The handheld Mario & Luigi RPG series has always been defined by its limitations. The first game’s unique control scheme, mapping A to Mario and B to Luigi, was a clever twist on the timing-based combat of Super Mario RPG, built to work on a system with just two face buttons. Later iterations maintained its heart and humor with additional elements, but it has always been the smaller, more modest handheld Mario RPG series in contrast to the Paper Mario series on consoles. Based on a hands-on preview with Mario & Luigi: Brothership, it looks as if the sweet little handheld series is finally being given the premium treatment on the hybrid Nintendo Switch, without losing its charmingly goofy sense of humor.
It’s been almost a decade since a new Mario & Luigi game released, so it’s only natural that Brothership would be a significant visual upgrade over anything we’ve seen before. Even still, the new look is immediately striking, thanks to a beautiful, bright and cheery animated style that lets the brothers squash and stretch like Looney Tunes characters. Mario & Luigi has always focused heavily on the dynamic between the two brothers, so this element lets the animations emphasize their personalities. Mario as always is the steadfast hero, while Luigi is more of a well-meaning but overconfident goofball.
This time, the super bros are magically plucked from their homey Mushroom Kingdom to a mysterious new land called Concordia. This land was once a single world held together by the glowing threads of a magical tree, but the tree became corrupted and the islands split apart. Mario and Luigi have come into possession of a new sapling to restore the world tree, which they house on their floating sea vessel. So they set off from island to island to link them back together with the tree. It’s a sweet concept that emphasizes bringing people together.