-from wikipedia-
A mysterious plague is taking over the Mushroom Kingdom. The only symptom that this disease results in is the inflating of the Toads many times their normal size, causing them to grow big and roll around without any control; the disease is known as the "Metakoro". A council is called to discuss what might have to be done, and Mario and Luigi are both called to further discuss what could be done with this disease that is spreading. At this time, Bowser enters Peach's castle and tries to kidnap her by force. Mario then challenges Bowser to a fight to protect the kingdom and its residents. After his inevitable defeat, Bowser wakes up in a forest and a mysterious figure offers a "lucky mushroom" to Bowser, who eats it. He unknowingly gains the ability to inhale things and becomes brain-washed by Fawful, a villain from the previous installments. Fawful sends Bowser to Peach's Castle, where he swallows all the Mushroom Kingdom council members. With Peach and Bowser preoccupied, Fawful then takes control over both of their castles. When he awakes, Bowser proceeds to chase Fawful. Meanwhile, Mario & Luigi must attempt to find a way out of Bowser's stomach.
The game switches between three playable characters. Mario & Luigi and Peach are found together inside Bowser's belly for the first part of the game, exploring a 2D environment, much like a platformer. Bowser explores the Mushroom Kingdom in a 3/4 overhead view world, much like previous Mario & Luigi games. After a point in the game, Mario & Luigi can go out of Bowser to explore the overworld. They can use a pipe to return inside Bowser.
Mario and Luigi can both jump, spin jump and use hammers in the over world. The bros can also use hammers and jump during a battle. Jumping in battles have been altered so the Bros can now execute a double jump on an enemy. Bros items are back and they are used the same way in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. A new element has also been added to the game called "Attack Parts" - which are used when battling. Much like previous games, the "A" button controls Mario while the "B" button controls Luigi.
Bowser uses both the "X" and "Y" buttons. "Y" is used for fire breath and "X" is used for punching. The battle system has been altered for Bowser. Punching replaces jump and the hammer is replaced with fire breath. During certain times in battle, touching a button on the touch screen makes him throw Goombas at the enemy, and turning the DS sideways and blowing into the mic. lets Bowser breathe fire. Bros. Points (BP) have been brought back from the first game in the series.
Though the toy fair didn't have much to offer to the video game world, it is always great to fly across the nation to take a break. But, as always, we viewed the fair as a fair opportunity to expand our product base. We landed at JFK from LAX late in the afternoon, and were immediately hustled to take an extremely overpriced cab to our hotel.
