Mario & Luigi: Luiginary Void

[BeatBoxingBoo]

So I guess the Dream Team thread got destroyed in the Talkhaustrophe, and I would like to welcome back by saying:

Is Dream Team seriously going to be the first M&L game that requires me to grind to get past a part? Specifically, what I'm talking about is

when you have to beat Heavy Zest within 3 turns. I simply can not figure out how to deal that much damage that fast.

Also I jumped onto a spike pit ONE TIME and the game was already asking me "Do you need any help?" Jesus Nintendo, give me some credit.

[Bean]

A couple of options to go with for this one. You could have a badge combo built up in advance that allows you to attack for damage or drops the defense of the boss and friends before going on the attack for your actual turn with the Luiginary Ball or Stack. If you can get Excellent ratings on your attacks which is what the fight is really trying to teach you, then you should be in good shape.

[dohz]

Regarding the boss fight, well, I never actually had much issues with it. Took a few attempts, sure, but if you deal the most damage you can, he oughta yield within the turn limit.

Thoughts:

Y’know, I was really looking forward to this game. The M&L series are one of my favorite vg series ever! Sad to say, however, that I wasn’t all too into this entry. Much of the mechanics felt a bit copy-pasted from BIS, without what made those original mechanics work. Battles in the dream world don’t feel very distinct from those in the waking world, and, over the course of my playthrough, the gameplay simply began to feel stale. Felt like I was wading through the game.
I dunno, I certainly didn’t expect myself disliking this one, especially since I love the concept of dreamscapes, but overall, I just felt it was boring. Hm.[/opinions]

[Ashan]

Wait, there was a Dream Team thread?
Wait... Did I make it? I don't remember. Whatever.

Also I jumped onto a spike pit ONE TIME and the game was already asking me "Do you need any help?" Jesus Nintendo, give me some credit.

That was my huge issue with this game. I mean, it's an issue with pretty much every first party Nintendo game since NSMBW, but I find it 1000x more offensive in Dream Team because it's a series I hold dearly to me and doesn't feel like a game that the whole family will enjoy, so catering to them so heavily just seems weird. I expect to die at least once or twice in games like this from one stupid mistake or another, and when that happens and they point and laugh and go "hah, well you suck. Want us to do this for you" I get super annoyed.

[BeatBoxingBoo]

Battles in the dream world don’t feel very distinct from those in the waking world

Actually I feel like it's better at differentiating them than it was in Bowser's Inside Story.

Anyways, my feelings with this game are really mixed. I want to love it because, next to Paper Mario, this is my favorite Mario series. Seriously my only issue is that it's just too freaking easy.

In fact, I was going to reply to Bean's suggestion about a badge combination for the battle: I actually have the badge that can either reduce your health to 1 or fully heal you, and I have vowed to only use that and never items, just as a self-imposed challenge. Literally the only place it's provided challenge was at the start of the Sorrow Fist fight where I kept dying before I could charge it back up.

I think Nintendo needs to just roll with a Difficulty setting, instead of trying to just cater only to people who can't play games very well and forgetting about the people who can.

Also I really freaking love the battle music, it's just, so good.

Also also, how did literally nobody at Nintendo realize that Save Blocks are kinda pointless WHEN YOU CAN SAVE ANYWHERE IN THE FIELD

[yogui]

Anyways, my feelings with this game are really mixed. I want to love it because, next to Paper Mario, this is my favorite Mario series. Seriously my only issue is that it's just too freaking easy.

That's modern Nintendo. The main game is pretty easy, but if you want a real challenge

you need to replay the game in hard mode after you finish it.

And beating that boss in 3 turns is easy, just spam your stronger bro moves and it should be enough.

[QuietProtag]

I just got the game recently (and a 3DS too) and I'm having fun with it so far. : )

Also also, how did literally nobody at Nintendo realize that Save Blocks are kinda pointless WHEN YOU CAN SAVE ANYWHERE IN THE FIELD

Good point.

[Mata Hari]

I dunno why but I really didn't feel inspired by this game. I'm not sure how it's any different to the other three, which I beat, but I got to the Big Massif battle, found it genuinely difficult, and just... stopped. This was like a month ago so maybe I'll pick it back up, but I dunno.

[Ashan]

That's modern Nintendo. The main game is pretty easy, but if you want a real challenge

Paper Mario Sticker Star was pretty freaking hard. Not in a good way, but it was hard.

Also also, how did literally nobody at Nintendo realize that Save Blocks are kinda pointless WHEN YOU CAN SAVE ANYWHERE IN THE FIELD

Yeah, that was pretty redundant but I think it was mainly for "yo man, there's a boss up ahead. You should save."

[Money]

I'm really liking this game. I'm at the part where

you have to get the Bedsmith to construct the Ultibed

and so far I'm having a lot of fun with it.

