Mario & Luigi: Dream Team a fun and engaging experience

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (Nintendo; 3DS; rated everyone 10+)

Mario and Luigi are a duo for most of Dream Team, jumping in concert and battling adversaries side-by-side. The combat in this adventure game is still based on the brothers jumping on the heads of enemies, but here the fights are a modified turn-based system. The boys can dodge and counter enemy attacks and, with timed button presses, can do more damage.

Mario jumps with a press of the “A” button, while Luigi jumps when pressing “B”, and the two collect experience points to improve abilities. Each time they level up, players can choose one ability to receive a bonus upgrade.

The game takes place on the island of Pi’illo, where Princess Peach and her entourage have been invited to vacation. The name of the proprietor, Dr. Snoozemore, is another hint that sleeping and dreaming are a theme here and Mario and Luigi explore a range of environments, including the dream world, where a sleeping Luigi appears as Dreamy Luigi (and has some special powers as a result).

The platforming elements of Dream Team can be maddening unless you’re playing in 3-D, and the decision to present written dialogue in dialect is problematic. It serves no purpose, especially children who may be learning to read, to have a French character’s dialogue filled with zee, zis, and zat (and the unfortunate onomatopoeia word, honh).

But the charming interplay between the brothers and the clever tweaks on the turn-based combat are enough to make Dream Team a fun and engaging experience.