hammer upgrades. They lead to a Thwomp gambling game where there are three blocks and a Hidden Scroll is hidden under one. I managed to get both of them on my first try. I have no idea if the remake makes it random chance or even if it was random chance in the first place. It seems like it would be random though. If this turns out to be the case in the remake, I will renounce this accomplishment as it isn't as lucky. I didn't look at a guide though in case it was the same spot, so it still sorta counts. The fact I did this twice is part of the accomplishment.

- I brewed all the coffee. This sounds like something completely useless doesn't it. I agree. But I never managed it in the original game.

To date, this remains my favorite in the series. (Bowser's Inside Story is a close second... and I am fond of Partners in Time despite it's flaws and padded bosses. Dream Team is okay. It gives Luigi a chance to shine higher than usual and has a Giant mechanic, but it doesn't do as great a job at them as Bowser's Inside Story.. and I haven't finished Paper Jam yet. I will do so soon though) It needed a remake badly, and this is the best remake for a nostalgia game such as this. The fact I actually played it in my childhood makes it have so much more impact.

I will be doing reviews for the others. While technically speaking I beat Partners in Time, I did so on emulator. I never actually had it. From beating Superstar Saga, I went straight to Bowser's Inside Story and didn't have a clue of it's existence till much later! I did buy it recently and will be going through legit without save states (fun)

I have the complete series (original Superstar Saga is on emulator. I don't have a GBA anymore) so I will be doing reviews for them in order.


FINAL SCORE:

Superstar Saga: 10

Bowser's Minions: 9.0

This was my longest review yet. Hope it doesn't get flagged for basically me rambling about this game. It was on topic though so I should be fine!