It's got a lot more content than Bowser's Inside Story, which I beat in about 12 hours: I'm about 30 hours in and I've still got a bit to go. It doesn't really feel like that 30 hours was because of filler, either, there's just a lot of stuff to do. The variety of fighting mechanics is also a plus, it doesn't ever get repetitive.

It is a little casualized (save anywhere, lossless escape from battles, being able to restart battles if you lose them), but it's not like it's a pushover of a game either. It's more that the mechanics are a bit more casual friendly.

But yeah, I'd say it's pretty tied for best Mario and Luigi game (with Bowser's Inside Story).

[Ashan]

But yeah, I'd say it's pretty tied for best Mario and Luigi game (with Bowser's Inside Story).

But Superstar Saga.

[Bean]

Ratings? Ratings. I'd probably go Bowser's Inside Story (A), Dream Team (A-), Superstar Saga (B+), Partners in Time (B-).

Superstar Saga kind of drags near the end with the whole Beanstar quest. Dream Team also kind of loses a bit of steam with its collection quest, but it picks up again. Partners will always bum me out for not being a past and present game instead of just going to the past, and Bowser's Inside Story was pretty much awesome.

[CM30]

Personally, I've always thought Dream Team was one of the harder Mario & Luigi games. It's just that there's one snag...

The badge system is not balanced at all.

That's the only reason the difficulty suffers, at least for the most part. Stuff like the Gold/Miracle Badge just completely breaks everything. Maybe they shouldn't have let you store badge effects or something. Or reconsidered badge effects that act like time stoppers/reset buttons.

And yes, Hard Mode is where it's at. Just stay the hell away from the Giant Battle Ring in said mode, unless you actually like games where you literally need to do absolutely perfect in every way. Low turn limits, a boss rush with no health restoration and death within three hits, unreliable gyro controls and really hard counter attack timing makes that thing absolutely insane.

[Mandew]

I liked Dream Team, just not enough to actually replay it. The trend of Bowser's Inside Story kind of continues with me; I don't like the dungeon-y type areas, but I am always so looking forwards to the bosses and story events, because those are always pretty good.

[CM30]

I liked Dream Team, just not enough to actually replay it. The trend of Bowser's Inside Story kind of continues with me; I don't like the dungeon-y type areas, but I am always so looking forwards to the bosses and story events, because those are always pretty good.

There's a nice answer to that problem; Youtube + the Battle Ring.

(or Youtube + the Gauntlet for Bowser's Inside Story).

[Bean]

There's no way I can replay this game for awhile. I spent around fifty hours on it before I finally put it down. That's longer than the other three games in the series combined took me.

[cheez8]

Yeah, I didn't have a problem replaying other games in the series, but this one just wore me out. I have a feeling I won't pick it up again for a while.

That said, this was still fantastic. The sheer length and only two save files just didn't do much good for the replay value.

(Normally I end up using the second save file in M&L games to save at a point where I can watch a particular cutscene or two without having to wait too long, but this time the cutscene I'd rather have easy access to is about 3/4 of the way through the last area of the game, and I don't know if I can handle reaching that again!)

[CM30]

I don't think I could replay any Mario & Luigi game to be honest. Not because they're not good (they definitely are), but because I'd have to replay my least favourite parts over again.

Like Joke's End in Superstar Saga, which I honestly can't even stand navigating in any save file. Or those mini games in Bowser's Inside Story that kind of overuse the touch screen.

But I guess that's something I have an issue with in all Mario RPGs. They always tend to have at least a few obnoxious design elements that end up being a chore to play through/replay.

[BeatBoxingBoo]

You know, I've actually been dying a fair amount since I started Mount Pajamaja, so maybe the problem isn't that the game isn't difficult, but rather that there's literally no punishment for dying beyond having to spend a little more time redoing the fight, which is really only an issue in a boss battle, which last a long time.

[Diggertron]

Speaking of Mount Pajamaja, today I just got to that fountain. The trippy one. What the hell, Nintendo?

[Money]

Speaking of Mount Pajamaja, today I just got to that fountain. The trippy one. What the hell, Nintendo?

I'm assuming that the fountain was streaming Mr. Saturn coffee.

[BeatBoxingBoo]

I'm assuming that the fountain was streaming Mr. Saturn coffee.

That's exactly what I thought of too, haha. I wonder if that was intentional.

[Bean]

I liked that bit more than the tea break in Bowser's Inside Story at the very least. That was my least favorite part in that one, as great as that DS game was.

[CM30]

You know, I've actually been dying a fair amount since I started Mount Pajamaja, so maybe the problem isn't that the game isn't difficult, but rather that there's literally no punishment for dying beyond having to spend a little more time redoing the fight, which is really only an issue in a boss battle, which last a long time.

Play Hard Mode afterwards, and you'll really regret saying that.

[BeatBoxingBoo]

See the problem with that is I'm not going to play this game for probably years and years.