Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowserâs Minions review
I finally completed Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowserâs Minions, so itâs time for a review.
Superstar Saga proper
This is not going to be a traditional review, given that this part is a remake of the 2003 game, which has already been extensively reviewed. So it is the same as the classic? I am not going to answer that question, as it is fraught with peril; rather, depending on your situation I am going to give you the elements in order for you to decide whether to play it.
If you played the original and enjoyed it: then get and play this remake, it has everything you liked from the original while doing away with some annoyances; you never know, you might notice things you missed the first time round.
Thatâs nice and all, buster, but these days I donât have the same kind of time I used to have 15 years ago: that is a legitimate concern: the game will take on the order of 20 hours to complete, so is it worth it? Compared to the original, there are some additions, the main three of which is that you will get to execute advanced bros. actions (there were advanced bros. actions in the original, but they were very hard to execute properly, nigh impossible to discover, and absolutely impossible to train for at your leisure), the music box, with both the original and the remade versions Of Yoko Shimomuraâs excellent themes, and Bowserâs Minions, whose review will follow shortly; note that you can start playing Bowserâs Minions early in Mario and Luigiâs quest, but you must complete the main game before you can get to the final battle of Bowserâs Minions. Itâs up to you to decide whether this is something you want to spend money and hours for.
If you played the original but had trouble with it: you should play or at least try out this remake, which has done away with a number of annoyances in the original, so you may find it enjoyable this time. Notably, controls are much easier to understand, there are now heart blocks that will restore all life and flower points for free all over the overworld, there is a minimap so it is much harder to get lost now, the occasional solo fights are no longer absurdly hard, you can flee any time for free anyway, bros. moves are easier to execute and you can train for them in a special mode, you can keep the hammer held high for as long as you need in a fight, etc.
If you never played the original: you should read a review of the original (which are still easily available thanks to the Internet), keeping in mind if necessary some of the changes I mentioned, to help you decide whether to play it; as far as I am concerned, it is a classic that everyone should play.
While I cannot claim completeness, I have listed the changes I noticed from the original under the cut.
Bowserâs Minions
Bowserâs minions is a completely different game of⌠letâs just say squad combat; the closest reference I have for this is Heroes of Might and Magic, complete with a hero and its spells (here called a captain and its actions, respectively) and strategic triangle: flying beats melee which beats ranged which beats flying. Except here the strategic triangle is backwards from HoMM, which takes some getting used to (donât worry about this if youâve never played HoMM).
Another specificity is that not only the battle is real-time, but it will happen without needing your input in any way: youâre almost reduced to a spectator⌠almost, because you can intervene by helping your minions accomplish their special abilities (a special attack innate to your minion) to maximum effectiveness, and by having the captain perform one of his actions (i.e. spells). The latter actions use captain points (i.e. mana), and that is where you have the most strategic input, as you often have to fight multiple squads in sequence, and while your troops are entirely healed between two enemy squads, your captain will only recover a limited number of captain points, so use them wisely and to maximum effect.
Beyond that, since the minions will fight even without your input, the other main strategic input is in the composition of your squad, or rather squads, as you may need a different makeup depending of what you will fight (remember the strategic triangle). You can recruit minions of a given type by going back to a fight where they are in play (opposite you, obviously), then you can train them by having them, guess what, fight, until they are ready for the fight you prepared them for. There are interesting interactions, documented in the description for the minions in question, beyond even the strategic triangle: for instance, shy guys will obliterate lakitus; however, not all such interactions turn out to be worth taking advantage of. You have numerous other possibilities for preparing your squad prior to a battle, such as feeding your minions bonuses (either experience or to a specific skill), or selecting the captain actions he will have available, or trying to take advantage of a squad bonus.
I really wish there was more possibility for control, especially when minions get matched to go head to head with one another. You can influence this by reordering the minions in your squad, but only in a minor way, as melee will always get matched first, followed by flying (ranged donât get matched except if a flying or melee in front of them is still unmatched), so you can only influence matching by reordering within these groups. And even then, youâd better predict well as you canât really know the makeup in front of you before youâre already engaged in battle⌠not to mention you canât change the ordering in-between two enemy squads in the same sequence, so efforts to influence matching by reordering minions are usually pointless. I also wish there were more captain actions available: some of the actions you can only get at random from the random bonus action would be very useful to invoke consistently (e.g. damaging all of the enemyâs melee troops).
Still, I appreciate the fact they are taking a bold stance with an interaction paradigm where itâs the choices you make in preparation that matter most: you canât save your way by micromanagement like some sort of overbearing boss. The input you do have in combat is just enough to keep you an attentive spectator instead of growing bored watching a fight go on autopilot. And even with the limited interaction it does have good strategic depth, both with squad composition and with captain points management.
The story is nothing to write home about, in particular it does not fit especially well with the main story (even though it is supposed to). I will admit, however, that the creators have not lost any of the wit Superstar Saga is famous for.
My tips:
When fighting mixed squads that do not feature a given group (e.g. no flying), then go all in with a squad only composed of units weak against the missing type.
However, when fighting squads featuring all groups, then you will have to field a balanced squad. My advice: donât hesitate to put 3 or even 4 ranged minions for best firepower, but make sure they have good defense so that, when they get matched with a melee troop, they can resist a bit until another minion can come to their rescue.
Spend captain points wisely. For instance, donât bother blocking enemy special attacks when it is clear the enemy is in a losing position (and typically youâve already lost at least one guy so it is no longer possible to aim for the +10% experience bonus). Remember, you donât recharge captain points fully between successive squads.
Special attacks pretty much ignore the strategic triangle (e.g. flying minions will often dodge melee attacks, but they canât dodge special attacks from the same melee minions), so the best moment to use captain points is for boosting the morale when facing a squad your minions are somewhat weak against (e.g. an all melee squad when you have more ranged than flying in yours).
However, in case you are completely weak (e.g. you face an all-ranged squad with your all-flying squad), then only the captain duel action, exclusive to captain Goomba, can possibly save your butt⌠better hope youâre not facing a flying captain.
The beam special attack of giant boos is very dangerous, especially to the opposite captain: you can easily lose from them only, with your captain having otherwise never been hit. When you are facing one, or worse, multiple giant boos, save your captain points exclusively to blocking the special attacks from these giant boos and no other enemy.












