What may be the last new Nintendo-published game for the Switch is a revival of DS and 3DS role-playing franchise Mario & Luigi.
There’s a pretty good chance that this will be the last major first party release purely for the Nintendo Switch. There’s remaster Donkey Kong Country Returns HD scheduled for January, Xenoblade Chronicles X in March, and rumours of others, but nothing that is genuinely new – beyond whatever’s going on with Nintendo’s semi-secret online game. But in terms of brand new, Nintendo-published retail games, that will only appear on Nintendo Switch, this is probably the last one.
It has been a glorious, nearly eight year, run for the Nintendo Switch but all good things must come to an end. However, with consoles you never save the best till last, so they always tend to just fade away, with no clear ending. Nintendo’s Christmas 2024 line-up has been surprisingly good though, and while this is a weaker game than either Zelda: Echoes Of Wisdom or Super Mario Party Jamboree it still has plenty to offer.
If nothing else, it’s the welcome return of the Mario & Luigi franchise, which seemed to die along with original developer AlphaDream. This means that in the last 12 months Nintendo has not only released a remake of Super Mario RPG but also prominent entries in the two franchises which it later inspired: Paper Mario and the previously handheld-only Mario & Luigi.
Although Nintendo has continued its reprehensible trend of not revealing which third party developers have been making this year’s games (perhaps because they want people to assume they’re by internal studios) Brothership has been made by Octopath Traveler co-developer Acquire, who it turns out employs a number of ex-AlphaDream staff.
Brothership certainly makes it feel as if the series has never been away but if you’re not familiar with it, it is very similar to the other two Mario RPG franchises. That means it’s also a turn-based role-player, except that you control both Mario and Luigi (and only them) at the same time. Some of the previous entries used some very gimmicky controls to convey that but in Brothership, Luigi mostly just follows Mario around automatically.
Storytelling is not a preoccupation of the series, but the very odd premise involves most of the Mushroom Kingdom regulars being sucked into a parallel universe where the entire world has been broken up into free-floating islands by the main villain. You then have to bring them together by connecting them up to your home base – which is a moving island that looks like a sailing ship – via a series of magic lighthouses.
That’s weird enough but the people of this new universe are all anthropomorphic power sockets and cable connectors. We appreciate that one of the villains is an old printer connector but since most are based on Japanese/American power plug standards we’re sure a lot of kids will not even realise what they’re supposed to be. It makes sense thematically, because the story is all about the power of interpersonal connections and the villains trying to turn people into spiteful loners, but visually it’s not a very appealing look.
Because the game doesn’t have any overarching control gimmick it works very much like the recent remaster of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Except that game is Nintendo’s best ever role-player and this is merely… quite good. Mario and Luigi can explore each of the small islands in real-time, often with some light platforming and using special abilities, like turning into a UFO that can glide across gaps or a Metroid style morph ball.
Each island has its own main plot, that can range from simply trying to battle your way to the lighthouse to object-based puzzles (there’s a lot of plugging connectors into sockets), and more dialogue-based obstacles – like working out a complex entry code or solving a detective mystery.
Some islands have a lot of combat and some very little, but all the action is resolved via a turn-based battle system very similar to Paper Mario. This includes using button prompts to make moves more effective, but instead of merely augmenting the attacks here it’s essential to get the timing right or you’ll do virtually no damage.
Unlike Paper Mario, Mario & Luigi’s battles are based more around QTE style button presses, with the idea being that two of the four face buttons controls Mario’s jump and hammer swing, and the other two Luigi’s. This can lead to some counter-intuitive menu usage, and what sometimes feels like patting your head and rubbing your stomach at the same time, but it’s a fun novelty – especially with the various Bros. Attack special moves, which are virtually mini-games in their own right.
The game is more of a traditional role-playing title than any of the recent Paper Mario games (The Thousand-Year Door is 20 years old at this point) and so not only do Mario and Luigi level up but they’ve got gear to equip, including accessories which need resources to craft, and a selection of special plugs that are created using separate collectibles.
This element of the game isn’t introduced for a good few hours but includes various offensive, defensive, and miscellaneous abilities, from making a spiked ball drop on enemies at the end of a turn to automatically using health items (so you don’t waste a turn on them) and making counters easier. Each only has a set number of uses, before having to be recharged for several turns.
On top of this, Luigi is unusually competent in the game and can often have a brainwave, either outside of battle or in a boss fight, that allows you to use the background in some unusual way. The boss fights in general are very good and can involve Luigi dousing one boss in water, if he fixes nearby pipes, or squashing an enemy by manoeuvring crates on top of them.
There’s a lot to Brothership, including having to steer your home island around the map to discover mini-islands and reefs. These often offer up side quests, of which there are many, with the game itself being stuffed with content and lasting a good 40 hours if you want to try and do everything.
Brothership is a substantial experience, but it doesn’t excel in any particular area and pales compared to The Thousand-Year Door, even if it is better than most other Paper Mario games since then. It also lacks the clever gimmicks of other Mario & Luigi games, especially the excellent Bowser’s Inside Story, and is clearly intended as a soft reboot that’s purposefully playing things straight.
What could have elevated it, without changing anything else, is a funny script, but Brothership is nowhere near as well written as the best of the previous games. It’s mildly amusing on occasion, especially the island with the corporate headquarters on it, but just compare the gloriously silly and inventive Murder on the Orient Express pastiche from The Thousand-Year Door to Brothership’s more workmanlike mystery.
Likewise, the graphics have some nice comic animation – and this is the most Italian Mario and Luigi have sounded in years – but on a technical level the game is very basic, with some terrible texture work and a frame rate that constantly feels like it’s going to end in disaster (but never actually does).
Mario & Luigi: Brothership is not going to be remembered as one of the Switch’s best games, but it’s far from the worst and if it’s a stepping stone towards a more inventive second game, and a role-playing revival for Paper Mario, its existence will be fondly recalled.
Given how unpredictable Nintendo is, there’s no guarantee this is their last new first party release for the Switch and even if it is, it’s very likely many forthcoming Switch 2 games will be cross-gen and also released on the original Switch. But if Mario & Luigi: Brothership is where this stage of the console’s life ends then it could have done so on a much worse note than this.
Mario & Luigi: Brothership review summary
In Short: A welcome return for the Mario & Luigi franchise, that proves to be a more involved role-player than expected, even if it lacks the consistent humour and weird gameplay flourishes of previous games.
Pros: A fairly involved Japanese style role-playing game, with enjoyable combat and plenty of upgradeable elements. A substantial game world with lots of side content, fun boss battles, and surprisingly varied quests.
Cons: Not as good as the best Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario titles (but better than some), with an only occasionally amusing script, low tech visuals, and no eye-catching gimmicks.
Score: 7/10
Formats: Nintendo Switch
Price: £49.99
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Acquire
Release Date: 7th October 2024
Age Rating: 7
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