WARNING: Below are great spoilers for Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, it is suggested that you do not read the following post if you have not at least gotten halfway through Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
There was always something I really loved about Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, that I noticed after playing and thinking about the game for a while. I'm pretty sure what I'm about to say would be overthinking the game, but nonetheless, I had a lot of fun with it, so let's begin!
The big unique thing about the third Mario & Luigi game was the fact that, you get to play as Bowser, the main villain from the Mario Universe. Now, it isn't the first Mario game to do this, no no, this has been done before in say, Super Mario RPG and Super Paper Mario, but what makes Bowser's Inside Story so special, is that of all the games to feature Bowser, none are able to capture the feeling of his character so well, and make you feel so much like Bowser himself, like that of Bowser's Inside Story.
Here's what I mean. Now, we know Bowser is the bad guy of the Mario universe, yeah? He likes to kidnap Peach, likes to do what he wants and be selfish, and he comes off a bit as a bully really. But he's always been that way hasn't he? Been the generic bad guy who likes to be selfish and attack others, and we never really learn much of why do we? This was very true of me for a while, however, that has changed, and the first game that got me to feel like I could understand Bowser, was none other then Bowser's Inside Story.
Here's why. When you play as Bowser in Bowser's Inside Story, you are an absolute powerhouse. This is also true when Bowser is playable in other Mario RPGs, he tends to have the highest attack of all your party members in Super Mario RPG, and he is also the strongest character in Super Paper Mario. However, while you are more powerful, you don't really get that feeling that you actually are really powerful, you don't really get immersed in that power. What works with Bowser's Inside Story then, is that it does the best job in getting you immersed and into that power.
In Bowser's Inside Story, enemies that can be troublesome for Mario and Luigi and require both of them to take them out, can be clobbered by Bowser like that. The little enemies Mario and Luigi have to battle to get by, Bowser can destroy just by walking into them, and it feels amazing to get 50 coins like that. Where this whole feeling of power really works though, is the giant battles. In the giant battles, Bowser can send a castle flying away with a punch, and he's so large that both screens will shake when Bowser walks. Couple this with the fact that you have to actually use quick hand movements to get the perfect punches, and even blow into the microphone to shoot fire, and you get attacks that when pulled off, feel so amazingly satisfying.
And that great feeling, that feeling of satisfaction, of trying so hard to use a great powerful move and getting it perfectly, this is the key to understanding Bowser. You see, isn't it hard to remember what you're doing when you're having so much fun? Isn't it kind of difficult to realize that there are tons of tiny animals below you you might be stepping on, and that you might be shaking the earth and scaring tons of others, because it just feels so great to pull off that giant punch and destroy your enemy? And in that same manner, it feels so great to just walk into a tiny enemy in the overworld and defeat it in one shot, or to blow away trees in one perfect fire blast, doesn't it just feel so nice, that we forget we're taking coins from someone and burning trees down? This is power, this is what makes power a force that can so easily corrupt us, is that once we have and start using it, it can feel so fun and satisfying to use, that we get so sucked into that power, and forget what we're really doing. We start feeling like we deserve to have things go our way since we're so powerful and can do so much, and this well, this is exactly how Bowser is.
Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach time and time again because he can, and because it feels great to do. Nevermind the fact that he's causing Peach and the kingdom trouble, Bowser has gotten so sucked up in his power, and how fun it is to wield and use it, that he often doesn't think of the consequences of his actions, and also feels like he deserves Peach for all the power he has, and how hard he must work to keep that power. Such an idea seems foreign to us but, playing Bowser's Inside Story, and experiencing just how great it felt to be Bowser, and be a monster that could destroy anything in my path, I started to understand him. To understand why he does what he does, time and time again, and you know, I really really loved that.
Because that is the power of video games. That is what separates video games from other mediums of art so much, they are so much more about the experience, and do the best job of getting us to be put in another person's shoes, and understand what it's like to live through them. I highly doubt Alphadream set out to do that with Bowser when making Bowser's Inside Story, and I definitely think I am overthinking this. But you know, I noticed this, and I thought it was really cool and awesome, and I loved it and wanted to share, cause the more I play these games, the more I'm falling in love with Bowser and his entire character. I really love what Alphadream did with him, and I can't wait to see where they take him next.
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