When it comes to live-action movies about cartoons, anime, and video games; there are ‘certain’ rules by the fandom of those mediums that production companies, writers, and producers have to follow. We ALL know about the infamous ‘Human Sonic’ that Paramount was going to give the fanbase in 2019, but the fanbase wasn’t having it – like at all! Fast-forward to Present Day; we now have two installments of Movie Sonic (that are box office hits by the way) with a third on the way, and a spinoff origin story about a certain red echidna. With this year being the best time to be a Sonic fan, it seems like the movie franchise is setting the bar high for what live-action video game movies are supposed to be about. Although they don’t adapt the video games directly; the producers (God bless Jeff Fowler) and writers know what they’re doing.

On that same note, there are some live-action video game movies that seemed to have a good idea (as well as a decent budget), but the execution was a bit flawed. Its not that the movie did terrible or anything (though mostly that’s the case with a majority of them), but Hollywood seems to deviate from the source material of the video game that they’re trying to adapt; most of the time its usually the writers or directors who didn’t do any kind of research of the source material, or they’re just collecting a check. Its kinda weird that this movie didn’t live up to the expectations of many movie critics, even though they adapted the arcade video game sprites really well; and stayed faithful to their in-game appearance. The movie that we’re talking about…is Pixels.

Ok, its an Adam Sandler flick, and depending if you like him or hate him, the guy’s pretty funny to a certain degree. So Pixels is a movie about a 13-year-old kid named Sam Brenner (Sandler) who went to a gaming arcade in 1982 and can study patterns in video games. During a championship match against Eddie “The Fireblaster” Plant on Donkey Kong, Sam seemingly loses and for some reason videocassette footage of the event is placed into a time capsule and headed into space. One time skip later Sam is a home-theater installer while his friend, Will Cooper, is the most hated President of the United States since (*insert worst president here*). Somewhere along the line that videocassette tape made it to a group of aliens; who mistook it as a declaration of war, and are now on the attack in the form of the video games from that footage. Now Sam, Will, and his old rival Eddie have to join forces and convince the U.S. Army to help them fight against the aliens in three different rounds (or battles) the form of 1980’s arcade games like Galaga, Arkanoid, Centipede, Space Invaders, Pac-Man (yes even Pac-Man), Duck-Hunt, and more. Although its got a B-movie plot, the renders of the 8-bit arcade video game characters are faithful to how they appeared in their games.

A LOT of money was spent making the movie (between $80-130 million), and it even had a cameo appearance from Toru Iwatani himself; the creator of Pac-Man. Despite the movie getting anywhere between a D+ and a C- based on movie critics, they nailed it with the source material of the arcade games that they were trying to adapt. Many of these games we remember playing when we were young, and if you ask any 80’s kid, they’ll tell you that they were probably just as good at these arcade games, as the characters in this movie. It brought in $245 million at the box office, so despite the cheesy storyline, it did turn some kind of profit – by $100 million at least.

Pixels was one of those movies that had an idea and stayed true to its original source material, but the reception fell kinda flat towards the general audience due to its lackluster story. (Or maybe some of theme just aren’t fans of retro video games.) For some people who saw it; it might’ve been the best movie they ever saw, ‘graphics-wise’, because they stayed committed to the original source material. Regardless of its rating we think Pixels might be one of those forgotten gems of the 2010’s that most (if not all) people never talk about, however with the Sonic movies breaking box office records; setting the tone for the Sonic Cinematic Universe, its going to be one of those movies that people will vaguely remember.

