Mario RPGs have become a semi-genre in themselves. There are multiple Mario RPGs out there. Some are Paper-like and some are Square-like. Other times they are XCOM-like, but for some, the best ones are AlphaDream-like. AlphaDream’s Mario & Luigi series of RPGs was unique for combining two-character puzzle elements and mini-game-like timing for attacking and defending.

Traditionally, Mario & Luigi games were presented more like typical RPGs than the Paper Mario or the Ubisoft Mario games. After five solid entries across Gameboy Advance, Nintendo DS, and 3DS, AlphaDream went bankrupt, and any hope of the franchise continuing seemingly died with them… until Acquire swooped in. 

Mario and Luigi have been inside Bowser, traveled through time, explored dream worlds, and crossed over with Paper Mario. Where can the brothers go next? Perhaps they shall sail the sloppy seas in an odyssey to reconnect the world? Find out in our Mario & Luigi: Brothership review!

Mario & Luigi: Brothership
Developer: Acquire, Nintendo EPD
Publisher:  Nintendo
Platforms: Nintendo Switch
Release Date: November 7, 2024
Price: $59.99

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is another adventure featuring gaming’s most iconic duo. This time they find themselves on the high seas in a region known as Concordia, an ocean peppered with scattered islands that once formed a single continent.

Concordians are simple folk and are scattered across the islands. Family members and loved ones are separated and the only ones who can unite Concordia are Mario and Luigi. Connections are a central theme in Brothership‘s story and it’s emphasized with circuity and electrical socket symbolism throughout.

The main villain is motivated by loneliness and aspires to divide Concordia and its people further. Mario and Luigi’s connection and the various characters they meet are the heart of the story in Brothership. While it takes its time to get there, the payoff is soulful and profound. It is a lot like Death Stranding in many ways since the boys are tasked with connecting the world.

The quest to connect Concordia and its people follows a simple and easy-to-follow structure that any kid could follow. The brothers travel on a mobile island resembling a ship that generates power from a tree in the center.

Every island in the sea has a plug that needs to be connected to the Uni-Tree and this usually leads to various adventures and sidequests.

The Uni-Tree is a hub that travels via currents that players can select. Sadly, there is no sailing like in Wind Waker. Getting around the ocean is automated and when in range, players can launch the boys from a canon to reach their destination.

Early on, the boys get fast-traveled pipes that make it easy to return to previously visited lands. This is important because every island opens up new areas when connected to the Uni-Tree and several side quests may require revisiting.

Concordians will freely visit friends and family, traveling through the routes Mario and Luigi chart, making the world feel alive. Like most Mario games, every area is broadly themed, but Brothership impresses with its sheer scope and size.

There are more islands than one might expect and the quest goes far beyond the norm for a typical Mario RPG, reaching the scale and length of something out of a Final Fantasy game. Playtimes easily exceed the 35-hour range and can surpass 40 for completionists.

Brothership is not just the longest Mario & Luigi game yet, it’s also the best-looking. The trade-off of sprites for lush 3D graphics was worth it. The characters are lovingly rendered with a semi-cel-shaded art style that pays tribute to the illustrations of past Mario & Luigi adventures.

Great care has been poured into the animation. Characters are impressively lively and expressive. There is never a moment where it looks like corners were cut. Cutscenes are wildly cinematic with swooping camera movements, dramatic angles, exaggerated animation, and poses.

The cutscenes’ visual language is expressed in battles too. Cut-ins during special attacks emphasize their impact and close-ups of character’s faces highlight the emotional intensity of the battle. The entire presentation is vibrant and expressive; far beyond the norm for any Mario RPG.

The combat system is a souped-up iteration of what fans can expect from the Mario & Luigi franchise… but not at first. The first few hours of Brothership are very restrained and severely limit players on the full breadth of options.

The pacing feels overly drawn out due to some long and frequent load times between battles and tedious explanations from sidekicks. The adventure is very linear in the first few hours. Sidequests and fishing don’t appear until several islands have been connected to the Uni-Tree.

The slow drip feed is likely intended to prevent the game from overwhelming the young target demographic. Experienced gamers will find that the wait is worth it when all of the features open up, making Brothership and more complex RPG.

The first shell attack isn’t earned until almost three hours into the adventure. For a long stretch of the game, expect to rely on basic attacks and repetitive timed hits. It isn’t until the battle plug combos that the game finally comes into its own and lets players loose.

The battle plugs are mods that players craft which can have a variety of effects. The enhancements have limited charges and require a cooldown to reuse, which encourages players to constantly experiment and make new mods while not getting married to one battle plug.

The boys can even switch battle plugs mid-battle without the cost of a turn, keeping the flow of the battle moving, yet keeping it flexible for players to try new strategies. The overall difficulty is kept light and breezy to fit with the game’s lighthearted tone, but there are a few battles that might lead some kids to cry out to Daddy for help.

The writing is written at an elementary school grade level. It’s easy for any young reader to grasp the dialogue and comprehend what’s happening in any scene. Like always, Mario and Luigi’s dialogue is represented in an Italian-like gibberish that might fool some kids, but always amuses when they go at it.

The puns and wordplay run deep through the entirety of Mario & Luigi: Brothership‘s fiber. The constant stream of gags and the endless way the writers found ways to incorporate references to cable/connections or electrical engineering borders on genius.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an epic RPG for Mario standards. It has everything one might hope for, all wrapped up in a beefy package. The erratic framerate won’t impress long-time gamers and even the load times might wear down a kid’s patience, but the trade-off is some of the most appealing art and animation seen on an RPG on Switch.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership was reviewed on Nintendo Switch using a code provided by Nintendo. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Mario & Luigi: Brothership is now available for Nintendo Switch.