Mario & Luigi Brothership: Nintendo’s latest Mario RPG is new and deserves a Switch 2
I played Mario & Luigi RPGs on the Nintendo DS a long time ago. I always got a kick out of the way they cleverly combined controls for both Mario and Luigi with button mapping, making it feel like you were both along for the adventure. The Nintendo Switch is getting a new Mario & Luigi title just as the Nintendo Switch feels like it’s reaching the end of its life cycle, and while the game is a welcome bit of fun, its graphical performance is pushing the limits see the Switch.
We’re in a strange place for the Switch right now. Good games keep coming, but a Switch 2 is a product that Nintendo has already admitted will be released next year. In the meantime, Switch games are starting to feel like they’re holding the fort for that console’s arrival, along with a possible slate of new games made specifically for it.
As much as I’ve enjoyed playing Mario & Luigi: Brothership so far, it’s a very familiar formula for Nintendo. Turn-based RPGs with timing-based mechanics are plentiful on the Switch Paper Mario: Origami King to the remake of Paper Mario and the Thousand Year Door. However, this is the first Mario & Luigi game since Bowser’s Inside Story on the Nintendo 3DS in 2018, so fans of this particular series are probably happy to see it back. But for me, the Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario games shared many game styles and an unusual sense of humor, so it doesn’t seem to have been absent for that long.
Brothership has an interesting structure, with a giant island-shaped ship sailing the ocean and discovering other lost islands, on a journey to reconnect the adorable world of Concordia. The ocean discovery reminded me a bit of the classic The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker, although the way the ship navigates track-like currents to find new areas also felt like the old Nintendo DS Zelda game Spirit Tracks ( deep cut there!).
Finding islands, discovering the secrets and challenges within each island, and collecting upgrades and new combat techniques for Mario and Luigi as they wander the 3D islands and do some puzzle-like platforming is what most of this game is about turns. Combat, which is triggered when an enemy comes near you, can get tiring after a while. I also had this feeling with turn-based battles in Origami King. Sometimes I just want to move forward and find the next island or an interesting boss fight. Story and discovery are what interested me, not combat.
The platforming style of some parts of the game is fun, but it’s still more of a turn-based RPG.
Brothership’s relaxed style lends itself well to bits and pieces on the go, and so far nothing feels too incredibly demanding. What’s a bit disappointing is the game’s frame rate at times. It gets particularly choppy in moments that otherwise feel like 3D moments from a living Mario and Luigi cartoon.
It’s all playable, but it’s the kind of compromise I’ve grown accustomed to in some recent games on the Switch. The 7 year old hardware has done a great job, but it’s time for a console upgrade that can make these games shine even more.
Am I really in love with Brothership so far? Not exactly. Do I enjoy playing it? Absolute. Just like a solid book you can lose yourself in, this does its job. But it also feels a little forgettable among a host of great Nintendo Switch games.
I have found Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom to be more my style, but Brothership is another very good RPG in a line of impressively deep Nintendo RPGs already on the Switch. Do we need another one? I don’t, but it’s hard to complain. I just hope that Brothership and many other recent Switch games are on deck to get nice upgrades once Nintendo finally announces its next-gen Switch sometime next year.
