Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga[b] is a 2003 role-playing video game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Game Boy Advance. It was re-released for the Wii U’s Virtual Console in 2014, Nintendo Switch Online Service in 2023, and remade for the Nintendo 3DS as Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions[c] in 2017. In the game, Mario and Luigi travel to the Beanbean Kingdom in order to combat Cackletta and Fawful, who stole Princess Peach’s voice for the purpose of harnessing the power of a special artifact called the Beanstar.
This game is the third role-playing game in the Mario franchise after Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario. Unlike those titles however, Superstar Saga features a lighthearted whimsical script and a greater emphasis on comedy and humor. The player controls Mario and Luigi simultaneously as they traverse the overworld, fight enemies, gain experience points, and find new items and gear. The battle system differs from traditional games of the genre, with more emphasis on timing and elaborate attacks called Action Commands.[5] Created by Shigeru Miyamoto, Tetsuo Mizuno, and Satoru Iwata, the game was announced at E3 2003, later releasing the same year.
Superstar Saga was critically acclaimed, with reviewers praising the game’s writing and tone and criticism and mixed opinions on the gameplay and the top-down perspective respectively. Critics listed the game among the best games on the Game Boy Advance, and was labeled as Player’s Choice. A Nintendo 3DS remake was released in 2017 and features updated graphics and music, amiibo functionality, and other quality-of-life improvements. It also features a new exclusive side story titled Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser. The original game was released as part of the Nintendo Switch Online + Expansion Pack in February 2023.[6]
