Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
For alternate box art, see the game's gallery.
Developer	AlphaDream Nintendo SPD Group No.4
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Nintendo DS, Virtual Console (Wii U)
Release date	Nintendo DS: Template:Release Virtual Console (Wii U): Template:Release[?]
Language(s)	English (United States) French (France) German Spanish (Spain) Italian Japanese Korean
Genre	Turn-based action RPG
Rating(s)	ESRB: - Everyone PEGI: - Three years and older CERO: - All ages ACB: - General GRAC: - All ages
Mode(s)	Single-player
Input	Wii U: Wii U GamePad

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is a turn-based action RPG video game for the Nintendo DS, developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo, and it is the second title in the Mario & Luigi series. It was released in North America and Japan in 2005, in Europe and Australia in 2006, and in South Korea in 2010. The story of the game involves Mario and Luigi time-traveling between their present and past times and teaming up with their infant selves, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, to stop the invasion in the past by the enemy alien species called the Shroobs. The English and Spanish names of this game are puns on the title of the short story compilation Partners in Crime.

Though the game is primarily a turn-based RPG, the game mixes in action RPG and platformer elements, which is the primary gameplay point of the Mario & Luigi series. The game takes many elements from the first game, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and revamps it to take advantage of the Nintendo DS's new features. While it makes almost no attempt to use the Touch Screen (Mario must rub the dirt off a drawing at one point), the game uses the addition of the and buttons, the extra screen, and greater system resources. It was succeeded by Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story (which was also released for the DS) in 2009.

Like its predecessor, it is one of the few Mario games to have been released in North America before Japan. However, the game was re-released in the Wii U's Nintendo eShop on June 10, 2015, in Japan first, and later that month in North America and the following month in Europe and Australia. It is the only Mario & Luigi game in the series not available for the Nintendo 3DS, though it can be played on any 3DS model via backwards-compatibility.

Story

The planet where the Shroobs live.

During Mario and Luigi's infancies, Shroobs from a withering distant planet find the Mushroom Kingdom and invade it. The invasion forces Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Peach, Toadsworth the Younger, and Baby Bowser (who had been attempting to capture Baby Peach at the time) to flee in the Koopa Cruiser.

In the future, Princess Peach, Toadiko, and Toadbert travel to the past via Professor E. Gadd's time machine, which is powered by the Cobalt Star. But when the device returns, it is occupied by a hostile alien, forcing Mario and Luigi to use a newly-formed time hole in the castle gardens to go to the past and find Peach. Before they proceed to Hollijolli Village, they receive Stuffwell, a talking suitcase made by E. Gadd, to assist them and help them carry supplies on their quest. Upon their arrival in Hollijolli Village, they are attacked and defeated by a trio of Shroobs, but Baby Mario and Baby Luigi arrive and save their adult selves soon afterward. The adult Mario Bros. join the rest on the Koopa Cruiser, but the cruiser is attacked by Princess Shroob, the leader of the Shroobs, and crashes into Baby Bowser's Castle where Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi find a Cobalt Star Shard. They travel through another time hole to the present day Princess Peach's Castle with Toadsworth and Baby Peach, who they leave behind as they return to the past through a new time hole opened by the Cobalt Shard.

The time hole leads to Toadwood Forest, where the group finds a weakened Toadiko wrapped in a tree's branches. She manages to tell them that the Shroobs have kidnapped Peach before the tree sucks away the last of her vim. Shroob saucers then attack and fire at Toadiko and she turns into a Shroob mushroom, which the aliens use to fuel their ships. The Mario Bros. travel to the Shroobs' Vim Factory to shut down the operation. The babies receive hammers after they defeat the Hammer Bros. and when the protagonists defeat the Swiggler, they briefly obtain a second Cobalt Shard before Baby Bowser steals both shards and Kamek picks him up and they flee.

The four heroes solve puzzles in Toadwood Forest.

After a brief stop in Peach's Castle of the present and learning the Toadsworth Twist, the protagonists use another time hole to travel to Yoshi's Island of the past, where all the Yoshis have disappeared. They find Kamek and follow him back to Baby Bowser; Kamek attacks them, but is defeated and they chase after Baby Bowser, who swallows the Cobalt Shards when they corner him. All of them are then eaten by a massive Shroobified Yoshi monster, Yoob. Inside Yoob, they find the missing Yoshis and an amnesiac Toadbert, who is carrying a partly obscured drawing that he made of what happened during the battle between Peach and Princess Shroob. After the Mario Bros. and their baby counterparts defeat Sunnycide, an egg monster, everyone escapes Yoob, including Baby Bowser, who coughs up the Cobalt Shards later on after choking on the last remaining Yoshi Cookies.

After learning the Bros. Ball, the protagonists next visit Gritzy Desert, where they meet Kylie Koopa, and find a secret entrance to the Koopaseum, arriving in time to witness Princess Peach being swallowed whole by Petey Piranha. The brothers defeat the Shrooboid Brat in the arena, angering Princess Shroob who breaks the floor and sends them falling into Gritzy Caves. The brothers fight and defeat Petey Piranha, recovering a Cobalt Shard and saving Kylie Koopa (who had almost been fed to him too). They find Princess Peach, whose face is covered by a Shroob mushroom, and take her back to the present day castle. Bowser attempts to kidnap her, but falls through a time hole to Thwomp Volcano.

The protagonists in the Star Shrine.

After learning the Baby Spin and Baby Cakes, the brothers follow Bowser and travel to the top of the volcano. When they arrive, they find Peach's crown. After that, the volcano erupts and they flee down the right path. They meet Professor E. Gadd's younger self, who thinks up of an idea of making a machine that could douse the volcano's fire, which the older E. Gadd creates in the present time. He then uses his quickly built invention to spray water into the time hole and stop the volcano. After a skirmish with the angry resident, Mrs. Thwomp, the Mario Bros. are carried into the volcano by her husband, Mr. Thwomp, where they solve various puzzles and fight and defeat Bowser and Baby Bowser (who had been shot into the volcano after being blown away from Yoshi's Island). Bowser is sent careening back to the present while Baby Bowser flies off on his own, but before the protagonists can collect the princess, she is sucked up by the Shroob Mother Ship. The brothers board the ship and team up with Kylie to try and save Peach, but they all simply end up being ejected from the vessel, and also realize that Princess Shroob was disguised as Peach the whole time. The four Mario Bros. land in Toad Town, which now lies in ruins and is largely deserted, except for two elderly Toads who run a shop. From there, they travel to Star Hill.

There they find the Commander Shroob, his team of Support Shroobs, and a Shroob-omb who engage them in battle. Once the Commander Shroob and his team are defeated, the four heroes head to the top of Star Hill where the protagonists talk to the Cobalt Star's spirit which tells them that when the find five out of the six parts of the Cobalt Star, they can enter Shroob Castle.

