Mario & Luigi: Brothership Review

It has been nine years since the last new release in the Mario & Luigi franchise, with fans clamoring for a brand new adventure featuring the beloved Mario Bros. Mario & Luigi: Brothership is the sixth entry in the role-playing game franchise and it takes Mario and Luigi to a whole new world.

After Mushroom Kingdom and its inhabitants are transported to a mysterious world known as Concordia, the brothers are tasked with uniting the land. Zokket, the new villain, is determined to keep everyone in solitude so it is up to the brothers to battle across the land and put a stop to the evil plans. It is a story of brotherhood, friendship, and coming together as one big happy family.

The story beats are never revolutionary but the writing is mostly solid. There is a ton of writing though, with constant cutscenes and moments of dialogue between the brothers and the countless characters they meet along the way. It is cool to have so many different new characters to meet, but the writing really starts to drag on as the story progresses. It also mainly plays it safe, never pushing the boundaries. The comedy bits hit more often than they miss, but with so many attempts at humor it does make the worse moments stick out more than usual.

By taking the duo out of their normal habitat, Mario & Luigi: Brothership is able to explore entirely new worlds. The core of the game rotates around a central hub known as Shipshape Island. This island doubles as a boat that transports the crew to the various islands. Every island has its own unique theme that makes them stand out visually from the others. They are full of puzzles and exploration mechanics that require the brothers to work together to unlock new areas on their path. Puzzles are fun but never too difficult, though a slight uptick in challenge would have been appreciated.

The issue here is that none of the islands feel particularly groundbreaking. They all follow a familiar Mario format and once you play through one, you’ve essentially played them all. Even the visual differences are ones that we’ve come to expect from a Mario game. Ice levels, fire levels, there is nothing really unique that has not been seen before. That doesn’t stop the islands from being fun to explore, but some more creativity would have made them really stand out.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership does not reinvent the RPG wheel when it comes to storytelling and exploration, but it doesn’t really need to. This is a story that players of all ages can approach and appreciate. Nothing ever feels so stale that it is not worth pushing on to see what new locations and characters are going to be discovered next. Besides, launching out of a cannon to get to new islands is always a blast.

Where Mario & Luigi: Brothership really stands out is the combat. Taking the usual turn-based approach of a Mario & Luigi game, Mario & Luigi: Brothership has the brothers working in tandem to unleash powerful moves on their enemies. Timing is crucial in order to do the most damage, with most moves using button presses timed up with character movements in order to do an extra attack or deal more damage points.

This system is really easy to understand and not too difficult to master. It doesn’t take long for players to feel like they have a good grasp of the best timing and attacks to choose from. It is really satisfying to get that extra Goomba stomp in or unleash a powerful Zapperator attack. Battle Plugs also allow players to be more strategic about how they approach battle, with different Plugs giving different benefits. These can be swapped in and out at any time too which lets players experiment as often as they would like.

Visually, Mario & Luigi: Brothership is gorgeous. Even when looking at locales that fit familiar themes, the visual approach makes them pop. The new character designs are gorgeous and even familiar characters have a new distinct feel to them that doesn’t change their overall style but does make them worth taking a closer look at. Combat is enhanced by the impressive visuals as well, with enemy models being fun to watch in action and battle animations really popping off the screen in the midst of crazy action.

The soundtrack of Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a bit of a disappointment. It is not terrible by any means, but it doesn’t stick in the brain like past Mario games have. Most of the background music is forgettable even if it never detracts from the game. The Mario franchise has some incredibly well-known music so it was a bummer to miss out on similarly catchy tunes this time around.

Despite its flaws, Mario & Luigi: Brothership is always a joy to play. Even when things popped up that were not as interesting as I would have liked, there was never a moment that wasn’t fun. Whether it is something as familiar as running into Bowser or new like facing off against Zokket, there is always something to put a smile on your face that makes up for any minor complaints.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an exciting, albeit imperfect adventure that brings the Mario Bros. to a whole new world. There is plenty to see and do and it is well worth taking the time to slow down and immerse yourself in this brand new adventure.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is out now on Nintendo Switch.