Mario and Luigi as Kids Were Based
This is one of my first and only Mario RPGs I played on the DS. I first played this game as early as 1st grade, so give or take, I was around 7 or 8. Yes, as a kid, this game was super difficult, but it actually became so difficult, that I decided to boost my stats with an action replay device, which now thinking about, it's crazy how those devices were actually legal and that you could just buy one at your local Gamestop. But nonetheless, adult me realized the game wasn't as hard as child me perceived it to be, although, it's still, in my opinion, towards the more difficult end of DS/Mario games.
What made this game stand out, was the obvious storyline and gameplay with both Mario and Luigi and their younger selves. Seeing Baby Mario and Luigi's personalities as kids and then contrasting them with their adult versions, was gratifyingly interesting. Baby Mario was naturally adventurous and confident, and Baby Luigi was apprehensive and sensitive, which makes a lot of sense due to the nature of these adult characters in most of their games. At the time though, I don't think anyone had ever seen the origin of their beloved character's temperaments like this before. In fact, now that I think about it, there are really no games at all like this. The babies have appeared in various Mario Karts over the years, but there is little shown about their unique dispositions. Yes, there's Yoshi's Island, but it's mostly just small scenes that provide no additional context other than the occasional crying Baby Mario once he gets seperated from Yoshi.
But what I find even more interesting and unique about this game, is how we see Mario and Luigi in father roles; in particular, how they would parent themselves, knowing that well, they ARE parenting themselves. An instance I found particularly interesting in the game is how, if their baby versions start crying because of an enemy, they begin to sooth them accordingly. Mario proceeds to throw Baby Mario in the air while Luigi simply pets baby Luigi on the ground. Although this is so subtle, it's a further unique detail that hints at the connectivity and origins of each future personality. Baby Mario requires a fun, thrilling, and sensory experience to calm his nerves, which makes sense considering adult Mario is usually cool with getting himself into dangerously thrilling situations while Baby Luigi needs more of a calm and nurturing type of treatment due to his inherent neurotic and sensitive nature, which also makes sense since he tends to be much more hyper aware of danger and is shown to be perpetually nervous in situations where Mario thrives.
Hence, the game not only allows us to see these characters in a light we've never seen them before, it also provides an insight into the psyche of Mario and Luigi's personalities across time.
Now onto the gameplay. It's also incredible, and does a fantastic job at contrasting the party of four into both the RPG fights as well as the navigation and progression between worlds. When it comes to fighting, this game favors both action orientated attacks, like jump and hammer, as well as item attacks. However, I believe the item attacks are what truly makes combat so satisfying. One that comes to mind is the red shell, where you basically trade off hits with all 4 characters to hit the enemy until the shell becomes too fast and you "slip". Then there are the fire and ice flowers, where you spam A,B, X, or Y with your team, creating a massive fire or ice ball to throw into the enemy. There are also special team attacks too, one of which each character falls out of the sky randomly and you're required to hit A until the chain becomes too fast and you "Slip". In aggregate, the combat system is just superb and I haven't even scratched the surface here.
The cherry on top really is how each character is integrated into the progression outside the combat. For instance, there are many times where in order to unlock or move forward, you are required to only use the babys. By hitting Y/X, the babies will get thrown off Mario and Luigi, and you'll have the opportunity to adventure with them on your own as two separate entities. This most commonly occurs when there's an area too high or small to fit into for the Adult brothers. As a result, they'll fling the babies up there to hit some sort of switch or key to progress. Additionally, any enemy you encounter in those time periods will be only be fought as Baby Mario and Luigi. Also, a world might ask for both sets of brothers to participate to unlock something, and in this case, you have the amazing ability to swap back and forth. It's a masterpiece.
Additionally, the final boss is fantastic, there's a talking book that acts as a guide, yoshi's are in the game, and there's a world where you're inside a stomach.
My only criticism is there's a shit ton of backtracking, and sometimes you have no idea what to do. Other than that, it's one of the best Mario RPGs next to Paper Mario TYD.
