Mario & Luigi: Brothership Review

When you think of Mario, who is basically the mascot of the gaming world, his countless platformer adventures likely come to mind. Those have relatively simple stories. However, in 2024, Mario is just as much of a story-driven RPG powerhouse as he is a platformer powerhouse. The most recent of these RPGs is Mario & Luigi: Brothership, a grand revival of a handheld-exclusive RPG series that was thought to be dead for many years due to the bankruptcy of the studio that made it, AlphaDream.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an absolute masterful return of the series, bringing a fountain of charm that was admittedly missing from more recent entries in the series such as Paper Jam.

You aren’t going into this game to see familiar toads and goombas, no, you are going into this game to see entirely new species full of energy and cartoony slapstick charm. The story is just as entertaining as it is touching, with its theme of the importance of connecting with others (humorously outlined via the visual theming of electrical cords and outlets all over the place, even in the new characters introduced.)

On top of a delightfully heartwarming story, this game brings back the series’ classic gameplay in full force, allowing you to play both Mario and Luigi in a twist that remains just as enjoyable as it was 20 years ago. The simple concept of using the A button to control Mario and the B button to control Luigi makes way for delightfully clever gameplay that never gets old in the game’s meaty 30 hour runtime.

As if fantastic story and gameplay weren’t enough, the game also boasts a brilliant art style that feels like you are playing through a cartoon in real time. Each character is bouncy, lively and full of cartoonish expression. One of my favorite gags is that every time you plummet to an island out at sea (by launching yourself out of a cartoonishly large cannon, no less), Mario will land gracefully, striking a heroic pose, while Luigi will hilariously fail, leading to a plethora of laugh-out-loud slapstick moments that only a character like Luigi could pull off.

If you’re looking for a large, expansive experience with both familiar characters and new faces, alongside an absolutely stunning art style and gameplay that you just won’t want to put down, Mario & Luigi: Brothership is for you.