Topic: Superstar Saga and Bowser's Inside Story: Head to Head (Minor Spoilers)

It was bound to happen. I've reached the final boss of Bowser's Inside Story (and hence almost completed the game), which is the sequel to my favorite game of all time, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Is BIS just as good, and has it lived up to the hype reviews?

Superstar Saga vs. Bowser's Inside Story

The Battle System

Superstar Saga introduced the series' trademark battle system. Bowser's Inside Story merely copied it, both adding and taking away from its predecessor. Let's look at the differences:

1. The removal of the hand powers
Why were these removed? They added a welcome layer of complexity and strategy to some of the enemy fights. In BIS, you only have two basic attacks, jumping and hammering, and neither are really all that different (except than you can't hit flying enemies with the hammer - power-wise they're nearly identical).

2. The Special Attacks
BIS floods you with a huge choice of attacks, and you are often left wondering which attack you should use against an enemy. In SS, both Bros' had their own unique attacks, and you had a better feel of what they did and when you should use them. Also, you could learn variants of the attacks, something that was lacking in BIS.

3. The Enemies
First off, there are far less baddies in BIS than in SS. Besides that, they're not as fun to fight. The counter-attack strategies tend to repeat all too often among the enemies, and the designs themselves just aren't as unique or memorable as in SS. Also, BIS has Bowser as a playable character, which means lots of large enemies in the overworld and consequently means you'll have to fight them as M&L. It just doesn't feel like a Mario game when you're constantly fighting baddies three times your size.

And then, of course, there's the dual screen use in BIS. Mario's stupidly close to the top of the bottom screen, making it difficult to judge when to counter-attack fast-falling obstacles from the top screen.

A big deal about this game is that you get to fight as Bowser. Frankly, I was disappointed. It's not that it's bad, it just isn't as fun as I feel it could've been. Also, since you're only controlling one character, the level of intensity lowers. Alternating punching and ducking in some of the enemy attacks felt a bit clunky to me, and occasionally frustrating.

Overworld Exploration

Again, we run into the issue of Bowser being huge. Almost all of the areas in the overworld have huge, wide-open spaces, and wide, ugly ramps (Bowser can't jump). It's not really a problem when you're playing as Bowser (though some of the areas do look a bit ugly with the huge platforms and bare spots), but when you enter them as the Bros, there's far too much empty space. BIS does half-way solve this by adding areas that are only accessible by the bros, but there are still a good amount of areas that are just too huge and barren.

In SS, the areas look better proportioned and have more eye candy, since they're all designed for the Bros' themselves.

Inside Bowser

Here we approach BIS's main gimmick: M&L inside Bowser. I admit, it had a lot of potential, but it really didn't deliver. Nearly all of the areas inside Bowser look identical, the level designs are almost instantly forgettable, and the Bowser-Bros co-op puzzles (which I address further down) aren't as complex or awesome as they could've been.

SS had similar 2D platforming areas, which were highly reminiscent of SMB1, and I think were better designed.

The Overworld Areas

This was what really killed BIS for me. SS has a wide variety of locales, where BIS has only a few. I'll list them as well as my memory serves:

Superstar Saga:

• Mushroom Castle
• Bowser's Airship
• Stardust Fields
• Hoohoo Village
• Hoohoo Mountain
• Beanbean Kingdom Overworld
• Beanbean Castle
• The Castle Sewers
• Chucklehuck Woods
• Woohoo University
• Teehee Valley
• Little Fungi Town
• Guffawhaw Ruins
• Oho Oasis
• Gwarhar Lagoon
• The underwater area near Oho Oasis
• The SS Constitution Ship (can't remember if that's the correct name or not)
• The Joke's End
• Bowser's Castle

Bowser's Inside Story: (Feel free to add names to the areas - I can't remember them ATM)

• Mushroom Town
• The main overworld
• The forest
• Bubble Lake
• Bubble Bottom
• Plack Beach
• The cliffs at Plack Beach
• Bowser's Castle
• Peach's Castle

Basically, there's around twice as many areas in SS as in BIS, outside of Bowser. (There are a bunch of areas inside Bowser, but they all look pretty much the same, so I'm not counting them here.) While BIS has larger areas, they're not as pretty or unique as in SS.