The heroes head to the Star Shrine, where another Cobalt Shard is located. The brothers then meet up with Toadbert and Kylie Koopa, who now knows how to clean Toadbert's picture, revealing the depiction of a second Shroob princess. Their group is attacked by the Elder Shrooboid, which turns Toadbert and Kylie into Shroob mushrooms before it could be stopped by the Mario Bros. After collecting another Shard from the vanquished Shroob, the Mario Bros. travel to the Shroob Castle in the past by way of the future castle and its many time holes. Mario and the gang take down the Shroob Mother Ship and finally find Princess Peach being held captive by Princess Shroob, who they battle and defeat. Peach shows them the final piece of the Cobalt Star, but does not let them merge it with the other pieces. However, before she can explain why, Baby Bowser swoops in and completes the Cobalt Star himself, releasing the Elder Princess Shroob, Princess Shroob's twin who had been trapped in the star by Princess Peach. Baby Bowser is turned into a Shroob mushroom for his troubles and the Elder Princess Shroob attacks the Mario Bros. next, but they defeat her and she transforms into a Purple Mushroom.

Baby Luigi cries on the Shroob mushroom that used to be Baby Bowser after Baby Mario accidentally Ground Pounds him, restoring his former self. Professor E. Gadd then uses his Hydrogush 4000 invention to sprays a liquid with the same chemical makeup as baby tears all across the Mushroom Kingdom of the past, restoring everyone else who had been affected by the Shroobs. The Mario Bros. discover Bowser unconscious in Peach's Castle in the present and the Elder Princess Shroob's mushroom flies into his mouth, turning him into Shrowser for one last attack on the Mario Bros. After Shrowser is beaten and the Shroob threat is finally put to rest forever, Toadsworth the Younger, Baby Peach, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi all use the repaired time machine and travel back to their own time, bidding farewell to their future selves.

Battle system

A battle taking place.

To start a battle, Mario, Luigi, or their baby selves must touch an enemy or perform a First Strike by jumping on or hitting the enemy with a hammer in the overworld. A first strike damages the enemy (if jumped on) or possibly stun them (if hit with a hammer) as the battle starts. If an enemy with spikes or fire is jumped on, the brother who jumped on the enemy is damaged. Additionally, if the enemy starts the battle by hitting a Bro. in the back, that brother cannot move until his turn. Since the game is a turn-based RPG, the player and enemies take turns attacking each other; the brothers use Command Blocks as the interface to select actions. The player can use well timed attacks to deal more damage. The player can also counterattack the enemy to damage them (see below). The enemies never counterattack, but can harm the brother if they have spikes or are on fire and are jumped on, though these elements cannot KO a brother, even if he has one HP left.

When a brother's HP hits zero, he passes out and remains in this state until the end of the battle (where he has one HP in the overworld) or if he is revived with a 1-Up Mushroom. If the babies and adults are separated from each other, the surviving brother carries the passed out one, though it greatly hinders on the surviving brother's ability to avoid enemy attacks. If the brothers are in Piggyback Mode, the adults take all damage from enemy attacks until they pass out, where the baby takes the passed out brother off-screen and fights on his stead. If the baby also passes out, the surviving brother pair carries him, also hindering their ability to avoid enemy attacks. If all in-battle brothers' HP reach zero, regardless if there are non-fighting brothers in the overworld, the player gets a Game Over and can either restart from the last save point or return to Princess Peach's Castle, except when it is not possible to return to Princess Peach's Castle.

If all enemies' HP are reduced to zero, the battle is won and EXP points and coins are gained. Depending on the enemy defeated and what badges are worn, regular items, Bros. Items, Clothing, and Badges may be won as well.

Stats

Each brother has his own HP, POW, DEF, SPEED, and STACHE points. With enough EXP Points, a brother can level-up and increase each respective statistic. Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi lean towards certain stats: Mario and Baby Mario have increase in stats that favor of power and speed while Luigi and Baby Luigi's stats generally favor HP, defense, and stache. The babies have generally weaker stats than their adult counterparts barring their speed, where they outperform their adult counterparts at. Clothing and some badges can also alter a brother's stats.

Stat	Description
	HP (abbreviation of Heart Points) is the amount of life a brother has. When an enemy hits one of the brothers, he loses HP. When his HP reaches zero, he passes out, but can be revived with a 1-Up Mushroom or 1-Up Super. Adult Luigi has the highest amount of HP, while Baby Mario has the lowest.
	POW (abbreviation of Power) is how strong a brother is. The higher his POW stats are, the more damage he gives. Adult Mario has the best attack, while Baby Luigi has the lowest power.
	DEF (abbreviation of Defense) is how much damage a brother can lessen from an enemy hit. The higher his DEF stats are, the less damage he receives. Adult Luigi has the best defense, while Baby Mario is the worst defensively.
	SPEED is how fast a brother is. The more SPEED he has, the sooner he can attack an enemy in a given turn. Baby Mario is the fastest, while adult Luigi is the slowest.
	The higher a brother's STACHE stats are, the greater there is a chance of a Critical or Lucky Hit, which doubles POW. Plus, it gives the brother discounts when buying and selling at shops. The babies also have this stat despite not having mustaches. Adult Luigi has the highest starting STACHE points, with a total 30 points, followed by adult Mario with 20, Baby Luigi with 18 and Baby Mario with only 12.

Moves

During a battle, the four brothers have five choices when attacking, unless Mario and Luigi are not paired with the babies; instead, they would have four choices. They can use a jump move, a Hammer move, a Bros. Item, use an item, or run from battle.

Jump move

During a jump move, a brother jumps on an enemy. When Mario jumps on an enemy, is used; is used for Luigi; for Baby Mario; and for Baby Luigi. Action commands are performed by pressing each character's button as they are about to land on the enemy for extra damage. The babies can participate in battle as well, assisting their older counterparts. When battling with all four Mario Bros., pressing the baby brother's button and then the adult brother's button just before they land deals more damage.

The jump move deals damage according to the following formula:

Damage = 1.6796 * Level * POW / DEF, where POW is the POW stat of the attacking brother, and DEF is the DEF stat of the target, and Level is the level of the attacking brother. The number is rounded to the nearest integer; for example, 6.26 is rounded to 6, and 6.56 is rounded to 7.

A first-strike jump move that initiates a battle deals three-fifths of the damage of a mid-battle jump move.

The jump move does no damage to spiked and fiery enemies, such as Spiny Shroopa, and the attacking brother instead takes 1 point of damage.

Hammer move

After Baby Mario and Baby Luigi enter the Vim Factory, they get hammers to use in battle. However, the adult Mario and Luigi cannot use this move without the babies with them, as they do not have hammers. When one of the babies attack with a hammer, the player must hit their button (either or ) when the tool shakes to deal more damage. If the player waits too long or hits the button too early, the hammer head falls off the hammer and the baby brother does much less damage. When the corresponding button is hit before they directly face the enemy, they trip and fall flat on the enemy, also yielding less damage. When the adult bros. are with the babies, they can perform a stronger attack with them. When doing this, the player must hit the adult button ( or ) to have Mario or Luigi lift up the baby. Then, they must hit the baby button ( or ) when their hammer shakes. This deals more damage than a normal hammer attack. The hammer move does less damage than a jump move, and it is best used when fighting a spiked enemy. It can sometimes cause enemies to become dizzy. Airborne enemies avoid the hammer altogether.

Bros. Items

The bros. using a Bros. Item.

