HHW Gaming Preview: ‘Mario & Luigi: Brothership’ A New Nautical RPG Experience Made For The Big Screen

Mario & Luigi: Brothership, the first new installment in the Mario & Luigi RPG franchise in nine years, is almost upon us, and HHW Gaming got hands-on with the forthcoming game.

It’s been nine years since the last Mario & Luigi game, Bowsers Inside Story, arrived on the Nintendo DS in 2009. The RPG series first arrived in 2003 on the Game Boy Advance, and every other entry was made exclusively for Nintendo’s handheld consoles.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is the first game designed for the big screen, thanks to the Nintendo Switch’s docking feature.

Fans have long been itching for a new Mario & Luigi franchise entry, so they were surprised when the first trailer dropped during a June Nintendo Direct stream.

I wasn’t one of those gamers, as I have never played a Mario & Luigi RPG *gasp*. My only experience with the famous plumber/hero in an RPG setting was the Super Mario RPG.

Before I took Mario & Luigi: Brothership for a spin, I was informed that I didn’t need to play the other titles to enjoy this game and that my experience with the Super Mario RPG would make me perfectly equipped to play it, and they were right. However, the difference is that this game focuses on the team aspect because you have to play with Mario and his brother Luigi.

Navigating Around The World of Concordia

In Mario & Luigi: Brothership, the dynamic duo is no longer in the Mushroom Kingdom; you are transported to a brand new world called Concordia.

Upon arrival, you learn that the world used to be held together by the “Unitree.” A mysterious power has destroyed the tree, causing the world that was once linked together by the ain’t tree to break apart into different islands.

To navigate the world of Concordia, Mario & Luigi, with the help of their new friends Connie and Snoutlet (definitely not a pig), the latter conveniently hides under Luigi’s hat until he needs to share some info, utilize Shipshape Island (part ship, part island) which is also teaming with life and only gets busier as you progress further in the game.

Shipshape Island sails around Concordia. You can monitor your movement and direct the ship on the map by choosing which current to follow. You can even set the speed of Shipshape Island.

Once you reach your destination, Mario and Luigi, can you use a giant telescope on Shipshape Island to spot the next island and hop in a cannon to shoot the brothers to the island location and begin their mission, reconnecting it to the rest of Concordia.

The world of Concordia is ever-changing following your actions. As you connect islands and Shipshape Island, the locals of each island can now travel back and forth between them.

Brothership also allows players more freedom than in previous games. You can choose where you will go, as there is no particular order you need to follow to connect the islands of Concordia.

Teamwork Makes The Dream Work

During my roughly one-hour and 30-minute preview, I also got to experience Brothership’s battle system. On paper, the game is a pure RPG with turn-based play, but you must constantly stay on your toes thanks to the real-time element.

During enemy attacks, you can dodge or counter them with button presses. You can control Mario and Luigi with the A and B buttons. On the offensive side, Mario and Luigi can use different attacks: power jumps, turtle shells, or trusty hammers.

What makes the attacks unique is that they can be powered up by hitting the button prompts and active team-up animations that, if timed perfectly, will add extra damage to your attacks.

You can also add “Battle Plugs,” a new feature exclusive to Brothership that adds modifiers to your attacks and can be combined to form even more powerful ones.

It took some getting used to, but once I figured out the prompts, I landed attacks and counters perfectly.

Teamwork is also necessary when solving puzzles. For example, one puzzle during my preview required Mario and Luigi to carry Concordia, a local who was afraid of bugs. They toss the island local back and forth between Mario and Luigi while avoiding getting hit by the bugs.

I also used a ” Bros Move technique,” which helped me navigate a gap by turning Mario and Luigi into a UFO. More unique ones will unlock as you progress through the game.

An RPG At It’s Core With Super Mario Bros. Energy

At its core, this is still an RPG. Both Mario and Luigi level up as you progress through the game. You can purchase new items like gloves, hammers, and boots to improve your stats, and there is plenty of dialogue to digest.

The islands are full of quests, and there is no one way to play. In my short preview of the game, I got a bite-sized experience of the world of Concordia, but I still grasped that there is so much to be done besides reconnecting the islands.

The game looked stunning on television but shined the best on the Nintendo Switch’s beautiful OLED screen, so there is no wrong way to experience Brothership.

We can’t wait to fully set sail in this adventure when it arrives on November 7.