The Puzzles

SS was littered with puzzles, some of them being rather complex (from what I remember - it's been a few years since I first played the game.) BIS never challenged my wits more than a few seconds. It just didn't take full advantage of the Bros-inside-Bowser mechanic. Bowser more-or-less acted as a live switch, turning on and off environmental changes at will. Cool idea, so-so execution.

The Controls

SS had a complex control system that BIS simplified for the better. After playing BIS for an extensive time, I found it hard getting back into the groove in SS.

The Stories

SS had a wacky, unique story that totally ventured away from the Mushroom Kingdom. The characters were well-developed and had unique personalities (Popple, Prince Peasely, Queen Bean, Cackletta, Fawful, etc.). Also, the story had quite a few plot twists throughout the game.

The entire plot of BIS is told at the VERY beginning of the story. There are a couple expected twists at the end which heavily derived from SS, which disappointed me. The characters aren't as memorable, less developed, and less unique. Also, I thought they ruined Fawful. He worked incredibly well as an evil sidekick, but as the main villain he was just not as... I don't know, funny? That's not the word I'm looking for, but I think you know what I mean. Basically, the story is heavily lacking in BIS, and nowhere near as robust in content and characters as SS. I will say that Bowser's dialog is incredibly awesome and snappy.

To sum up my thoughts on BIS: The inside-Bowser mechanic wasn't fully developed, the lack of areas in the overworld was highly disappointing, playing as Bowser wasn't as fun as the hype reviews made it out to be, the story was lacking, Fawful was pretty much ruined, the enemy design was poorly done and uninspired, and it just wasn't as fun or engrossing as Superstar Saga. This isn't to say that it's not a good game. On the contrary, I had a good deal of fun with it, but it pales in comparison with Superstar Saga, and I found it highly undeserving of the rave reviews.

Rant away.

WHAT....
U TAKE THAT BACK!
Bowser's Inside Story is every bit as good as Superstat Saga

How so?

well lets see
The battles are still more addictive than heroin
Fawful has great writing
All the side characters were perfectly thought out
The Bros. Items are awesomeness
It may be easier, but the added Challenge Node challenges make up for this (especially the Dark Star X battle insanity)
That Final Boss Music is one of the best video game songs in a long time
The 2-D parts inside Bowser are pure nostalgia
The puzzles are perfectly dialed out
And, finally, playing as Bowser is more fun than I expected
That is why it is on the same scale as the first game. Actually, next to Brawl and Superstar Saga, it is my favorite game ever

I found the battles in Superstar Saga more addictive, personally, mainly because the enemy design was better. And I thought they overdid Fawful. Like I said in my first post, he worked incredibly well as an evil sidekick in the first game.

As for the side characters, I thought were better in Superstar Saga. Popple, Queen Bean, and Prince Peasely were perfectly defined by their dialog and animations, and I didn't come across as many unique personalities in BIS. I agree Monsieur Le Broque was hilarious, but the overall roster wasn't as robust or defined as in SS.

I guess by "Bros. Items" you mean the Bros. attacks. I prefer the smaller amount in SS and how each Bro has is own set of unique attacks. I do agree that the final boss music is incredible, but the 2-D parts are nostalgic? To me they felt rather generic. :/

I already addressed my issue with the puzzles in the first post, so I guess we'll have to agree to disagree there!

Partners in Time was decent

Completely agree on every level. Also, you forgot Bubble Lake and Bubble bottom

Agreed. Only M&L RPG I've played. Still need to get BiS though...

Thanks, edited them in.

