I just finished the game, anyone else done? Thoughts?
The only disappointing thing about the game to me is that it feels small. There are practically no sidequests, mini-games, or secrets (well, unless the secrets are really well hidden). I played the game for about 25 hours, and I think I've seen everything short of a few rare badges and maxing out the characters' levels.
However, I think Alpha Dream deserves some credit for scaling the game design back rather than trying to pack in everything from the first game on a short schedule. Nintendo's solution to this problem with it's recent games has been to add a lot of watered-down gameplay - searching for collectables or backtracking over the same area again and again. Alpha Dream leaves you with 100% pure gameplay. There are very few sidequests and secrets, but the core game is arguably as good or better than the first one in almost every way. I probably spent less than 4 hours searching for collectables or completing other sidequests. I respect that.
The graphics, sound, plot and gameplay are all outstanding. The battle system has a few tweaks that may not be perfect, but I found that overall it stood up find to the first game, which was awesome. My only other complaint about the game is that it's easier than the first one, and I'm only doing that on the principle that games shouldn't always be getting easier: this game's challenge level is actually better than the first one, in my opinion.
Of course it would be preferable if Alpha Dream had had a few more months to throw in some sidequests, mini-games, and maybe a couple of extra levels: that's the only thing keeping this from being my favourite game in the series. Even so, I'm really glad they made an awesome game that's a slightly small rather than a big game that often feels like a chore.
I think I'll do a reader review later this week, because that section of the boards is always so dead, and I like the sound of my own voice.
Topic: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (Read 23475 times)