Until next post, stay nerdy my friends! 😉

Since Pong, video games have been a part of our lives for decades, and any adult in America will tell you that they have visited an arcade at least once during their childhood. For generations video games have not only been a form of entertainment, but they’ve also brought many of us together – and those same individuals have now become the gamers (and are a part of the video game community) that you’ve come to know and love. Gamers and video game enthusiasts all have their favorite titles from their favorite consoles; from their favorite decades. For us in particular; it was the 90’s! Every 30-something in America today has fond memories playing their favorite game of that decade, so to commemorate the awesome decade that was our childhood (being 90’s kids ourselves), we’re counting down our Top 10 video game trailers/commercials of the 90’s! Get ready for a trip down memory lane! 😉 

10. Kirby’s Dreamland

The pink vacuum that we all know and love has been around since the 90’s (well 1992 actually), so who doesn’t remember seeing this trailer growing up and asking their parents to get them a Game Boy so they can play it? The pink marshmallow’s rise to fame started here, and now the Super Smash Bros. Alumni is one his way to the Nintendo Hall of Fame!

9. Wario’s Woods

Tetris was awesome, but many 90’s kids might remember the yellow-capped terribly-cloned “Mario” that we know today as Wario; who happened to have his own puzzle game. Both versions were super fun to play as a kid, and we’re pretty sure that a handful of those same kids (now adults) might have had the opportunity to destroy Wario’s Castle and see the ending of the game.

8. Tetris

I’m not sure if I remember the Russian bears but hey, back then we got Tetris in North America thanks to them! Who would’ve thought that this puzzle game would become the worldwide sensation that it is today! Welp, we got our answer!

7. Super Mario All-Stars

Any Mario fan out there has played this one at some point in their childhood! This was the game that had all of the original Super Mario Bros. games, as well as the Japanese version of SMB2 called Super Mario Bros. The Lost Levels! When Super Mario World came out they did an updated version of this game with that game in it as well!

6. Mega Man

Formally known as Rockman, Mega Man has become the mega hit that we all know him as today! From numerous video games to anime TV titles (and even a crossover series with Sonic – the Archie Comics version), Mega Man’s legacy will be a part of the lives of 90’s kids everywhere (and some 2000’s too).

5. Mortal Kombat

One of the bloodiest fighting game franchises on the planet made it’s presence known in the 90’s! We all have entered the kombat at some point, as kids of this decade wanted to get their hands on this game! Fast-forward to today; where we now have multiple installments, a couple spinoffs, a live-action movie, and now a live-action remake of said movie. After all these years we still find it satisfying to hear the words “FINISH HIM/HER!” followed by “FATALITY!” after mutilating our opponent. Yeah, parents had their hands full…

4. Street Fighter 2

Much like its bloody counterpart, Street Fighter now has a cult following that has grown since its debut back in 1992! If you have gone to any anime or gaming convention anywhere in the U.S. or overseas, then we’re pretty sure you’ve seen cosplays of Ryu, Chung Li, and all of favorite fighters! Wait, didn’t this title have an anime adaption once?

3. F-Zero

Anybody that has played Super Smash Bros. has played as the captain of the Blue Falcon; Captain Falcon! From the familiar tune of Mute City, to the updated graphics of F-Zero GX (and even an anime series), this game put 90’s kids on the need for speed! Speaking of speed…

2. Sonic The Hedgehog*

Move over Road Runner and Flash, there’s a new 90’s kid in town! Remember back when Nintendo had the video game industry on lock? Well, SEGA had somethin’ to say about that, and they did it with the debut of the Blue Blur; the World’s Fastest Hedgehog, Sonic! This legendary icon has clashed with Mario in terms of popularity, gaming sales, and overall video game supremacy. Even though he’s hit a rough patch in the past few years, he’s coming back strong with a live-action movie (that’s already out with a sequel on the way), a couple games (some of which are already out), and a new animated series stated for next year.

1. Super Mario 64*

For 35 years Nintendo has given us everything we would want out of a video gamer’s childhood, and the best gift that they’ve given us, was Mario (a.k.a Jumpman)! During the later years of the 90’s we were introduced to the 3D era of the gaming world, and Nintendo gave us Super Mario 64 for the Nintendo 64! From there the red-capped plumber continued to give us hit after hit like Super Mario Sunshine, Super Mario Galaxy 1 & 2, Super Mario 3D Land & World, and even Super Mario Odyssey! We never would’ve gotten those titles had it not been for the original 64 title!

