Mario & Luigi: Brothership

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is far from the duo's best RPG outing, but that's not to say it is a bad one. The combat is engaging enough to remain entertaining throughout the 40+ hour adventure, even as it crawls along against the tide.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an experience that, although it repeats itself a lot at times, is quite fun. It manages to overcome some of the obstacles that made this franchise fail, but it also stumbles at times over the same stones. It's not a bad return for the franchise, but it also falls in the middle of other great RPG experiences even for the same character.

There's a great 20-hour romp to be had in Brothership, but you may have to give it a bit of a wiggle to find it. [Issue#405, p.110]

Mario & Luigi: Brotherhood is ultimately a very cute game, even if there are some annoying dialogues along the way and unexciting rewards for exploration. It's not exactly a new standard compared to its predecessors in the series, but it still manages to provide an excellent and fun combat system that makes it a not-so-bad experience.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership shines with its unique setting, imaginative battles, and the charm of its iconic plumber duo. While it lacks deeper RPG mechanics and suffers from some technical hiccups, it provides plenty of fun through vibrant island locales and inventive gameplay. The story occasionally loses momentum, but it still takes you on an enjoyable journey, albeit without any major surprises.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an exciting, albeit imperfect adventure that brings the Mario Bros. to a whole new world. There is plenty to see and do and it is well worth taking the time to slow down and immerse yourself in this brand new adventure.

Mario & Luigi Brothership is the biggest and boldest the series has ever been, with some novel battle mechanics and colorful presentation. However, an overstuffed runtime and exhausting pacing severely dilute the experience in both narrative and gameplay. Had Brothership been a snappier, more compact entry, it could have been one of the best in the series, but as it is, we're left with an enjoyable game that overstays its welcome once again.

In short, it was a pleasure to get to know and revisit the different islands of Concordia, but I wasn't enamoured with its inhabitants, too many plug heads and not enough memorable creatures. In terms of new characters, the highlight goes to Concordia's special forces, but the truth is that Mario & Luigi: Brothership shines most brightly when it uses a few powders from the mushroom kingdom. I'm not sure I could do without them, at least not until the combat starts to get really challenging and the interesting choices multiply, a good ten hours into the adventure.

It took us some real adjustment to accept Mario & Luigi: Brothership for what it is, but once you do, there’s genuine enjoyment to be found here. You have to learn to follow its pace and accept its shortcomings, because it won’t change its ways and blossom into a top-tier Mario RPG. Still, the ride will be worth it for some to experience its bright points.

With Mario & Luigi: The Brotherhood of the Legend, it's easy to see that Nintendo wants to offer the return of a franchise appreciated by fans without getting too wet. We find an effective combat system, still as exhilarating thanks to its modernization in both substance and form. Conversely, the story told and the illustrated environments lack a strong identity: this is also how the Mario and Luigi games have been able to shine. This overly smooth side nevertheless allows a wide audience to get into the swing of things, especially with the treatment (whether for the writing or the gameplay) of Luigi. But everyone will come up against a sea voyage shaken by multiple interruptions and repetitions. Like Ulysses in the Odyssey, Mario and Luigi arrive safely, not without a few scars. Like the Greek hero, they will need a few more exploits to hope to enter the legend once again.

Even with these negatives, however, this is a game that I truly loved playing. The story, fun abilities and skills, the citizens of Concordia, and more all came together to make this a really fun experience. Mario and Luigi are both perfectly portrayed, with Luigi having more of a chance to be a hero than he often gets, and Princess Peach is as much a symbol of charm and heroism as ever. I truly hope that Mario & Luigi: Brothership will serve to usher in many more games in this series in the future.

A welcome return for the Mario & Luigi franchise, that proves to be a more involved role-player than expected, even if it lacks the consistent humour and weird gameplay flourishes of previous games.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a welcome return for the other Mario RPG series, taking a more straightforward, less gimmicky approach to help bring new players aboard. The rhythm of the brothers in combat is pleasingly engaging, as ever, and there's a solid adventure here, but it's just lacking that spark to match the very best in the series.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is undeniably endearing, learning from other media forms to present an uplifting adventure with lovable protagonists. With too much dialogue and backtracking implemented within the game’s design, it can run at a pace that feels slow, ballooning what should be a fun jaunt into an overly long adventure. There’s room for further fine-tuning of ideas, meaning Brothership isn’t the flawless seafaring journey we wanted. Though it’s also far from a shipwreck with incredible charm and gameplay offerings carrying this title across picturesque waters.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership just lacks some of the magic, the flavour, and the secrets those games bring, it drags considerably, and it gets a tad too dreary a tad too often. That being said, kids love it, it's good to see the return of a series many thought dead, and it does set the foundations for a new branch that can feel different to the Paper games going forward.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership has you covered if—and only if—Mario RPG mechanics are your favorite thing and you want the largest mass of them yet. If they aren’t, you’re probably going to struggle to get over the initial five-hour hump before the game truly begins. While I didn’t outright hate most of my time with the game, would I have even seen it through to its conclusion if I weren’t reviewing it, even as a fan of Mario RPGs who wants to see Nintendo make more? Possibly not. Perhaps the best thing to do about Mario & Luigi: Brothership is to hope Nintendo realizes the missteps here and has the resolve to try their hand at the franchise once more instead of abandoning it again.

