Review : Minion Quest : The Search For Bowser

It’s October 2017 : Super Mario Odyssey is bounding onto the Nintendo Switch and Mario & Luigi series developer Alphadream have seen fit to remake their original RPG outing for…the 3DS. And without any 3D.

If the amount of games released on both the PS4 and PS5 since 2020 have told us anything, it’s that companies tend to keep supporting their older systems for a few years after their next console is out. This way they can take advantage of the pre-existing install base and hedge their bets in case the new console flops. So “Mario & Luigi : Superstar Saga + Bowser’s Minions” for the 3DS isn’t that strange a release. Reusing sprites from the other 3DS instalments and revamping the visuals now they don’t need to be visible on an unlit GBA screen (as well as removing Geno’s cameo), remaking the RPG made a lot of sense almost 15 years and two handhelds on from release. And –

Hold on - what’s “Bowser’s Minions”?

As is the case with a lot of remakes and other flavours of re-releases on Nintendo platforms, Superstar Saga’s remake came with an all-new side mode called “Minion Quest : The Search For Bowser”. No idea why it’s called “Bowser’s Minions” on the front of the box; they got it right on the back.

Unlocked a few hours in and running parallel to the main story, Minion Quest follows Captain Goomba as he wrangles Bowser’s army from around the Beanbean Kingdom on a search for their glorious leader. Along the way, he appoints a Boo, Shy Guy and Koopa Troopa as fellow captains and clashes with the brainwashed Koopalings. Scanning appropriate amiibo can give you more captains but the default four are enough to get through the game.

Combat in the game is a departure from the timed hit system Mario & Luigi is known for; instead of attacking and dodging enemy fire, gameplay is far more passive, akin to an auto-battler.  Occasionally, your minions’ spirit meters fill and you’re asked to hit or mash “A” to perform their special skill. Hammer Bros. barrage enemies with hammers, Pokeys crash down on opponents in front of them… you get the idea. 

Including your captain, each troop has up to eight members that are either Ranged, Flying or Melee in a rock-paper-scissors system. Melee is best against Ranged and Ranged is best against Flying, which is best against Melee. Some enemies are also vulnerable to specific minions : Broozers (from the 2006 New Super Mario Bros. game and now in this remake of a 2003 game because they had the asset from Paper Jam Bros.) are particularly effective against all mechanical foes, and Boomerang Bros. are good against precariously tall enemies like Goomba Towers and Pokeys.

Captains attack too but they also have a pool of Command/Captain Points (the game only refers to them as CP) that they can redeem to issue commands at any time. These range from one point to cancel an enemy minion’s special skill to seven points to cast a hail of lightning that temporarily shrinks and weakens your foes, much like in Mario Kart; you choose these with either the d-pad or the touchscreen.

Although you can theoretically get through the entirety of Superstar Saga without taking a hit, the mortality rate in Minion Quest is far higher. You minions will fall in battle but don’t worry as everyone fully heals between rounds of battle in the middle of quests. Up to three CP will also replenish, so you can strategize for the best time to use your commands.

Outside of quests, you can “fortify” your troops with beans randomly earned from quests and change the makeup of your squads to better face a battle. There are also plenty of cutscenes with as much wit as the main game, albeit with a lot more exasperated flopping backwards. The humour is honestly the only draw here as the battles are repetitive and the sprinkling of inputs means that you cannot simply watch the action as with many autobattlers.

After playing almost the entirety of Minion Quest in the room before Superstar Saga’s final battle, I would have to recommend instead playing it in tandem with the main game. When the brothers Mario finish in the Chucklehuck Woods, go back there with the minions right away. You can only play the final quests of the game once Superstar Saga is finished, regardless of how you choose to play. Leaving it until practically the end of the game did mean that I wasn’t spoiled about the Koopalings being in the game. They were everywhere for a few years but must have been a novel throwback in 2003.

When a game club I joined was playing Superstar Saga last January, I decided to take part with my copy of the remake to see how it fared and to experience “Bowser’s Minions”. On the other side of my 65 hours across both experiences, I would have rather played the original as the side game was not up to my expectations and the artstyle, although nice on its own terms, doesn’t come close to the charm of the original sprites.

Mario & Luigi : Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions was released for the Nintendo 3DS family of systems on the 5-7th of October, 2017 for £30/$40. It was developed by Alphadream and published by Nintendo. Minion Quest received a sequel in the side game in Mario & Luigi : Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey the following year. If I ever make a Patreon and receive £50/month, I promise to play and review that.