Mario & Luigi: Brothership review

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As a long-time Nintendo enthusiast with over two decades spent navigating the vibrant landscapes of Mushroom Kingdom and beyond, I must say that Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a charming addition to the illustrious RPG series. The game’s character design and humor are reminiscent of classic Nintendo titles, and it’s always a delight to see the brothers embark on another grand adventure.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership harks back to Nintendo’s classic style in numerous aspects. Although the series has been relatively inactive apart from remakes, this game seems to serve as both a revival and a reintroduction, carrying a hint of Nintendo’s guidance-heavy approach from the Wii U era. This could be beneficial for newer players, but veterans might encounter moments of annoyance due to over-explanation and hand-holding. Despite some frustrating instances, Brothership offers an enjoyable experience overall.

In the story, things are quite ordinary, following the familiar pattern: Mario and Luigi find themselves in an unfamiliar land, not their usual Mushroom Kingdom. They’ve gotten caught up in a mission to prevent the villains from devastating Concordia, a world resembling a vast archipelago, divided into currents and zones. The world has been torn apart, and your task is to sail the dual-natured Shipshape Island (both ship and island), navigating through the fragments to reconnect them. Along with your non-pig companion, Snoutlet – a pig you meet early on who resides under Luigi’s hat, occasionally popping out to provide updates about the situation.

In Mario & Luigi: Brothership, while the game is rich with mechanics and concepts, it tends to repetitively remind you of these elements when they are reused. Snoutlet will often appear to explain them again, or the camera will focus on the problem area. After this, control is given back, but progress is frequently halted by another conversation. This happens quite early in the game, and it might seem necessary for tutorial purposes, but when you’ve invested 25 hours and are still having your control taken away every few steps, it becomes challenging not to yearn for a more delicate approach.

In Mario & Luigi’s world, they communicate in a unique way that resembles Simlish. Beyond their familiar exclamations like “Woohoo” and “Let’s Go!”, they converse using this dialect when meeting new characters. This consistent form of communication is quite unusual in games nowadays, and it often feels like the game is telling a story without really saying much at all. While I don’t mind lengthy dialogue sections, Mario & Luigi: Brothership sometimes makes me feel as if I’m waiting to take control again and engage in actual gameplay. It seems many players might find themselves similarly anticipating their turn to interact with the game world.

When given the chance for adventure and battle, you’ll find yourself immersed in a stunning, captivating environment. The battles are straightforward yet flexible and engaging, standing out among many similar Mario RPG games. A unique feature is a system for crafting intriguing combos that can deal more damage, inflict status effects, or even auto-heal outside of your turn, much like the badge system in Paper Mario. Every instance of attack involves your direct interaction, and the brothers always collaborate to maximize damage.

In this game, each type of enemy possesses its own distinctive attack that you can evade and retaliate against effectively. What’s striking is how intricately this strategy extends beyond just unique boss battles – even common enemies have distinct counterattacks that require precise timing to avoid damage and launch a successful counter-strike for every round. Similarly, every special move performed by the “Bros” (similar to magic attacks) features a unique animation, leaving me unsure whether these animations are slightly extravagant or perfectly fitting.

As challenges increase and time spent playing grows, you’ll encounter multiple foes simultaneously, making your Bros attacks a logical choice. However, engaging in lengthy, interactive attack sequences might become tedious as hours pass. You could use an auto-excellent Plug to bypass button pressing if needed, but I can’t help but ponder whether the developers themselves were worried about certain actions appearing overly animated.

It’s important to mention that Mario & Luigi: Brothership isn’t a game where you’ll have multiple party members to join you. Instead, the duo themselves make up the entire party. This means that from the start, you can enhance your jump and hammer attacks. Although you can extend these attacks with a Plug, be prepared to watch the same animations frequently. Despite this repetition, the combat is enjoyable and adaptable. You can switch out your plugs during fights when they run out of power, which can lead to unexpected moments, suggesting a more complex system than it initially appears. There are numerous combos to discover, all of which remain exciting and engaging.

Discovering new places can also be enjoyable! Each island offers unique inhabitants for conversations and gameplay that keeps things interesting. Some islands feature complex mazes to navigate, while others challenge you to solve mysteries like a detective. The game includes special moves called Bros Moves, which are similar to MetroidVania elements, enabling you to revisit earlier islands and explore them more thoroughly. These moves come in handy for crossing larger gaps with a flying saucer or rolling into a ball to fit through small spaces. They’re both entertaining and visually appealing.

Essentially, Mario & Luigi: Brothership revolves around character development. It offers a delightful absurdity, with villains mispronouncing characters’ names, Luigi often dozing off or landing face-first due to cannonballing from Shipshape Island to new lands. Moments of “Luigi Logic” occur when Green Mario appears more intelligent, solving problems and discovering new mechanics that facilitate exploration. While it could be argued that Green Mario is the lead character, the richness and depth of all characters’ portrayals are truly the highlight of this series, making it a standout aspect.

The main issue, then, is pacing. For every island that lets you explore and enjoy the beautiful painterly cel-shaded style, there will be one that stops you every few steps to over-explain. For every superb boss battle there will be an instant-fail stealth section before it. For every colourful new character you meet there will be a strangely shoehorned in rhythm mini-game you’re forced to play for the third time. There is an awful lot of repetition in Mario & Luigi: Brothership, yet there are also some touches in the animation and design that show a marked love for detail. It’s an often odd dichotomy that enraptures but also disrespects the time of the player.

Despite some minor flaws, such as inconsistent difficulty levels and occasional repetitiveness, Mario & Luigi: Brothership offers a delightful and entertaining experience. The visuals are stunning, the music is enchanting, and the battle system is exceptional. However, compared to games like Paper Mario, recommending Brothership feels slightly tentative. I believe anyone would enjoy it, yet I can’t help but feel that with a bit more focus on the player’s experience and less repetition, an even more outstanding game could have been created.

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2024-11-04 15:16