Post
The Mario RPG that let Bowser become the main event and immediately justified the choice.
Bowser's Inside Story splits play between the brothers' internal misadventures and Bowser's external wrecking-ball campaign, which gives the game an incredible structural rhythm. The writing is sharp, the battle gimmicks are inventive, and Bowser comes out of it looking like one of Nintendo's most entertaining leads.
Example
Giant Bowser touch battles are pure DS-era spectacle design: ridiculous, hardware-specific, and memorable because of that.
Why it matters
It matters because it is widely seen as the Mario & Luigi subseries at full strength. Letting Bowser carry half the game turned out to be genius, not a novelty.
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