I’m sorry it took a while before this review popped up on your pages. I wanted to write a review covering all the depths and layers of the new Mario & Luigi game. And it took me a while to uncover them all, especially since there are so many of them. So, without further ado, let’s plug in!

Mario & Luigi: Brothership sets sail on the Nintendo Switch, blending the whimsical charm of its predecessors with bold new directions. This latest Mario & Luigi RPG series entry feels like fresh sea air but without some turbulence. And I’m glad the year is almost over, so I’m happy to note this one high on the GOTY list.

A World Adrift but Captivating

The story starts in the Mushroom Kingdom, where Luigi panics as he is being chased by a swarm of bees in a forest near Peach’s Castle. He accidentally runs off a cliff before Mario clings to his hand in time to save him. Afterward, Mario and Luigi’s hands begin to glow, and a mysterious vortex materializes above them, teleporting the brothers, Princess Peach, the Toads, Bowser, and his minions away to a distant land named Concordia.

Upon arrival, Mario wakes up on a distant island alone and thinks about where Luigi could have gone. He suddenly starts hearing Luigi calling his name, and Mario tries to go to where the source of the sound is. Eventually, he hears one last call from Luigi as he sees Shipshape Island sailing. Mario and Luigi spot each other, and the former tries to jump to the island. While almost not making it, Luigi saves Mario, and the two are reunited again. Mario then meets a resident named Connie, who explains the history of Concordia, the world in which Shipshape Island resides. The center of Concordia used to house the great Uni-Tree that would connect the different districts of the land using energy known as Connectar. Still, after an unfortunate and catastrophic event where the Uni-Tree was destroyed, the continent shattered and was separated into numerous islands. With the help of the brothers, a newly planted Uni-Tree, and a flying pig-like companion named Snoutlet, the main objective is to reconnect the fractured islands back together again and restore Concordia to its former glory, with each unique peninsula to explore.

Gameplay

So, as you may have read above (or not, you story skipper), in Mario & Luigi: Brothership, the players are transported to Concordia, an archipelago shattered by mysterious forces. Instead of one cohesive overworld, the game offers an assortment of islands, each with its theme, challenges, and treasures. Exploring Concordia feels alive, with puzzles, battles, and delightful mini-games around every corner. It’s layered and offers different kinds of throwbacks and nods at other franchises from the Nintendo family, combining it into an absurdly fun and fitting game for the brothers’ knack for quirky mechanics.

Navigating Concordia is a joy, thanks to Shipshape Island, a ship-island hybrid serving as a mobile hub. Much like Starship Mario from Super Mario Galaxy 2, it evolves with new characters and shops, reinforcing the sense of adventure. The traversal mechanics inject playful chaos into the journey, including launching the brothers via a ship-mounted cannon. The game adds some mechanics to make travel easier later, so don’t worry about sailing around the world too much. They looked at the Wind Waker series from Zelda and evolved the mechanics a bit to work with the Mario & Luigi series.

I love the addition of battle plugs. It’s excellent in RPGs to puzzle out combinations that work well together to give you an edge over the enemies. Combine this with the new bro’s moves and a great range of equipment for the brothers, and most of the battles will be a cakewalk. If you want more of a challenge, I can encourage you to play the sidequests for more daring monster and boss battles.

Refined Gameplay with a Few Missteps

So, with a new studio at the helm, what do we get in this edition of Mario & Luigi? Turn-based battles return with fresh cooperative attacks that highlight the brothers’ bond. Dynamic camera angles and expressive animations breathe life into every encounter. However, the Switch occasionally stumbles under the game’s vibrant 3D visuals, leading to frame drops and lengthy load times. Especially later in the game, I saw some stutter while trying to render the more complex tone of the game’s final stages. While these technical hiccups don’t ruin the experience, they remind us of the hardware’s age.

A Story Worth Telling

The narrative, centered on uniting Concordia and confronting the enigmatic Reclusa, is heartwarming and unexpectedly profound. Classic humor remains intact, but there’s a newfound emotional weight as Mario and Luigi’s connections to others form the backbone of their quest. Even Bowser’s comedic rivalry takes a backseat to moments of genuine camaraderie. I love how the game nods at the older entries of the Mario & Luigi games through some pronounced hints and some more obscure, if you know you know, parts of the game. It shows that the new studio did its homework, dived into the series’ history, and gave it a good spin.

Layers

As I mentioned above, this game took me quite a while to finish and thoroughly figure out. It felt like peeling an onion, and each new layer felt like a new part of the game. If I had written this review when I completed half of the game, I wouldn’t have seen the excellent second half of the game. Yes, it becomes tedious and errand-focused at the end, with even one of the biggest One Piece theory cliches thrown into the gameplay (spoilers). One of the most significant One Piece fan theories is that the One Piece is not a treasure but about the friends we made along the way – well, this certainly holds for Mario & Luigi Brothership. It was not about the final battle but all about the friends you made along the way. In a good way, since it felt like connecting, laying a puzzle, and figuring out how certain pieces of gameplay were connected (like a Metroidvania).

Conclusion

So, to conclude! Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a delightful addition to the series, full of personality and engaging mechanics. While not without flaws—technical performance being the chief among them—it successfully rekindles the magic fans love while daring to chart new waters. This game proves the brothers still have plenty of adventures left in them, even if the Switch might struggle to keep up. And if you are worried about the difficulty, the game offers quite some options to lower the battle difficulty for you, so don’t start throwing any controllers now.

9/10

Tested on the Nintendo Switch.