Mario & Luigi: The Brotherly Epicit was the big surprise of the Nintendo Direct in June 2024. E3 no longer exists but the Kyoto company still manages to take us by surprise during its summer conference. This year, the Japanese manufacturer did very well by launching its presentation with an RPG that no one thought they would see again. The Mario & Luigi saga, formerly supported by the AlphaDream teams, seemed lost forever since the studio closed in 2019 following bankruptcy. But Nintendo isn’t one to give up that easily. Especially since the last twelve months have been marked by the resurrection of role-playing games inspired by Mario. After the remakes of Super Mario RPG in November 2023 and Paper Mario: The Millennium Door last May, Mario & Luigi: The Brotherly Epic therefore completes the triptych of spin-offs.
But does this episode, developed by a new team, really live up to its predecessors? If the Kyoto firm decides to pursue a license after the closure of its initial studio, it is because it still sees potential. And it is clear that the recipe Mario & Luigi always knows how to be as efficient as ever. Far from being free from any fault, this new adventure of the plumber brothers manages to rediscover the characteristic charm of the franchise while trying to forge a new identity. Between good additions and controversial changes, Mario & Luigi: The Brotherly Epic is a nice surprise that it would be a shame to miss, let us explain why.
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A new adventure full of freshness
Faithful to the atmosphere transcribed in its numerous trailers, the game is a real breath of fresh air that we enjoy exploring. Already, the teams at Acquire – the new studio in charge of the franchise – have managed to overcome one of the most dangerous and specific obstacles to this return to Switch. Until then, RPGs Mario & Luigi have always featured 2D graphics, with the exception of certain gameplay sequences in the 3DS games. This allowed the license to stand out with a cartoonish style that looks great but is difficult to transpose into a 3D environment. With this opus, the artists in charge of the project managed to develop models and textures inspired by promotional artwork characteristics of these games. For once, it’s as if the characters on the cover came to life: it’s quite a feat.
In addition to being eye candy, this Mario & Luigi doesn’t take long to take us into his new world full of good ideas. We discover the region of Connexia into which the two brothers and the inhabitants of the Mushroom Kingdom are propelled following the appearance of a strange portal. Here, a continent once held together by an energy called Harmoneon found itself shattered into numerous pieces following a still unexplained cataclysm. Obviously, the two heroes will get involved in this story to help the inhabitants of this region. The artistic direction of the world goes hand in hand with its lore: the Harmonéon is a kind of electricity and the characters have electrical plug heads. The environment is funny and coherent, so much so that we are more easily carried away by the scenario.
Mario and Luigi take their place on the Navisthmus, a strange boat housing Connexia’s only hope: the Unicea, a sort of world tree. On this boat, the young Unicea shoot acts as a sail to bring together the different pieces of the continent, now spread across the seas. In addition to the symbolism of the tree and its importance for the storyline, this set gives rise to an exploration never before seen in the franchise. For the first time, the game allows itself some liberties in the unfolding of its story. The player controls the boat and can sometimes choose the order in which they visit the islands. By connecting the lore of Connexia to the main gameplay mechanics, the developers have given birth to an exciting universe that we truly want to save.
The loss of bearings
Upon its release, The fraternal epic suffered greatly from comparison with previous adventures, and that is quite normal. The saga Mario & Luigi is a franchise that players hold dear. This Switch opus has made a lot of effort to maintain its initial identity while trying to refresh itself: but some of the changes are far from welcome. The entire franchise revolves around the duality between Mario and Luigi and the use of their respective talents through specific controls. And it is in this specific aspect that Mario & Luigi: The Brotherly Epic suffers a lot.
Controlling Luigi in the environment no longer serves any purpose. Although the player can still blow him up using the B button, the brother overcomes obstacles automatically and can’t even upgrade to group leader to take the lead. All of Luigi’s actions are now confined to a new mechanic managed by the game’s AI: “Luigi’s Genius“. In an effort to make the second brother more friendly and independent, the player loses all control over the character so that part of the puzzle and enigma aspect of the license evaporates with this change.
These funny changes linked to Luigi also affect the fights. For some reason that eludes veterans of the franchise, You must now press the A button to validate Luigi’s actions in battle. Race results, it becomes too easy to get confused when this brother attacks. The game asks us to press B rhythmically while the finger is placed on the other button: it makes no sense. For regulars, the loss of bearings can be really disconcerting during the first gaming sessions. Once this adaptation period has passed, you quickly realize that the game is not bad, but simply different. The story is excellent, so is the combat, while the exploration finds new ways to exploit the duo in puzzles. It’s the start of a new era.
A new identity for Mario and Luigi
The Brotherhood Epic is an RPG Mario more symbolic than one might think. Already, this follows a year of renewal for these spin-offs, after the reissue of two titles extremely popular with players. The comparison effect is therefore all the harsher for this title which, considering this variable, manages to do well. The developers have probably chosen to take this chance of rebirth to heart. The last twelve months have served as a reboot for the Mario franchise in the broad sense. After the departure of Charles Martinet and the arrival of a new actor to voice the characters, the new platforming recipe with Super Mario Bros Wonder as well as the return of RPGs, Nintendo and its partners have worked hard to offer a second youth to the mustachioed plumber.
The Acquire studio teams – notably at the origin of the phenomenon Octopath Traveler – preferred to evolve the saga Mario & Luigi rather than producing a sequel under the sign of fan service. In addition to being laudable, this decision is the only one that can guarantee the future of this license in the long term. The first opus dates back to the Game Boy Advance, and all it takes is a session on the original title via the Nintendo Switch Online GBA catalog to better understand the changes applied by The fraternal epic. We have the right to an RPG in keeping with its times and the norms that govern the genre todaybut which also does not hesitate to innovate. Mario & Luigi : Paper Jam Bros had proven to us that fan service leads to nothing and this new opus avoids repeating the same mistakes. This adventure is an unexpected renewal that makes you want to discover more. Now how about a Popen for Mario unprecedented to follow this positive momentum?
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