In Brothership, Mario and Luigi find themselves mysteriously transported to the land of Concordia, previously large continent made up of many regions but now divided into islands sent adrift after Concordia’s great Uni-Tree, was destroyed. The Mario brothers are found by Connie, a Wattanist, who is trying to find a way to reconnect the drifting islands and restore the land of Concordia once more. Mario & Luigi agree to help and thus the adventure begins.
Mario, Luigi and friends must travel the seas on a boat shaped island called Shipshape Island, which will also serve as the central hub for the game. Shipshape Island will be where you access other islands and also interact with many of the inhabitants as you slowly reconnect the islands, and as the game continues, there will be more to do there. Not all of Shipshape will be accessible at first, nor will all of the islands you visit, but the areas will gradually open up.
Something is happening in Concordia as there is a mysterious force kidnapping Concordians as they work away at their plans, which involved spreading an affliction known as Glohm. Mario & Luigi are joined for this adventure by Snoutlet, a flying creature (who is definitely not a pig) , who is there to assist with information and dialogue since per tradition, Mario & Luigi don’t have any dialogue of their own. Snoutlet is not the only new character, as Concordia has many new inhabitants for the brothers to encounter and interact with, and they feel very much up to part with the best of the series.
Combat in Mario & Luigi: Brothership will feel very recognizable to any fan of the series, with the Jump and Hammer attacks, Bros Moves (special attacks that consume BP, and the ability to time your attacks or defense to do extra damage or minimize the damage taken. One neat thing is that in Brothership, even when you do a basic Jump or Hammer attack with either brother, the other brother will jump in with an additional button prompt to boost the damage done. This may seem like something that would throw you off at first, and it definitely makes the game feel strange when one brother is downed, but otherwise it just feels natural in the game. If anything, it feels like a proper evolution to the combat in the series, which had largely stayed the same for multiple entries so that is appreciated.
All Mario & Luigi games since the first, have a gimmick that makes them stand out and Brothership is no exception. This time around, the gimmick focuses on the theme of connection, whether it is reconnecting Concordia to explore more, or the brothers working together. This is exemplified in the new mechanic known as Luigi Logic, where in certain areas and battles, Luigi will be able to thing of a solution, often via a small minigame, but can also be used to interact with different parts of the world in general, such as plucking plants or more.
One other aspect of the game that stands out is collecting the sprites throughout the islands that can be used to create new Battle Plugs, which give you useful buffs and augments to attacks or defense. Some of these can really change the tide of battle quickly and considering how the game actually gets pretty challenging later on, the Battle Plugs become necessary if you want to finish the game. There are also optional moments and encounters where you can use certain plugs to defeat special enemies and to create more plugs, you need to create a certain number, creating an incentive to use this mechanics,
As noted Mario & Luigi: Brothership can get surprisingly difficult at times, which is very welcome for the series. There are difficulty spikes that emerge with certain enemies and it really makes you approach battles differently. Of course, if you are having too much trouble, such as with bosses or overwhelming battles and get a game over a couple of times, the game will take it easy on you and give you the option to lower the difficulty for that battle to help you through. Thankfully, this is just an option and if you want to tough it out, you can do that as well.
One thing about Mario & Luigi: Brothership is that the story can be approached in different ways and your choices do matter for how you approach the story, even if it does not necessarily change the outcome of the story. This was a very welcome addition to the Mario & Luigi series as it adds more depth and role playing elements. There are side quests like you would expect in an RPG, so you will have those aspects, but what stands out the most about Mario & Luigi: Brothership is that it tries different things.
I will note that while Mario & Luigi: Brothership runs well for the most part on Switch, there are some areas there it can struggle. These include transitions to battles and in intense fights in the game, but fortunately the combat itself does not feel like it is badly affected by this. I do think the warp pipe mechanics are another area where the game struggles to run, but fortunately these are not enough to hold back Mario & Luigi: Brothership.
Overall, Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a fantastic game and a welcome return for the Mario & Luigi series. Not only is it a new game that has amazing visuals and music, but it also tries new things in terms of the gameplay that manage to make things feel fun and fresh after so many entries. This feels like a great jumping on point for the Mario & Luigi series in general and that is the highest praise I can give to a game like this. Mario & Luigi: Brothership may just be the game to prove why the brothers have some of the most creative and unique RPGs around, and this time with the addition of new mechanics and ideas, it feels less like meeting an old friend and more like meeting an old friend and a new friend at the same time. This one is gets a high recommendation from us and we urge you to check it out.
Disclaimer: A review key was provided
