This is the way Nintendo ought to be handling its franchises. From start to finish, try something quirky, something new. We all know when we play a Mario game, the A button is going to make that fat plumber jump. We also know that Luigi will soon succumb to jealously and kill Mario in the next Bros. game. Luigi's Mansion was humiliation enough - the guy gets no breaks. We also know Mario's out to save Princess Peach for the 185,709th time. It's a gamer's fact of life: Nintendo likes to recycle.

So why not take all that convention and throw it on its ear? Or at the very least, make as much fun of it as possible? That's what Superstar Saga is all about: humor and inside jokes.

You won't care what the story is about. Sure, Peach is in trouble again; the oft-neglected Luigi is along for the ride in an oft-neglected role; Mario is still fat. Yet . . . what's this? The game is written so well that I don't care how cookie-cutter the plot is, I just want to see what ridiculous dialogue comes next. The Bros. Mario head off to the neighboring Bean-Bean Kingdom to save Peach, stop a new nefarious villain, and watch Bowser get relegated to a secondary role. Hmm . . . it's a start, but still follows a lot of Mario standards. Okay, how about we throw in Fawful, an underling that spouts the most hackneyed clichés ever? Now we're getting somewhere. Oh! Then there are all the references to Luigi's cowardice and second-fiddle nature, and the play on his affections for Prince Edward.

Okay, I'm getting ahead of myself:

On a whole, what will make Superstar Saga enjoyable storywise is not the plot as a whole, but its individual elements and execution of those elements. If you've been playing Mario games since the NES, you'll pick up on a lot of inside jokes. Those of the older persuasion will catch some tongue-in-cheek comments; and it's a Nintendo game, so of course it's kid-friendly!

Beneath the sweet, juicy exterior of one-liners and brilliant writing, there's a solid game to be played. Mario and Luigi tag-team along all over BeanBean, with a clever one-button scheme controlling each brother. Imagine if you will, running a gamut of platforms, enemies, and whatnot keeping in mind that both characters have to get around together. There are spurts where the duo separate, but even then the game emphasizes teamwork - in fact, it's a must. It also sparks some of the most creative segments I've ever seen in a RPG/platformer hybrid. Sometimes your dexterity will be called into action; other times will test hand-eye coordination; then there are a few brain-busting puzzles in the last stretch of the game. Though it's a short game (about 20 hours to complete), it feels like an accomplishment when finished. Like a meal at a good buffet, you'll be satisfied and full, but at some level yearning for more.

If yearnings are your thing, you might come to feel a few pangs of joy for Superstar Saga's graphics. The visuals are to die for; you will witness the best images the GBA has to offer, and ironically enough, some of the most creative and fluid use of 2D in a long, long time. All the main characters, sub-characters, and not-so-main-but-hey-I'm-a-boss characters have their share of poses, gestures, expressions, and the like. Mario and Luigi are the center of attention, of course, and each plays up to his archetype (Mario = the hero, Luigi = the wuss), and even little details are added in for a nice touch. Run over to BeanBean Castle, and the two can have their pictures taken, complete with customizable funny faces. Or open up the status menu and watch the siblings fight over who gets to be in the "portrait." There's even more to be seen - nods of all sorts to the Mario mythos, bosses that defy GBA standards - and it's these details that make Superstar Saga really shine.

Music flows along the same rhythm, with a good solid base of sound to draw from and painstaking care taken with even the tiniest notes. We have fully remixed Mario tunes, new themes that set toes tapping, and the best "voice acting" in a portable game ever. I'd take Mario and Luigi's vocal talent here over that in Super Mario Sunshine or Luigi's Mansion, that's for sure. Each brother chimes in with incoherent Italianesque gibberish which adds to the charm, humor, and lighthearted feel of the game. It's been a long time since I've seen . . . er, heard such attention paid to sound effects and voices. Typically the big three are represented in a game (gameplay, graphics, music), and the rest is just glossed over. In Saga, all elements are seamlessly woven to craft a unique world.

Which is essentially Mario & Luigi's strongest point - everything comes together so well that it's hard to find any fault with the thing. Sure, it's not epic, and a tad short, but for the duration you'll never feel dulled by playing. And despite it being the same ol' story, enough humor and fun is thrown into the mix to make this Mario game new and exciting. And while it may not be the best RPG ever, it plays out in a way that you never really think about things like that. You'll laugh a little, cry a little (some of the platformer tricks are tough), and come out of it feeling like it was twenty hours well-spent.

· · · Kevin Cameron