*In our defense both Sonic the Hedgehog and Super Mario 64 are tied for the #1 spot due to their iconic nature and popularity. Although Mario has more games, Sonic’s got two live action movies with one of them being a box office hit (which is why it got a sequel for next April 2022).

Honorable Mention: Pokemon Red & Blue

Yes, we know we didn’t put this one in our Top 10 (shame on us T.T), but we remember playing Pokemon Red & Blue back in the day! (And we’re pretty sure you do too if you were a 90’s/2000’s kid!) We don’t even have to tell you how large this franchise has gotten since Red & Blue came out; you’ve got the internet for that! XP

Being a kid in the 90’s was awesome! Fun cartoons, great video games, the 90’s was a pretty fun and interesting time to be a kid. Sure there were some less-than-perfect moments and some of which we’d like to forget, but overall, we knew what gaming consoles were our favorites to play, as well as what video game titles he hold near and dear to our hearts from this day forward. Now we’ve got a new generation of young gamers who are (hopefully) having the same experiences that we had when we were growing up. Even though the 90’s gave us many of the heavy hitters of the gaming industry that we know today, a lot of them have stood the test of time; and are continuing to dominate the gaming world even today! Just ask Mario and Sonic!

That will do it for our Top 10 countdown as well as a trap down memory lane! If you have a Top 10 selection of your favorite video games from the 90’s or even the early 2000’s, drop your list in the comments below! Until next post guys n’ gals, stay nerdy! 😉

What’s good, guys n’ gals? We know it seems like we’ve been away for a bit, but rest assured that we’re doing okay and just fine. It hasn’t been easy for us to put up content in a timely manner, but we’re so grateful and happy that you’ve stuck around and supported us in spite of this little obstacle. With that out of the way, here’s Part 4 of our Superstar Saga review!

Part 4 – From Whoohoo Hooniversity to the Beanstar Hunt

If you’re still on the Beanbean Castle grounds, now is the time to stock up on items because thanks to the efforts of Prince Peasley (and a few other sources), the bros. now know of Cackletta’s whereabouts. Head back out through the eastern entrance of the castle grounds (via the castle village) then go south. If you run into a few enemies make sure the bros. are strong enough to take them on, cuz’ if you head east of that point you’ll run into some Level 25 baddies that will wreck the bros. in battle. (We made that mistake and it cost us dearly.)

Eventually you’ll run into a sign that says “Whoohoo Hooniversity” (which is where Cackletta is), so follow the arrow that points to the path to the university, and make sure that you hit the save block on the right side of the building before entering. Since most of us have either been or have gone to college, you’d expect to see the place filled with college students and future scientists. Well at Whoohoo Hooniversity, none of that is happening! As soon as Mario and Luigi walk in, a sudden earthquake shakes the building and all of the students there scatter about and run out.

You’ll find one student who’s on the floor saying that Cackletta came in and turned all of the students into monsters, and seconds later, he becomes one. Sadly you’ll have to beat him down before continuing, so strike the monster with the bros. jump and hammer skills and you should be fine.

This level is probably the most puzzle-oriented so you’ll really have to put on your thinking cap here. I would go through every single detail of how to get through all of the puzzles, but since it’s too much to remember, you can refer to a Youtube playthrough of this part of the game. I will tell you that a certain trio of viruses makes an appearance in this game, and why the Dr. Mario theme didn’t play when battling all three of them, I’ll never know! (It plays a small tune if you match two or three of the viruses together though, so I’m not too upset.)

Once you finally make through all of the puzzles and manage to level up the bros. to at least 23 or higher (having close to or over 100 HP or so), you’ll find the big Sun Door with another save block next to it. Make sure the bros. are at full HP and BP before hitting that block, and be sure to have all of the items that you’ll need. Inside the center of the university are Cackletta and Fawful as they have found the Beanstar, but next to it is three robot-looking Peach bots appearing to sing to the Beanstar in order to grant Cackletta her wish.