Bros. Items are special attacks that the brothers can use to deal more damage. Some Bros. Items require at least two brothers standing while some require all bros. Some items that require two bros. have special commands that can be used to deal more damage than normal with all four bros. Note that some items are unlocked later in the game than others. As the Bros. Attacks are replaced with Bros. Items and due to the introduction of Bros. Items, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is the only Mario & Luigi game to lack a BP stat (or its variations) and by extension Syrup Jars.

Bros. Item	Description	Bros. Needed
Green Shell	One of the brothers kicks this item towards an enemy. It rebounds off the enemy, while the enemy takes damage, and back towards the other brother. The other brother must kick the shell back to the enemy to repeat the process, while the Green Shell increases its speed more times it is kicked. The Green Shell disappears when the enemy is defeated, sixteen successful hits are dealt, or if a brother misses it. If the brother using the item has his baby self piggyback, his baby self rides on the shell: if players press the baby brother's corresponding button, the baby brother spins the shell, dealing more damage to the enemy. However, if the player presses the spin button when the shell is going back to Mario or Luigi, the player is not able to kick the shell again and misses. This also happens with Red Shells.	2
Bros. Flower	Both brothers toss fireballs at multiple enemies. The player should press the button of the brother when the big fireball is on the brother's hand. If a small fireball is thrown, it decreases the length of the attack. If the brother's baby self is piggyback, pressing the corresponding baby button enables the brother to lob their fire balls, hitting aerial foes. This item can cause a burn status to enemies.	2
Cannonballer	All four brothers jump inside a cannon, which launches them into the top screen. A random order of the four brothers can be seen as they land, and players should press the corresponding button in order to deal more damage to an enemy.	4
Ice Flower	Identical to the Bros. Flower, except the brothers toss iceballs instead of fireballs. The only difference is that this item can randomly lower the enemies' Attack, Defense, and/or Speed.	2
Smash Egg	A brother kicks the egg to an enemy. As it flies in the air, the player must hold the corresponding button to let a brother build up energy to kick the egg at the enemy. When released with correct timing, the brother kicks the egg at the enemy. The process repeats back and forth until either the egg cracks or when the enemy is defeated. When the egg cracks, a possible free item can result out of it. When a baby brother is piggyback, he can jump and hit the egg to make it fall faster to deal more damage to the enemy.	2
Pocket Chomp	A Chain Chomp is released, which chases a brother and goes offscreen. Then, as the brother approaches the enemy, the player should press the corresponding button when the brother lands on the enemy to deal more damage and run away from the Chain Chomp. The attack ends when the enemy is defeated or when the Chain Chomp catches the running brother. If three or more brothers are present during the battle, a baby brother occasionally rides on the chariot. Pressing the corresponding baby button causes the baby brother to spin his Hammer, causing more damage to the enemy if timed correctly.	2
Trampoline	All four brothers jump on the trampoline, which launches them off screen. One brother comes down in a random order, and the player should press the corresponding to deal damage to enemies and keep the attack going. Another brother eventually comes down to a random enemy, and the process repeats, with each jump exponentially speeding up the process. The attack ends when the player fails to press the button at the right time or when all enemies are defeated.	4
Copy Flower	Many copies of the brothers are spawned, and they walk offscreen. In a completely random order, the brothers walk up to the enemy and jump on them. Players must execute a well-timed jump with the corresponding button to continue the attack and deal more damage to the enemy, with each jump exponentially speeding up the process. Once the enemy is defeated, the bros begin jumping on the next foe. The process ends when a jump is failed or when all enemies are defeated.	4
Red Shell	Identical to the Green Shell, except once the enemy is defeated it continues until a brother misses the shell or if all enemies are defeated.	2
Mix Flower	Similar to the Bros. Flower, the player should press the button of the corresponding brother to build a giant fireball and keep it up in order to deal more damage. The bigger the fireball, the more damage it causes. After some period of time, or when the player cannot keep up with the speeding up process, the fireball falls and deals damage to all opponents.	4

Items

When choosing the item icon, the four heroes can use an item to recover HP. Other items, such as Refreshing Herbs, can heal status effects. When one of the bros. passes out, the other bros. can use a 1-Up Mushroom or 1-Up Super to revive him. However, once an item is used, the bro.'s turn is over. Peppers are another type of item that can be used with this icon and can temporarily increase the bros. stats.

Item	Description
Mushroom	Recovers 20 HP to a single bro.
Super Mushroom	Recovers 40 HP to a single bro.
Ultra Mushroom	Recovers 80 HP to a single bro.
Max Mushroom	Recovers all HP to a single bro.
Mushroom Drop	Recovers 15 HP to all brothers.
Super Drop	Recovers 30 HP to all brothers.
Ultra Drop	Recovers 60 HP to all brothers.
1-Up Mushroom	Revives a fallen brother with ½ of his max HP.
1-Up Super	Revives a fallen brother with all HP.
Refreshing Herb	Used to get rid of the status ailments of a single bro.
Green Pepper	Boosts the DEF of all brothers for a certain period of time.
Red Pepper	Boosts the POW of all brothers for a certain period of time.
Blue Pepper	Boosts the SPEED of all brothers for a certain period of time.

Flee

Mario, Luigi, and the babies can all flee from battle when they choose the flee icon. When getting away, the player must hit either the or button to make Mario or Luigi flee. If the babies are in battle, the player must hit the or button. However, if they do not do this quickly, one of the bros. falls and drop a large amount of coins unless a wallet badge is equipped. When both bros. have left the screen, they end up back in the overworld and continue their adventure. The player can cancel this attempt by pressing the button, though it uses up a turn. This cannot be used in Boss Battles.

Avoiding attacks

Mario, Luigi, or Baby Mario and Baby Luigi can either use their Hammer or Jump moves to avoid attacks. With their Jump move, the brothers can jump over the attacking enemy. When using the Hammer to avoid attacks, the player must hold Baby Mario or Baby Luigi's respective button (Baby Mario is , Baby Luigi is ) and release just as the enemy or its weapon hits.

The four bros. can also use these moves to counterattack. When they jump over an enemy, they may land on them, causing damage. Baby Mario or Baby Luigi can also hit enemies with their hammer during an enemy's turn. Either way, the enemy takes damage on its turn.

Altered states

Altered states return from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, with the same conditions that can cause it. Certain enemies have attacks that can cause altered states, which hinder a brother in a way. The brothers can also inflict altered states on enemies as well with the Bros. Flower, Smash Egg, Ice Flower, Trampoline, and Mix Flower, as well as enhancing their stats with peppers. Over a period of time, altered states wear off, though the brothers can recover quicker from negative altered states if they use a Refreshing Herb.

