Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a perfectly pitched modern sequel the handheld RPG series deserves

Mario's other RPG series looks set to make a grand comeback in a nautical themed sequel that promises to take full adventure of the Nintendo Switch's added power.

Mario and Luigi return in another long-awaited RPG adventure, this time sailing the high seas in a bid to connect the islands of Concordia.

Not including remakes, it’s somehow been a staggering nine years since the last new entry in the ever-popular Mario & Luigi series of handheld RPGs. And while 2015’s Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam on the Nintendo 3DS had its merits, it was hardly the high note a franchise as charming as this deserved to go out on. With original series developer AlphaDream shuttered a few years ago it looked like a new instalment might never come. However, as part of what surely must be the Nintendo Switch’s final victory lap tour, the titular brothers are set to return this November with another turn-based battler boasting a strong emphasis on timed attacks. I may have only spent just shy of 90 mins getting hands on with Mario & Luigi: Brothership at a recent preview event, but it’s already evident that new attack customisation mechanics and a revised art style is resulting in a shipshape sequel.

The big twist in Mario & Luigi: Brothership is in how the adventure doesn’t take place in just one location, but many. Sharing captain duties on the good vessel that is part ship, part island, Mario and Luigi have entered the world of Concordia on a mission to explore and link up all the surrounding islands. My demo dropped me into a save roughly two hours in, so I couldn’t get a sense of exactly how the brothers found themselves in this situation. That said, this one change alone appears set to give Mario & Luigi: Brothership a different structure from its predecessors, leaning into a more road trip vibe as you discover various islands and then blast yourself to them via cannon to solve whatever problems are present there.

My first expedition was to Twistee Island, presumably named as such because of how much the local inhabitants enjoy ‘twisting’ to the music. Although upon my arrival there wasn’t much twisting to be seen since the island’s central sprout had shrivelled, causing everyone to lose their passion. Resolving this kicked off the usual series' rigmarole of having Mario and Luigi exploring their surroundings, controlling them using the A button and B button respectively. Yes, each brother’s ability to jump and attack being tied to a specific button firmly remains in Brothership (thank heavens), and it really didn’t take long for me to fall back into the habit of Mario & Luigi’s trademark ‘rub your head, pat your belly’ gameplay.

Obviously, the added power of Nintendo Switch means that Mario & Luigi: Brothership instantly becomes the most graphically intense entry into the series, sporting an almost cell-shaded art style that works as a good middle ground between the beautiful pixel art of the Game Boy Advance original and the more 3D look that was introduced later. Concordia is a world made up of luscious sights to see, so I was pleased to see Mario & Luigi finally done justice in this first HD outing. This visual attention-to-detail even translates to the Bro Attacks that return in turn-based battles, with both Mario and Luigi’s super moves filling the screen with colour and vigour.

Land ahoy!

While I was initially disappointed to learn that Mario & Luigi: Brothership runs at 30fps when played in docked mode, it was an adjustment I came to get over, despite the need to nail perfectly timed button presses so as to have Jump and Hammer attacks do the most damage. From a gameplay perspective battles play out much the same as before in this way, albeit you can now give your attacks extra oomph by way of a new modifier system called Battle Plugs. Perfectly playing into Brothership’s underlying electrical theme, these mods are developed using Sprite Bulbs found in the world, which boost your potential in battle by doing things like, say, having a spiked ball drop on a target after achieving ‘Excellent’ timing on an attack, or automatically applying an HP mushroom when health is low. I already can’t wait to see what combinations the new Battle Plug system makes possible.

It was also a treat to find that Mario & Luigi hasn’t lost a step in terms of the humour you can bump into outside of battles. One of your main companions, for instance, is none other than Snoutlet – a floating piggy bank of sorts that is absolutely, definitely, positively not a pig (as she’ll repeatedly tell you). The most I chuckled during my demo was deep in the throes of exploring Twistee Island, when a passing tour guide tried to prove his credibility by remarking, "I know more about this island than I do my wife". In fairness, it seems like exploration is the area where Nintendo has sought to improve most on the established Mario & Luigi formula, be it through new Bros Moves that see the pair transform to assist navigation and solve puzzles, alongside what’s called Luigi Logic, where the gangly green brother separates from Mario to interact with a certain element of his surroundings.

My demo culminated in a section taking place further into the main adventure, where Mario and Luigi were charged with exploring Merry-go-round Island in a bid to find a particular pink princess. It was heartening to see the complete shift in tone and structure Merry-go-round Island offered in contrast to Twistee Island. The biggest example is how I was forced to solve one big maze puzzle by having Mario be the lookout at its centre while Luigi shifted its walls in the hopes of finding an ideal route out. Just from these two islands alone I got the impression that, though the locations in Mario & Luigi: Brothership will be bite-sized in their approach, all are primed to surprise – both in terms of their style and level design.

While the remake of Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door did well earlier this year to remind players of the kind of charming magic a Mario RPG is capable of, I’m so glad that Mario & Luigi: Brothership is set to arrive on November 7, 2024 , to offer up a completely new adventure. I came away surprised at just how much modifiable Battle Plugs work to make even the most basic battle more strategic, while exploring two colourful Concordia isles left me excited to sail to and see more. It feels like the Mario & Luigi franchise has finally been given a chance to grow up with its audience after spending nearly 10 years on ice. It’s apt, considering this latest venture appears primed to sail past any potential icebergs with flying colours.