Board 8 > Mario & Luigi: Brothership Review Zone

(+) Yeah! (+)

After AlphaDream died a fiery death, Mario & Luigi re-emerges from developer Acquire (Tenchu, Akiba's Trip, Octopath Traveler 1 and 2). Results seem to be....mixed? Reviewers are generally positive on the game, praising the return of the Mario & Luigi formula and it feeling like a big budget version of one of those games. There are definitely a few negative reviews mixed in that are bringing down that average though so your mileage may vary. Main complaints seem to be the game feels padded out due to backtracking, the script isn't as funny as past games and some puzzles being annoying or difficult to understand. Currently reviewing in the 79-80% zone it's not the lowest game in the series (Paper Jam), but pretty much all the other ones have reviewed better.

Nintendo Life - 9/10
Mario & Luigi: Brothership takes this long-running RPG series to new heights in a high-seas adventure that's packed full of top-notch combat, inventive variety, a positive and thoughtful story, and lots signature comedy from the dynamic duo themselves. This is a big game, packed full of surprises and fun, and the all-new Battle Plug system, alongside lots of flashy specials, a fittingly emotive art-style, and a world that brimming with puzzles and challenges, make for a must-play in our book.

Nintenderos - 9/10
Mario & Luigi: Brothership is the grand return of the franchise that so many fans have been waiting for. The game brings together everything that made the series fun, and enhances it with gorgeous graphics, a fun cast of characters, and addictive, action-packed turn-based combat.

TheGamer - 9/10
This is the first Mario & Luigi on Switch and it very much feels like the series first big-budget home console entry. It's so much bigger than any of the older games, not just in terms of play time, but in terms of ideas too. The only bad thing about Brothership is that it sets the bar so high theres no going back to the originals now.

My Nintendo News - 9/10
Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an exceptional adventure thats just as much about the journey as it is the destination. Whether youre new to the series or have played every Mario & Luigi game up to this point, the captivating narrative with well-written and comedic characters is sure to keep you thoroughly engaged as you travel from island to island to help reconnect the land of Concordia. From the brain-stimulating puzzles to the extensive RPG battle mechanics, there is a boatload of fun to be had around every turn.

VGC - 8/10
When it was first announced, the prospect of another 50-hour Mario RPG admittedly had me feeling rather burnt out. So, Mario & Luigi Brotherships singular approach came as a real pleasant surprise. The series home console debut maintains the spirited character and action-oriented platforming of its predecessors, coupled with fantastic exploration and satisfying battle mechanics. Its campaign has some uneven moments, particularly around backtracking and obtuse puzzles, but overall its a triumphant return for the Mario & Luigi series.

Wccftech - 7.5/10
Mario & Luigi: Brothership brings back one of the plumbers more underappreciated series, offering plenty of visual pizazz, an impressive array of inventive maps, and a solid amount of RPG depth. Its not a perfect relaunch, as Brotherships writing lacks the snap of the best entries in the series and some unfortunate padding results in a game that arguably overstays its welcome, but overall, those still on board the aging Good Ship Switch ought to find this a charming-enough twilight cruise.

IGN - 5/10
Mario & Luigi: Brothership is an incredibly disappointing return for an RPG series Ive always loved. Apart from the combat, it fundamentally misunderstands its own past success, and completely fumbles Luigis 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. Its 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.

Has any Mario RPG been 50 hours like VGC claims? Theyre usually like half that arent they?

I'm a little disappointed to hear about backtracking padding and the writing not being up to snuff

At least everyone seems to agree the combat is good

WazzupGenius00 posted...

Has any Mario RPG been 50 hours like VGC claims? Theyre usually like half that arent they?

I feel like TTYD probably came the closest but I doubt it hit 50

Can't spell ignorant

Sounds like performance is much worse than Echoes of Wisdom, which is a shame. Massive load times in this day and age are unfortunate. Hopefully DQ3 at least can live up to the hype this month.

WazzupGenius00 posted...

Has any Mario RPG been 50 hours like VGC claims? Theyre usually like half that arent they?

Dream Team is the longest, according to HLTB.

Even Mario and Luigi game strikes again

I may have hyped myself up too much because I was hoping it being on the Switch, the long break and (mostly) new developer would put it at that top level of Mario & Luigi game. Instead it is just reviewing like a normal Mario & Luigi game.

Wow, that IGN review is pretty scathing about everything other than the combat! I'm not attached to this series but some of the creative decisions seem strange, like Luigi essentially being an NPC controlled by AI rather than the player.

I was excited for this game but I was a little disappointed in Mario RPG and TTYD Remake and the IGN review makes it sound similar to the issues I had with those games.

So maybe I'll wait until I can play this on Switch 2 which will hopefully fix the performance issues at least.

I feel like the writing on the wall was pretty clear that this wasn't going to be great but I'm probably jaded

more time for dragon quest I guess

LiquidOshawott posted...

Even Mario and Luigi game strikes again

But the curse was supposed to be swapped with Paper Jam breaking the "Odd Mario and Luigi game is good" thing

I feel like an 80 on MC isn't really a bad score...

MacArrowny posted...

I feel like an 80 on MC isn't really a bad score...

It's not a bad score, but as has been pointed out, only Paper Jam has a worse score, so it's not a great reason for optimism that this is a return to form.

Oh yeah, that's fair. It definitely took the wind out of my sails a bit.

That rating seems pretty heavily impacted by IGN's score.

If you take away the biggest and lowest ratings from shines opening post its still averaging over 8.0. Seems like itll be a perfectly good game just nothing earth shattering.

Incidentally I think it leaked weeks ago, so you could probably find player feedback from people who've finished it already if you looked.

Most of the player feedback seems to be that it's the best in the series. A lot of those players went through it on emulator though, so they didn't have to deal with performance issues.