Mario & Luigi Brothership is definitely ambitious, but the structure of the game is not well suited to the sluggish feeling everything has. Despite being about half the length of some other modern RPGs, it doesn’t have the depth to match. A few good gags and some touching character moments doesn’t make the entire experience fulfilling. What’s here is solid enough but it’s death by a thousand cuts. Every cool or fascinating thing has some kind of asterisk to go with it. Battles are fun but they take forever to finish, characters are unique but dialogue is often belabored, Battle Plugs are interesting but take way too long to recharge. There’s a lot to like here, but just as many things if not more to dislike, leaving the game okay but frustrating.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership brings a nostalgic return to the beloved RPG series with engaging combat, charming presentation, and heartfelt sibling dynamics. However, its lackluster story, forgettable characters, and technical hiccups hold it back from being a true masterpiece. While it has moments of fun and familiarity, it struggles to stand out in a year brimming with excellent Mario RPG releases.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership takes far too long to get to the point, and the journey to get there isn’t nearly as interesting as it needs to be to make it feel worthwhile. Again, there are some great ideas here, and the game looks amazing, but unless you want your hand held for dozens upon dozens of hours, you’ll probably find yourself a little let down by it all.

Saved by its battles, the brotherly epic somewhat usurps its quality - coming closer to a poorly conceived sequel than a chanson de gestes. Overly directed and choppy, it does no credit to a canon that has often been so much better.

The detailed art style looks gorgeous in handheld mode but forces the Switch to struggle noticeably on a big screen when it’s pushing more pixels. Shackled by the tedious storytelling and tame dialogue, Mario and Luigi feel like the relatives you should visit more but who are frequently annoying when you meet them.

By Mario RPG standards, this is not one of the better ones, particularly when it comes to the pacing, design, and story. What saves Mario & Luigi: Brothership from sinking completely is the strategically engaging and fun battle system, delightful animations that go hand-in-hand with the cartoony art style, and the excellent soundtrack. Other gameplay ideas miss their target, and things become a drag far too quickly.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership could have been great, but the wonderful presentation and level design can't save it from ceaseless conversations and the repetitive combat.

That length may have been born from a desire to create a big, meaty RPG, but in the end, it mostly serves to accentuate the simplicity in all aspects. Stretched over so many hours, exploration becomes dull, combat feels repetitive, and the story can't sustain itself. Mario & Luigi: Brothership is well made and has some great ideas, but in breaking free of its handheld limitations, it becomes too ambitious for its own good.

Eventually, all of its problems start to overshadow its successes and they begin to fester. What would be a joyful experience gets washed away in a sea of grey leaving nothing to connect with.

Considering the expectations that come with being a Mario role-playing game, Brothership is largely a disappointment.

Mario & Luigi: Brotherhood succeeds at creating a loyal sequel to the previous installments in the franchise, but fails to successfully bring that franchise to the level of quality synonymous with Nintendo's console games. Slow progression, major quality-of-life issues and unbearably-boring lengths of dialogue and gameplay heavily bog down this fun and lighthearted turn-based RPG, with the final product ending up as a 50-50 split of soul-sucking boredom and family-friendly fun.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an incredibly disappointing return for an RPG series I’ve always loved. Apart from the combat, it fundamentally misunderstands its own past success, and completely fumbles Luigi’s role in puzzle-solving and exploration by making him more of a pain than a partner. The story is simplistic and unoriginal, its attempts at humor fall flat, and the overly chatty writing holds your hand to a ridiculous degree. It’s not a total disaster, as the excellent, flashy turn-based battles are some of the best this series has ever had – but even those somehow manage to wear thin as the repetitive final act crawls across the finish line of this roughly 34-hour campaign, which suffers from surprisingly bad performance issues nearly the entire time. The Switch has been home to many triumphant revivals for Nintendo, but the Mario & Luigi series has sadly missed the boat.