Thank you Nintendo for sending us a physical copy of this game to review!

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is the latest installment of the Mario & Luigi series where you take turns playing as each brother. Between the two siblings, Mario has more games with him as the protagonist. I like how this title gives Luigi some of the spotlight as he gets exclusive "Luigi logic" moments that aide in discovering new areas and deal significant damage in boss battles. With that said, he still has some silly moments as the game begins with Luigi running away from a swarm of bees chasing him.

After Mario rescues Luigi from nearly running off of a cliff, the brothers’ hands start glowing and they get sucked into a pink tornado and separated. The same pink tornado whisks away Princess Peach, Bowser and all of Mushroom Kingdom.Mario wakes up on a secluded island and has no idea where Luigi is. Thankfully, the enemies on this island are pretty weak and don’t take much effort for Mario to defeat them. In the beginning, the only attack available to the Mario brothers is the ability to jump on enemies. Later in the game they’ll get hammers which will allow them to do damage to spiked enemies.

Mario and Luigi are reunited on a moving island called Shipshape Island. A young girl named Connie greets them and asks for their assistance in reconnecting all the islands that got separated from Shipshape island. Connie is a Wattanist and it’s her job to raise up a replacement Unitree which is essential in restoring the world as the way it was.

As Shipshape Island sails across the seas, Mario and Luigi will be notified when other islands are located. As soon as an island is in their sights, they can climb into a canon and be blasted onto it. In order to get back to Shipshape Island, Mario and Luigi will have to locate the island’s lighthouse and reconnect it to the Unitree. Naturally, the path to the lighthouse is often surrounded by enemies and sometimes a boss.

The islanders and enemies are electronics-themed. The faces of the islanders look like electrical outlets and many of the enemies resemble audio/visual connections including headphone jacks and HDMI connectors. Throughout the game Mario and Luigi will acquire battle plugs which will grant them various offensive and defensive abilities. Some example some of the plugs will automatic dispense healing mushrooms, 1-up mushrooms, and status curing herbs if they are in your inventory. Unfortunately, this plugin only works with the lowest tier mushroom and not the ones that heal in triple digits which are necessary at the end of them game. Adding the ability to block attacks completely or reduce the damage taken are very helpful as well. One of my favorite plugs is the ability to counterattack. Each of the plugs has a limited number of uses and have to be recharged in order to equip them again. Recharging is measured by the number of turns used in battle.

Mario and Luigi can upgrade their boots, hammers, and outfits. They can also equip a bangle and gloves. All of these items can boost their stats and some of them increase at the expense of decreasing another, so may sure that they are worth it. Not all of the equipable items affect stats as there is a bangle that decreases the charging time of your plugs.

In battle you can swap out your plugs when it’s your turn, but you cannot change gear. I liked to equip gear that replenished health at the end of every round. Other than health, the brothers have defense, power, stache (luck), speed, and BP (brother points). When the characters level up, these attributes will be increased automatically. However, after every eight levels (until level 40) you’ll have the option of choosing a benefit above and beyond the typical stat increase.

Brother points are needed to do combo attacks that require both of the Mario brothers to pull them off. If a brother is dizzy, knocked out, or suffering from glohm (enemy attack), you will not be able to do brother attacks until their status is remedied. The brother attacks are quite powerful and some attack multiple enemies while others focus on inflicting lots of damage to a single foe. Some of the brother attacks are easier to pull off than others. Progressing the story will require you to master many of them as some of the boss battles will require the use of varying attacks in order to defeat them.

The battles are turn based and if the brother initiate a battle by pouncing on an an enemy or striking them with their hammer, the first attack and turn will be theirs. It's a a one-way system as Mario and Luigi can get the first turn even if an enemy triggers a battle. All of the attacks and blocking of enemy assaults are quick-time event based. While some gamers are tired of quick-time events, they are a staple in the Mario brother-based games and Mario & Luigi: Brothership is no exception. Luigi Logic moments are tricky to master, but are worth pursuing in boss battles since they deal so much damage.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership is a long game and took me over sixty hours to fully complete. There are many side quests that will often reward you with nice gear, items, and/or beans that permanently boost stats. Some of the side quests are timed and will expire if you progress the story so make sure you complete them quickly.

Like other Mario games, Mario & Luigi: Brothership is pretty family-friendly. Cartoon violence is a given. There are some undead characters like Boos and Dry Bones. Magikoopas fly on brooms and have use wands that will conjure up enemies and projectiles.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership looks good and runs well on the Switch. The background music is well done and I often found it stuck in my head. The voice acting is gibberish and the dialogue is silly. Mario & Luigi: Brothership is loaded with puns when it comes to the island/islet names.

In the end, I found Mario & Luigi: Brothership to be enjoyable, but not exceptional. I was often able to get an island reconnected in a single sitting, but to collect everything from it, I had to re-visit three more times which substantially pads the game and makes it over stay its welcome a bit. Fans of the Mario Brother series should look into this game.