Brotherhood could be the RPG renaissance the franchise so desperately needed

Mario and Luigi: Brotherhood It’s a long-awaited release and it’s not hard to see why. Like the first original Mario and Luigi entry in almost 9 years, the game serves as a long-awaited return for a series whose future was left uncertain following the closure of developer AlphaDream in 2019. It’s certainly a monumental occasion for fans of Mario and Luigi. However, when looking deeper, it becomes clear that Brotherhood it could be a much more important launch than it seems at first glance.

After some difficult years, Mario RPGs have had a much-deserved renaissance on the Nintendo Switch. beloved remakes Mario Last year’s RPG classics served as a way to recapture the magic of this franchise and showcase the strengths these games have to offer. Brotherhoodthe only original entry from last year, has an important task ahead of it with renewed interest from players. This game must not only continue to carry the essence of Mario RPGs that make them so beloved, but should serve as a starting point for a new and ambitious future.

Mario RPGs were almost a thing of the past

Nintendo lost sight of the magic of Mario RPGs

The last year of new releases is a necessary acknowledgment of a subseries that struggled during the Wii U and 3DS era. Two primary series, Mario Paper and Mario and Luigistruggled with a mix of underwhelming and confusing pitches. Mario Paper has often been subject to scrutiny, as titles such as Star sticker and Splash of color decided to forgo ambitious adventures and a variety of unique characters in favor of a more simplistic premise and characters that are the basis of the main Mario titles, losing the magic on which the series was built.

Mario and Luigi also suffered from underwhelming releases during this period. 2016 Paper jam wasted the potential that came from a crossover between two Mario RPGs, disregarding each series’ established worlds, characters, and enemies in favor of the typical damsel-in-distress plot and exploration through the Mushroom Kingdom that has become tedious in other Mario titles. The best-received new game of the time was Dream Teamand it has been more than a decade since its release.

The series of underwhelming releases was indicative of Nintendo’s shift in focus to Mario RPGS. The main appeal of these games comes from their often ambitious scope and creativity.. Mario RPGIt often took players to unfamiliar worlds such as the Beanbean Kingdom and Rogueport, meeting a host of new characters with a variety of different personalities as well as unique and menacing threats. These titles typically contrasted with the main Mario series, offering something new and challenging the conventions of most Mario franchise as a whole.

Nintendo seemed to have lost sight of its appeal during this era. Although the moment-to-moment gameplay of Mario Paper and Mario and Luigi remained engaging, Later titles resorted to typical tropes of Super Mario franchiseresulting in games with no real heart. During this time, it was easy to feel that Mario RPGs, at least in terms of ambition and passion, were a thing of the past.

Mario RPGs have made a comeback on the Switch

Remakes recapture the magic of Mario RPGs

Fortunately, the fate of Mario RPGseems to be changing. The Switch era has seen a recent return to the beloved series, largely thanks to remakes of some of the most beloved Mario RPG titles. Both Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door have been redone with stunning HD visuals, quality of life improvements and beautifully remastered soundtracks.

These remakes feel like more than just re-releases. Both Super Mario RPG and TTYD feel deliberately chosen by Nintendo due to its status as one of the greatest Mario role-playing games. Both titles perfectly illustrate the main strengths of the Mario RPGs, with ambitious plots and a host of memorable characters, such as Geno and Goombella, who have since become fan favorites. By adapting these specific titles, Nintendo displays an apparent renewed interest in returning to more ambitious and creative activities Mario RPG.

This renewed interest has clearly paid off. Both remakes were hugely successful, with Super Mario RPG in particular surpassing sales of its original SNES version, represented by Nintendofinancial results for fiscal year 2023-2024. These sales are a clear testament to the continued love and passion gamers have for Mario RPGpointing to the need to keep this imagination and creativity alive.

Mario and Luigi: Brotherhood Could Determine the Future of Mario RPGs

The fraternity appears to be heading in the right direction

With the remakes playing Mario RPGs back in the spotlight, there’s a lot at stake at the launch of Mario and Luigi: Brotherhood. As the only original Mario RPG entry released last year, Brotherhood has the gigantic task of defining the path for the future of the franchise. Brotherhood must prove that the imagination and creativity of the Mario RPG gaming is still present, at the same time as it has the potential to reach even greater heights.

Happily, Brotherhood It seems to be doing exactly what it needs to. The brothers’ latest adventure sees the pair traversing the various islands that make up Concordia, a continent filled with a plethora of new friends to make, alongside a plethora of mysterious enemies to face. Through several promotional videos following its initial announcement, Nintendo showed how Brotherhood effortlessly captures the spirit of the series, with wonderfully strange and original ideas overflowing from every aspect of the game.

Brotherhood also commits to paving a new path for the series. The updated battle system still maintains the same button inputs that keep turn-based combat engaging, along with new additions like Battle Plugs that create a variety of effects. Adding a level of strategy to make the initially simplistic battle system more complex indicates Brotherhoodeffort to show the new places that the Mario RPG franchise can be taken.

There is an ambition in Brotherhood this was not seen with Mario RPGs have been around for a long time. The mix of staple elements from the series along with new ideas is a reassurance to fans that there is a bright future ahead. Mario RPGs, as long as future games continue to recognize the level of creativity that made previous titles so beloved. Nintendo’s own renewed commitment to Mario RPGs mean this franchise could have the renaissance it truly deserves with games like Mario and Luigi: Brotherhood and whatever comes next.

Source: Nintendo