The return of "I Have Fury!" and being in your enemy's body.

[Baba O'Riley]

Bipolar board! Yay!

I loved the first game, never played the second, will pick up the third and probably either enjoy it or be moderately disappointed and wait for the next one.

[Rob-Bert]

At least this game seems to make use of a new playable character and the DS's two screens better than the second one did, and supposedly there's two overworlds instead of just one.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Setting all the angst about playing through Bowser's body aside, it seems as if the Bros. Items are back. I hope they're a lot more interesting than they were the last time around.

[Ngangbius]

But it also looks like that Mario and Luigi have 'Brother Points' like in the first game.

[Dr. Watson]

Sorry for bringing up the being-inside-Bowser aspect of the game again, but i just can help but feel just a little bit uneasy about that. Because so far, the Mario series have made an excellent job of avoiding "gimmicky" storylines (an amazing feat for a series with so many games in it), and i sure hope this game doesn't mark a change of direction.

[Rob-Bert]

A change of direction for what? Does it mean that every single Mario game to be released after this will have the same problem? Keep in mind Mario & Luigi is one sub-series made by one developer.

[Team Mecha]

So which Mario character is getting possessed for the final boss this time? It's been happening an awful lot with the Mario RPGs. My money's on Toadsworth.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Dr. Watson wrote:
Sorry for bringing up the being-inside-Bowser aspect of the game again, but i just can help but feel just a little bit uneasy about that. Because so far, the Mario series have made an excellent job of avoiding "gimmicky" storylines (an amazing feat for a series with so many games in it), and i sure hope this game doesn't mark a change of direction.

I'll admit that I initally found the "in-the-innards-of-Bowser's-body" concept a little... liberal... for the Mario series. It's totally possible that it could ruin this game, but I see two potential saving graces...

First, because this concept is so bizzare, there's little reason to believe that this title will be as dull as Partners in Time was. Hell, it may even be enough to bring back the humor that made Superstar Saga so distintive.

Second, if the developers (who I thought I heard had changed since the last Mario and Luigi game, from a previous post on this topic) manage to make this concept a fun and engaging experience, it will only speak to their talents. Then, nobody will care how bizzare the game is.

Of course, neither of these possibilities have been confirmed by popular opinion yet, but I remain optimistic.

Also... A combination of Bros. Skills and Bros. Items? Sounds like it could be fun.

[Dasher]

I liked M&L2, exept that they had to carry babies. Now that theyre babyless, this could be fun. And hey, u get to play as bowser in this series. i just hope that bowser takes a dump fast and mario doesnt stay in bowser the whole game...but i know he will, nintendo can make a whole story out of body parts. ah well, it might be very funny as i like the whole burning gombas as projectiles attack and hey! it seems fawful is back, wat more could u ask for? cant wait, i need to use my ds again.

[Edgerock]

Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (DS) homepage opened
http://touch-ds.jp/mfs/st103/index.html

Preview - http://touch-ds.jp/mfs/st103/intro.html
Commercial - http://touch-ds.jp/mediagallery/st103_a.html
Boss for Bowser? - http://touch-ds.jp/mediagallery/st103_b.html

[Zeta]

Ah, So Bowser is giant in this game (or rather, Mario Sunshine size), that explains how you can fit two grown men into him, and playing Bowser as Godzilla/Giga Bowser is something that hasn't been done in an RPG. Regular sized Bowser has been done.

[Wombatwarlord777]

Excellent new information, Edgerock... I tried to watch the first gameplay trailer, but I had streaming problems, so I only watched about half of it before admitting defeat. But one important thing I noticed is that Bowser's HP is collosal. It numbers somewhere beyond 200 in his first battle scene shown on the video. If I remember correctly, neither Mario or Luigi's HP ever reaches that amount in Super Star Saga or Partners in Time, unless you level the hell out of them. Everything else I see in that video is giving me good vibes.

That pretty Japanese player seems to be stoked over the game. I wonder if attractive people actually get excited over videogames in real life. Besides J-man, I mean...

[Ngangbius]

That just part of Nintendo's usual marketing strategy for the DS. Film an attractive woman playing that particular DS game in a pristine, white bedroom, and her reaction or an exaggerated acting of her reaction, and BAM--instant DS commercial.

[Rob-Bert]

Some of the special attacks I saw in that preview looked fuggin' awesome. Bowser summoning an army of Magikoopas? Mario and Luigi using Barrel Cannons? Hell, I'm officially sold on it.

[Zeta]

This games seems like it would make a lot more sense and be a lot more focused if it was just "Bowser: The RPG" instead of inserting the moronic storyline of Mario and Luigi being inside of him. Crawling inside of a giant enemy has always been my least favorite part of every game. It's disgusting, and it's overdone. Yoshi's Story, Kingdom Hearts, Congo's Caper, Devil May Cry 3. Hell, the last Mario and Luigi game already did it!

I'm probably not going to buy this just because of that.

[Ritz]

Have fun with that!

I think this game looks great. I don't see anything worth bitching about. I'm excited.

[Baba O'Riley]

It looks good, the concept intrigues me, and hey, Giga Bowser!

[gr4yJ4Y]

One of these days I might get around to Superstar Saga... one of these days...

[Wombatwarlord777]

Don't wait too long. You'll probably have a fun time.

[Shadow Hog]

Apparently it's out already. Else it wouldn't have made the top slot of the best-selling list in Japan:

Japan: 1. Mario & Luigi RPG 3 (Nintendo), 2. Meitantei Conan & Kindaichi Shounen no Jikenbou: Meguri au 2-Jin no Meitantei (Bandai Namco), 3. Rhythm Tengoku Gold (Nintendo), 4. Wagamama Fashion: Girls Mode (Nintendo), 5. Pokemon Platinum (Nintendo).

I wonder if any moonspeak-reading peeps have gotten their hands on it, and what their impressions are?

[gr4yJ4Y]

With this kind of a series, I'd imagine that the scripts are quite a bit different (in English and Japanese) and therefore they're very different experiences.

[Arcade]

I loved Superstar Saga, but never bought Partners in Time. Wondering if I should play that one first...?

Good for you, I am still tryng to sell "Partners in Time" to someone, the game just was overrated for being a early DS game, but it really sucks.

[Segaholic2]

Good for you, I am still tryng to sell "Partners in Time" to someone, the game just was overrated for being a early DS game, but it really sucks.

You're a very poor salesman.

[Kogen]

I felt the same way about the GBA one, it was just not nearly as fun as Mario RPG or Paper Mario.

Those two are my favourite turn-based RPGs, yet sadly Nintendo seems to be falling in quality since then. In Paper Mario 2, the quests got really stupid and they just never shut up, to the point where I just stopped playing even though I am at the last world/place. The style of the GBA one was not very impressive to me, and it just felt generic and pointless to play. I assume the sequel(s) is/are just like it.

Also they are inside Bowser? Watch Sonic Team shove Sonic up Eggman's ass next.

[Wombatwarlord777]

The only thing I can think to criticize about Superstar Saga is that there was very little to do once the story was completed. But the story itself was both lengthy and entertaining enough to make it able to stand on its own. Partners in Time, meanwhile, was even more linear than its predecesor and much, much less quirky, making it a drag to slog through the various areas.

However, the final boss theme from PiT was absolutely epic, and was a nice surprise for an otherwise mediocre game. It's my favorite Mario RPG song.