This game is an action RPG starring the Super Mario Bros, and as a Mario game it is one of the crown jewels of the first-party 3DS library, and one of the best games. It was the first Mario and Luigi game I played seriously. The exploring and platform jumping takes place in both 3D areas and 2D dream sequences. The adventure is on Pi’illo Island in which “pi’illos” are cute creatures which look like a pillow have been turned to stone and trapped in the dreamworld. It is the heroes’ job to rescue them.
There are many customization options throughout the game, from gear to which stats to level up and which badges to use in battle. Items are found often enough when exploring that I didn’t need to buy them too much, but they all have their uses.
Special attacks, which Mario and Luigi find, are exciting to use and figure out when to use the right one. The Dreams are dreamy and good side quests. Music is good: mostly upbeat, sometimes ambient and mysterious, and occasionally a classic theme played.
I didn’t really look forward to the giant battles using the stylus with the system on its side, but content is content and they were not bad. The QTEs (quick time events) are a welcome change from all the button pressing.
There is a feeling of overcoming adversity and completing challenges while playing Dream Team. It’s almost hard to believe all the inputs were my own, that I was actually playing the game. That is to say, it made me feel like I had skills.
The level and encounter design was genius, and it does ramp up towards the end. The last castle is epic and feels like something out of Zelda. It was fun to play and put a smile on my face.
I wasn’t sure I liked the graphics when I played the demo, but I grew fonder of Mario and Luigi than ever while playing this game and the art is pretty good. Mario has starred in games other than 2D platformers since the 90s, even board games for computers and stuff like that, but this is a Mario game that fits well on the system.
The amount of tutorials and dialogue does not negatively affect the game, nor were they excessive. One review said the boss fights at the end went on too long, so I decided to equip an accessory that made Mario eat a mushroom automatically when he needed it. This was a good idea and the end would have been challenging without the automatic heals.
It took me 46 hours to beat the game and I rated it 5 out of 5 on the eShop, for gamers who enjoy intense play. I’ve also got Paper Jam to play next since I enjoyed this one so much. Dream Team is a gem among 3DS games and I’m glad I played it.