Status	Description
Trip	The character cannot attack on the turn he tripped. If an enemy hits a brother from behind in the overworld, the brother starts out on this state until his turn.
Dizzy	The character becomes too disoriented to make any moves. Bob-ombs, Lethal Bob-ombs, Handfakes, Shroids, Shroobsworths, and the Elder Princess Shroob can cause this altered state.
Poison	The character takes damage over time. The damage increases the more turns the character is poisoned. Spiny Shroopas, Swiggler, Coconutters, Red Coconutters, the Shrooboid Brat, Tanoombas, Tashroobas, and Princess Shroob can cause this altered state.
Burn	The character takes damage over time and is unable to make moves. The damage increases the more turns the character is burnt. Elasto-Piranhas, Kamek, the Shrooboid Brat, Blazing Shroobs, Bowser, Baby Bowser, Skellokeys, the Elder Shrooboid, and Shroob Rexes can cause this altered state.
POW-Up	Increases the character's attack strength. Red peppers can be used to temporarily increase a brother's POW.
POW-Down	Decreases the character's attack strength.
DEF-Up	Increases the character's defensive strength. Green peppers can be used to temporarily increase a brother's DEF.
DEF-Down	Decreases the character's defensive strength.
SPD-Up	Increases the character's speed. Blue peppers can be used to temporarily increase a brother's SPEED.
SPD-Down	Decreases the character's speed.

Field features

On the overworld, the brothers can navigate their environment. They can interact with a variety of objects such as blocks and switches and use various techniques to help with their progress of the game. During normal overworld progression, the DS bottom screen displays character control and progress while the top screen displays the map, character HP, coins, and where the brothers are currently located, alongside miscellaneous map features. When the babies are sent to locations only they can access, such as going down a hole or using a Trampoline, the top screen changes from the map to display the babies' control and progress.

Blocks, switches, and other features

Feature	Description
? Block	Gives an item out when hit.
! Block	They have various functions and can activate events. The colored ones are used to create three giant ! Blocks on Yoshi's Island and destroy giant ! Blocks of the same color in Thwomp Caverns. The blue variety later appears in the Star Shrine, where it would change color depending on whether Baby Mario or Baby Luigi hit it.
2-Person Panel	These yellow switches can be activated only if Baby Mario and Baby Luigi step on it.
4-Bros. Random Block	A block that requires the Piggyback Jump to reach it. When activated, four blocks corresponding to a brother spawn, where each brother assembles under his block. When the light moves to a block, the appropriate brother must hit it to obtain coins; after ten coins, the light moves to another block. The process speeds up until a brother fails to hit a block.
4-Person Panel	A blue switch that has four blocks on it. It works when all four brothers step on it, while in Piggyback.
Adult Shine Block	This block appears before a dark room that Baby Mario and Baby Luigi can only access into. It changes color: if the block is red, Mario should hit it; if the block is green, Luigi should hit it. If the correct brother hits it, a small Shine Block travels to the babies, where it lights the room when struck. If the wrong brother hits the Shine Block, a fireball comes out and hits the babies, restarting their progress to the beginning of the room.
Aurora Block	Located exclusively in Star Shrine, it has the ability to grow to match the size of heart of the person who strikes it. It must be retrieved and hit to pass through the Star Temple gate.
Control Block	A block found in areas accessible only to Baby Mario and Baby Luigi. It cycles through the four cardinal directions; in order to use it, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi must hit it to make a platform move in the direction it is pointing in. Striking the block again causes the platform to stop, where the Control Block continues to cycle through the cardinal directions.
Empty Block	? Blocks, M Blocks, and L Blocks turn into this once their items are acquired. They do not give out any more items.
L Block	A block that only Luigi or Baby Luigi can hit. Hitting it gives the brothers an item.
Laser Block	These blocks are found in two different locations with two different purposes. In the Star Shrine, the brothers must activate all of them to gain access of the main area in Star Shrine. The Laser Blocks in Peach's Castle of the past are used to defeat a Chain Chomp, where there are four of them. Hitting two them releases a laser relative to its position.
M Block	A block that only Mario or Baby Mario can hit. Hitting it gives the brothers an item.
Pipe	These blue pipes require all four brothers to activate. When they step on it, it warps the brothers to another location in the level.
Recovery Block	Hitting this block restores HP of the party members. Note that if a brother pair hits it when they are separated, only the pair's HP gets restored. They appear in three locations: Peach's Castle, Yoob's Belly, and Shroob Castle.
Save Album	This block allows players to save their game. They can either save and continue, save and quit, or choose not to save their game.
Simultaneous Block	These blocks appear in pairs, one solid while the other is a hologram. The Mario Bros., their baby selves, or all four must strike them one after another to activate an effect.
Small Shine Block	These blocks come out of Adult Shine Blocks and into the dark room with the babies when hit. If this block is hit, it temporarily lights up the dark room.
Time hole	These special features serve as access points between the worlds and Princess Peach's Castle. The brothers can activate them simply by stepping on them.
Trampoline	Trampolines are features represented by their yellow color and two squares. Only the babies can activate it, as the adult Mario Bros. are too heavy for it. The trampoline propels the Baby Mario Bros. to an upper, sub-area.
Treasure Chest Block	A single treasure chest is located in the past Bowser's Castle. Hitting it reveals a Cobalt Star shard.
Warp Block	Warp Blocks use pipes to warp a separate brother pair to the location where it is hit.

Techniques

Baby Mario and Baby Luigi separate from their older counterparts

The brothers can use some techniques out of battle. All of the following techniques must be learned by progressing in the game, except for jumping. Each button is assigned to each brother, with being Mario's button, being Luigi's, being Baby Mario's, and being Baby Luigi's. Players can switch action commands with and , demonstrated by the changing of the action icons, as soon as they learn different techniques. Unlike in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, players cannot switch the order of the brothers; this is the first game in the series where Mario or Baby Mario is always the leader while Luigi or Baby Luigi is always the follower.

In the middle of action commands, players can cancel them by pressing the corresponding button that has "BACK" displayed on it.

Mario and Luigi techniques

When Mario and Luigi are without the babies outside of battle, they can do the following techniques:

Image	Action icon	Action	Controls
		Mario and Luigi can both jump.	(Mario) (Luigi)
		Mario can talk to NPCs when he faces them.
		Mario can interact with features.
		Mario and Luigi can perform a Spin Jump. They can use this technique in a whirlwind to go farther.	then
		Mario and Luigi can form a Bros. Ball.	then

Baby techniques

When Baby Mario and Baby Luigi are alone outside of battle, they can do the following techniques:

Image	Action icon	Action	Controls
		Baby Mario and Baby Luigi can both jump.	(Baby Mario) (Baby Luigi)
		Baby Mario can talk to NPCs when he faces them.
		Baby Mario can interact with features.
		Baby Mario can use his Hammer.	then
		Baby Mario and Baby Luigi can perform a Baby Drill.	then
	N/A	Baby Mario can use Baby Pump when near a fountain. Then, Baby Luigi can hit him with his hammer to spit out the water quickly.

All-character techniques

When all four bros. are together, they can perform the following techniques:

Image	Action icon	Action	Controls
	N/A	The babies can be picked up by the adult bros.	N/A
		Mario and Luigi can perform a Baby Toss and throw the babies to higher areas.	or
	N/A	Baby Mario and Baby Luigi can perform a Piggyback Jump.	then while in midair (Mario) then while in midair (Luigi)
	N/A	Mario and Luigi can flatten the babies into Baby Cakes by rolling over them while in Bros. Ball mode.	N/A
	N/A	Mario and Luigi can make the babies perform the Baby Spin by spin jumping into them. The babies then slowly float down and can use a whirlwind to go farther.	N/A

Characters

Playable characters

• 

  Mario

• 

  Luigi

• 

  Baby Mario

• 

  Baby Luigi

Supporting characters

• 

  Baby Bowser

• 

  Baby Peach

• 

  Bowser

• 

  Elder Princess Shroob

• 

  Fawful

• 

  Gramma Red and Gramma Green

• 

  Hammer Bros.

