Notes:

So yeah, can see why so many people love this game.
+ Story is fine overall. Peach gets captured but it's for a more malevolent purpose and she actually does things whilst she was captured to help thanks to E-Mail Technology
+ Writing is really good, with many jokes that got me laughing. Including every scene involving Bowser
+ Gameplay is fun. Very beginner friendly without it being too "hand holding"
+ Soundtrack is amazing, fallen in love with Rougeport, Cortez Boss Theme and even just the regular Bower theme.
+ And I really like the characters too. Some characters clearly have accents which is a little thing I like to see (I imagine Doopliss having a Brooklyn accent for how he talks.)

Biggest issue with me is the backtracking in this game. It's downright disgusting at points. Having to go round the whole world to find 1 character who ends up going back to the first place you look is d--- game design. Hate that so much.

But at least I had fun largely everywhere else. Except the palace. Also I beat Hooktail without the Cricket sound thing.