Mario & Luigi: Brothership is the latest entry in the long-running Nintendo RPG series and the first one made from the ground-up for Switch. It features a seafaring adventure and an eye-popping look, and arrives this fall on November 7.
The sixth game since Mario & Luigi began back in 2003 on Game Boy Advance, Brothership appears to feature all of the series staples from overworld exploration to turn-based boss battles. There’s a cast of pun-based enemies and returning frenemies like Bowser, and all of it is rendered in a cel-shaded-lite art-style that brings some of the playful vibrancy of the earlier games to the Switch’s improved hardware.
Here’s the trailer:
One thing fans might be quick to notice is that it doesn’t look like there’s some overriding gimmick that threatens to upstage the main story and gameplay fundamentals. That was a main criticism of the more recent entries, including Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. Of course, Nintendo might reveal more deep-dive trailers in the future that show a hidden mechanic for Brothership, but for now it looks like the back-to-basics approach fans have wanted.
Previously, Nintendo had been remastering the early games in the series for 3DS. It seemed likely the company would continue doing that and bring Partners in Time or Dream Team to the Switch, but it’s nice to see that instead players are getting a completely new game after all these years.
It’s also been cool to see Nintendo doubling-down on the RPG side of the Mario Bros. franchise. Last year we got the Super Mario RPG remake and earlier this year we got the remaster of Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. Fans of turn-based Mario antics and offbeat humor have been eating well. The Switch’s final years continue to deliver some nice surprises.