• 

  Hollijolli Mayor

• 

  Kamek

• 

  Kylie Koopa

• 

  Lakitu

• 

  Monty Mole

• 

  Mr. Thwomp

• 

  Peach

• 

  Princess Shroob

• 

  Professor E. Gadd

• 

  Elvin Gadd (past)

• 

  Shroobs

• 

  Stuffwell

• 

  Toad

• 

  Toadiko

• 

  Toadbert

• 

  Toadsworth

• 

  Toadsworth the Younger

• 

  Toad doctor

• 

  Yoob

• 

  Yoshi

Enemies

Main article: Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time bestiary

Some enemy stats vary between versions. The first number is from the North American version and the number in parentheses is from the European and Japanese releases.

• ^b Indicates only Baby Mario & Baby Luigi can battle them.
  

Normal enemies

Image	Enemy	HP	EXP	Coins Dropped	Location(s)
	Shrooblet	7 (10)	2	2	Hollijolli Village
	Goomba (past)	14 (13)	3	3	Baby Bowser's Castle
	Boo	15 (18)	5	4	Baby Bowser's Castle
	Boom Guy	18 (20)	8	5	Baby Bowser's Castle
	Koopeleon	18	6 (7)	4	Toadwood Forest
	Boo Guy	19 (24)	8 (10)	5	Toadwood Forest
	Elasto-Piranha	35 (38)	16 (14)	6	Toadwood Forest
	Spiny Shroopa	16	2 (8)	2 (5)	Vim Factory
	Lakitufo	34 (30)	16 (15)	7	Vim Factory
	Dr. Shroob	46 (45)	18	10	Vim Factory
	Pidgit	35 (32; 35 with bag)	18 (15; 18 with bag)	6; 30 with bag	Yoshi's Island
	Coconutter	50 (48)	20	6	Yoshi's Island
	Gnarantulab	30	15	5	Yoshi's Island
	Bully	44	17	6	Yoob's Belly
	RC Shroober	78 (80)	26 (36)	8	Yoob's Belly
	Dry Bones	41	32 (24)	7	Yoob's Belly
	Goomba (present)	22	1	1	Peach's Castle Dungeon
	Pokey	56	36	10	Gritzy Desert
	Shrooba Diver	76	32	8	Gritzy Desert
	Bob-omb	37	30	5	Gritzy Desert Gritzy Caves
	Dark Boo	45	20	6	Gritzy Caves
	Snifaro	78	50	10	Gritzy Caves
	Elite Boom Guy	80	40	8	Gritzy Caves
	Thwack	56	20	2	Thwomp Volcano
	Tanoomba	92 (98)	82	9	Thwomp Volcano
	Red Coconutter	86 (84)	70	7	Thwomp Volcano
	Gold Koopeleon	10	84	100 (80)	Thwomp Caverns
	Blazing Shroob	94	90	10	Thwomp Caverns
	Thwack Totemb	110 (146)	60	10 (30)	Thwomp Caverns
	Guardian Shroob	81	90	9	Shroob Mother Ship
	Shroid	105	140	15	Toad Town
	Love Bubble	90	130	10	Toad Town Star Hill Star Shrine
	Skellokeyb	84 (90)	100 (105)	10 (15)	Toad Town Star Shrine
	Handfake	134	155	15	Star Hill Star Shrine
	Fly Guy	100 (90)	150	10	Star Hill Star Shrine
	Piranha Planet	144 (180)	170 (180)	20 (30)	Star Shrine
	Wonder Thwack	56	30	4	Star Shrine
	Tashrooba	140	120 (150)	10	Shroob Castle
	Snoozorb	150	170	15	Shroob Castle
	Soul Bubble	100	175	15	Shroob Castle
	Shroob Rex	200	185	12	Shroob Castle
	Shroobsworth	160	180	20	Shroob Castle
	Intern Shroob	132 (120)	180	20	Shroob Castle
	Ghoul Guy	157 (100)	100	10	Shroob Castle
	Lethal Bob-ombb	60 (61)	70	10	Shroob Castle

Bosses

Image	Enemy	HP	EXP	Coins Dropped	Location
	Baby Bowser1	20	0	0	Peach's Castle (past)
	Junior Shrooboid	13	6	0	Peach's Castle
	Shroobs2	15 (28) each	6	4	Hollijolli Village
	Hammer Bros. (x2)b	100 (90) each	80	70	Vim Factory
	Swiggler (with Dr. Shroobs)	250 (200)	160	120	Vim Factory
	Kamek	450	130	50	Yoshi's Island
	Sunnycide (with eggs)	Sunnycide - 480 Eggs - 29 (30)	260	150	Yoob's Belly
	Shrooboid Brat	1100 (900)	180	100	Koopaseum
	Petey Piranha	1300 (1000)	360	250	Gritzy Caves
	Mrs. Thwomp	Large - 550 (630) Small - 400 Fake - 50	400	0 (150)	Thwomp Volcano
	Bowser & Baby Bowser	Bowser - 1100 (1000) Baby Bowser - 640 (700)	820	350	Thwomp Caverns
	Commander Shroob (with Support Shroobs and Shroob-omb)	Commander - 1600 (900) Support - 110 (180) Bomb - 3312 (9999)	Commander - 750 Support - 10	Commander - 150 Support - 5 Bomb - 1	Star Hill
	Elder Shrooboid	First Phase - 1750 (1000) Second Phase - 1200 (900)	1500	400	Star Shrine
	Princess Shroob	3000 (1700)	0	0	Shroob Castle
	Elder Princess Shroob (1)	3500 (1800)	0	0	Shroob Castle
	Elder Princess Shroob (2)	Main - 3000 (2000) Arms - 200 (350) Foot - 400 (500) Crown - 200	0	0	Shroob Castle
	Shrowser3	4960	0	0	Peach's Castle

¹ - Baby Mario automatically wins the battle after five turns.
² - Three are fought by Mario and Luigi and the battle is unwinnable; two are fought by Baby Mario and Baby Luigi later.
³ - The internal values of the HP, DEF, and SPEED of this boss have no impact on the battle, due to the fact that the battle ends after countering 20 attacks, and the Mario Bros. have no chances to attack.

Locations

Click an area to open the relevant article.

• 

  Princess Peach's Castle

• 

  Hollijolli Village Outskirts

• 

  Hollijolli Village

• 

  Koopa Cruiser^*

• 

  Bowser's Castle

• 

  Toadwood Forest

• 

  Vim Factory

• 

  Yoshi's Island

• 

  Yoob's Belly

• 

  Peach's Castle Dungeon

• 

  Gritzy Desert

• 

  Koopaseum

• 

  Gritzy Caves

• 

  Thwomp Volcano

• 

  Thwomp Caverns

• 

  Shroob Mother Ship^*

• 

  Toad Town

• 

  Star Hill

• 

  Star Shrine

• 

  Shroob Castle

• 

  Peach's Castle Cellar

^* - cannot be revisited

Minigames

Along the quest, the brothers can play various minigames. These minigames are required to complete for the brothers to progress in the game. The Thwomp Caverns minigame can be replayed; the second spaceship minigame of the Shroob Castle can also be replayed, as it is part of the final levels of the game, where Stuffwell can use his Special Service Warpulator to warp back before that point.

