DreamTeamontop

Anor londo, shall I say more? Okay fine, I guess the tutorial is pretty neat.

I Felt the urge to come and replay this one about a month ago, and man was it just as fun, quirky, and challenging as I remembered it being. Take the opening hours of the game, where you're constantly learning new mechanics and meeting new people. And don't even get me started on how creative some attacks can be. But I'd like to dive in on what really makes this game so good at its core. You have your traditional RPG experience, complete with great writing and charming characters, along with a engaging 2d platformer one, creates a perfect gameplay loop that leaves the player not wanting to put the game down. On the topic of the writing, man is it quite good. Every single person in the game acts and talks with just the right amount of wit and sarcasm, to the point where it never becomes overbearing or annoying. This is an important balance to have, as the game does have its fair share of somber moments, though it thankfully never becomes unaware of goofy nature. Compare these sadder moments to say, the ones in 2021's Origami King, and you definitely appreciate how the change in tone isn't nearly as off-putting. The world also feels so rich and lived-in, feeling fresh and exciting, while still feeling like a location in the Mario universe. And while this game would still be a great time with mediocre combat, it thankfully comes out swinging (pun intended). While the game may appear to have a typical turn-based combat system, the sheer depth of the game's "action commands" makes fighting quite invigorating. Simply put, an action command is a button press or timing used to attack, dodge, block, and interact with the battlefield in a way that perfectly weaves itself into the battle system. While enemy variety could certainly be better, the enemies we are presented with are pretty solid. Sure you have your normal goombas and koopas, but there are plenty of newcomers to the series that I wish would've stuck around. Just like any other Mario RPG, there are no random encounters in this adventure, the enemies interact with the overworld, and you're free to engage as you please. This fixes a major complaint with most RPGs , they become repetitive and stale when presented with so many encounters. If the enemies in this game are good, then the bosses are absolutely masterful. Let us take a brief moment to look at the history of the bosses of Mario & Luigi. They've always been great, especially in Bowser's Inside Story, but this game really does step it up a notch, both in the visual and gameplay departments. Visually, the signature "giant" bosses are now in glorious 3d, and looking better than ever. And gameplay wise, bosses not only have a natural and fun difficulty progression throughout the game, but they are just simply more fun to fight, with dynamic attacks that were clearly crafted with care. And man, do some of the late game bosses really crank up the difficulty notch. There's one boss in particular, that myself and many others consider to be the most grueling, difficult, over the top encounter the entire Mario franchise has to offer. Yet, it never at one point feels frustrating. Dream Team is a hard game no doubt, but different from earlier franchise entries, it never makes you want to pull your hair out. The game challenges you, it does not punish you. Combat evolves throughout the game, adding more and more features until they all culminate in the game's closing hours. Speaking of the game's ending, the climax is equal parts satisfying and fun to experience. Without giving too much away, the twists and turns the story takes will have you dying to see what happens next. After playing Dream Team when I was younger, I thought it was an amazing game. Coming back to it now, expecting to be disappointed, I am both blown away and frustrated. The frustration in me comes from how much this game is overlooked, which hey, I get. In a world of Galaxies and Thousand Year Doors, it's not easy to stand out by just being incredible. So when this game came out, and got fairly good reviews, most people just thought, "Eh, I'll catch the next one". I really do think the 7's and 8's Dream Team got across the board are what prevents it from becoming something of a cult classic. Yeah, I didn't think a mario game and cult classic could be used in the same sentence, but alas, here we are. I'd like to conclude this review with a story, one that happened no more than two weeks ago. I'm conversing with a friend of mine, and naturally, he asks if there's any games he should check out. Obviously, I recommend Dream Team. It's a bit of a tough sell, considering it's a fairly random RPG from 10 years ago. But after I offer to lend my copy, he agrees to check it out. Flash forward a few days, I ask him if he maybe wants to grab a bite to eat. "Sorry, I'm a bit busy with that Mario game you recommended to me, I'm on my second playthrough already". Now 20 hour long "Mediocre" games don't tend to get back to back playthroughs, now do they?