Where do I do begin?
I think that Bowser's Inside Story is better than Superstar Saga?
Why?

SUPERSTAR SAGA:
Very original RPG
Lots of areas to explore in the Overworld
Humorous game
Addicting combat system
Decent difficulty
Sidequests

HOW BOWSER'S INSIDE STORY IMPROVES OVER SUPERSTAR SAGA:
1.Bowser being thrown into the mix was a very original idea. Not only are their times when you have to use both the Mario Bros. and Bowser, but it created some great puzzles. Also, going back and forth between the Mario Bros. and Bowser makes the game feel fresh.
2.The 2D gameplay in Bowser's belly is actually fun and different. 2D platforming mixed in with the game is very fun. It is even more fun than the platforming sections in Superstar Saga.
3.The battle system has been completely revamped, and it is MORE FUN than Superstar Saga.
4.But, the most fun of all is Bowser. Not only are the Bowser fights fun and additcing, but even exploring the overworld is fun. Plus, the Giant Bowser Battles are so much more fun.
5.There are optional bosses and there is even a Challenge Node, where you can rechallenge the bosses. There are also, tons of sidequests.
The main thing I do no like about Bowser's Inside Story is that it is easier than Superstar Saga. It is more fun, than Bowser's Inside Story, but easier.
There is more, but I will have to come back later.

Well, I pre-oredered BIS today, so you obviosly haven't changed my mind pixelman.

@SuperSonic1990:

1. Didn't Bowser join up with you in Super Mario RPG? I know he was playable in Paper Mario: TTYD and Super Paper Mario.
2. You do agree, though, that the 2D environments all look almost completely alike, and that the level design is mostly forgettable? SS's layouts are uniquely done and very memorable, which is one of the reasons I love it so much.
3. I agree that the battle system saw some improvements, but do you like that they took away the hand powers and that the special attacks are no longer unique for each bro? Also, what do you think of the new enemy designs? Better or worse?
4. I agree, the Giant Bowser battles are awesome. I guess we'll have to agree to disagree about that exploring the overworld bit.
5. I haven't beaten the final boss yet, so I haven't seen these modes yet. Can you give me an idea of how many sidequests there are?

@pix: Granted, I haven't yet beaten BiS, and I haven't yet played TTYD or SS, but I do know that while Bowser does join up with you in SMRPG and SPM, it's as an ally and with his active (though reluctant) consent. the idea of being inside his body and helping him to defeat enemies without his knowledge is not the same.

@theblackdragon: I'll agree with that, but my point was that the idea of having Bowser as a playable character has been around for nearly 15 years. The fact that he didn't know the Mario bros were helping him didn't affect the gameplay all that much - just the story. Though I grant you that the Bros being inside Bowser and powering up his body was cool and original.

i also forgot in my reasons why i love it so much is the giant bowser battles. Those are screaming innovation
and i agree that the enemy design in SS was excellent, but the BiS enemies aren't bad at all.

oh, yeah, and on ur list of the SS areas, its Woohoo Hooniversity and the Ice Dungeon is called Joke's End

@pix: the idea of bowser doing one thing and then the bros. having to do something to directly help him do it (like powering his muscles or catching adrenaline or helping him digest food), though, how is that not new to the series gameplay-wise? also, though you're right, and the idea of bowser and the bros. having to work together to defeat enemies in battle is not new, the whole 'bowser inhales enemies and triggers a separate battle with the bros. that may still have consequences for bowser if they screw up during the fight' is certainly different from either controlling bowser completely by himself or as an integral part of your main party, fighting alongside the bros.

Agree.

That's it?!

@ryanknight: Thanks, edited.

@theblackdragon: I said, "Though I grant you that the Bros being inside Bowser and powering up his body was cool and original.", though I edited that in after I originally posted (but before you replied).

@Odnetnin: As far as I've found, yes, that's everything in the overworld.

Way to disappoint (pixel)man. Just kidding. I blame AlphaDream.