• At Thwomp Caverns, located in the Thwomp Volcano, the Thwomp Bros. host two minigames. The older Thwomp Bros. operates a slot machine. In order to use it where Mario and Luigi need to roll into Bros. Ball and collect as much jewels as possible. If enough jewels are collected, Baby Mario can stop the slots with his hammer. Depending on the difficulty setting and the slots aligned, the brothers can receive various items as rewards, including coins or beans.
• The other minigame is hosted by the younger of the Thwomp Bros. In this minigame, Mario and Luigi must use the Baby Spin on Baby Mario and Baby Luigi for them to use a Whirlwind. On their descent, they need to collect as many jewels as possible, with the prizes dependent on the number of jewels collected.
• In the Shroob Castle, two minigames involving a spaceship is played. The first minigame involves piloting the Shroob Mother Ship in order to take down smaller Shroob saucers; the other, later minigame involves using the head of the Princess Shroob statue of the spaceship to shoot Shroob saucers into the Shroob Mother Ship to destroy it. In this minigame, the height of the spaceship is controlled by Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi hitting blocks, where the spaceship rises to the height in tandem with the rising and falling bar. Hitting the block stops the bar, which indicates the height the ship rises to. Mario's block fires a laser beam, used to attack Shroob saucers. Once Mario fires his laser, the height of the ship resets to the bottom. All characters are not required to hit the block for Mario to use the laser. In the second spaceship minigame, the ship the brothers are piloting have a set number of hit points, which get decreased when a Shroob saucer runs into it. When all hit points for the player are depleted, the ship crashes and the player gets a Game Over.

Beanhole locations

Main article: List of beanholes in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

In the game, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi can collect Beans by coming across beanholes -- X-shaped bean symbols on the ground -- all throughout the Mushroom Kingdom, in both present and past times. There are 167 Beans from beanholes. Beans can only be collected out of the ground after the player learns the Baby Drill move at Vim Factory. Hammer Bros. also explain how to drill into the ground and pick up beans.

Shops

The Shroom Shop

Main article: List of shops in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Four shops are found in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. One, the Shroom Shop, is found in the main hub in Peach's Castle. The rest are found in levels throughout the game. Fawful's Bean 'n' Badge sells Badges exclusively at a price of beans rather than coins.

• Shroom Shop, located in Peach's Castle
• Monty Mart, located in Gritzy Caves
• Gramma's Place, located in Toad Town
• Fawful's Bean 'n' Badge, located in Peach's Castle Dungeon

Clothing

Main article: List of clothing in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Clothing boosts the brothers' stats. There are two categories of clothing: one made specifically for the adult brothers and one made specifically for the baby brothers. Unlike in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, clothing is not restricted to a specific brother. Clothing is either dropped by enemies, found in blocks, or purchased in shops.

Badges

Main article: List of badges in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Badges cause miscellaneous effects when worn and can be universally worn by all brothers. Such effects include unlimited use of Bros. Items or restoring HP every turn. They do not increase a brothers' base stats. Badges can be purchased in shops, exclusively purchased in Fawful's Bean 'n' Badge, dropped by enemies, or won by completing minigames.

Notable mistakes and errors

• The solo artwork for Baby Mario incorrectly depicts him with red shoes, instead of light-blue. Other artwork depicts him with the correct light-blue shoes.
• In the North American instruction booklet, page 27 has a Japanese screenshot, where "Stache" is listed as "Hige".
• In the North American instruction booklet, page 32 has the following sentence: "Approach either side and speak to the sales-Toad to make the corresponding menu will appear," where the word will is an unnecessary addition to the sentence structure.
• There is a spelling error during the tutorial on how to use badges. Stuffwell says "capitol" in reference to the letters indicating which character has a badge equipped when the proper spelling for this use of the word would be "capital."

Staff

Main article: List of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time staff

AlphaDream developed the game, as they did with other games in the Mario & Luigi series. Shigeru Miyamoto and Tetsuo Mizuno produced the game, with Satoru Iwata as the executive producer. Yoko Shimomura, who composed music for the other Mario & Luigi games and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, also composed music for this game.

Reception

Critical reception

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time has received generally positive reviews from critics, with it having an average score of 86 from Metacritic based on 45 reviews and a GameRankings score of 85.23% based on 55 reviews. Critics generally praise the humor, characters, and graphics of the game, as well as its use of the dual screen and its rumble feature. Several criticisms include the long, drawn out boss battles and the difficulty coordinating the game's four characters.

Craig Harris of IGN has lauded the game, giving it a nine out of ten. He praised the gameplay, the difficulty curve, the humor, and the two-screen display, but has commented that the beginning of the game starts off too easy. Thomas Bowskill of Nintendo Life has also given the game a 9/10, also praising the gameplay, the comedy, and the sound, but added that the game is not replayable and how actions in the past do not influence the future. Jonathon Metts of Nintendo World Report gave the game an 8/10, states that while the flawed battle system smears his opinion of the game, he states that it is "the best RPG currently on the Nintendo DS."

Reviews
Release	Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
Nintendo DS	Craig Harris, IGN	9/10	"Partners in Time does a fantastic job following up the already fantastic Superstar Saga on the Game Boy Advance. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time has an even crazier story, funnier dialogue, more elaborate puzzles, and more action-based fights than the original game. But even with all the clever additions the Nintendo DS version brings to the table, the original quest is never left in the dust and is still on the same playing field for those who haven't experienced that handheld adventure yet. And though it doesn't explore the Nintendo DS platform on a technical level, Partners in Time definitely approaches the handheld in extremely creative ways."
Nintendo DS	Thomas Bowskill, Nintendo Life	9/10	"Your money will be well invested in buying this game as it has 20 hours of play and a classic story, but there is no immediate replay value. Fans of Mario a/or Luigi shouldn't pass up this classic generation game, its been nice to play it, to play it, nice!"
Nintendo DS	Jonathon Metts, Nintendo World Report	8/10	"My opinion of Partners in Time is smeared by the battle system's flaws, which become more of an issue towards the end of the game. However, this is by far the best RPG currently available for the DS, and its use of the dual screens opens up gameplay possibilities that just aren't available on any other system. Taking twenty hours or so to complete, it's also going to last longer than most portable games. Fans of the other Mario RPGs should definitely check out Partners in Time for its terrific story and brain-twisting level design."
Nintendo DS	Aaron Roberts, Nintendojo	9.6/10	"To summarize, Mario and Luigi: Partners In Time is fantastic. With an insane plot, goofy characters and some incredibly well-designed gameplay, this is a game which should be on the must-buy list of any DS owner who does not hate fun."
Nintendo DS	Cole Smith, Cheat Code Central	4.6/5	"Mario is no stranger to RPGs but there are probably no stranger RPGs than this one. Highly recommended."
Aggregators
Compiler		Platform / Score
Metacritic		86
GameRankings		85.23%

Sales

The game has sold 132,726 copies on its opening week in Japan, ranked number seven as reported by Gamasutra. The game has a worldwide sales of 1.39m units as reported by IGN.