Sadly they didn’t take into account that their plan had one slight hiccup; the singing that the Peach bots were doing was terrible! So terrible that it caused the Beanstar to go haywire and create a gaping hole that the robots fell through along with it. Cackletta and Fawful are confused as to what happened, but then the Mario bros. come in and really make a scene. With Cackletta backed into a corner, the bros. are prepared to take her out and save not just the Beanbean kingdom, but the Beanstar as well.

Unload all of the bros. strongest attacks against the witch and don’t take too much damage. After defeating her Cackletta looks like a broken mess, but Fawful pops up from underground and absorbs her into his helmet gadget. Just as he prepares to launch a final attack against the bros. Prince Peasley comes in and launches both Fawful and Cackletta out of the building. He then tells the bros. to head down to the cellar area and get the Beanstar, however once they arrive at the location where the Beanstar landed, the bros. run into Popple and brainwashed Bowser again. Yep, this is one of those ‘out of the frying pan and into the fire’ moments.

Give Popple and Bowser the beatdown you gave them back at Chucklehuck and avoid big damage as possible. After the battle one of the Peach bots lands next to the defeated duo and starts its horrible singing again; causing the Beanstar to get riled up once more. The bros. along with Popple and Bowser take a ride on the Beanstar right out of the university as their grip starts to slip; leaving Bowser to finally remember who he is at the last second before falling off as well. The Beanstar breaks into four pieces which scatter about all over the Beanbean Kingdom. This is only half the story, as here’s where the real fun begins!

That will do it for Part 4 of our Superstar Saga review. Parts 5 and 6 will go through the hunt for the Beanstar pieces leading up to Jokes End, and Part 7 will kick off the road to Bowser’s Castle. As always guys continue to stay safe and love one another! 🙂

Hey guys, what’s good! We’ve returned with part 3 of our 7-part gaming review of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga DX for the Nintendo 3DS. If you’ve played the original 2003 game for the Game Boy Advance and Game Boy Advance SP, then you already know what to expect; aside from the enhanced graphics in the form of Dream Team and Paper Jam. With all of that out of the way, let’s get started!

If you’ve taken care of everything that you need to in order to proceed to Chucklehuck Woods, then you’ll be just fine. If you don’t feel as confident in the Mario Bros. battle skills as you should at this point, then by all means fight some more baddies! Once you’ve done that head out from the Beanbean Castle until you see a sign that says “Chucklehuck Woods (head west)”. Head west until you see two guys at a gate; show them the rose you’ve gotten from Prince Peasley, and they will let you in automatically. Follow the path to the Chucklehuck Woods museum/building where the famous Chuckola Cola is made. Now you’ll encounter a maze full of barrels that might be familiar from the Sunken Ship level in Super Mario RPG (which was the game to kick off the Mario RPG genre to begin with).

After navigating your way through the maze Mario and Luigi…wait a sec, that’s NOT Luigi! Whoever he is, this Hamburglar-knockoff figure will zip past you into the next area, as the REAL Luigi appears. The bros. head into the next room and find the figure from before; only this time his name is Popple the Shadow Thief. Despite his 1930’s gangster mannerisms, he’s actually a bit of a pain in battle – which is what happens next after he tells the bros. that he’s looking for the Chucklehuck Reserve.

Popple calls out his ‘rookie’ who turns out to be…Bowser?! Well guys; after he was shot out of the giant cannon from Stardust Fields the koopa king lost his memory, so now you’ll have to fight him AND Popple. Hopefully the bros. are at least Level 12 or higher and have around 55+ HP and 20+ Bros. points. In battle Popple rams into you and takes items and sometimes your weapons; whereas Bowser just chucks hammers at you, and eventually fireballs. If you manage to beat them both, they’ll dash off in search of the Chucklehuck Reserve.

