Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

This article is about the remake game for the Nintendo 3DS. For the original game for the Nintendo DS, see Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
For alternate box art, see the related gallery.
Developers	AlphaDream Arzest
Publisher	Nintendo
Platform	Nintendo 3DS
Release dates	December 27, 2018 December 27, 2018 January 11, 2019 January 25, 2019 January 26, 2019
Languages	English (United States) English (United Kingdom) Japanese French (Canada) French (Europe) German Italian Spanish (Latin America) Spanish (Europe)
Genre	Role-playing
Ratings	ESRB: - Everyone[?] CERO: - All ages[?] PEGI: - Three years and older[?] USK: - All ages[?] RARS: - All ages[?] GSRR: - Six years and older ACB: - General[?] FPB: - All ages[?]
Mode	Single player
Format	Nintendo 3DS: Game Card Digital download
Input	Nintendo 3DS: Gamepad
Serial code	CTR-A3RJ-JPN

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey is a game in the Mario & Luigi series released for the Nintendo 3DS in Japan and Taiwan on December 27, 2018, and in January 2019 worldwide. It is an enhanced remake of the 2009 Nintendo DS game Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, and the seventh installment in the series overall. The remake also features another story titled Bowser Jr.'s Journey, where Bowser Jr. takes action on an adventure, similar to Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser, with two important differences: a slot for an additional First Officer who will have its own actions just like Bowser Jr. as well as formations for the troops.

The game is the second enhanced remake of the Mario & Luigi series, as well as the fourth game in the series and final game in the overall Super Mario franchise to be released for the Nintendo 3DS. It is also the final Mario & Luigi game to be developed by AlphaDream before the company filed for bankruptcy as a result of the game's commercial failure (although the company would assist Sega on the development of Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 before going bankrupt overall), and the final game in the series to feature Charles Martinet as the voice of Mario and Luigi.

The game is compatible with amiibo: Scanning one grants the player an item. According to the manual, the same amiibo can be scanned only once per day.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Like in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey has updated graphics, soundtrack, and controls, looking visually similar to Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. However, unlike the original game and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, the game now runs at 30 FPS instead of 60 FPS. With the exception of the short portion at the start of the giant battle against Super Peach's Castle of Fury, which runs at 60 FPS.

Gameplay changes

General

The gameplay mode

While the game's story is largely the same as it was in the original, many additions and alterations to the gameplay have been made. The largest addition to the game is the new game mode Bowser Jr.'s Journey, which can be played at any time from the start of the game. It shares a save slot with main game progress. The game is also now amiibo-compatible, and an amiibo can be scanned once a day to grant the player an item. A new Battle Guide has been added to the game, similar to the ones in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions. This allows players to review information on battles at any point. As a result, some practices from the original game do not reappear. The player now also has the option to ask Starlow to give information about the move that Mario and Luigi are learning. The "Easy" mode for Bros. Attacks from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions also returns.

New controls have been added to streamline gameplay. The game no longer makes use of the Mic feature. As such, the Mic Test no longer appears on the title screen. Giant Bowser's Fire Breath attack is now done by tapping the touch screen, and when Mario and Luigi are using the Breath Inspector in Dr. Toadley's office, it is now performed by pressing the and buttons respectively. When playing as Mario and Luigi, the button can now be used to jump at the same time, or to swim simultaneously while in Pump Works. As a result, switching from the Bros. to Bowser can now only be performed by pressing instead of either or . The button can now be used to fast-forward cutscenes. A new map icon in the bottom right corner allows Bowser or the bros. to see a map of their current location.

Other general changes

• The play time counter has been removed from the file select screen.
• Some quotes have been added or altered.
• Toad Square now announces more items and gear are in stock in the shop and occasionally makes a sale on Emoglobin Juice throughout the game, usually before gameplay sections involving the bros.
• Scratch Cards (now known as "Bonus Cards") are now played by choosing a square with the and buttons.
• Enemy stats have been changed.
• Bowser can now find coins in some trees using his Fire Breath.
• The sparks that Mario and Luigi hit in the Arm Center minigame are modeled after the Sun for Mario and Saturn for Luigi, allowing them to be better identified without relying on their color. Similarly, the Green Orb in the Rump Command is now a diamond shape rather than a round shape.
• Bowser can no longer punch the Boo-ray Machine; instead, he must stand on the pad to activate the spotlight.
• The air vent that blows air out to turn Mario into Balloon Mario in the Pipe Yard in order to reach the pipe to Peach's Castle is replaced by a platform.

Level up and Ranks

When Mario, Luigi and Bowser level up at the same time, it now levels up Bowser first before Mario and Luigi. In the original, Mario and Luigi level up first before Bowser.

Rank-Up Bonuses return from Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, replacing the original predefined rewards system. The Boomerang Rank from Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam returns for Mario and Luigi, achieved after the Shell Rank and before the Flower Rank. As it is now the fourth rank, the Flower Rank is required for shopping at Toadles Boutique. The Shine Rank has been removed. For Bowser, the new Master Boss Rank has been added before his last Final Boss Rank.

Gear

Some Gear and Accessory locations have been changed. Additionally, Mario, Luigi, and Bowser now start with all three Gear slots unlocked by default. Mario and Luigi's first gear slot is reserved exclusively for wear, and Bowser's first gear slot is for shells. These cannot be empty. The Challenge Medal now has a different effect: Instead of boosting enemy HP and DEF by 50% and POW by 150% but increasing coins earned by 50%, it greatly increases the damage everyone deals and receives, similar to the Great Force from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. It is now gotten after beating Junker X as the Big Shell is now the prize for getting a Gold Medal on the Green Shell in Cholesteroad. Kuzzle also now rewards the player with the Barrier Wear alongside beans after completing all puzzles.