Super Mario-kun adaptation

The cover of volume 36 of the Super Mario-kun, featuring characters from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time has been adapted into the Super Mario-kun manga, written and illustrated by Yukio Sawada. The story arc related to Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time spans across three volumes: volumes 35, 36, and 37. Though it follows the source material, it introduces various key story element differences, as in every Super Mario-kun volume adaptation of their respective game.

Differences in the Super Mario-kun manga

• Luigi is involved in the Junior Shrooboid boss fight, though against his will; Mario uses him as a weapon to defeat the Junior Shrooboid.
• All Shroobs are able to speak coherently from the beginning, including Princess Shroob.
• Although Mario and Luigi do arrive at the Hollijolli Village, they do not encounter the Hollijolli Mayor. Instead, the Shroobs engage them immediately and defeat them.
• Bowser's Castle does not appear at all. After the Mario Bros. encounter the Baby Mario Bros., they travel to the Shroob Castle.
• Snoozorbs, which are late-game enemies, appear relatively in the beginning of the Super Mario-kun; the brothers fight it when they arrive to the Shroob Castle.
• The Snoozorb fight teaches Mario and Luigi the technique of the Bros. Ball, where they use it as an attack rather than a utility move for transportation. Later in the story arc, a four-brother version of the ball is used against the Elder Princess Shroob.
• Though it is discovered that Toads are being used for fuel in the Toadwood Forest and Vim Factory, Toadiko does not appear.
• Baby Mario and Baby Luigi receive their hammers from supplies that Toadsworth the Younger provides, while the Hammer Bros. do not appear at all. As a result, Mario and Luigi do not get captured in the Vim Factory.
• Toads do not get their energy sapped from being strapped onto trees. Rather, Swiggler sucks their energy directly from them.
• Baby Luigi carelessly spinning around with his hammer gives Baby Mario the inspiration for the Baby Drill move, where it is used as an attack, similar to the Bros. Ball, rather than the Hammer Bros. teaching the move to them.
• The Yoob is a friendly giant, hungry Yoshi who gets taken over and manipulated by Sunnycide. Other Yoshis and Toadbert do not appear.
• Neither Kylie Koopa nor the Koopaseum appear in the manga. Rather, the four brothers travel to Gritzy Desert and eventually take a pipe down to Gritzy Caves.
• Petey Piranha is portrayed as a female character, alongside Piranha Plants (called bero pakkun, which roughly translates to "Tongue Piranhas") with a Cobalt Star Shard as part of her teeth.
• The characters do go to Thwomp Volcano and fight Mrs. Thwomp, but do not enter Thwomp Caverns, nor fight Baby Bowser and Bowser. In fact, Bowser does not appear at all in this story arc.
• The Star Hill is portrayed as a snowy location, where Baby Luigi rebuilds a destroyed snowman. The snowman later helps the brothers fight the Commander Shroob, the Shroob-omb, and the Support Shroobs, though the Commander Shroob destroys it. As a result, it gives Baby Luigi an Ice Flower, which helps him defeat the Commander Shroob and his army.
• At the Star Shrine, Luigi proves his worth by using a Copy Flower on the Piranha Planet and defeating it, while also obtaining the Aurora Block.
• An entire chapter is devoted to the Marios and Luigis fighting each other, due to the deception of a Tanoomba.
• The Shroob Mother Ship is taken down due to Baby Mario tricking Princess Shroob with a false mail delivery.
• The younger Princess Shroob is the character who fully assembles the Cobalt Star together, rather than Princess Peach holding on to the last Cobalt Star Shard and Baby Bowser intervening.
• The younger Princess Shroob and the Elder Princess Shroob fight simultaneously, though the younger Princess Shroob mostly stays on the sidelines.
• A chapter is devoted to Toadsworth and Toadsworth the Younger taking care of Baby Peach, when a Shroobsworth and an Intern Shroob appears and attacks them. The two Toadsworths intervene to defend Baby Peach from their attacks, until E. Gadd gives Baby Peach Perry, the parasol. The parasol causes Baby Peach to activate her anger vibe, thus defeating the two enemies. These actions reference Super Princess Peach.
• Baby tears weaken the Elder Princess Shroob, though a rainbow shell is the item that ultimately defeats her.
• Mario and Luigi are the characters who leave with the time machine, rather than the past versions of the characters leaving.
• Shrowser is referenced in the epilogue to the story arc, where Baby Bowser eats the purple mushroom containing the essence of the Elder Princess Shroob. He battles the baby Mario Bros., but before the baby Mario Bros. retaliate, he poops the Elder Princess Shroob's Shroob mushroom.

Pre-release and unused content

The unused Scoot Bloops

Main article: List of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time pre-release and unused content

A pre-release screenshot depicts Mario, Luigi, and their baby selves fighting two red shoe-clad Blooper foes (called Scoot Bloops) in the Vim Factory. Unfinished code for the Scoot Bloops remain the final build of the game. Due to their unfinished state, they cause the game to softlock or freeze if they are allowed to attack. There are also screenshots of the four brothers using what appears to be a purple Spiny Shell as a Bros. Item. This item would act like a Koopa Shell, but would be hammered instead of kicked.

Glitches

Main article: List of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time glitches

? Block Teleport

In Thwomp Caverns, players should use the Baby Spin in the cyclone. If Baby Mario lands on the ? Block on the left platform, Baby Luigi stays there, and Baby Mario warps to the platform above. Players cannot enter piggyback mode or change to the adults while this glitch is occuring. This glitch can be fixed by moving Baby Mario into the spikes, which takes both babies to the platform above.

Quotes

Main article: List of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time quotes

• "I'm afraid our dear Toadsworth has worried himself into a state of shroomshock." -Toad doctor
• "BACK TO ADVENTURE!" -Stuffwell
• "I say to you WELCOME! Welcome to Fawful's Bean 'n' Badge!" -Fawful
• "You are true and courageous. Your heart is filled with virtue and concern for your brother. I do recommend you watch your diet, however it is also filled with much Alfredo sauce. You should especially cut down on carbora, though it will be hard, for that is very tasty. If you curb your appetite, do some light cardio work and continue to ward your brother, you will no doubt grow to be a figure of immense popularity, yet not grow an immense belly. You may pass and I do recommend puttanesca; that stuff is great." -Star Temple gate
• "AREA RESTRICTED. ALL NOOB INTRUDERS 2 B HAXORED BY US L33T HAMM3R BROZ.!" -Hammer Bro

Wii U eShop description

Twice the Bros., twice the insanity!

In this quest of lunatic proportions, the Mario bros. team up with none other than... their younger selves! Control both sets of bros. at once in this intriguing action RPG, where comedy is king and the story leads you beyond the Mushroom Kingdom. Explore Mario's world across space and time as you take down the evil alien invaders, the Shroobs!

