the fraternal epic”, the good hold in the wind of the two plumbers

Mario & Luigi just resurrected. However, we thought that mass was said for this series derived from turn-based role-playing games, based on the universe of Super Mario. In 2019, the Japanese studio AlphaDream, which had been in charge for fourteen years, went bankrupt. We then imagined Nintendo abandoning this friendly line of offspring of Super Mario RPG (whose remake we really liked), which did not prove profitable enough to support its main developer.

But no: in June, Nintendo announced a new iteration, Mario & Luigi: the fraternal epicwhich arrives on Switch, Thursday November 7. And the handover to the Acquire studio (again Japanese; they worked in particular on the Octopath Traveler) was done without a hitch, quite the contrary.

Mario and Luigi are thrown into a shattered world. A catastrophe has divided the continent into a multitude of islands left adrift, prey to the great ocean currents. The natives, adorable little anthropomorphic plugs (don’t worry, in this episode, everything is placed under the sign of electrical equipment), find themselves isolated and their hope of reunion rests on an island in the shape of a ship capable of sailing on the waves to “connect” places together.

The foam of joules

New crew of this strange galley, the hotheaded brothers take charge of this field mission. The plan is simple: as soon as land is in sight, they launch themselves into a cannon on it. The return ticket will only be stamped after having found the local lighthouse, which will allow the island to be added to the collection of the boat, which lugs them behind it like the newlyweds’ car drags the pots and pans out of the boat. ‘church.

The symbolism is quite charming. There is something fundamentally warm about this vision of bringing a people together by mending the land. A poetry which is not completely foreign to the series but which, here, has a real coherence and adapts perfectly to the habits which are naturally established in a video game: we sail, we touch land, we discover a new environment, we experience a more or less complex mini-adventure, we reach the lighthouse, we connect, we return, we start again.

This clever world also benefits from particularly clean 3D, wonderfully reminiscent of the two-dimensional graphic style of previous episodes. But all this is nothing compared to the work on the animations of the two brothers, wonderfully crafted. The slightest pirouette of the duo bursts the screen.

Current affairs are resolved as we have always done in Mario & Luiginamely in turn-based combat. Jumping on enemies to start a confrontation does not kill them the first time, but it could give you a small advantage (unless the terrible one is covered with spikes, in which case it is better to use the hammer, but we have confidence in your common sense inherited from platform titles).

Direct currents

Obviously, the so-called specificity of action commands specific to the series is still in place: all attacks without exception can be dodged or countered by jumping or striking with a mallet at the appropriate moment. Likewise, the effectiveness of your attacks only depends on your precision in pressing the right button at the right time. The special techniques, for their part, require a little more mastery, and the most complex are almost a mini-game to deploy their full devastating potential.

The title also introduces a brand new “power outlet” system, which provides the duo with different advantages in combat (additional damage, area effect, automatic healing, etc.). Combined, the takes can even create unpredictable synergies, which naturally encourages experimentation. An innovative and welcome addition.

If the journey is long (count around thirty or even forty hours), we somewhat regret the absence of a freer exploration of the ocean. The currents, which we are obliged to follow, are unlocked in a row, giving a very linear feeling to an adventure which could have been given another dimension with a more open philosophy. Afterwards, if the trip is certainly organized, it is also orchestrated by a attentive tour operator. So we might as well do like our ship and let ourselves be carried away by the waves.

Pixels’ opinion in brief

We liked:

• the impeccable and lively animations of the Mario brothers;
• the subtly stupid humor, gently cartoonish, always good-natured.

We liked less:

• the absence of a feeling of exploring the ocean, even though the context lent itself so much to it;
• a few too many fights.

It’s more for you if…

• You already miss the summer sun.

It’s probably not for you if…

• you prefer turn-based platforming.

Pixels’ note:

176 volts on 220