Mario & Luigi: Brothership
Overview
Mario & Luigi: Brothership is the sixth original entry in the long-running Mario & Luigi RPG series, released for the Nintendo Switch on 7 November 2024. After a nine-year hiatus since 2015’s Paper Jam, this is the first M&L game to be initially released for a home console (the series previously lived on handhelds: GBA, DS, 3DS), and the first to feature the new Mario voice work by Kevin Afghani.
The setting is Concordia, a magical archipelago of dozens of islands that float along sea currents. Long ago, every island was joined to a central landmass through the roots of a vast tree called the Uni-Tree — but the islands have drifted apart, the Uni-Tree is withering, and a corrupting purple energy known as Glohm is spreading across the world from a flying castle called Fortress Zokket. Mario, Luigi, Peach, the Toads, Bowser, and his army are all dragged through a vortex from the Mushroom Kingdom into Concordia, where Mario and Luigi awaken alone on a small island, reunite on the sailing-island hub Shipshape Island, and begin the quest to reconnect each island’s lighthouse to the Uni-Tree.
The five-Sea structure (Lushgreen — Color-Full — Brrrning — Gulchrock — Stormstar) replaces the chapter format of older M&L games. Each Sea ends with a Great Lighthouse battle and reconnects another swath of Concordia to the Uni-Tree, blooming new Connectar Flowers that drop Sprite Bulbs for use in crafting the game’s headline new mechanic — Battle Plugs.
Story — Prologue
Vortex to Concordia
In the Mushroom Kingdom, Luigi is being chased by a swarm of bees through a forest near Peach’s Castle and accidentally runs straight off a cliff. Mario grabs his hand at the last second. As the two cling together, their hands begin to glow, and a mysterious vortex materialises above them, pulling Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, the Toads, Bowser, and all of Bowser’s minions into a distant land.
Mario wakes up alone on a small island, hearing Luigi’s voice in the distance. He follows the calls until he spots Shipshape Island — a small sailing island shaped like a flagship — with Luigi already on board. After a leap to make it onto Shipshape, the bros are reunited, and they meet Connie, a young Wattanist who is the guardian of a new Uni-Tree sapling planted on Shipshape. She explains the history of Concordia: how the islands were once all one continent connected by the original Uni-Tree, and how something has shattered that connection. Mario and Luigi take charge of Shipshape Island and set sail for the Lushgreen Sea.
Quest begins
Story — Lushgreen Sea
Lushgreen Sea
The first Sea is a verdant region of art-loving and forest-dwelling islands. The bros first land on Rumbla Island, an artists’ community plagued by Guardarms — floating Glohm-infected creatures. Chief Willma rewards Mario and Luigi for clearing them out by giving them access to Rumbla’s lighthouse, which they reconnect to the Uni-Tree. As each island is reconnected, new pipes spawn between it and Shipshape, and Connectar Flowers bloom across the islands, dropping Sprite Bulbs.
Willma’s children Maykit (on Twistee Island, home of a music-induced plant) and Billdit (on Raynforst Island, where some Toads from the vortex are now lost) help craft the bros’ hammers. With both islands reconnected, a strange capsule washes up on Shipshape — it cannot be opened yet, but its contents will become important. A first Great Lighthouse rises and the Lushgreen Sea is reconnected.
Lushgreen lighthouse lit
Story — Color-Full Sea
Color-Full Sea — The Extension Corps Revealed
After reconnecting the Lushgreen Sea, Mario and Luigi sail through the next sea current to the Color-Full Sea. They quickly reach the next Great Lighthouse, only to find it blocked by a massive Glohm-corrupted wall.
The bros head to Desolatt Island, where bird creatures called Snaptors are abducting residents. They meet a group of four children — Ireen, Loog, Dulles, and Ellow — calling themselves IDLE, the island’s self-appointed protectors. After a game of hide and seek, IDLE leads the bros to the Color-Full lighthouse where a mysterious villainous trio reveals themselves: Ecks, Ten, and Shun — the Extension Corps, lieutenants of an even bigger villain called Zokket. After Mario and Luigi defeat Ten in combat, he drops a Power Tap and the first Battle Plugs — game-changing new equipment that lets the bros set passive in-battle bonuses. The Color-Full Great Lighthouse reconnects.
Color-Full lit · Battle Plugs acquired
Story — Brrrning Sea
Brrrning Sea — The Bulbfish Egg Mystery
The Brrrning Sea mixes searing volcanic regions with frozen tundra islands. Mario and Luigi can only reach Bulbfish Island at first — a fishing island where they meet Burnadette and Chilliam, the princess and prince of the feuding hot-weather Skorcheen Island and cold-weather Slippenglide Island, eloped to Bulbfish to escape their families.
