Ah, Mario & Luigi. A series very dear to our hearts here at Gaming Reinvented, and one which we may honestly prefer to Paper Mario or the original Super Mario RPG overall.

Unfortunately, it’s also a series whose developer didn’t exactly do too well in the last few years. Indeed, with Paper Jam performing below expectations and the remakes failing miserably sales wise, AlphaDream simply couldn’t make enough money to stay open, closing their doors for good in 2020 as a result.

And in turn, that made us worried about the Mario & Luigi series. After all, if the developers are gone, is that it for the series as well? Has this whole line of Mario RPGs just died with the 3DS?

Well, as luck would have it, the answer is no. Why? Because just earlier today, Nintendo revealed a brand new Mario & Luigi game was coming to the Switch! Named Mario & Luigi: Brothership and developed by a yet unknown studio, the game looks to be a return to form in just about every sense of the word, with loads of new characters and mechanics to experience.

Here’s the trailer for it from today’s Nintendo Direct:

And oh lord, we are so back. This is literally everything the Mario fanbase have wanted from a new Mario & Luigi game and then some.

Starting with the fact it’s a fully 3D game on the Switch. Yep, the Mario & Luigi series has finally made the jump to 3D.

With the end result being absolutely beautiful too. Seriously, the character models and environments here look they stepped right out of the box art, and fit the feel of the original series perfectly as a result. They’re detailed, creative, lively as all come as far as expressions go, and even stretch and distort to match the exaggerated movements of their sprite based counterparts.

It’s a joy to look at really, and feels like a 3D version of Dream Team turned up to eleven.

Meanwhile, the actual gameplay mechanics seem equally spot on here. You’ve got Mario and Luigi using their co-op abilities to navigate the world in interesting ways, there are huge environments to explore full of NPCs to talk to and enemies to face, and the battle system is exactly what you’d expect from a game like this, with Bros attacks and action commands galore.

What’s more, it seems like the developers actually listened to some longtime fan feedback with said attacks and abilities too. Why? Because a certain mechanic fans liked about Superstar Saga (which wasn’t in the later games) has seemingly made a comeback in this one.

Such as Mario & Luigi’s attacks in battle using their athletic prowess and jumping abilities rather than items. A lot of fans missed the acrobatic attacks from Superstar Saga and their relative simplicity compared to the item based ones in later entries, and wished the former could come back in some shape or form.

Well, you got your wish here! Both acrobatic bros attacks and item based ones seem to be present in near equal numbers, with the trailer showing one of each in the video.

They also finally kicked Starlow to the curb too. Yeah, the exposition fairy that was with you from Bowser’s Inside Story to Paper Jam (and made a cameo appearance in Bowser’s Minions) is nowhere to be seen in this one.

Instead, it seems like a new pig like helper called Snoutlet might be the companion this time around, and fill a similar role. Again, a neat change of pace, especially for those annoyed by how badly Starlow has treated Luigi throughout the series.

What’s more, the originality definitely does not step there. No, Brothership is every bit as creative as a good Mario & Luigi game should be.

In fact, it’s so creative in its ideas that you wonder if the rumoured Mario mandates have finally been torn to shreds. Seriously, this game has everything a classic Mario RPG should have.

It’s got a new setting, an ocean based region known as Concordia. It’s got a new team of villains, with the dastardly Extension Corps working alongside another original antagonist.

And as far as NPCs and species go… well, it’s got new ones in spades. So it’s pretty much everything a Mario fan might hope for here, and a serious return to form after the somewhat sanitised experience that was Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam.

So yeah, check out the game’s artwork in the gallery below:

Then get ready for a brand-new Mario & Luigi adventure on Switch when the game launches on November 7th 2024. It’s going to be amazing time for sure!

Source:

Mario & Luigi: Brothership – Announcement Trailer (YouTube)