One of the top titles of the GBA era was Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. This Mario RPG title, released towards the end of 2003, excelled due to the fun dialogues, easy controls and amusing story. A follow-up was inevitable.

A few things changed in the world of handheld gaming during these years. No longer are we playing handheld games on dark poor lit screens, nor are we stuck to 'just' one screen. So, what do you do when you get to develop a sequel for the DS? You double the playable characters, make good use of the extra screen and introduce a new enemy. Partners in Time unfortunately makes minimal use of the DS touch screen but on the other hand the developers have really expanded their brainpower to use the two screens intuitively, often you'll find yourself looking up and down them both to solve puzzles with things on the top screen effecting the bottom.

Most of the time the babies travel on the back of their elder selves, but a lot of puzzles require them to split up. During travelling, the upper screen displays a map, while on other occasions the babies are displayed as a individual team. The infants can fight alone, making it possible for them to earn more experience for themselves. When the big and small brothers join for a fight, special bros. attacks are available. These require a right push on one of the four buttons corresponding with one of the four characters.

Partners in Time doesn't try to be very different from the first game in terms of the basics of the game. Storywise though, Partners in Time is quite amusing and different from the first game. As said Mario & Luigi have a new enemy to deal with. The purple mushroom-like Shroobs have invaded the Mushroom Kingdom of the past to live in. Unfortunately Princess Peach went to visit this kingdom of the past in the new time machine Prof. Gadd invented. You see, this is not your usual Mario story this. Thanks to some appearing time portals Mario & Luigi can go back in time to save the princess and get rid of the Shroobs.

When you've experienced the enjoyment of the first game, the start of Partners in Time might disappoint you. Mostly it's a rerun from things you've learned in the previous game. The moves and attacks you discover at first don't differ much. The real twist comes when the two new characters join you: Baby Mario and Baby Luigi. Not only are the sounds and reactions of these two little toddlers quite amusing and heart-breaking, they also extend your party, therefore making it harder to see the 'game over' screen. All four of them need to pass out for the game to end. Four characters also means more items and experience to divide over the team, it also means you have alot more attacks at your disposal compared to Superstar Saga. What is also worth noting perhaps is that blocking plays a more important role this time around, saving you from alot of damage and actually causing damage to your foes.

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Humour is still one of the best aspects of the game. Some jokes are real predictable and tiresome (Luigi getting an hammer on his head…again). Other are simply classics (an oracle-like star revealing 'Luigi's heart is muddled with…certain questionable things') Graphically the game has improved a fair bit compared to Superstar Saga. While the graphical style is the same, it's more detailed now. The soundtrack is just great. Luckily Mario and Luigi's Italian conversations are still included in this game.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is the first title in Europe to support the rumble pack. You have to slide this one in the GBA slot of your DS. The rumble feature makes your DS shake a little, furthermore it makes little sounds that can help you keep your timing on those special attacks. It's a nice little gimmick. Unfortunately there's one big downside for us Europeans. Nintendo has no plans yet for a release of the rumble pack in Europe. Sigh, will they ever learn?

To complete Partners in Time you need at least fifteen hours of free time. After completing the regular adventure there isn't much left for you to do, besides a dull hunt for all the collectable beans. Or you can work your team up to level 50, 80, 100 even, but that would be boring, and rather… pointless. The main story should provide enough fun to justify a buy, though.

To sum it up, just as expected Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time still has that touch the previous game had. It's humorous, it's entertaining, it has the Nintendo feeling. The addition of two extra characters and a new enemy makes the game more than just a rerun of the original. Unfortunately after more then fifteen hours of enjoyment this game hardly has anything more to offer you. The plus side is you will have cherished every minute of it.