The town’s prized Bulbfish Eggs have been stolen, and Chief Leyden refuses to let the bros access the lighthouse until they solve the mystery. The investigation winds through suspect interviews of Leyden’s assistant, the security guard, and the eloped couple, culminating in the discovery of an underground operation. Mario and Luigi crack the case, reconnect Bulbfish Island’s lighthouse, and gain access to deeper Brrrning Sea regions where the feuding two islands lie. Mediating that conflict and lighting the Brrrning Great Lighthouse is the climax of the chapter.
Brrrning lit · Skorcheen/Slippenglide reconciled
Story — Gulchrock Sea
Gulchrock Sea — Fortress Zokket vs. Bowser’s Minions
Entering the Gulchrock Sea, the bros witness a full air battle: Fortress Zokket, Zokket’s enormous flying castle, exchanging fire with Bowser’s Airship in the skies above. Bowser himself — also stranded in Concordia since the prologue’s vortex — has assembled his army and is fighting back against the Zok Troops in his own way.
The crossfire knocks Shipshape Island off course, and Mario and Luigi are thrown overboard, washing up on Offandon Island. There they free a boy named Buddy trapped in a rock, discover the island has been completely taken over by Bowser (with his flags everywhere and his minions living peaceably alongside the residents free of Zokket’s influence), and even bump into Bowser Jr. offering a bounty on the brothers. Buddy proves to be friendly, leads them to the lighthouse, and the Gulchrock Sea is reconnected after a tense confrontation. The bros realise Bowser is, for now, a parallel anti-Zokket force in Concordia rather than their enemy.
Gulchrock lit · Bowser is anti-Zokket
Story — Stormstar Sea
Stormstar Sea — The Great Conductor & the Final Truth
The bros arrive in the Stormstar Sea and wake on the same island where Mario originally landed in the prologue. A voice teaches them a new technique — the Bro Bomb — and guides them to the lighthouse, revealing this is Conductor Island, home of the Great Conductor: the true guardian of Concordia. Snoutlet is revealed to have been the Great Conductor’s assistant the entire game, dispatched to find Mario and Luigi when the world began breaking.
The Great Conductor drops two seismic revelations: Zokket is actually Cozette — a previously kind Concordian — brainwashed into the role; and Reclusa, an ancient flower spirit who hates all bonds and connections, is the true mastermind controlling her. The Conductor tests the brothers’ brotherly bond in a fight, judges it strong enough to save Concordia, and reconnects Conductor Island to the Uni-Tree. Returning to Shipshape, the bros find Fortress Zokket protected by a barrier and need to find Adaphne on Jellyfish Island (rival to Technikki) to break it. With every Sea now reconnected, every Great Lighthouse lit, and Cozette’s true identity known, the path is clear to Fortress Zokket — and beyond it to the climactic confrontation with Reclusa, who will assume her devastating Weeping Reclusa form.
All Seas lit · Reclusa awaits
Gameplay
Brothership reinvents the Mario & Luigi formula with a fully 3D engine, a new world structure, and several headline new mechanics. The series’ core feel — cooperative turn-based combat, simultaneous control of two brothers, action-command timing — is all preserved and rebuilt for the home-console era.
Shipshape Island — Mobile Hub
Shipshape Island is the game’s central hub (filling a role similar to Princess Peach’s Castle in Partners in Time), but it’s also a real moving location — a ship-shaped sailing island that drifts along Concordia’s sea currents shown live on the map. Shipshape has multiple shops, NPCs, the newly planted Uni-Tree sapling, and a cannon that fires Mario and Luigi onto whichever island they choose.
Luigi Logic — The New Puzzle Mechanic
Throughout the game, Luigi gets sudden ideas indicated by an L-shaped exclamation mark floating over his head — known as Luigi Logic. Some grant him situational overworld abilities (squeezing through narrow gates, reaching new platforms), others trigger powerful critical-hit commands during specific boss fights. It’s the signature new mechanic for Luigi specifically, and the script leans into it for laugh-out-loud moments throughout.
Carrying
A brand new overworld ability — the bros can pick up objects and pass them between each other to navigate puzzles, clear obstacles, or carry quest items between rooms. Combined with the new 3D camera, the carrying mechanic underpins a huge portion of the overworld puzzle design.
Side Activities
- Fishing — a full mini-game with multiple fishing rods, exotic fish per Sea, and rewards including rare badges.
- Minigames — including Concordia Hammer-Rally, Brother Groove, Connectar Flower blooming, Ryder O’Reilly’s challenge, Knocken Slyde’s puzzle, and the famous Jellyfish Pizza.
- Side quests — dozens of NPC quests for badges, plugs, and lore.
- Ranks — the bros earn promotion ranks for their work that unlock new abilities and shop tiers.
- Challenges — combat trials testing specific Plug combinations and Bros. Attacks.
