Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (マリオ&ルイージRPG2 Mario ando Ruīji Aru Pī Jī Tsū, lit. Mario & Luigi RPG 2, stylized on package as Mario & Luigi RPG 2x2), is a role-playing video game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo DS video game console. It is the sequel to Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the predecessor to Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and the second title in the Mario & Luigi series. Its graphics and general style greatly resemble Superstar Saga's, although the content and storyline are considerably darker. This is the third Mario game for the Nintendo DS. The name is a pun on the term "Partners in Crime". Some of Baby Mario & Baby Luigi's voice clips are reused from Mario Kart: Double Dash!!
==Gameplay==
The gameplay in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is quite comparable to that of its predecessor in terms of its overworld and battle system, but many apparent differences exist between the two games. It also should be noted that the game does not use the Nintendo DS's touch capability for its gameplay, save for one moment in a brief cut-scene.
===Overworld===
The player is able to control the four main protagonists (Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, Baby Luigi) either as a quartet or alternatively in separate pairs. As a group of four, Mario and Luigi carry their baby counterparts on their backs. The player can choose to separate the adults from the babies, so that the adults can go one place whilst the babies go another. The pairs can also perform special moves while they are separated. The special moves are gained as the player progresses throughout the game.
Most action occurs in the DS Touch Screen, while in the Top Screen a map of the immediate vicinity is laid-out. The map highlights in what room Mario, Luigi, and the babies are in, location of Save Albums, and any other important things. In some cases, the babies can enter a passage and the action inside the passage is moved to the Top Screen, while the adults remain on the Touch Screen.
The player enters battle if touched by an enemy (or confronted by a boss) in the overworld.
===Battle===
The general battle system rules from the first game remain intact (solo moves are jumping and hammering; enemy attacks can be avoided or countered), but some changes were applied. If the player has both the adults and babies grouped together, solo jump and hammer commands can be enhanced by pressing the adults' and babies' buttons in perfect timing to inflict more damage. Bros. Commands have been replaced by Bros. Items- items the player can purchase in shops or obtain from Blocks. Bros. Items are used to inflict more damage on the enemy and may be used by two or more of the playable characters.
If all the four characters are in battle, only adults receive damage (or loss of HP) until they pass out, and their baby counterparts become their understudies. If one of the babies pass out, the adult cannot be revived until his younger self is revived first. If all four characters pass out, the player receives a Game Over and must start over at the last save point.
However, the battle system changes if the player goes into battle without one pair or the other. First off, Bros. Items that require all four characters to operate (Cannonballers, Trampolines, etc.) are disabled. If only Mario and Luigi go into battle all enemy attacks that can only be defended using hammers are disabled because only the babies obtain hammers. Furthermore, in separation one pair's demise will result in Game Over, regardless of the other pair's status outside of battle.
Both Nintendo screens are used while a battle takes place.
==Story==
One day, Professor E. Gadd's newest invention, the time machine, is showcased at Peach's Castle. The machine is powered by a magnificent gem called the Cobalt Star. Princess Peach, enthralled by the invention, decides to embark on a voyage into the Mushroom Kingdom's distant past, with Mario and Luigi at her sound-off. When the time machine returns to the present, it appears to be severely damaged. Furthermore, Princess Peach is not inside, but instead an alien creature.
After Mario defeats the monster, a mysterious portal opens up within the castle. Professor E. Gadd concludes that it is a time hole, a rip in the space-time continuum, that appeared because of the time machine's return. The Mario brothers jump into the time hole, thus propelling them into the past. Upon arriving, they discover an immense swarm of Shroobs, evil aliens from a far-off planet in search of a new home, destroying the Mushroom Kingdom and abducting all its residents. In addition, they meet their infant selves: Baby Mario and Baby Luigi.
Mario, Luigi, and the babies learn that Princess Peach's Castle of the past has been taken over by Princess Shroob, the ruler of the Shroob race. In addition she also has Peach of the future hostage. The brothers and the babies decide to join forces and defeat the Shroobs, rescue the princess, and restore the Mushroom Kingdom's shattered past.
