Collecting the other three pieces of the Beanstar turned out to be a lot easier than I thought. I was expecting each piece to last the typical “chapter” length, but I was pleasantly surprised and somewhat disappointing at how easy they were to collect. Pleasantly surprised because I knew I could get this log out sooner, and disappointed because it felt way too easy and that it did not warrant such an important item.
This log has the brothers heading south to play a color creating minigame for the second piece of the Beanstar. Now in the Yoshi Theater, Mario and Luigi head to all corners of the Beanbean Kingdom to find seven special fruits that will help them snag the third Beanstar piece. Our fourth and final Beanstar piece was hidden within a deeper part of the Chuckola Woods, where a battle with Popple ensued. After returning to Beanbean Castle, the Beanstar is restored and a ransom is made by Bowletta.
The quest to find the scatter Beanstar pieces had me rolling my eyes a bit. It’s a common gaming trope that involves the player searching for a certain amount of items to help restore something or activate an event. I felt like it was thrown in just to prolong the game, and it definitely didn’t help or change the story in any interesting way. They even had me collecting those fruits within my quest to collect the Beanstar pieces. I still enjoyed the battles, but I could definitely do without the padding.
But the references to past games were definitely a highlight! Kirby, WarioWare, Legend of Starfy, and even the Yoshi’s Island nods were a treat to see.
I feel like I have said everything there is to say about the game so far. I kind of already know what to expect next, knowing that I will be heading to Joke’s End and Bowser’s Castle to finish off the game. What happens in these two areas will determine whether I do two separate logs or a final log that includes both.
What did you guys think about collecting the Beanstar pieces? Was it too much or unnecessary? Did you strictly follow the main story or did you venture off and take care of sidequests? Were you hoping to see more out of collecting the Beanstar pieces? Speak your mind in the comments below!