Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr’s Journey Review

Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr’s Journey

Release: January 1, 1970
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Nintendo
Genre: Action, Adventure, Genres, Nintendo 3DS Categories, Nintendo 3DS Reviews, Platformer, Role-playing, Strategy
PEGI: E
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In my preview for Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser’s Jr’s Journey I mentioned that I had never played Bowser’s Inside Story before. So when it came time to do my review, I decided to not compare the game to the original. In fact, I decided to not compare the game to previous Mario & Luigi games at all. Basically I wanted to ask: Is Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr’s Journey a good game(s)?

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story has a funny and fun story. I like how Bowser gets a big spotlight in this game. The dialogue from Bowser is really good. I enjoyed this game’s story a lot.

I also like Bowser Jr’s Journey’s story. It is an extension of Bowser’s Inside Story. If you play both games at the same time or play Bowser’s Inside Story first, then you’ll enjoy Bowser Jr’s Journey more. While the story here isn’t as big as Bowser’s Inside Story, its still fun. I wish I could say the same for its gameplay. Though, I had a lot of fun with Bowser’s Inside Story!

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story is an absolute joy to play. I love how you can switch between Bowser and the brothers. Bowser gets a 3D world to explore, while the Mario Bros get to explore a 2D Metroidvania-like world (with plenty of platform gameplay). Both worlds are a lot of fun and there are so many things to find in both of them.

And the game’s battle system is a complete blast. Playing as Bowser in a turn-based battle is so much fun. There are some neat things you can do in battle, like suck stuff into Bowser or spit fire, that make battles more interesting. Playing as Mario and Luigi is fun too, but Bowser’s battle and exploration parts are the best in my opinion.

Bowser’s Inside Story has mini-games also. Some of them use the touch screen and some use the buttons. If you are having too much trouble with a mini-game, a prompt comes up letting you skip it and continue on with the story. I really love this option! Yes, I did make use of it.

Overall, Bowser’s Inside Story is a really fun game. I enjoyed it alot. When it comes to Bowser Jr’s Journey though, I wasn’t as impressed.

Don’t get me wrong, Bowser Jr’s Journey isn’t a bad game but I wish that there was more interaction in the mostly automatic battles. I did like the strategy of trying to figure out who should be in the battles but the interactions via button presses and the touch screen weren’t enough.

Bowser’s Inside Story is more hands-on game, while Bowser Jr gives you a more ‘press the right thing at the right moment’ type of game, with no exploration like Bowser Sr’s game. Some people will find Bowser Jr’s strategy gameplay appealing, while others will just want to focus on Inside Story.

As for both game’s controls, they work really well. For the most part, the player will use the analog stick and buttons in Bowser’s Inside Story. Bowser Jr’s Journey relies on the touch screen, though there are some cool uses of it in the other game too. And Inside Story lets you turn your 3DS sideways for…well I’ll let that be a surprise!

This game also has amiibo support for Mario related figures. I wish it was a bit better, all you get is healing items to help you out in battles.

Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story is a lot of fun. While I wasn’t impressed with Bowser Jr’s Journey, I’m sure there will be some people that will really like it. Overall, I think this is a great game and another excellent rpg for the 3DS. It also has fantastic graphics!

I love Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser’s Jr’s Journey’s graphics. Bowser’s Inside Story, especially, used the top and bottom screen to great effect. The battles in Inside Story span two screens and are epic looking! Both games look great on the 3DS.

And the sound and music in these games are just as good. All of the music and sounds you’d expect to be in this game are there, plus some surprises. I like that you can listen to the Bowser’s Inside Story music via the Records menu option. The music section even has a boom box on the top screen! Very nice touch.

Mario and Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser’s Jr’s Journey is a great game.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser’s Jr’s Journey is another great addition to the 3DS library. While I wasn’t that impressed with Bowser Jr’s Journey, I think that Bowser’s Inside Story is more than worth the asking price. The game is funny, fun, and full of rpg goodness. Bowser’s Inside Story is another must play game for the 3DS.

Thank you to Nintendo for providing a digital code for this review. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr’s Journey is now available on the 3DS.