Battle System
Battles are the classic Mario & Luigi turn-based system with Action Commands — every attack and every defence requires perfectly-timed button presses. The bros each have their own HP and BP (Bros. Points), defend independently, and chain attacks together.
Bros. Attacks
The series’ signature spectacle moves — powerful co-op attacks where Mario and Luigi share the stage in elaborate cinematic combinations. In Brothership, Bros. Attacks are now granted at set story points (rather than collected via Attack Piece Blocks as in previous games), and each ends with a dramatic cutscene if the player nails the timing perfectly to earn an “EXCELLENT!” rating. Notable Bros. Attacks include:
- Red Shell — the bros volley a shell back and forth before Mario boots it at the enemy. (BP 4. After Gorumbla.)
- Hatch Me if You Can — Mario hurls a Yoshi Egg skyward; the bros set it up between them, spike it down for damage in a radius, and Yoshi appears to finish with a Ground Pound. (BP 7.)
- Bro Bomb — a late-game cooperative explosive blast taught by the Great Conductor.
Carrying & Passing in Battle
The overworld carrying mechanic carries into combat for several Bros. Attacks and special moves where Mario and Luigi must time hand-offs precisely. Pressing the right button at the right millisecond is the difference between a successful attack and a flubbed one.
Battle Plugs
Battle Plugs are the signature new battle mechanic in Brothership, replacing the Badges (in older M&L games) and Battle Cards (Paper Jam). Plugs are slot-in equipment that modify battles in clever, stackable ways.
How Plugs Work
- Power Tap — the bros’ plug-board, with a set number of sockets. The more sockets unlocked, the more Plugs you can use simultaneously.
- Set and Swap mid-battle — swapping a Plug costs no action, letting the bros adapt their loadout fight by fight.
- Charges — each Plug has a limited number of uses, then must recharge over several turns.
- Combos — specific Plug pairings unlock unique combined effects.
Crafting Plugs
Plugs are crafted from Lumenade — a magical liquid distilled from Sprite Bulbs, which fall from Connectar Flowers as each island is reconnected to the Uni-Tree. The more Seas you reconnect, the more Plugs become available.
Example Plugs
Characters
Brothership’s cast is one of the largest in M&L history — every island has its own residents, but a smaller circle of named characters anchor the central story.
The Heroes
Mario
Player-controlled. The older twin. Jumps with one button, hammers with another. Carries objects and clears overworld puzzles.
Luigi
CPU-controlled but switchable. The younger twin. Has Luigi Logic moments to solve puzzles and trigger boss critical hits.
Connie
A young Wattanist who plants the new Uni-Tree on Shipshape Island and serves as the bros’ first guide.
Snoutlet
A winged Concordian creature (definitely not a pig, he insists). The Great Conductor’s assistant. Camps out under Luigi’s cap.
Princess Peach
Also dragged through the vortex from the Mushroom Kingdom. Plays a supporting role in Concordia.
Bowser & Co. — Frenemies
Bowser
Pulled into Concordia with his army. Spends most of the game fighting Zokket independently — making him a chaotic anti-Zokket ally rather than the villain.
Bowser Jr.
Helps his father. Offers a bounty on the bros in the Gulchrock Sea before eventually warming up.
Bowser + Starlow
Bowser and Starlow team up. Starlow returns to help the bros across the world map.
Villains
The villain stack in Brothership is structured like a Russian doll: a public face (Zokket), a true identity behind that face (Cozette, brainwashed), and a deeper mastermind controlling Cozette (Reclusa). Add in the three-strong Extension Corps and you have one of the densest M&L villain rosters.
Zokket
Public villain
The mysterious overlord controlling the Zok Troops and spreading Glohm. Actually Cozette, brainwashed, manipulated, and fronted as a male persona to lead the corruption of Concordia.
Cozette
The truth
A kind Concordian woman whose mind has been hijacked to serve as Zokket. Her rescue is one of the game’s late-act emotional beats.
Reclusa
True mastermind
An ancient flower spirit who hates all bonds and connections. Wants Concordia’s islands to drift forever apart in pure isolation. Spreads Glohm to corrupt all who unite.
Weeping Reclusa
Final form
Reclusa’s climactic combat form — a sorrowful, weeping flower-god that hits with devastating attacks themed around loneliness.
Ecks
Extension Corps
Floating magenta lieutenant resembling a VHF/UHF antenna. The flashy showboat of the trio.
Ten
Extension Corps
Lanky purple lieutenant resembling a headphone jack. First defeated, drops the bros’ first Battle Plugs and Power Tap.
Shun
Extension Corps
Stout turquoise lieutenant resembling a VGA connector. The brute force of the trio.
Fortress Zokket
Boss arena
Zokket’s enormous flying castle and main mobile base. Fought as a multi-phase boss battle late in the game.
