Highlights

  • Nintendo is gearing up for new releases in the Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid Prime franchises, including the unique RPG Mario and Luigi: Brothership.
  • Brothership offers a blend of RPG mechanics, multi-character gameplay, and platforming in a new adventure for the iconic plumber brothers.
  • With recent successful remakes in Paper Mario: TTYD and Super Mario RPG, as well as an original Mario RPG on the horizon, Nintendo is showing a commitment to the genre and expanding Mario's RPG presence.

Following Nintendo's most recent Direct, it's clear that the famed company is ramping up for a number of ambitious releases within its tentpole franchises, including Super Mario, The Legend of Zelda, and Metroid Prime. Players have good reason to be excited as, true to its reputation and history, Nintendo doesn't look to be playing things too safe, as evidenced by the reveal of Mario and Luigi: Brothership.

Mario and Luigi: Brothership will center on the titular pair of iconic plumber brothers as they embark on a grand adventure. The game seems to be taking a few notes from the likes of It Takes Two when it comes to its multi-character mechanics and mini-games, but it's ostensibly an RPG through-and-through, continuing the tradition of older Mario and Luigi games like Paper Jam and Dream Team. Brothership will be folding genre staples like turn-based combat into an unmistakably Super Mario world, bolstered by puzzles, platforming sections, and a colorful cast of side characters.

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Mario and Luigi: Brothership Is Joining Other Recent Mario RPGs

Mario and Luigi Is Chasing Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: TTYD

A remake of Super Mario RPG launched last November and was warmly received as one of the best first-party Switch games of 2023. Just six months later, Nintendo dropped another highly anticipated remake: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. This too came as a treat for fans, with the TTYD remake being widely accepted as a faithful recreation of the GameCube classic, blended with enough modern considerations to make it more than worth the asking price, even for those who already experienced the original.

Although the Super Mario RPG remake is a 2023 release, it's representative of the approach Nintendo seems to be taking with its Mario RPGs in 2024 and beyond.

While many players are likely still making their way through The Thousand Year Door's reimagined campaign, Nintendo is plowing ahead with Mario and Luigi: Brothership, which stands apart from its two recent predecessors as an original project rather than a remake, re-release, or remaster. With this new Mario and Luigi game, Nintendo is demonstrating a clear commitment to the RPG genre within the world of Super Mario, and making a number of gamers happy in the process. Indeed, fans of Mario RPGs are eating well in 2024.

What the Recent Spate of Mario RPGs Says About Nintendo's Future Endeavors

Nintendo unveiling Mario and Luigi: Brothership as a Fall 2024 release may be indicative of the company's aggressiveness in the RPG space. Remakes and remasters are one thing—and are arguably overdone at this point, especially with big franchises—so the remakes of TTYD and Super Mario RPG aren't the most Earth-shattering surprises, as welcome as they may be. An original release, and one that seems to be taking the Mario and Luigi franchise in a new direction, is far riskier, especially since the series in question has never been Nintendo's hottest-selling commodity.

The fact that Nintendo is willing to take this relative risk shows that there may be even more Super Mario role-playing games in the company's future. Moreover, Mario and Luigi: Brothership may be viewed as proof that Nintendo is remaining aggressive with its use of the Mario IP outside its flagship platforming games, continuously diversifying even within its own RPGs, not allowing Paper Mario to be Mario's only foothold in the genre. It's also a more direct sign of Nintendo's planned continuation of the Mario and Luigi series, being its first new entry in over seven years and seemingly pushing the brand forward with a new setting, cast of characters, and gameplay mechanics, possibly buttressed by the power of a home console, which has never been the series' main stage.