==Enemy List==
===Normal Enemies===
*Blazing Shroob
*Bob-omb
*Boo
*Boo Guy
*Boom Guy
*Bully
*Coconutter
*Dark Boo
*Dr. Shroob
*Dry Bones
*Elasto-Piranha
*Elite Boom Guy
*Fly Guy
*Ghoul Guy
*Gnarantula
*Goomba
*Handfake
*Intern Shroob
*Koopeleon
*Lakitufo
*Love Bubble
*Pidgit
*Piranha Planet
*Pokey
*RC Shroober
*Red Coconutter
*Shroid
*Shroob
*Shrooba Diver
*Shrooblet
*Shroob Rex
*Shroobsworth
*Skellokey
*Snifaro
*Snifit
*Snoozorb
*Soul Bubble
*Spiny Shroopa
*Support Shroob
*Tanoomba
*Tashrooba
*Thwack
*Thwack Totem
*Wonder Thwack
===Other Enemies===
*Chomp
*Shroob UFO
*Shroob Chomp
*Shroob-omb
===Bosses===
*Bold means "main" and italic means mini.
#Baby Bowser
#Junior Shrooboid
#Shroobs
#L33t Hamm3r Broz.
#Swiggler
#Kamek
#Sunnycide
#Shrooboid Brat
#Petey Piranha
#Mrs. Thwomp
#Bowser and Baby Bowser
#Commander Shroob
#Elder Shrooboid
#Princess Shroob
#Elder Princess Shroob
#Shrowser
==Reception==
Aggregate Score 	Aggregate Score
Metacritic 	86/100"Metacritic score of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time". Metacritic. Archived from the original on 2010-05-31. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
Review Score 	Review Score
Eurogamer 	9/10
Famitsu 	35/40"Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time review". Famitsu. Archived from the original on 2011-09-27.
Game Informer 	8.25/10
GameSpot 	8.9/10
GamesRadar+ 	4.5/5 stars"Mario & Luigi 2 review". Gamesradar. 23 February 2006. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 17 February 2018.
IGN 	9/10
Nintendo Life 	DS: 9/10 starsBowskill, Thomas (2006-02-06). "Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time Review (DS)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
Wii U: 8/10 starsLatshaw, Tim (2015-07-11). "Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time Review (Wii U)". Nintendo Life. Archived from the original on 2021-04-16. Retrieved 2021-04-16.
Nintendo World Report	8/10
X-Play 	3/5 stars
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time received critical acclaim, with reviewers lauding the game's use of characters and plot.Craig Harris (2005-11-28). "Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Review – IGN". IGN. Archived from the original on 2012-03-02. Retrieved 2008-06-26.John Walker (2005-12-21). "Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time – Eurogamer". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2008-06-26. IGN's Craig Harris commended the game's comic style, stating "much of the charm from Mario & Luigi comes from the focus on humor that's bizarre and out there". Despite this, GameSpot's Ricardo Torres stated that "The self-referential humor that gave the original game its bite isn't as prevalent".Ricardo Torres (2005-11-30). "Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time for Game Boy Advance Review". GameSpot. Archived from the original on 2008-12-12. Retrieved 2008-06-26. Nintendo World Report's Jonathan Metts praised the game for returning to the traditional Mushroom Kingdom setting, claiming it led to more distinctive character and plot elements.Jonathan Metts (2005-12-03). "Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Review – NWR". Nintendo World Report. Archived from the original on 2021-01-08. Retrieved 2008-06-26. While appreciating Partners in Time's use of humor, RPGamer's Derek Cavin criticized the game's plot, describing it as "a basic story that doesn't develop as much as it could have".Derek Cavin (2005-12-03). "Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time Review – RPGamer". RPGamer. Archived from the original on 2008-04-30. Retrieved 2008-06-26. The game's characterization in particular was well received, with Eurogamer commending Stuffwell, who was compared to Fawful, a character in Superstar Saga.
