Buying guide
Mario & Luigi — buying Partners in Time or Bowser's Inside Story
Mario & Luigi is the RPG series in which you control both brothers at once — every attack and every dodge asks for timing on two buttons. It began on the GBA with Superstar Saga (2003) and peaked on the DS: Partners in Time (2005) and Bowser's Inside Story (2009). Two cartridges, the funniest writing in the whole Mario catalogue, and one of them has become scarce.
The short answer
First time in: Bowser's Inside Story — three playable characters and the strongest story. Want the darker, more tactical one: Partners in Time, which is also the scarce and pricier cartridge. Both are DS games: flash saves, no battery, and they play on any DS, DSi, 3DS or 2DS.
Two brothers, two buttons
The idea is simple and brilliant: A is Mario, B is Luigi. Jump together, hammer together, and in battle your timing decides whether an attack lands twice or gets dodged — you stay active in the opponent's turn too, which makes these feel faster and more playful than a classic turn-based RPG. No other Mario series gets this much humour out of the duo; Luigi is finally the star who solves everything by accident.
Partners in Time or Bowser's Inside Story?
In Partners in Time the brothers travel alongside their baby selves — four brothers in every battle, and a darker, more tactical game. In Bowser's Inside Story you also play Bowser himself while the brothers walk around inside him; it is the entry most often named as the high point of the series, with the best jokes. The stories stand on their own, so you can start with either.
Partners in Time is the scarce one on the second-hand market, and the price shows it: the studio behind the series, AlphaDream, went bankrupt in 2019, which turned the original run into a closed set that collectors keep chasing.
What to check on a used copy
- The save test. Save, power off, restart. DS saves live on flash memory — a genuine cartridge keeps your progress, many counterfeit boards lose it the moment the console switches off.
- Label and shell. Popular DS RPGs are counterfeited a lot: a fake feels light, its label print is glossy and blurred, and the shell back misses the crisp Nintendo stamp.
- Which console. Both are DS cartridges and play on every DS, DSi, 3DS and 2DS. We state the region in every listing.
Those checks come straight from our fake-cartridge guide — the other big DS RPG series gets exactly the same treatment. More for the system is in our Nintendo DS list.
Buy them already tested
Every Mario & Luigi we sell has been through the label, shell and board checks and a real save test on hardware, priced on condition and completeness. We have been doing this since 2019, with 1400+ verified reviews at 5.0★, and we ship tracked from the Netherlands to all 27 EU countries — no customs inside the EU.
See Mario & Luigi in stockQuestions we get asked
Which Mario & Luigi is the best one to start with?
Bowser's Inside Story is the one most often named as the high point: three playable characters, the strongest story and the best jokes. Partners in Time is darker and more tactical, with four brothers in battle at once. You can start anywhere — the stories stand on their own.
Are these ordinary platform games?
No — they are turn-based RPGs with a twist: you stay active in the opponent's turn too, because every attack can be dodged or countered with the right timing. That makes them feel faster and more playful than a classic RPG.
Why is Partners in Time so expensive?
It is the scarcest entry of the series on the second-hand market, and collector demand has not let up — the studio behind it, AlphaDream, went bankrupt in 2019, which turned the original series into a closed set. We price on condition and completeness and test every copy for authenticity.
Does a Mario & Luigi cartridge play on a 3DS or 2DS?
Yes. Both are DS cartridges, and those play on every DS, DSi, 3DS and 2DS. They save to flash memory, so there is no battery that can run empty.
How do I spot a fake Mario & Luigi cartridge?
Popular DS RPGs are counterfeited a lot. A fake feels light, its label print is glossy and blurred where an original is sharp and matte, and the shell back misses the crisp Nintendo stamp. The decisive test is saving — power off, restart, and the progress must still be there. We run it on every copy.
Where they fit: all Mario games in order — the other big DS RPG series is in our Pokémon DS list, and all Mario games are on the shelf.
Dutch reader? Mario & Luigi games kopen — dezelfde gids in het Nederlands.
