Mario RPG games are a bit like buses. You wait forever for one to come along and low and behold you get three. Of late, we’ve had remakes of Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door., and now, a fresh entry in Mario & Luigi: Brothership.
Mario & Luigi: Brothership is officially the sixth main instalment in the Mario & Luigi series, and follows on from Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. That was released back in 2015, so fans have been waiting on Brothership for almost a decade. Development duties have been taken on by Japanese studio Acquire. Unfortunately, Paper Jam developers AlphaDream shut down after filing for bankruptcy back in 2019.
The Smart Road
Instead of starting afresh, Acquire were tasked with building a new instalment in the Mario & Luigi series. This gave the team have a solid foundation to build on, while a nine-year hiatus gave them plenty of room to move in the direction they wanted. And this seems like the correct decision, given the quality of Brothership.
Mario & Luigi: Brothership takes place in the world of Concordia, a formerly peaceful land held together by the power of the Uni-Tree. Following a disaster to the Uni-Tree, the world was separated into a series of islands floating in a vast sea.
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One day in the Mushroom Kingdom, a mysterious portal appears and transports Mario and Luigi, plus a bunch of the usual suspects, to the world of Concordia.
Being the heroes they are, Mario and Luigi decide to rejoin the land and make it whole once again. Despite being strangers in a strange land, the have a floating ship-shaped island, called Shipshape Island, that can drag all the islands the brothers have connected back together along with it.
Hooks
It’s extremely Nintendo and very far out there. Mario & Luigi: Brothership isn’t bad tale by any means, however, it’s slow burner that I found took a bit longer to get going than I expected. The core also tale never really grabs you in the same way Paper Mario: The Origami King or Super Mario RPG did in the past.
These deficiencies are a shame given the moment-to-moment charm on display through the writing. Brothership also has a wicked scene of humour, and makes great use of the series cast, both old and new.
Turns
Gameplay is vey much more of the same in a lot of ways if you are a retuning fan, as it dishes up battles as turn based affairs. As your choice between offensive and defensive attacks, often with a well-timed button press.
You pick an attack, then unleash a quick QTE that will allow you to deal maximum damage if you time it right. Battles tend to be quick encounters, however, some of the mob battles may feel like a grind after a while.
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Every fight will help you level up, which lets you unlock new gear or new moves, or let you level up even faster. It doesn’t seem like a deep system, but there are some hidden layers that take a while to become apparent.
Welcoming World
Outside of combat, you explore the world, solve puzzles, take side quests and find collectables. Side quests are made memorable with some incredible writing. The dialogue, in particular, is pin sharp.
Even where side quests aren’t all that creative or novel, it’s just fun roaming the different bio-domes of Concordia and chatting with its inhabitants.
Because of the strength of the characters and writing, the side content often feels as well crafted as the core story thread. And, this makes it incredibly easy to lose hours in the world. Each element feels just right.
Signature Vibrancy
Mario & Luigi: Brothership is visually stunning. Being the series’ first outing in full 3D, the game embraces a new and striking art style. Brothership is laden with colour and filled with visual effects, yet never drops enough frames to notice.
The audio here is pure Nintendo. There are a few ear worms here that will leave you humming for weeks.
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Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a welcome return for a series we’ve been missing for almost a decade. A magical world with a tale full of wonder makes it easy to get lost in it.
Mario RPG fans are eating very well just now, but when the titles are of this standard, its very much a case of let them eat . Newcomers will also enjoy the feast of RPG joy Nintendo have served up.