So glad I got a chance to play this, it certainly set the expectations for the Game Jam real high with being the first mod showcased on stream. Strong recommend to fans of Bowser's Inside Story and there's even things for fans of the Mario and Luigi series as a whole to enjoy. First and foremost, the writing is spot on, perfectly captures the spirit of the game and the characters in it. I can see the time and care that went into all the custom sprites for characters and enemies, along with the use of music from Bowser's Inside Story, as it shows in all of their animations and attacks. Making for some fun battles to climb through in this gauntlet.
...that said the gauntlet style for battles have their pros and cons. Getting right into the action after some clever quips is appreciated but it does also bring up some of the weaker points of the mod. Item management is key to survival as even with proper conversation of items, the mod is quite challenging. The final fight can range from catch you off guard, if not be impossible, if you don't properly time use of your healing items within the battle before. Especially considering the context of the story, a full heal right before that part could have been implementing while still feeling natural to the narrative. IMO, the mod would have greatly benefitted from save points in certain points.
Speaking of areas perfect for adding a save point, the mod also has little intermissions where you are given a new ability and given an area to try it out in. These abilities are very cool, but unfortunately feel pointless in the end as the majority of the mod is a battle gauntlet, and you never use these skills outside of the room introducing them. (Also the first room requires some very precise platforming for a skill you're just introduced to, part of the problem could be I'm just bad with it, but still worth mentioning) Still it was a nice little diversion.
Random thought, but this is a mod that would benefit greatly from "multiple" difficulties, to appeal to a wider range of players. For example, if the attack stat for everything was cut in half and you were given the option to equip double pain at the start, that would be a perfect compromise between giving more casual players a fighting chance, while still keeping the OG challenge for more experienced players or a repeat playthrough.
This is definitely a mod that could have benefitted with a bit more time in the oven, but for what it was made for a very fun experience.