Zokket’s Minions vs. Bowser’s Minions
Glohm Enemies
The Glohm is the corrupting purple energy spread by Zokket on Reclusa’s behalf. It transforms friendly Concordian creatures into hostile, purple-tinted enemies that attack Mario and Luigi on sight. Defeating Glohm-corrupted enemies and reconnecting their home islands to the Uni-Tree purges the corruption.
Glohm
Glohm Guardarm
Floating armoured arm-creatures. The first major Glohm enemies, found terrorising Rumbla Island in the Lushgreen Sea.
Glohm
Glohm Soreboar
Charging boar-like enemy. Ill-tempered and physically powerful.
Glohm
Glohm Big Soreboar
Mini-boss variant of the Soreboar with vastly more HP and a devastating ram attack.
Glohm
Glohm Bumbleshoot
Bee-like flying enemy that fires projectiles. Common in the Lushgreen Sea.
Glohm
Glohm Parashoot
Parachute-soldier enemy that drops from above. Mixes ranged and melee attacks.
Glohm
Glohm Invizilizard
Lizard enemy with stealth abilities — can briefly turn invisible to dodge attacks.
Concordia’s Islands
Concordia is made up of dozens of distinctive islands across its five Seas, each with its own residents, culture, and theme. A selection of the most important:
The Great Lighthouses
Videos & Trailers
Official Nintendo trailers for Mario & Luigi: Brothership.
Reception
Brothership received positive reviews from critics and warm reception from long-time M&L fans grateful for the series’ return after the nine-year hiatus.
Acclaim
- The first M&L on a home console — universally celebrated. The 3D engine, expansive world, and high-fidelity character animations were praised as a major leap forward.
- Battle Plugs — widely loved as the deepest customisation system in any M&L game, replacing the older Badge/Battle Card systems with something far more flexible.
- Concordia as a setting — the new world was praised for distinctive island theming, original races (Wattanists, Snoutlets, Concordians), and a strong central metaphor (broken connections, restored bonds).
- Story themes — the brotherhood / bonds-vs-isolation theme between Mario and Luigi (and amongst all the rescued NPCs) gave the game more emotional weight than several previous M&L entries.
- Bobby’s-style Bobby moment — several reviewers compared late-game Cozette reveal scenes to TTOK’s Bobby moment for emotional weight.
Criticisms
- Pacing — the central act (Brrrning + Gulchrock Seas) was criticised by some reviewers as slow-paced, with multiple long detective/investigation subplots.
- Combat depth — some long-time M&L fans felt the moment-to-moment combat was simpler than Bowser’s Inside Story, though the Plug system compensates strategically.
- Performance — occasional frame-rate dips on original Switch hardware in densely populated overworld areas.
- Side activity overload — some critics felt the game over-supplies minigames (six standalone ones, plus fishing, plus challenges).
Trivia & Facts
- Released 7 November 2024 — the sixth original Mario & Luigi RPG, and the eighth overall when counting remakes (Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey, 2018).
- First M&L on a home console — the entire previous series ran on Nintendo handhelds (GBA, DS, 3DS).
- Developer: Acquire (a different studio to AlphaDream, who developed previous M&L games before going bankrupt in 2019).
- First M&L with Kevin Afghani’s voice work — the new official voice for Mario and Luigi as of 2023.
- Announced at the June 2024 Nintendo Direct and launched just five months later — unusually short marketing window for a major Nintendo RPG.
- The world is called Concordia — a name implying harmony and bonds, themed deliberately against villain Reclusa’s isolation-worship.
- The Uni-Tree is a clear reference to the Uni-versal connection theme — every island sprouts from one mother-tree.
- Wattanists are electricity-themed, named after the watt unit — the lighthouse mechanic of “powering up” Concordia’s grid is a fun pun.
- The Extension Corps are themed around outdated AV cables: Ecks = VHF/UHF antenna, Ten = headphone jack, Shun = VGA connector. Themed around outdated connections — fitting for villains opposed to bonds.
- Snoutlet is NOT a pig, he insists — a running gag throughout the game.
- Battle Plugs are crafted from Lumenade, distilled from Sprite Bulbs, harvested off Connectar Flowers — a four-step crafting chain that ties combat to the world’s reconnection theme.
- Reclusa’s final form is “Weeping Reclusa” — a sorrowful flower-god, weeping because everyone she meets keeps forming bonds despite her best efforts to isolate them.
- Bowser as a parallel anti-villain — he’s independently fighting Zokket throughout the game, occupying Offandon Island with his troops in a peaceful arrangement with the locals.
Box Art & Key Visuals
Box art and key visuals for Mario & Luigi: Brothership.
Reference / Information
Related coverage on Super Luigi Bros.
Media / Downloads
Screenshots and artwork appear throughout the sections above. Nintendo trailers are in the Videos section.