In this precursor to the Mario & Luigi™: Bowser's Inside Story game, the brothers travel back in time to retrieve Princess Peach™, only to come face-to-face with baby versions of themselves, the princess, and Bowser™. While controlling both the adult AND baby versions of the Mushroom Kingdom heroes, you'll unleash powerful attacks and cross environments using special techniques to solve puzzles in creative ways. With four brothers to control, this adventure is bound to get out of control!

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.

• 

  Mario and Baby Mario

• 

  Luigi and Baby Luigi

• 

  Kylie Koopa

• 

  Stuffwell

• 

  Princess Shroob and the Shroobs

• 

  Yoob and Yoshi

Media

For a complete list of media for this subject, see List of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time media.

Title theme - The title theme

File infoMedia:M&LPiT Title Theme.oga 0:29

Battle theme - The normal battle theme

File infoMedia:M&LPiT Battle Theme.oga 0:28

Boss Battle theme - The boss battle theme

File infoMedia:M&LPiT Boss Battle Theme.oga 0:27

Help:Media • Having trouble playing?

References to other games

Toadsworth the Younger's reference to Super Mario Bros.

• Super Mario Bros. - When the wind blew away Baby Peach, Toadsworth the Younger asked the Baby Mario brothers to save her, saying: "You will save her, won't you? I assure you, she's NOT in another castle or anything." This is a reference to the repeated Toads' line: "Thank you, Mario! But our princess is in another castle!"
• Super Mario All-Stars - One of the Shrooboid Brat's attacks involves having the audience giving him either Fire Flowers, Mushrooms, or Poison Mushrooms. The Poison Mushrooms' appearance is exactly the same sprite as their appearance in the remake of Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels.
• Yoshi's Cookie - The cookies from this game reappear in Yoshi's Island.
• Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island - This game features the return of Baby Mario, Baby Luigi, Baby Bowser, and the Chomp Rock. Also, the player can travel to Yoshi's Island, whose first area has the same music as this game's title music. In addition, Kamek makes a reference to his attempted kidnapping of Baby Mario and Baby Luigi in Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island.
• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - In the beginning of the game, the Cobalt Star shard is in a block similar to the regular Treasure boxes in this game.
• Super Mario 64 - The music that plays within Peach's Castle is a cover of "Inside the Castle Walls". Some of Mario's voices are reused from this game.
• Luigi's Mansion - Professor E. Gadd moves to the Boo Woods as a young man where he is later found by Luigi, foreshadowing the events of the game. Also, music from cutscenes involving E. Gadd are a cover of the Luigi's Mansion main theme.
• Super Mario Sunshine - Shine Sprites return as a source of light. Also, the Hydrogush 4000 resembles F.L.U.D.D.. Petey Piranha appears as a boss.
• Mario Kart: Double Dash!! - Some of the voices are reused from this game.
• Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - Fawful runs Fawful's Bean 'n' Badge. Additionally, a picture of Prince Peasley appears in the Shroom Shop on a poster about beans. The ending theme for Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is a cover of the ending theme from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Also, before the fight with Bowser and his younger self, Bowser affectionately calls Baby Bowser a 'little Firebrand', Mario's skill from said game. When fighting the Hammer Bros in the Vim Factory, they use an attack that is identical to the Bros. move, "Knockback Bros", performed by Mario and Luigi in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Also two enemies, Trunkle and Mecha-Chomp have similar battle style to Mrs. Thwomp and Shroid respectively. Also, during the battle with the Elder Princess Shroob, one of her attacks involves striking her own Shroob saucers with fire and lightning to attack the Bros' saucer on fire hit Mario, while those struck by lightning hit Luigi, referencing the Firebrand and Thunderhand skills from said game.
• Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door - Dark Boos first appeared in this game. Toadsworth the Younger also references the Bristle enemy that has only appeared in this game while admonishing his present day counterpart.

References in later games

• Super Smash Bros. Brawl - A Shroob, Stuffwell, and Luigi carrying Baby Luigi appear as stickers. Also, a cover version of the Gritzy Desert theme returns for the Mushroomy Kingdom stage. The boss theme was originally going to be in Super Smash Bros Brawl, but was removed in the final version. One of Luigi's poses in this game resembles his artwork for Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.
• Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story - Three Shroobs appear as optional bosses. Junior Shrooboids, Commander Shroobs, and the Elder Princess Shroob cameos in the background of that stage. Also in the audience from Fawful Theater there's a Shroob in the audience. There are some gear that has "Shroob" in the name.
• Mario & Luigi: Dream Team - Kylie Koopa appears in this game, along with a picture of a Shroob hanging on a wall in the house where she is found.
• Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS / Wii U - One of Luigi's poses in this game resembles that of his solo artwork from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.
• Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam - The tutorial theme in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is a cover version of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time's tutorial theme.
• Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions - In the Mario Bros.' House, there is a framed photo of a Shroob saucer. The redesigned Yoshi Theater has a poster advertising a movie about a Shroob invasion. Additionally, when encountered in the new Minion Quest mode, E. Gadd mentions he is beginning to build a time machine, thus setting up for the events of Partners in Time.
• Super Smash Bros. Ultimate - Princess Shroob returns as a spirit.
• Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey - Shroobs return as enemies in this game, and in the background of Shroob Battleground some frozen Shroobs, a frozen Junior Shrooboid, a frozen Princess Shroob, and a frozen Elder Princess Shroob make a cameo appearance.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Notes
Japanese	マリオ＆ルイージRPG2[?] Mario ando Ruīji Āru Pī Jī Tsū	Mario & Luigi RPG 2 (Stylized as マリオ＆ルイージRPG2×2)
Chinese (traditional)	瑪利歐＆路易吉RPG２ (Taiwanese Nintendo DS detail site) Mǎlì'ōu & Lùyìjí RPG 2 瑪利歐&路易吉RPG2×2 (Super Mario Bros. 35th Anniversary site) Mǎlì'ōu & Lùyìjí RPG 2×2	Mario & Luigi RPG 2 Mario & Luigi RPG 2×2
German	Mario & Luigi: Zusammen durch die Zeit[?]	Mario & Luigi: Together through Time
Italian	Mario & Luigi: Fratelli nel Tempo[?]	Mario & Luigi: Brothers in Time
Korean	마리오&루이지 RPG 2 시간의 파트너[?] Mario & Ruiji RPG 2 Sigan-ui Pateuneo	Mario & Luigi RPG 2: Partners in Time
Spanish (NOA)	Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time[?]	-
Spanish (NOE)	Mario & Luigi: Compañeros en el Tiempo[?]	Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time

Trivia

• When booting up the game, only Mario and Luigi's voices are heard saying, "Nintendo!". Once the game gets to a point when Mario and Luigi meet their infant counterparts, all four say "Nintendo!". However, if the player saves on the Koopa Cruiser between the point when Mario and Luigi are knocked out by the Shroobs and the point when Baby Mario and Baby Luigi defeat the Shroobs, only Baby Mario and Baby Luigi's voices are heard and they are the only ones present on the title screen. This does not occur at any other point in the game where the babies are separated from the adults.

External links

• Official Japanese Microsite
• Official Western Microsite