Mario & Luigi Brothership is a much needed return | Review

Here we go

At this point in the history of our intrepid characters throughout so many games, you must already imagine what will happen for the adventure to begin in Mario & Luigi Brothership, right!? "Where the brothers will end up, what they got into to get to this new place," among other questions must certainly be processing in your head. Well, you couldn't be more right, because that's exactly how the story begins. Without many spoilers, Mario and Luigi are transported to an unknown place, where not only must they find out how to return to their world, but also help the friendly inhabitants of the islands that will be explored throughout the journey to recover the vital energy that connects all regions through a gigantic tree known as Arbolux.

Using an island as a "means of transportation" to go to other places, Nintendo's basic formula for storytelling is 100% in the game. Something light, relaxed, but without forgetting to convey a message as a background. And when it comes to brothers, connections and bonds are essential for everything to work out at the end of the adventure. And you can bet we will have a happy ending.
 

And as has been routine in Nintendo games (I can't believe I'm going to say this), but the game is translated into Portuguese PT-BR, which makes everything even more fluid and perfect for those who intend to venture into these waters so pleasant and full of color and life. But I'll leave the environment talk for later.

Sailing through deep islands of content

In Mario & Luigi Brothership you choose where to venture through sea currents that take you to the destination, which will inevitably be an island, but which may or may not be connected to Arbolux, but that will not be any less interesting to explore. It is possible to use a cannon to reach solid ground. By the way, I consider this one of the game's great strengths, as there is no bad time no matter which route you take. In all the places you disembark, there will be interesting NPCs, new enemies to test your skills, and juicy rewards so that the mysteries present in the story can be unraveled.

Nintendo has a great merit in being able to extract so much richness of details for the characters, that at least what I played it is very clear that each NPC has its moment to shine and tell their story to the plumbing brothers. I am about 18 hours in and I dare say that I am 50% completed.
 

Not only with the secondary characters, but it is impressive the developers' ability to take advantage of everything they have around them and make something so simplistic be very rich in details that make all the difference. It is clear that every mere movement was made with great care.

All the charm of the gameplay

As a self-proclaimed JRPG fan, I am more than used to games that offer turn-based combat. It's not something I view with suspicion or anything like that. But in Mario & Luigi Brothership, Nintendo manages to shine once again and make something tactical with a lot of action and dynamism, making me even question the turn-based combat label.

Here, you can defend in real time and even counterattack, just by pressing the buttons at the right time. Speaking specifically of attacks, the duo can even make moves with each other's help, performing acrobatics and causing more damage to enemies. It is worth mentioning that despite the simplicity and effectiveness of learning the controls, the challenges are many and many times the game over screen will be inevitable. Already thinking about that, the characters can use a series of equipment, as well as avoid more dangerous fights, and change the difficulty.

In terms of exploration, the acclaimed Big N shines once again and makes the map practically levels with various puzzles and platform elements. All very well elaborated and with great animation. They are not scenes that get stuck, but are generated with great fluidity by those involved, bringing a lightness to the gameplay.



I can't fail to highlight the Luigidea, which appears in moments when the duo must work together to solve the puzzle. Because I only played as Mario, I can say that Luigi follows us along the way and it is possible to use the jump button on the character. If you have played past games in the franchise, surely your memory will awaken you to a series of actions from the fearful brother.

The enchanting world of Eletria and its inhabitants

Mario & Luigi Brothership has a series of qualities, but I cannot fail to praise the graphic quality of the environments and characters. All very rich in details, with vibrant colors, which even if similar to each other, have peculiar characteristics, making them stand out in the world.

As this whole universe revolves around energy, the design is focused on this theme, simulating outlets and symbols. And of course, all with very good taste, with unparalleled graphics, causing a special charm to the game.



Although it does not cause any harm to the game, I understand that the soundtrack could be more irreverent, even with a beachy atmosphere, making a clear reference to the beautiful scenarios. Not that it's bad, but maybe I consider it a point to be desired as a whole.

We thank Nintendo for providing a game access key for this content to be possible.