Summary
Mario RPG fans have been eating pretty well in the past year. For starters, the beloved SNES classicSuper Mario RPGgot completely and gorgeously revived for the Switch in Fall 2023. On top of that, the fan favorite Mario RPG title,Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, brought the idea of a traditional Paper Mario RPG back from the dead in a fantastic way to start 2024 off right.
Now, withthe announcement of a brand new fully 3D Mario & Luigi titleto follow in late 2024, the holy trifecta of Mario’s RPG outings on the Switch is soon to be complete, but ahead of the game’s November 2024 launch, here are a few things we’d love to see in the upcoming Mar-PG.
7Amiibo Support
Let The Bros. Use The Power Of Plastic
Now, we’re not saying we need complete compatibility with everyAmiibo, though you’re able to bet the first one we’ll try scanning in the final game will be our E.M.M.I. from Metroid Dread. No, instead, we’d mostly like to see Amiibo specific gear, like badges, to coincide with some new figures that match the style of the Mario & Luigi series.
Even if they do little more than give us a few coins and a single line of text that says “hey, thanks for buying our plastic” in the actual game, our inner collectors demand that Nintendo expand their Amiibo offerings with some classy new figures for, at the very least, Mario and Luigi themselves.
6A Ship Expansion
The Titular Brothership Should Level Up, Too
One thing the Mario & Luigi series has comparatively lacked in contrast with the Paper Mario series isa central hub areain general. Sure, Beanbean Castle Town kind of felt vaguely hub-ish, as did Toad Town in Bowser’s Inside Story and Peach’s Castle in Partners In Time, but for the most part, you don’t tend to return to as many areas as you do in other RPGs.
From what we’ve seen so far, it looks like Mario & Luigi Brothership could change all of that with the very ship from which it derives its title, and we’d love to see the game allow us to upgrade the boat as we travel from island to island. This could lend the gamea great sense of progressionbetween the beginning and end of the main story, and we’d welcome it.
5Luigi’s Red Striped Socks
The Plumber In Green Needs His Iconic Look Back
A staple of the Mario & Luigi artstyle that only the pickiest of fans will recognize are the candy cane striped socksLuigialways wears in the official artwork, particularly prevalent in the art for Bowser’s Inside Story. We didn’t see these socks in the trailer or the game’s official art, and we’re just grumpy enough to complain about that, even though it really isn’t a big deal.
Of course, allow us to take this opportunity to say we adore the new 3D visuals and think they fit the style beautifully. It would just be a shame if one of the silliest aspects of the original Mario & Luigi designs seen in the previous games didn’t at least get a cameo every now and again.
4A Big World To Explore
A Nice Meaty RPG Would Be Nice
As old as it makes us feel, the last time we got a Mario & Luigi game that wasn’ta remake of an older titlewas Mario & Luigi Paper Jam back in 2016, and despite how good Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door are on Switch, both of these are ultimately remakes, too.
With how long it’s been since our last fully original traditional Mario RPG adventure, we’d like to see the game take its time and give us a story we can really sink our teeth into. Give us a big world with tons of new faces to see and new locales to visit, and at least25 to 30 hours of playtime, and we’ll be happy.
3Amazing New Bros. Attacks
We Want Pizzazz! We Want Spectacle!
From the trailers alone, it’s obvious the latest entry in the fan favorite RPG series will feature at least a few stunningly animated Bros. Attacks thatpush the Switch’s hardware to the edge of what it can do.We loved what we saw, and all we can say is, we hope that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Well, okay, actually we can also say that we hope these attacks are as fun to play with as they are to look at, but given that the combat in the Mario & Luigi series has always been a delight, we haven’t got much reason to worry that the new title will let us down. All we ask is that the game throws in a few fun Bros. attacks that the trailers don’t let us see.
2A Final Boss That Isn’t Bowser
It’s Time For A Change To The Formula
Bowser belongs in the Mario RPGs for sure, but it’s always been a little confusing that each Mario & Luigi game has to begin and end with some variation of a Bowser fight; that just seems like an odd tradition, and it’s always felt like it’s held the games back from what they could be if the main villain was the final boss instead of King Koopa.
Rather than having us finish yet another Mario & Luigi adventure by taking on Bowser in a brand new final form, this time we hope the developers see fit to change up the formula and give us a final boss fightagainst an all new adversary. …or Wario. If the final boss of this game is Wario, we’ll be okay with that.
1Story Ties To The Original Trilogy
Is A Fawful Cameo Too Much To Ask?
One of the best characters in the entire Mario franchise catalog isthe obscure but nonetheless absolutely irresistibleFawful. Given the pig-like appearance of the game’s partner character, Snoutlet, we have a hunch that the another pig-like Mario & Luigi character, Midbus, might be showing up in the game anyway, but we hope that isn’t where references to Fawful and his schemes have to end.
Yes, Bowser’s Inside Story ultimately did away with the character in a pretty climactic way, but even if we can’t have Fawful himself appear, references to the original trilogy would still be amazing to see, especially if the game were to use them to connect its all new story with the events of the games that came before, like the first three did.
