“Sephiroth nor Bankruptcy are enough to finish these god-scaling brothers.”
On June 18th, 2024, cult-classic Nintendo RPG series, “Mario and Luigi” would make their extravagant return to reality when the most recent Nintendo Direct announced the new installment coming November 17th! This shocked the system of every Nintendo fan as the company responsible for the Mario and Luigi spinoff series, AlphaDream, came to a sudden bankruptcy in 2019, and all chances of seeing this series return was deemed impossible. However, it seems the series’ popular song “Try, Try Again!” came to fruition, as the series has pushed past expectations, and the bros are ready to whack hammers and stomp enemies just like the the good ‘ol days!
Here’s a recap on the history of the Mario and Luigi RPG series to help you truly appreciate your playthrough this November, showing you the importance of this series and making their return ever more satisfying!
The Birth of Mario & Luigi RPG’s:
Mario has seen many different forms over his 35+ years, where everybody and their mama knows he’s the plumber who jumps around and stomps koopas, burns rubber on gravity-defying rainbows, and even has appeared in his very own animated film. Although Mario’s biggest transformation was when he made the bold step into 3D demensional worlds, coming in the form of 1996’s ‘Super Mario 64‘, it would be in the same year Nintendo would take a new path with the jolly italian. In collaboration with SquareEnix, Mario was thrown into a fantastical world of ‘Super Mario RPG‘, where he’d navigate this oddly-unique Mario universe alongside Princess Peach, Bowser, and new fan favorites, Geno and Mallow. Mario RPG was a great success (with this installment just getting a remaster in 2023 because of fan demand), so in 1996, Nintendo knew they’d have to capitalize on this idea.
7 years pass when we’d see a new universe of Mario’s RPG’s. In collaboration with AlphaDream, now came the next grand project for the red plumber, but this time, he had his green bro along for the entire ride. AlphaDream and Nintendo produced a brand new take on Mario and Luigi, where this time the player would control both brothers at the same in battle! This title was ‘Mario & Luigi, Superstar Saga‘, and it became a HIT on the Gameboy Advance!
The Rise Begins:
The Mario & Luigi series would continue strong, where in 2005 we’d find the brothers working with their younger selves from a past timeline, 2009 brought us inside the gut of Bowser, 2013 dragged us into Luigi’s dreams, and 2015 unfolded another fan-favorite Mario RPG series, bringing ‘Paper Mario’ to the ‘Mario & Luigi’ universe. We would then receive two enhanced versions of the first and third titles in 2017 and 2019.
The Fall:
However, as time went on, supposedly the series didn’t stick in mainstream gaming as well as AlphaDream would hope, or simply didn’t attract a large enough fanbase quite like the casual Mario platformers or Karters do, because on October 1st, 2019, AlphaDream filed for bankruptcy. In short, this meant the Mario & Luigi RPG series was likely never coming back, and I, alongside thousands of other fans across the globe, were destroyed to see the most unique take on the Mario brothers fall from grace. Although Nintendo bought AlphaDream out so they’d still have rights over the games, Nintendo continuing the series with new games seemed as likely as Bowser getting his own mainline game (still crossing my fingers for that btw.)
Mourning into Acceptance:
Through an entire pandemic and years forward (2019-2024), us Mario & Luigi fans hoped someday we’d see the return of the brothers in their wacky RPG form, but as time passed, it seemed ever more so unlikely. Fans however remained loyal to the games and continued to play, cherish, and preserve them. Artists online became masters at copying the series’ artstyle, and as time passed by, art replicating the series’ signature style became more widespread.
Mario & Luigi also became a meme last year, where the joke made fun of Mario and Luigi’s ridiculous canon power and abilities, comparing them to having the power of gods, so much so they’d have the ability to easily decimate the iconic one-winged angel and Galeem murderer, Sephiroth from Final Fantasy 7.
The Greatly Exaggerated Death:
However, as of June 18th’s Nintendo Direct, it was as if the legendary seven stars had aligned, and a miracle was bestowed upon us. In the opening moments of the direct, we cut to a bright green terrain, where Luigi suddenly comes rushing across the screen, but this isn’t any ordinary Luigi! This is none other than the Luigi from the RPG series, in his respective art style any fan would recognize! In that very moment, we all knew, the impossible had suddenly become a reality, and as Mario helped Luigi back up from the cliff, we caught sight of Mario’s iconic design, and as text reading ‘Mario & Luigi’ appeared, all fans rejoiced as we knew the RPG boys WERE BACK!
The trailer shows us a multitude of shots in the upcoming reboot, ‘Mario and Luigi Brothership’, making me and all fans more excited than ever as we cheer that these two have returned for more! In conclusion, the bros are back from their greatly exaggerated death, and are here to remind us why they’re the most powerful iterations of Mario and Luigi in the Marioverse; because when these two stick together, not even bankruptcy or Sephiroth is enough to stop them.
Thank you for reading all the way to the end! If you enjoyed this article, please read more on my home page, share with anybody who would also enjoy this article, and leave your thoughts in the comments! Please support my social platforms and the ‘Gunn’s Garage’ blog as I hope my reviews reach more popculture fans like you!
-Caleb Gunn, Writer, Actor, Artist, and ‘Self-Proclaimed’ Celebrity
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