KH: the game started off very slow. But as soon as I got used to the controls (switch it to control type B as soon as you get the chance), and got better gear and abilities the game really started to pick up. If anything I'd say this game is definitely harder than KH2....mostly because there's no auto-win triangle button 
. So while it's rough in some places is definitely a solid game.
M&L: like KH this game started off kind slow..but picked up much quicker. Lets just say this game makes me have a new found respect for bowser as a character. Poor bastard deserves better.
The game seems to have a nice balance between bowser sections and Mario bros. The first half of the game you spend the majority of time playing as bowser, and the later half as the bros. Definitely in the top tier of mario RPG's. I'd go as far as saying that it's arguably better than super star saga.