Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga was released in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance, a game starring the famous Mario Bros., Mario and Luigi.

Included with the game was a remake of the Mario Bros. arcade game.

The game's sequel is Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time for the Nintendo DS.

Story
The Ambassador from the Beanbean Kingdom comes to the Mushroom Kingdom. They brought a gift from Queen Bean, but it wasn't a very nice gift. The ambassador turned out to be two nefarious villains, Cackletta and Fawful. They steal Princess Peach's voice and replace it with an explosive vocabulary.

Bowser visits the castle soon after, in an attempt to kidnap Princess Peach. Meanwhile, Mario and Luigi are at their house. Luigi is hanging up clothes while Mario is taking a shower. A Toad comes to find Mario. He finds Mario in the shower and gets beat up for it. But then the Toad tells Mario that Peach is in danger, so Mario drags Luigi to the castle to help.

Mario runs into Bowser in the castle. Bowser becomes enraged and they fight. A Toad breaks up the fight and tells them that Peach's voice was replaced with bombs. Bowser worries that if he kidnaps Peach now, she'll wreck his castle. So Bowser agrees to help Mario get back Peach's voice.

Mario and Bowser get ready to leave in the Koopa Cruiser, along with Bowser's underlings. Bowser mistakingly thinks Luigi wants to join them so they take him along. Then the Koopa Cruiser leaves to the Beanbean Kingdom.

Later, Cackletta and Fawful return and knock the Koopa Cruiser out of the sky. Mario and Luigi crash-land in the Stardust Fields, and then go on the adventure of a lifetime through the Beanbean kingdom to save Princess Peach and the world from Cackletta.

Techniques
Mario and Luigi aren't your average Italian plumbers. Here's what they can do:

Battle Techniques
Mario and Luigi both have techniques that they can use in battle in the game. Here is a list of them. Note that all of these techniques must be learned by progressing through the game except for Mario and Luigi's Jump.

Solo Techniques
Mario's Solo Techniques
 * Jump - Mario can jump on enemies.
 * Hammer - Mario can use his hammer to hit enemies.
 * Fire - Mario can use his Firebrand ability to burn enemies.

Luigi's Solo Techniques
 * Jump - Luigi can jump on enemies.
 * Hammer - Luigi can use his hammer to hit enemies.
 * Thunder - Luigi can use his Thunderhand ability to zap enemies.

Bros. Attacks
Bros. Attacks are attacks that Mario and Luigi can use in battle by working together to deliver more damage. Note that the following Bros. Attacks do not have descriptions. You will have to play the game to see them for yourself!

Mario's Bros. Attacks
 * Splash Bros.
 * Chopper Bros.
 * Fire Bros.
 * Swing Bros. (secret)

Luigi's Bros. Attacks
 * Bounce Bros.
 * Knockback Bros.
 * Thunder Bros.
 * Cyclone Bros. (secret)

Out-of-Battle Techniques
Mario and Luigi can also use some techniques out of battle. Once again, all of the following techniques must be learned by progressing in the game, except for jumping.

Techniques When in the Front

 * Mario and Luigi can both jump.
 * Mario and Luigi can both whack their hammers.
 * Mario can burn things up using his Firebrand ability.
 * Luigi can zap things using his Thunderhand ability.

Techniques When in the Back

 * Mario and Luigi can both jump.
 * Mario can do a "Spin Jump," by jumping on top of Luigi and spinning through the air. This is necessary for crossing large gaps.
 * Luigi can do a "High Jump," by jumping on top of Mario and bouncing up high. This is necessary for getting higher up.
 * Mario can hit Luigi with his hammer, knocking him into the ground. Luigi can move under fences using this technique.
 * Luigi can hit Mario with his hammer, squishing him tiny. Mario can move into small openings using this technique.
 * Mario can set Luigi on fire. Luigi will freak out, and start running really fast. You can use this to knock down things, such as Ankoopas that you meet.
 * Luigi can electrocute Mario. Mario and Luigi will be joined together, and they can walk side-to-side. This can be used to move the mysterious Boo statues, which disappear when you look at them.

Main Characters

 * Mario - A Hero
 * Luigi - A Hero
 * Cackletta - Villain
 * Fawful - Cackletta's Helper
 * Princess Peach - Needs rescuing
 * Popple - Secondary villain
 * Bowser/Rookie- Secondary villain
 * Prince Peasley - Secondary hero
 * Queen Bean - Queen

Locations
Mario and Luigi visit many locations in the game. Here is a list of them:


 * Mushroom Kingdom
 * Stardust Fields
 * Hoohoo Village
 * Hoohoo Mountain
 * Beanbean Castle Town
 * Beanbean Castle
 * Chucklehuck Woods
 * Woohoo Hooniversity
 * Teehee Valley
 * Little Fungitown
 * Oho Oasis
 * Oho Ocean
 * Oho Ocean Seabed
 * Gwarhar Lagoon
 * Yoshi Theater
 * Joke's End
 * Bowser's Castle

Mario and Luigi can visit other minor locations as well, such as paths and caves.

The game also had secret caves which could only be visited by one brother at the same time, which had sidescrolling and a traditional platforming style. A rare item could be won by beating these levels.

Items

 * Mushroom: Heals 25 HP
 * Super Mushroom: Heals 50 HP
 * Ultra Mushroom: Heals 120 HP
 * Max Mushroom: Heals All HP
 * Nut: Heals 20 HP for both characters
 * Super Nut: Heals 40 HP for both characters
 * Ultra Nut: Heals 100 HP for both characters
 * Max Nut: Heals ALL HP for both characters
 * Syrup: Recovers 20 BP
 * Super Syrup: Recovers 40 BP
 * Ultra Syrup: Recovers 100 BP
 * Max Syrup: Recovers ALL BP
 * Golden Mushroom: Recovers ALL HP and BP
 * Refreshing Herb: Cures status ailments
 * 1-Up Mushroom: Recovers half of the character's HP when defeated
 * 1-Up Super: Recovers all of the character's HP when defeated
 * Red Pepper: Boosts POW
 * Green Pepper: Boosts DEF

Trivia

 * This is Mario and Luigi's first adventure together since Super Mario World; there was a twelve year gap between the two games' release dates.
 * In Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, Mario whistled the Super Mario Bros. theme while showering in the Marrymore Suite. Similarly, Mario is briefly seen humming the theme while showering in the opening to this game.
 * A company, named WIN-tendo is mentioned during the course of the game. Do to the word play on Nintendo, it's assumed that WIN-tendo makes games.
 * Koopalings appear in the game as bosses, after a long time of absence.
 * Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga is one of the few Game Boy Advance game to make use of the rumble effect when played on the Nintendo GameCube's GBA player.