The woods are just outside the door, but before you go you’re gonna need to visit the two Beethoven-looking guys in red and green; cuz’ there’s a couple new skills you’re gonna need before heading out into the woods. After you learn them you’ll have to put your new skills to the test and get the red and green goblets in the next room. Once you’ve done that, it’s time to head off into the woods!

Battle your way enemy through enemy and rack up that EXP. Once you’ve done that you’ll come across a giant tree that wants you to look for three kinds of Chuckola Fruit; Red, White, and Purple. What, you thought I was gonna say blue? Har-har! XP

After you’ve gotten all three types for fruit, Popple and Rookie/Bowser dash past you in order to get the Chucklehuck Reserve. Hightail after them and enter into the cave up ahead where the reserve is located, but you’d better hit that save block first; cuz the bros. are in for another battle. If Mario and Luigi’s HP and Bros. points are at least 70 and 40 (or higher), then the next boss battle will be moderately easy. Head into the cave to meet Bubbles (NOT King Kai or Michael Jackson’s pet monkey, and not even the Powerpuff Girl from the early 2000’s) and he’ll explain why the Chuckola Cola is so special.

Both Popple and Rookie got their butts handed to them by the guy dressed as a potato, but you won’t have time to laugh or mock them; you’ve gotta deal with the Chuckola Reserve “Chuckolanator”. That shield is gonna be a problem, so crack that sucker first and hit him with your new Bros. Attack; the Knockback Bros. This fight may be kinda lengthy, but if you survive you’ll get a helluva EXP boost. After the fight Bubbles gets mad and the bros. fall into the depths of the cave below. Mario falls into the barrel filled with the Chuckola Reserve in it, and drinks it all. With Luigi on his own you’ll have to fight a couple baddies before meeting up with Mario; which you’ll find him floating in the river.

Luigi will then logroll his bro towards Beanbean Castle, and they’ll both plop in front of the gate. After a semi-comedic cutscene from the two guards Mario and Luigi are now in front of the Queen Bean. Luigi jumps on Mario’s stomach and back-washes the cola into the mouth of the Queen Bean; to which in turn she burps a belch worm that turned her into She-Hulk. The Queen Bean returns to her former self as the bros. are now excited to have her back.

That will end part 3 of our continuing review on this re-imagined classic, and as always guys and girls; continue to stay safe and look out for one another. 🙂

Hey guys n’ gals! We’re back with part two of our lite gaming review from the 3DS remake of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Last we chat; we ended up at Hoohoo Village coming from Stardust Fields after Bowser’s Koopa Cruiser exploded thanks to Fawful. Now the bros. are in this new village wondering where they need to go next to search for Peach’s voice’s whereabouts – and where to find Cackletta and Fawful. Let’s dive in to part two and see what happens, shall we?

Part 2 – From Hoohoo Village to Beanbean Castle (via Chucklehuck Woods)

Now that you’re in Hoohoo village, it’s time to do some exploring. If you’ve been battling a lot in Stardust Fields, chances are; you’ve got a lotta coins! Find the item shop on the bridge that’s right next to the waterfall and stock up on mushrooms and syrups (trust me, you’ll need them later), then take the bros. to the pathway under the bridge where the shop was and you’ll run into…Fawful?! Yeah, the lil’ nerd who blasted Bowser’s ship with you on it to pieces! He’ll turn to the bros. and rant on about food metaphors before dropping what looks to be a statue of ‘The Thinker’, and then flies off to meet up with Cackletta.

Now you’re probably thinking ‘This prick just dropped this thing and blocked our path! Now what do we do?’ So head back up to where the item shop was and go inside the house next to it. I honestly got lost when I first played this game back in 2003, so just poke around until you find the house I’m talking about.

Once you do, you’ll find two hammer-headed bros. Mario and Luigi tell them that they need hammers to break the statue that Fawful dropped on their path, but the material that the hammer-headed bros. need…they no longer have. Now it looks like you’re screwed, but wait…wasn’t there a bridge leading to a path that will take you to the summit of Hoohoo Mountain? Yes, there is! Luckily, you don’t have to go back and forth from the village to Stardust Fields waiting for the bridge to be fixed like you did back in 03’. It’s already ready by the time you walk out of the hammer-headed bros. home. Now it’s time to kick enemy butt n’ level up!

