I just beat M&L: SS. I enjoyed it quite a bit. I thought the start was a little bit slow, though that could have just been me easing into it. The game has some backtracky bits, but nothing too annoying. I appreciated how the game lets you figure out some things on your own, like surfing, warp pipe locations, and where to go, but also guides you sometimes on the map.
I got kinda tired of the constant battling of small-fry enemies by the end, so I was a bit underleveled for the final boss. Beating Cackaletta’s Soul at level 28 was rough 
. Speaking of this, what’s with this game being fairly easy the whole way through until the sudden difficulty spike at the end?
I played the 2017 3DS remake. I haven’t played the bonus content, Bowser’s Minions, yet, and I’m honestly not super compelled to, but it’s still a nice addition, so I’ll still probably give it a shot. I prefer the graphics of the original, so I only played the remake for the quality of life improvements (mainly bottom screen mini map) and convenience setting it up.
Overall, better than I expected. I understand why the series gets all the love it does now. There is something to said about another quest for a crystal star Beanstar, but the game’s from 2003, so I’ll cut it some slack. 8/10 Beanstars.