Throughout the years, the Mario franchise has blessed fans with a multitude of games, many of which are gems that have become some of the best and most recognizable games of all time. Some are so good that they've managed to earn themselves a remake, providing them a second chance to appeal to the modern generation of fans.
Nintendo has certainly made satisfying choices about which ones deserved the opportunity; examples include Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Mario RPG, and for the most part, they've lived up to expectations. However, I believe there is a game that has been severely overlooked, one that I consider a masterpiece despite its shortcomings, and which has earned itself a right to a remake: Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time.
Out of all the entries in the Mario and Luigi series, this might be a confusing choice, considering that its problems are prominent enough to the point that some have deemed it one of the weakest among the other games.
While its flaws have certainly held it back, that's all the more reason for it to be remade, because fixing them will allow its already huge positives to stand out and give it the chance in the spotlight that it never really got.
For those wondering what's so good about Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time that it warrants a second chance, to start, it has a villain that is actually terrifying. Nintendo certainly outdid itself when it used the game to introduce the Shroobs, an alien race of purple, mushroom-like creatures that are focused on taking over the Mushroom Kingdom.
While this doesn't sound so bad, granted that Bowser and other villains have been trying to do the same for so long and failed, the actions of the Shroobs have made them seem as if they could be the ones to pull it off. The invaders blasted homes with their superior technology, captured Toads to drain what's essentially their life force for fuel, and even created creatures meant to consume all other life forms like Yoshis. All that for the sake of destroying the Mushroom Kingdom and repurposing it to be their new home.
The game didn't hold back in showing all this, making the Shroobs an antagonist that's worthy of being called a threat and culminating in a story that's wonderfully intriguing and terrifying, with a twist so memorable that it needs to be relived. This leads to another positive of the game, which is its fun approach of allowing players to take control of multiple characters.
The story involves time-traveling shenanigans that result in Mario and Luigi having to partner up with their infant selves from the past to stop the Shroobs. While controlling four characters may sound a bit messy, the game did a great job in ensuring that it isn't. All of them just feel like an extension of one singular character, and it feels no different when they're required to be split apart or when they're all together.
Additionally, because it involves controlling a younger and older version of the brothers, some mechanics are unique to each, allowing for many different and unique puzzles and battles. This ensures variety that prevents players from being bored, as there will be many instances where they must carefully consider what needs to be done and who should do it.
Great as all that sounds, again, the positives of Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time are marred by its flaws, preventing it from being the masterpiece it should have been. The biggest problems involve combat and optional content, the latter of which we'll address first.
While the game does a great job in providing a story, that's the only thing you can look forward to enjoying while playing. There are zero optional bosses, sidequests, and post-game content, meaning that once you're done saving Princess Peach and the Mushroom Kingdom from the Shroobs, that's it. The game is linear to the point that once you're done with it, there's no reason to continue, which is a shame as it certainly would have a ton of replay value with the right extra content.
Now, when it comes to combat, the problem is that it isn't properly balanced. Instead of the usual Special Attacks that require points to use, Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time replaces them with Bros. Items. These act similarly to Special Attacks, but the big difference is that players can purchase or find them in the overworld and stockpile them. That means you can spam the strongest ones over and over if you have a lot of them, making many battles a breeze.
But even with such power, fights can still be very hard, especially when it comes to the bosses. Many of them have large health pools that feel like it takes ages to whittle down, even with the spammable items. And given that many of the sturdier enemies hit way harder than the others, the game can end up feeling like a test of endurance at times. So, fights can either be a breeze or an extremely long challenge, meaning that there's no proper balance.
If those issues are fixed via remake, then it's very likely that Mario and Luigi: Partners in Time will finally get the recognition it deserves, as it certainly has what it takes to stand beside Superstar Saga and Bowser's Inside Story as one of the greats. Hopefully, Nintendo makes it happen someday, as the game's positives are too good to be left in obscurity.