If you can grind all the way to level 8 or higher with the bros. the mid-level boss fight that takes place in the middle of the summit will be a breeze. Then just keep using the new skills you’ve learned from the Starshade Bros. until you reach the mountain’s summit. From there you’ll meet a pterodactyl named Blababladon (I can’t pronounce his name for crap) who gets upset because you kicked a Hoohoo Stone by his foot. As Mario and Luigi explain what happened and how they got here, the egg that Blaby was sitting on starts hatching. Out of it came some ugly-looking dinosaur, which shot a Hoohoo Stone at Blaby – sending him into the clouds far away. Now it’s time for your second REAL boss battle!

Unload all of the bros. special Bros. Attacks on Dragohoho and keep the damage to a minimum, or don’t take any at all. Like I said before; if Mario and Luigi are both at level 8 or higher this fight should be a breeze. After beating the dragon it’ll shoot another Hoohoo Stone into the air, which lands in the house of a certain hammer-headed duo. The dragon then transforms into a prince (without you having to kiss it), as the prince known as Prince Peasley thanks you for saving him. Blaby returns and joins in on the convo as Peasley gives you a special rose needed to get into Beanbean Castle. After Peasley does that anime pretty boy thing where he flips his hear and a sparking background appears, Blaby takes you back down to the village where you meet the hammer-headed bros. and get those hammers.

Once you’ve got them; head to where Fawful dropped ol’ Thinker, and smash it to bits. At this moment you’re hiking down the mountain while using the new hammers you’ve gotten, sadly there are no monsters to fight in this area, but that might actually be a good thing. The area past the cave is a ‘one-way’ only section, so you’ll have to take the bros. through the cave. You’ll find two mining carts with an old man and his dog, so if you remember the minigame from 2003, the rules are the same now as they were then. Win the minigame by collecting ten gems or more, then continue from the cave and you’ll come out to the Beanbean Outskirts. If you run into any spiked enemies, just use the hammer.

You then descend onto the Beanbean Castle grounds where the whole place got hit by war. Actually from one of the people; it got hit by Cackletta and Fawful. If you need to stock up, hit the item shop before hitting the castle. You’ll run into two guards who may or may not know who the Mario Bros. are, but flash Prince Peasley’s rose in front of them and they’ll let you in. Once you’re inside look for the Throne Room and there you’ll find the ambassador of the Beanbean Kingdom. She asks if the bros. are who they say they are, and to prove it, she drops them into the castle’s sewers to ‘fix’ the castle’s plumbing. At this moment both Mario and Luigi should have about 40 health and 25 bros. points or more, so make sure you kill all the monsters and level up like crazy, cuz’ another boss battle is one the horizon.

After you make it to the final room and fix the final pipe, you see the ambassador again with her assistant known as Lady Lima (as in Lima beans). The bros. tell her that she sent them down to fix the pipes, when in reality all they did was disable the security system that protects the Beanstar. Upon that revelation the bros. race back up to the castle, but Cackletta and Fawful already have the star in their possession. Mario and Luigi get ready to fight Cackletta, but instead you fight a possessed Bean Queen. In this fight you’d better aim for the arms cuz’ you won’t be able to deal any damage as long as she has her crown on her head; plus you’ll take damage if you jump on her too. After the fight Lady Lima tells you that the queen was possessed by a belch worm that Cackletta forced her to eat.

Now the only way to return her back to normal is to venture out and find Chuckola Cola, which can only be found in Chuckehuck Woods. Peasley shows up during the whole ordeal and you’re given a special item needed to enter into the Chuckola Museum. So the hunt is on to head to Chucklehuck Woods to find the special cola needed to end the Bean Queen’s suffering, and thus ends part two of our walkthrough review!