Critics welcomed Partners in Time's use of the dual screen, as well as the rumble pak feature. GameSpot criticized the momentary use of the touchscreen, labeling it as "tacked on"; Eurogamer's John Walker, also critical of this, felt that the game was better without utilizing the DS's touchscreen. Reviewers complained about the game's controls, expressing difficulty with coordinating the four characters, with problems arising specifically in enemy encounters with characters that were not being controlled. The alterations to the battle system received a mixed response—GameSpot praised the more complicated and "richer" boss fights, while Nintendo World Report criticized the added complexity, stating "the growth in enemy resilience outpaces your growth in strength, so battles get longer and longer". IGN noted that "Partners in Time's quest starts out a little too easy", although they acknowledged that the game became increasingly difficult as it progressed. X-play criticized the game for the inclusion of Baby Mario and Luigi, and that the game did not utilize all of the Nintendo DS's software features."Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time review". G4tv. Archived from the original on 2021-12-13. Retrieved October 22, 2020.
Partners in Time's visuals and presentation were well received, with Eurogamer describing it as "utterly lovely". GameSpot appreciated the "added flair" in animation gained by the DS, although the perspective made such things as hitting blocks and countering attack "trickier than it should be". Torres proceeded to criticize the game's soundtrack, labeling it as the "weakest link", although other critics lauded the game's audio.
=== Sales & Awards ===
On its first week of release in Japan, Partners in Time sold 132,726 units."Japanese sales charts, week ending January 1". Gamasutra. 2006-01-06. Archived from the original on 2012-07-16. Retrieved 2008-06-27. Partners in Time sold 1.39 million copies worldwide as of June 30, 2007.Matt Casamassina (2007-07-25). "Nintendo Sales Update". IGN. Archived from the original on October 16, 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-25. In addition, the game has received the Editors' Choice Award at IGN."Editors' Choice: DS games". IGN. Archived from the original on June 13, 2006. Retrieved 2008-06-27. The game was ranked 50th in Official Nintendo Magazine's "100 Greatest Nintendo Games" feature."60-41 ONM". ONM. 2009-02-23. Archived from the original on 2009-02-25. Retrieved 2009-02-24. During the 9th Annual Interactive Achievement Awards, the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Partners in Time for "Handheld Game of the Year", which was ultimately awarded to Nintendogs."2006 Awards Category Details Handheld Game of the Year". interactive.org. Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Retrieved 30 October 2023.
=== Fan Reception ===
In 2016, WatchMojo placed Partners in Time at the #7 spot in their "Top 10 Mario Bros. Role-Playing Games" list.Spake, N. (2016). Top 10 Mario Bros. Role-Playing Games. WatchMojo. Retrieved November 12, 2023 In 2023, WatchMojo unfortunately also placed it at the #12 spot in their "All 14 Super Mario RPGs Ranked" video over on their sister channel MojoPlays.MojoPlays (WatchMojo). (2023). All 14 Super Mario RPGs Ranked. YouTube. Retrieved November 12, 2023.
==Trivia==
*This is the fifth Mario RPG overall; following after Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, & Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
*This is the only Mario & Luigi game in which Peach gets kidnapped at the very beginning.
*Baby Mario's solo artwork for this game incorrectly depicts him with red shoes instead of his regular light blue ones.
*Mario breaks the fourth wall at Shroob Castle by noting to Luigi that the adult brothers and the babies must stay in the bottom screen.
*The Japanese and European versions of the game have altered enemy stats and edited designs and locations of things as well as different audio along with other stuff. This is because the Japanese version released their version with some slight differences and for the European version all the data was copied straight from the Japanese version.
*It is possible that Partners in Time takes place after the events of Yoshi’s Island series as Kamek mentioned his attempts to kidnap Baby Mario and Baby Luigi in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.
==Gallery==
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Category:Nintendo DS games
Category:Mario & Luigi series
Category:Role-playing games
Category:2005 games
Category:2000s games
Category:2006 games