Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Developer	AlphaDream
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Nintendo DS
Release Date	JP February 11, 2009 US September 14, 2009 EU October 9, 2009 AU October 22, 2009
Gallery	GH Gallery
Rating	ESRB: E

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story is the third installment of the Mario & Luigi RPG games, that was released for the Nintendo DS for 2009. Though the titular pair is featured, the game has a stronger focus on Bowser, who is playable for the first time in this subseries.

Story

A mysterious epidemic called The Blorbs has been spreading throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, infecting them with some strange type of balloon-like obesity. Princess Peach holds a meeting to find a cure, and Bowser attends but is kicked out after picking a fight with Mario and Luigi. Bowser winds up meeting a mysterious merchant in the woods, who supplies him with a Vaccuum Mushroom that makes him suck up everyone nearby- returning to the castle he sucks up the Mario Bros., Princess Peach and the nearby Toads as well as the Star Sprite Starlow.

The merchant was in fact a disguised Fawful, who begins to conquer the Mushroom Kingdom with the Mario Bros. trapped in Bowser's body. With Starlow's guidance, the brothers make their way through Bowser's body to find Princess Peach and the missing Toads as well as eventually a way out, helping Bowser stay alive in the process. At the same time, Bowser sets out on a campaign of revenge and gathers his fallen minions to reclaim his castle from Fawful.

Gameplay

Mario and Luigi are controlled through a modification of their controls for the previous games, although they are within Bowser's body for the duration of the game. They still engage enemies in RPG battles, but outside of battle the brothers navigate 2-D landscapes evoking a platformer-like feel. Playing as Bowser constitutes the other half of the game; while Mario and Luigi are controlled with the A and B buttons, Bowser is controlled by the X and Y Buttons. These buttons can also be pressed to switch between the two parties, with the Mario Bros. being housed in the bottom screen with Bowser in the top.

Bowser has his own gameplay, with punching and fire-breathing action. His special attacks use minions after they are discovered in the overworld. There are also a variety of minigame-esque areas, usually played through with Mario and Luigi, which make greater use of the touch screen and microphone. Both are also used during segments of the game where the player controls a giant Bowser. Most of Mario and Luigi's minigames involve helping Bowser in some way, whether it is powering up his muscles by using their hammers to deflect balls of electricity into his muscles or shooting at adrenaline blobs from small boats to revive a fallen Bowser. The two groups must work together to stop Fawful.

Legacy

Ports/Remakes

• In 2019, it was remade for the Nintendo 3DS as Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey. This version, following in the vein of a remake of the original Mario & Luigi game, featured updated graphics and gameplay as well as a new side game starring Bowser Jr..

Sequels

It was followed by Mario & Luigi: Dream Team for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013.