Until next post, stay safe and stay united! 🙂

What’s good anime fam! On our last post we said that we were thinking about doing a light experiment with video game walkthrough reviews. With that in mind we’ve managed to pick up a New Nintendo 3DS XL, along with a copy of the Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga remake featuring a new adventure game called Bowser’s Minions. Although we’re not hardcore gamers both of us have played a lot of great titles; some of which are now considered as national treasures, while others leave a lot to be desired. Superstar Saga DX on the other hand is an absolute classic re-imagined from its 2003 debut on the Game Boy Advance. It’s got better graphics, stronger enemies and bosses, and stays true to its original charm and charisma that made the original game so well loved.

If you happen to have a 3DS or the New 3DS (which are hard to come by because the rage is dead thanks to the Switch Lite being the new ‘it’ thing now), I recommend picking up a copy of this game! Now, it’s time for Part 1 of the walkthrough review…

Part 1 – From the Mushroom Kingdom to the Beanbean Kingdom

Peach’s Castle!

You’ve seen it in every Mario game since Mario 64, and it’s where and how every Mario adventure game starts and ends; at least in this spin-off from the original franchise. Princess Peach is greeted by the ambassador of the kingdom next door; the Beanbean Kingdom. Everything seems to be legit until Peach gets sprayed by a purple mist smokescreen, and then the ambassador reveals herself to be the powerful witch known as Cackletta; with the meaning and pun behind her name being re-enforced by her laugh. Her underling Fawful (which might mean ‘F’n awful’ depending on who you ask) uses some weird headgear device to ‘steal’ Peach’s voice. After doing so they take off as the sky resembles Cackletta; letting the gamer know that the adventure has begun.

Meanwhile at Mario and Luigi’s house one of the toads rushes inside and past Luigi doing laundry, to look for the older and well-known Mario bro. Upon finding him in his bath robe he runs out of the shower and into a wall. He mutters that Peach is in trouble and as if he heard the magic word(s) dashes from his house towards her castle. Upon arrival he finds the king of all koopas (who couldn’t have come at a worst time) making a scene while Peach is in distress.

Mario stops in his tracks, but Luigi runs right into Bowser who turns around and charges at Mario. In the original fight Mario had 10 health and 10 bros. points. In this fight Mario has 15 health, and 10 bros. points. Unlike the original where you only attack once with the Jump attack, you get to attack twice like you would in Bowser’s Inside Story; dealing 4 damage instead of 2. After dealing 12 damage the fight ends as Bowser says that now’s not the time to fight; which is ironic cuz’ HE’s the one who started it!

After a cinematic comedic moment where it appears Peach has blown up the castle with her “explosive language”, Mario is at the courtyard on a mission to retrieve Peaches voice by going to the Beanbean Kingdom and tracking down Cackletta. You’ll be doing a lot of favors for a few people before taking off so make sure you don’t forget to do them; cuz it’ll pay off later on. After a while Mario’s on his way to Bowser’s Koopa Cruiser with Luigi seeing him off…NOT! After Bowser gets upset that his minions didn’t show up on time, he spots Luigi and ask if he wants to join up with his minions. He tried to say “no” but the Koopa king ended up taking him anyway; in another hilarious cinematic sequence.

Its nightfall and you’re on Bowser’s flying ship, so after a little more dialogue you get to play as both Mario and Luigi; with Luigi having 17 health and 12 bros. points. If you’ve played the 2003 original game, then you probably already know how to control Mario and Luigi, but I’d still take advantage of speaking to a few of Bowser’s crew members only because you might get extra mushrooms for battle. Once you reach a certain part of the ship you’re going to need to get your picture taken before setting foot in the Beanbean Kingdom, so speak to the koopa behind the old-looking camera. Once you’ve done that keep going until you find a barrel, then smash that thing to trigger a response from another koopa crew member.

