Flashback: The Only Good RPG for the GBA

Ladies and gentlemen, I was never really into RPGs, except for on the internet. But even then, I didn't play too many. But, there is one game that I have played through. This is the only game I have replayed more than 5 times. Guess. Ill give you a hint. It isn't Fire Emblem. It's the Greatest embodiment of Mario ever. The Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga series. That's right, put on those stripedy socks, and lets get rolling!

The M&L series has 3 installments, the original Saga, Partners in Time, and Bowser's Inside Story. The first of which starts out with Princess Peach's voice being stolen by the evil Cackletta. So, to get it back, you must travel over to the Bean Kingdom, in hopes of restoring your princess's once oh so sumptuous voice. But, with many plot twists, and memorable villains, there's plenty a story to go around.

Gameplay involves jumping (never would have guessed, would ya?) using hammers, Fire, electricity, and Bro moves. Where Mario and Luigi tag up and use specialized moves that deal massive damage to enemies weak points, but you only have so many bro points to do them. But, you can eat syrup to replenish these much needed points. Game play is smooth, and you always get the chance to dodge moves, which is a nice touch. the music is ingrained in my mind, and still gives me goosebumps whenever I listen to the final boss music. But overall, I love the humor and wit to the game. Mario and Luigi's fake Italian speaking to each other to interactions with Bowser. It completes the Mario universe for me, making my inner fan boy scream in delight.

The second game puts the mustached twin back through time, allowing you to pair up with the younger versions of the Italian duo: babies Mario and Luigi. Looking adorable in their little hats and diapers, they must save the world from evil aliens. The idea of having two teams with different, interesting powers was a fantastic plan, and was the first game I ever played on the DS, actually, it was the reason I bought it. I spent many hours playing it, although not as many as the original, I still loved its permise.

Finally, I come to Bowser's Inside Story. When a horrible disease strikes the Mushroom Kingdom, the last thing the plumbers need is Bowser kidnapping the Princess. Oh, then he eats them. A fun-filled adventure, with just as many twists and turns as the original. I loved the score so much, I downloaded the music, impressive for someone as lazy as myself, and the gameplay flowed better than the second one does. Although the story may be a bit cheezy in parts, it still is very humorous. 

Although I still wonder if Nintendo went to the trouble of actually getting Italian speakers to voice the twins, I still find their antics to be hilarious. I find that Luigi's part makes him feel like more of a character, and not just a green Mario, as I usually think of him. Playing through these games makes me want to get out my old games, and see if my NES still works. I still have my original Super Mario Brothers 3, and I would love to play the original again.

Flashback Special: A look into the Greatest Generation of Handhelds

So, after my LoL binge, I decided to pull out my old DS. For the record, I've gone through two before getting to this current one. My first DS was an old DS, which I simply called “FatS” because they're so much bigger than the DS Lite, it was Electric Blue, giving it the name Big Blue, and I swear I could hear thunder in the background every time I turned it on. I spent probably as much time on that DS as I spent on my entire time on the Gamecube. But, tragedy struck one day about 4 years ago. When I was giving it to my brother, he didn't have a strong enough grasp on it, and he dropped it, cracking the screen. There was a large disturbance in the force, as I could feel a small portion of my soul dying out, and so I ran to the nearest Super Target, receipt in hand, and claimed that my warranty covered it. Luckily, the man behind the counter was either stupid, or just had pity for me, as I had tear stains on my cheek. As any true gamer can tell you, you can get very attached to your handhelds.



What was besieged to me wasn’t quite what I expected, as I had originally owned an electric blue DS, that’s what I wanted back. But, this was when the DS Lite had made its first appearance, and the FatS were starting to disappear of store shelves. DS Lite’s at the time cost more than my FatS, and since I had no money on me at the time (And I was just about to beat the Elite 4 in Ruby version, again) I settled on the plain-Jane version, just silver. Now, don’t get me wrong, silver is fine, but it just didn’t have the power to make angels sing every time I flipped my DS open like Big Blue could, but I had him longer than I had most other things. I eventually gave him the name “Old Silver” since I was playing him no later than last June, but, of course, nothing good lasts forever.



I went through many games on Old Silver, from Phantom Hourglass to Diamond Version of Pokémon. I had him in my pocket for so long that his original bar code had fallen off from ware-and-tear. I even got him a cute little carrying case that had Mario and Luigi on the front from their greatest RPG “Superstar Saga.” It didn’t matter to me that it was made for the DS Lite; it still fit (even if it did put a good deal of strain on the zipper.) But, when I was out traveling, I gave it to my brother. And he dropped it. If you’ve ever had a pet die, and your parents have to break the bad news to you, this was the equivalence. I came into the room we were staying in, and he said, “Santa, we need to talk.” What proceeded was him sighing, and holding up Old Silver, now in two pieces, top screen in his left hand, and touch screen in his right. I was despondent for about a month.



I hadn’t used a handheld in about 5 months, and I had been on the Xbox ever since, this was about the time I started transitioning to PC gaming. But, I could feel the excitement of this box, and while I unwrapped it, I could feel a small rumble. It was a DS, Electric Blue. But, there was one difference, it was a DS Lite. I could feel the beginning of a new era. I went downstairs, pushed myself up next to my desk in my La-Z-Boy, and started charging. While I waited for it to charge, I opened up TF2, and traded for a few hours, (that was my obsession at the time) and when I turned it on, I gave it a new name, my new name, Santa, as a way of thanking this Christmas miracle. I started back up Ruby Version, and started a new game. Although I don’t play handhelds very much, I still love the DS; I can still play my GBA games, and get a tough of the future. Maybe I’ll get a 3DS in the future, but I’m not counting on it. I like holding onto the old days, and who knows? Maybe I’ll find my Gameboy Advanced in my storage room sometime soon.