Mario & Luigi: Brothers in Arms

Mario & Luigi: Brothers in Arms
Developer(s)	AlphaDream
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	Nintendo NX
Genre(s)	RPG. Action
Series	Mario & Luigi
Predecessor	Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
Successor	TBA
Release Date(s)	November 17, 2018 November 22, 2018 November 23, 2018 January 18, 2019
Mode(s)	Single player
Age Rating(s)	E10+
Media Included	Nintendo NX: Cartridge Digital Download

Mario & Luigi: Brothers in Arms (Mario & Luigi RPG 6!!! in Japan) is turn-based action RPG video game developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo for the Nintendo NX in November 2018. It is the sixth installment in the Mario & Luigi series, preceded by Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Game Boy Advance, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story for Nintendo DS, and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam for the Nintendo 3DS. Brothers in Arms is the first Mario & Luigi game on the Nintendo NX.

Mario & Luigi: Brothers in Arms was released on Superstar Saga's fifteenth anniversary. It is the first game in the series to feature the sidekick system and the crafting system, along with several other features.

Gameplay

The gameplay in Mario & Luigi: Brothers in Arms is obviously very similar to the other Mario & Luigi games, although there a few key differences.

Battle System

To start a battle, Mario or Luigi must touch an enemy. They can also perform a First Strike by jumping on or hammering the enemy in the over-world. Respectively, this will damage or stun the enemy before the battle starts. However, if Mario and Luigi take damage from enemies in the overworld or their backs are touched, they are unable to move until their turn, since the character has tripped (see status effects for more information). Since the game is a turn-based RPG, Mario, Luigi, and enemies take turns attacking each other. The player can use good timed attacks to deal more damage. Depending on how well the player timed the hit, they can get an OK, GOOD, GREAT, or EXCELLENT ranking. Mario and Luigi can also counter-attack or dodge enemy attacks if their jumps or hammer attacks are timed right. Lucky Hits, which do twice the damage of the regular attack, can also happen randomly.

The bros have access to six different options when it is their turn. These include Jump, Hammer, Special Attack, Sidekick (see the Sidekick section), Item, and Flee. Jump and Hammer can be used at any time. Some enemies, however, can be resistant to either Jump or Hammer attacks. Special Attacks can only be used when both Bros are active, and they cost SP to use. If a bro does not have enough SP to use a certain special attack, he will be unable to use it. However, that bro can still participate in special attacks used by the other bro (assuming he has enough SP). Items can heal a bro's HP/SP or even power him up, although they do take up that bro's turn. Finally, the Mario Bros have the option to flee from battle. To do this, the player must repeatedly spam the A and B buttons. Some coins and items are lost during this process.

If a bro's HP reaches zero, he will faint, unable to perform any attacks or use any other moves. The other bro will have to carry the bro while defending, decreasing his reaction time and slowing him down. Additionally, special attacks cannot be used during this time period. Because of these consequences, it is recommended that the other bro use a 1-UP healing item as quickly as possible to get the fainted bro back into the battle.

The different rankings that attacks can receive

The battle categories from left to right: Jump, Special Attack, Item, Sidekick, Flee, Hammer

Stats

Each brother has their own Heart Points, Special Points, POW, DEF, SPEED, and STACHE points. When they finish a battle, they each gain Experience Points. With enough Experience Points, they can level-up and increase each respective statistic.

• HP (abbreviation of Heart Points) is the amount of life Mario and Luigi has. When an enemy hits either of them, they lose HP. When their HP reaches zero, they die, but can be revived with a 1-Up Mushroom or 1-Up Super.
• SP (abbreviation of Special Points) indicates how many times Mario and Luigi can use a Special Attack. Each attack uses a certain amount of SP, draining the total. SP can be restored by using Syrup and other items.
• POW (abbreviation of Power) is how strong either Mario or Luigi is. The higher their POW stats are, the more damage they will perform.
• DEF (abbreviation of Defense) is how much damage either Mario or Luigi can block from an enemy hit. The higher their DEF stats are, the less damage they will take.
• SPEED is how fast Mario or Luigi are. If an enemy has a greater speed they will attack first. If Mario and/or Luigi has a higher speed they will attack first.
• STACHE is the most unique of Mario and Luigi's stats. The higher their STACHE stats are, the greater there is a chance of a Lucky Hit, which doubles POW, and it also lowers the prices of items bought at shops and increases the worth of items sold (caps at 50%). Also, the player will be more likely to get hits on Scratch Cards with more STACHE.

Status Effects

Effects can be caused by enemies, gear and more. Some increase/decrease Mario and Luigi's stats and some them from attacking. Statistic increases/decreases can be combined while true status effects such as poison/burn cannot.

Trip: This effect makes either Mario or Luigi trip over themselves, stopping them from avoiding a single attack.

Poison: This effect causes Mario, Luigi, or an enemy to take damage every turn. The effect lasts two turns.

Dizzy: This effect causes Dizziness to Mario, Luigi, or an enemy. They will not be able to attack or dodge for a turn.

Sick: This effect causes Mario, Luigi, or an enemy to take damage every turn, along with lowering their defense and power. The effect goes away after three turns.

Burn: This effect is similar to the Dizzy effect, but actually hurts Mario, Luigi, or an enemy. The effect ends after being hit either once or twice.

POW Up: This effect increases the Power of Mario, Luigi, or an enemy.

POW Down: This effect decreases the Power of Mario, Luigi, or an enemy.

DEF Up: This effect increases the defense of Mario, Luigi, or an enemy.

DEF Down: This effect decreases the Defense of Mario, Luigi, or an enemy.

SPEED Down: This effect decreases the speed of Mario, Luigi, or an enemy.

Sidekicks

A new feature in Mario & Luigi: Brothers in Arms, the sidekick system allows each of the Mario Bros to team up with another character in the game. Sidekicks provide additional attacks that can be found under the "Sidekick" category when attacking.

Characters

Playable

• Mario
• Luigi

Sidekicks

• Starlow

Antagonists

• Bowser
• Bowser Jr
• Kamek
• Commander Goomp
• Corporal Paraplonk
• Sergeant Guy

Other

• Princess Peach
• Starlow
• Toads
  • Toadsworth
  • Toadbert
  • Toadiko
  • Captain Toadilo
• Yoshis
  • Yoshi
• Shrulls
• Cactines
• Brocks
  • Broque Monsieur
  • Broque Madame
  • Broggy
  • Blitties

Trivia

• A Speed Up status effect was originally going to be in the game, but it was cut sometime during development.