When most of us think of the history of gaming, Mario is, of course, one of the first thoughts that likely comes to mind. Starting with his humble beginning in the arcade in Donkey Kong, he's forever been trying to rescue his lady. Initially he was a mechanics-first, and mostly exclusively, type of character/game - running, jumping/platforming and action with only the absolute minimum of narrative flavor given to his escapades. And he was (and is) a part of some truly great games in those stylings. Mario has, however, always been hinted at being a bit of a renaissance man, even very early on. When we look back to some of his early adventures, we already find him being a golfer and a boxing referee. He's always shown a propensity to break free from his most identifiable role, refusing to be typecast or pigeon-holed into a small box. And with the succession of titles released, a flavor to his universe and its inhabitants gradually began to emerge until at some point in the mid-90's Nintendo made the leap that allowed for full on narrative adventures within this mythical Mushroom Kingdom.
With this ongoing expansion and elucidation, we've been afforded a window into this universe that was completely hidden from us for a long time. We discover detail to the backstories and side-stories for all of these conflicts and rivalries, and personally I find these character and their universe incredibly charming and engaging, despite the light-hearted, whimsical cartoony nature. In this adventure, Bowser's Inside Story for the DS, perpetual enemies Bowser and the Bros. are forced to work together to thwart a common foe in the awful (but secretly wonderful) Fawful to first save their respective pieces of the kingdom before they can concern themselves with their own ongoing feud.
This particular adventure begins with a particularly timely crisis..."the blorbs". It seems the residents of toad town are swelling to enormous sizes and unable to walk or move about normally due to their swollen state, due to the "rolling", lol. It seems this may have been the doing of a particular mushroom in the beginning. Apparently this rancid, rolling-inducing shroom was sold by an out-of-towner with a cape...hmm. Bowser show's up in the middle of this Mushroom Kingdom meeting to discuss the problem and, as is Bowser’s wont, he's ready and eager to wreak his special brand of havoc. Being pissed off that he wasn't invited to this meeting, he and Mario get into it. Bowser is booted out and then coincidentally runs into a stranger that gives him a "lucky shroom" - a prize for playing a "jackpotting" game he stumbles across on his way back to Peach's castle. He's promised this fungus will grant him power - enough power to beat Mario, which of course, is irresistible for the dim-witted King Koopa. This magic mushroom causes Bowswer to inhale everything around him, including Mario and Luigi, and so the journey begins.
Now having a common enemy in this antagonist to peace within the Mushroom Kingdom, Bowswer (from the outside) and Mario and Luigi (from the inside) begin working together to thwart this nemesis. Bowser has his own set of tasks and enemies on the over-world, and deals with them with his own unique abilities. And Mario and Luigi have their own battles from within the beast of Bowser. Bowser is initially oblivious to having inhaled the Bros. and is unaware of their lending a helping hand from within. And so the adventure plays out as in previous series entries, with timing and pattern based attacks and defenses along with learning new special abilities, gear and so on, opening up new areas as progress is made. The overall mechanics are both equally familiar and engaging, and playing was a joy.
Of course, being a Mario and Luigi title, there is plenty of humor and hijinks. The writing in this entry was about on par with Superstar Saga, although in my memory SS was a bit funnier. That's no criticism of Inside Story however as the writing was fantastic and consistently hilarious. How can it not be with the incredible Fawful?! Considering the writing in the Mario rpgs brings up my original thoughts. I absolutely love how Nintendo has fleshed out these initially flat characters and brought them and their universe to life in such a colorful manner. There's such a richness to their world, despite the playfulness, and it has retroactively made the platformers - and other games in the Mario series - more appealing, knowing some of the details that have been shared. I'm really happy Nintendo decided to invest in the expansion of the characters and setting because it has really helped to establish Mario and company as the icons that they've, justifiably in my view, become.
If I have any issues with Inside Story, I did feel that it was more of a guided or tailored experience than I sometimes desired. Things do open up eventually and you're able to explore freely, but much of the time you feel a bit on-rails as the story takes priority over freedom. Again, freedom to do as you wish does present itself, just not as soon (or when) I wanted sometimes. And there were a few instances where I wasn't completely on-board with design decisions, but these were usually minor, and only infrequently noticed. I also felt Fawful appeared less than in Superstar Saga. I’m not sure if that’s an correct impression or just a reflection of my desire to see more of that fantastic charcter and his hilarious comedy. Overall though, I had a blast with this game, and I spent more time than was necessary as I took on side-quests, mini-games and bean hunting. In the end this was certainly a worthy entry in what has become a beloved series for me. I found Inside Story to be more or less on par with Superstar Saga and (both) a tick above Partners in Time. I found myself having great fun from beginning to end, and it's a clear 5/5 for me, and my personal game of 2021.
Well fellers, that will wrap up my 2021 list. If you took the time to read any of it, I hope you enjoyed it. I have fun doing this every year, both for my own enjoyment and for sharing/contributing to our tiny community. Gods willing, I'll do it again for 2022. Blessings for the year to you all!
