Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (Game Boy Advance, 2003)

Super Mario RPG took a little while to catch on with gamers, but once it had, they were clamoring for a sequel.  What came, instead, was a spiritual successor of sorts called Paper Mario for the Nintendo 64.  It was basically an even more simplified Mario RPG, one for young children to become introduced to the genre.  It followed many of the guidelines set by its predecessor, but falls flat when compared to it.  A worthy successor to Super Mario RPG would come on the Game Boy Advance, however, in the form of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.
In this game, Princess Peach is welcoming an ambassador from the neighboring land to the Mushroom Kingdom, the Beanbean Kingdom, who turns out to be Cackletta, an evil witch.  She steals the Princess's voice, replacing it with an "explosive vocabulary" (the dialogue in the game is all in text, and when the Princess attempts to speak, her words explode).  The famous Mario and his not-so-famous brother Luigi are sent to the Beanbean Kingdom to retrieve the voice, aided by... Bowser?  Yes, Bowser lends the Mario Bros. a lift in one of his airships for the pursuit of Cackletta (he can't kidnap the Princess since her voice would destroy his castle).  The ship is attacked by Cackletta's henchman, Fawful, and the Mario Bros. make a crash landing over the Beanbean Kingdom.
Carried over from Super Mario RPG is the comical tone, but taken to an all-new level.  This is one of the funniest games I have ever played, made possible by the wonderful personalities given to all of the characters.  It is well known that Mario receives a bigger spotlight than Luigi, and the writers of the game incorporate this into the dialogue.  A Beanish resident recognizes the brothers and says "It's the famous Mario!  And his brother! ... Green guy!"  Bowser, while usually a threatening force in the Mario games, is here an incompetent, yet assured, grump.
Hands-down, the funniest character in the game, who multiplies the humor several times, is Fawful.  His dialogue consists of broken English and word salads (a phrase with correct syntax but nonsensical word choice) that give him a brilliantly unhinged personality.  The first encounter with him on Bowser's ship is a classic scene in gaming.  When Bowser says to him "What's your beef?" Fawful responds, "Beef?  I am lacking in beef.  Fawful is beefless!"  He compares Cackletta's plan to a sandwich, and then declares, "I am the mustard of your doom!"  His battle cry "I HAVE FURY!" was included in Nintendo Power Magazine's list of classic video game quotes.
The gameplay of Mario & Luigi takes place in two forms.  The first is the overworld, a huge span of land that the brothers traverse, often including platforming and puzzles.  Both brothers are moved at the same time, pressing A makes one jump and B the other.  Pressing Start makes them trade places.  They both get mallets, and eventually Mario gets the power to shoot fire and Luigi gets the power to shoot lightning.  All of these powers are used to solve the many puzzles in this game.  For one puzzle, A burning statue is blocking your path, and you put it out by having Mario fill up with water, and then Luigi jumps on him to spray it out.
The second form of gameplay are the turn-based battles.  Like Super Mario RPG, enemies are visible on the map, and bumping into them starts a battle.  However, this time you may make a pre-emptive strike to deal some damage before the fight begins.  Be careful though, since some enemies can do the same to you.  In battle, each brother can attack separately, or do a combo.  Also like Mario RPG is the ability to deal extra damage with well-timed button presses, but here there is a greater emphasis on it.  When enemies attack, damage can be negated, or even avoided, with good timing.  Combos are performed by a series of button presses that reward you for how well you perform them.
The Mario & Luigi series would receive two sequels, both on the Nintendo DS (Partners in Time and Bowser's Inside Story) but neither reaching quite the heights that the first game did.  Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a masterpiece of humor, gameplay, and story in the Mario franchise.  Is this game better than Super Mario RPG?  In some ways, yes, in others, no.  The original must be noted for all of its inventions that the spiritual successor owes to it, but then, Mario & Luigi does take everything that Super Mario RPG did well and magnify it.  Regardless, these are two wonderful and iconic RPGs that ought to be experienced by any fan of the genre.

Advance Wars (Game Boy Advance, 2001)

Advance Wars (2001) was a game that came out at the eleventh hour, and if it had waited another day, it may have become impossible to release at all.  The game was released on September 10, 2001, only a day before the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center.  Being a game that seriously understates the brutality, horror, and tragedy of war, I think it is safe to say that it could not have seen the light of day if it had waited any longer.  Despite its connection to a tragic history, this is one of the finest war games I have played.
Advance Wars presents war in an oddly positive and silly fashion, which you would think would be detrimental to its presentation, but in a way, amplifies its qualities.  By ignoring the harsh aspects of battle, the game is allowed to focus on one thing:  the strategy of war.  This is a turn-based strategy game, where players take turns moving pieces around a board, attacking each other, and building their armies.  So deep are the mechanics of the game as to make it nearly perfect.
The single player campaign mode of the game has you as one of four commanding officers of the Red Star army, in a war against the Blue Moon army and their CO, Olaf.  The other officers working under you are Andy, Sami, and Max.  Each CO has different strengths and weaknesses, which give an additional layer to the strategy.  For instance, Andy's troops are strongest in the rain, but have trouble in snow.  Max's tanks are more powerful, but his long range capabilities are less than normal.  In addition, each CO has a special power they can use when a meter fills up (caused by casualties on either side), such as Andy's ability to repair all units, or Olaf's to instantly make it snow.
The game plays like an extreme version of chess.  There are many different pieces to work with, including infantry, tanks, boats, and planes.  Each unit has a health of 10, and when two units get into combat, the result depends on a number of variables.  The type of unit, who initiated the strike, the terrain, and the CO issuing the attack.  The less health a unit has, the weaker it becomes in a skirmish.  Different terrain and weather conditions affect movement.  Infantry can walk over rivers and mountains, whereas tanks cannot.  Movement takes gas, and attacking takes ammunition, and failure to ration and distribute supplies can be costly.
Funds are allocated from allied cities every turn.  To make a city your ally, you must make an infantry unit capture it.  Cities are crucial because they offer higher defense, funds, and if you station a wounded unit in one, they will recover two health each turn.  Also capable of capture are bases (which allow you to build new ground units), ports (which allow you to build ships), and airports (which allow you to build planes and helicopters).  Building new units costs funds, and the better units are quite expensive.  While there are units that are favorable to have in your army, none are without weaknesses.  The bomber can dole out massive damage to land and sea units, but cannot fight back against other planes.  Rocket launchers can attack units from far away, but is helpless at close quarters.
Victory is achieved by one of two situations:  capture the enemy's headquarters or destroy every enemy unit. In the campaign mode, there may be more objectives, for instance, there is one mission where you are only tasked with surviving ten turns (and you are heavily outnumbered), and another where you have to capture so many bases before the enemy does.  No two battles will be the same, and the game offers many variables that always keep the game feeling fresh.  In one battle, there may be an emphasis on naval combat.  In another, there may be fog, which limits your visibility and it becomes a careful guerrilla fight.  Every situation has been thought out and given life.
In today's gaming world, there is a large focus on war games.  The Call of Duty franchise comes out with a new title every year, always focusing on the negative of war.  They are right to say that war is a horrible thing, but that message has grown tired.  Advance Wars came out (barely) in a time before the Iraq conflict, and fear of terrorism, where a focus on strategy was all the game needed to make itself shine.  You aren't just some soldier wielding a gun, thoughtlessly shooting at every target in sight.  You are a Commanding Officer, the brains behind the operation, the strategist who will lead your troops to victory and glory.