Although the bros tell the koopa that they’re looking for the deck, he wants to make sure they don’t slow Bowser down – and teaches them to fight as a pair. Like I’ve said before; if you’ve played the 03’ original, you’re good on this part. Throughout the room you’ll be smashing several goomba pairs in battle, and since both brothers have more than 10 health you should be fine. Once you reach the room before the deck another scene plays out where Luigi gets mistaken for cargo and taken to the deck.

At this point one of the koopa crew members tells Bowser that they’re approaching the border between the Mushroom and Beanbean kingdoms. With Luigi as the lookout; his eyes suddenly pop out of his head as an energy ball smashes the side of the ship, causing Mario and Bowser to look around. Suddenly they spotted the source of the attacks, as it came from exactly who they thought it was; Cackletta. She tells the bros and Bowser of her plan as she commands Fawful to deal with the trio; with the underling launching a blast at Bowser putting him out of commission (or at least out of the fight). Now it’s time for another boss battle!

Hopefully both Mario and Luigi are at level 2; having at least 20 health or more, and 15 bros. points or more. After smacking Fawful around for a couple turns, Bowser asks if you want to know how to dodge Fawful’s attacks. If you already know how (since you’ve played the 03’ version), you don’t have to do this. Just keep smacking him around some more until the fight ends. Once it does Fawful will split, but not before going ‘Rambo’ on the ship and scattering the bros, Bowser, and the rest of the crew across the border. Now the Mario bros. are in Stardust Fields on the mushroom side of the border, and with every border there’s border security. Luckily for the bros they know who they are due to their star power (no pun intended) and proceeded to ask them to prove that they’re truly the legendary jumpers they say they are. After winning the challenge a little fireworks anime plays on the wall; resembling the goal from the original Super Mario Bros. game.

Now that you’re across the border, you’ll be running to a few more enemies before finding the koopa king. Beat em’ down in battle and level up some more, and then you’ll find a large cannon with Bowser tail-up inside until Mario jumps on him to flip the cannon over. Before you’re able to get him out a big green cherub-looking monster named Tolstar drops in and recognizes Bowser and the bros. You are then told to give him 100 coins or he’ll tell the entire Beanbean kingdom how Bowser got stuck in the cannon. The bros give him the coins but realize the exchange rate is only between 5-10%; meaning the bros only gave Tolstar 10 beanbean coins. That means you got to find 100 beanbean coins or you can’t continue, so Tolstar opens another pathway leading deeper into Stardust Fields.

So this is all you have to do; fight more beanbean baddies, level up, gain new skills from the Starshade Bros. cuz’ trust me, you’ll need em’! After doing all of that and being around level 4 or higher (with both bros having between 30-39 health and 21-26 bros. points), you’ll meet back up with Tolstar and give him the 100 beanbean coins that he asked for. After doing that you’d think he’d be a man of his word, but c’mon! You knew right away that he was ‘that’ kind of guy! So Mario and Luigi end up battling him as a result of his lie.

If you wanna go all out (and you probably might want to against this guy cuz’ he deserves it) use bros. attack only. After giving him a good beating, Tolstar flops right in front of the cannon where Bowser is, but the battle made so much noise that one of the Starshade Bros. appears and lights the cannon that Bowser is stuck in. He tells Mario and Luigi to find Peach’s voice without him, and that it’s all up to them. After disappearing along with Tolstar, the bros continue on their journey. They now end up in Hoohoo Village where they’re confronted by three…um, solders who claim that they’ve done something to their prince. (Dude, we just got here and we’re already being detained?!)

Before things get any messier Tolstar appears with crutches and bandages from the beating the bros gave him earlier, and clears up everything. How about that? Guess there’s some good in him after all…

Well guys that will do it for Part 1 of my Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga DX review/walkthrough. I know I’ve stated that I’ll be covering the entire game in just five parts, but because of how long this game is, we’ll be doing it in 7 parts. Part 2 will cover everything from Hoohoo Village to Beanbean Castle, so stay tuned for that!

Until next post, stay safe and stay gold! 😉