Mario & Luigi: Brothership Game Preview

Mario & Luigi: Brothership had its own preview event in New York City the week after the Nintendo Holiday Tour. This is the first full new game in the Mario & Luigi RPG series since Paper Jam in 2015, the first for the Switch, and the first in 3D (with appealing cel-shaded graphics). Fans will be happy to know that members of the original series' development team AlphaDream, which shut down in 2019, worked on the new title.

Before any fujoshi start reading anything weird into it, the “ship” pun of the title refers to a literal ship at sea, NOT that other thing. Specifically, the Mario brothers are traversing the ocean world of Concordia via Shipshape Island, an island that is also a ship. The progression is more nonlinear than previous installments in that you can chart the course of Shipshape to different islands of your choice. The seafaring reminded me a little bit of Wind Waker and One Piece (as a weeb, it's hard to steer a whimsical ship towards “Merrygo Island” and not think about the Going Merry).

The demo showcased two stages: Twistee Island from early in the game to learn the basics, and Merrygo Island from the middle of the game to understand the full mechanics better. My guide advised me on how to get through both of these sections quickly, skipping a lot of optional battles in the first part (they're “more fun” later in the game, he told me, which turned out to be correct) and telling me the solution to a maze puzzle in the second part (no, I'm not telling you the solution, I'm sworn to secrecy). If I spent more time in these worlds, I could explore sidequests and minigames, but even rushing through, I enjoyed interacting with the cute characters (including some surprise returns of Mario favorites), navigating the platforming challenges (not as complex as in traditional Mario platformers, but with some added challenge controlling both brothers at once), and trying out the battles.

As someone who's played other Mario RPGs like Paper Mario but hasn't played the Mario & Luigi games specifically, the timing-based combat took a little bit of getting used to, but by the end of my demo, I'd gotten the hang of it. The better your timing is, the more your attacks can build up — when Mario charges his jump or hammer at the right time, Luigi can bounce right off him to charge upon an even bigger attack. Leveling up unlocks different stat improvements, while items and plug power-ups in the latter parts of the game can nullify enemies' invulnerability and cause additional damage (I'm proud to say my guide told me I performed the most powerful combo he'd seen that day).

One big new addition to the series is “Luigi Logic.” When Luigi gets an idea, pressing the L button lets him interact with objects independently while Mario's free to move in other directions. In the levels I played, Luigi's actions in this mode were very practical — catching Sprite Bulbs, smashing crates, and flipping switches — but we're told his ideas can get a bit more creative at different points in the game, including turning into a spaceship!

I had fun with the demo of Mario & Luigi: Brothership, which is shaping up to be one of the more exciting titles of Nintendo's 2024 holiday line-up. The full game will be on sale on November 7.