Playing Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is beginning to feel like a chore. If I wasn’t doing these Mario & Luigi Logs, and if I didn’t hear all these great things about the series, I think I would have put the game down by now. For my time playing through the entirety of Hoohoo Mountain, things were incredibly bland.
To help soothe some of my negativity, I’ll get out all of the positive elements of the game I have experienced. The addition of the hammer really helped spice up the increasingly predictable battles, especially since the same enemies were appearing each and every battle. Not only do I have another standard attack at my disposal, but I also have the ability to counterattack with the hammer. It’s a great addition that helps bring variety to the now lackluster battles.
While there wasn’t a lot of advancement in the overall story during my time at Hoohoo Mountain, I did enjoy the new characters like Prince Peasley and the hints of what’s to come from the ruins of Beanbean Castle Town. Specifically, Prince Peasley was introduced in an interesting way, and his personality is unique enough for me to care about where he is off to and how he will impact the rest of the game. So far I am enjoying the actual Beanbean region, and the ruins of Beanbean Castle Town are keeping me interested.
And I love when one of brothers faints during a battle and the other has to hop over and hold the other up while defending!
Some of you have commented saying that you’ll get used to the controls in good time, and I really hope you are right. Now with the hammer enabled, switching between each function and player is becoming increasingly frustrating. The challenge Hoohooros gives you is the worst. The twirling mechanic is just too hard to constantly execute, especially in the right direction and desired length. Is it just me? I’m guessing so, because I don’t see too many complaints about this elsewhere. This was definitely one of the more frustrating examples of my last playthrough.
And again, the overall level design and the atmosphere of Hoohoo Mountain is more on the boring side. I liked the HooHoo Village and the inhabitants in it, but that didn’t last very long. Everything felt bland, with each area looking the same and serving the same general purposes. I’m hoping for a little more variety when it comes to future locations in the game.
The next section looks promising and I really hope I have a better experience. I want to like and love this game like so many others, but I’m having a hard time getting to that point. Do you agree? Am I out of line? Let me know what you all think the comments below!