Badges

Several Badge effects and prices have been changed, with Luigi's badges being completely revamped to instead match the system used in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. As a result, the combined effects of the badges has been entirely changed. There are now two extra Badges for Mario to use: The Shield Badge, received after getting all 16 Mushroom Balls in Toad Town, and the Expert Badge, received by earning a gold rank in all Cholesteroad challenges.

Mario and Luigi now need to progress in the story to unlock more badges in the badge store. The Bro Badge and Pro Badge (previously Great Badge) only become available after getting Wisdurm's Star Cure, and the Master Badge (previously Excelent! Badge) only becomes available after getting Chakron's. Similarly, Luigi's final badge, the Expert Badge (previously the Excellent!! Badge) is now obtained by defeating Bowser Memory MLX instead of by reaching Rainbow Rank.

Like in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, the player can hold more than one badge effect at a time. However, the badge meter does not increase when having two badge effects in stock. One of them must be used to put another badge effect in place.

Battles

• Enemy levels are now visible during battle.
• Mario and Luigi can now activate Emergency Guard by holding .
• Like in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, landing a First Strike on an enemy with a Hammer may inflict SPD-Down on them.
• Like in the other 3DS Mario & Luigi games, the hammer can be held for an infinite amount of time, making defending attacks with hammers easier.
• Like in the other 3DS Mario & Luigi games, Fleeing will not cause the player to lose coins.
• The Battle Guide now takes the form of a Command Block called the "Guide Block" for both the Bros. and Bowser during battles.
• Like in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, some enemies can now take critical damage from Jump and Hammer attacks in addition to Fire attacks.
• Four of Bowser's command blocks have swapped colors: the Punch Block is red rather than yellow, the Flame Block is green rather than red, the Vacuum Block is yellow rather than green, and the Brawl Attack is blue rather than orange.
• Broque Monsieur no longer receives damage from Bowser's punches in his battle.
• During Broggy's battle, when Bowser dodges his leaping attack and Broggy turns around to attack from behind, the camera now pans to the left, allowing the player to dodge his attack more easily.
• Beehosses now take critical damage from Bowser's Flame and the Goomba Storm Brawl Attack, in addition to the Mario Bros.' Fire Flower.
• The maximum number of hits of Bowser's Fire Breath attack has been reduced from five hits to three hits.
• The Badge Command Block to change badges during battle is absent from the remake; instead, they are changed at the bottom right corner on the touch screen.
• The player is forced to view the tutorial in the first giant battle, whereas in the original game, the player has the option to view the tutorial or not.
• In the giant battles, Bowser appears on the right screen instead of the left like in the original game.
• The player turns the screen when Bowser becomes giant instead of turning at the beginning of the giant battle like the original game.
• Giant Bowser has a new "final" attack during giant battles called "Finishing Move", which involves tapping the stylus repeatedly to beat a boss into submission, then, after Bowser uppercuts the boss, drawing a circle with the stylus to build up one final punch to finish off the boss.
• Bowser can now attack enemies to make them drop Blitties so he can inhale them.
• After Bowser defeats the giant enemy, cutscenes play.
• Experience Points are no longer received from giant battles; instead, items and gear are rewarded like giant battles in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and papercraft battles in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam.
• Bosses obtain the Fury status, turning red (or different colors) when low on health, as in Paper Jam. Some bosses now have altered attack patterns or new attacks.
• Changing Badges no longer takes up a turn.
• Giant battles can now be re-fought in the Gauntlet.
• Chain Chawful now takes damage from Bowser's shell. It also rewards 25 experience points if defeated by inhaling the Sworm.
• SPEED Peps can fuse with enemies like POW and DEF Peps to increase their speed.
• Broque Monsieur no longer takes damage during a battle tutorial if the player refuses to learn how to use the Vacuum Block. As such, the battle will only end if the player inhales him to continue the story.
• The player can now help Luigi escape Junker and Junker X's suction that puts him in a Junker Can and Junker Can X respectively by mashing the button.
• When defending against Super Bowser X's Fire Breath attack, the player must hammer the fireballs away instead of jumping over them.
• When Bowser (during his second fight) and Bowser X get angry, he will fully heal himself with a Drumstick.
• Mario and Luigi can no longer hold onto Starlow indefinitely after avoiding Bowser's and Bowser X's flame or the Dark Star Core's huge beam, and will automatically drop down after the attack ends. They must still let go themselves after the Dark Star's beam however, due to avoiding its ramming attack that follows.
• Dark Bowser no longer gets bigger when the player defeats him while the Dark Star Core is outside of his body if not inhaled.
• The "Miss..." rating is added when Mario or Luigi jumps on a spiked enemy.

Bros. Attacks

• Mario and Luigi's Special Attacks are renamed Bros. Attacks and now cost higher amounts of BP:
  • The Green Shell Bros. Attack now costs 4 BP instead of 3 SP.
  • The Fire Flower Bros. Attack now costs 6 BP instead of 4 SP.
  • The Jump Helmet Bros. Attack now costs 10 BP instead of 6 SP.
  • The Yoo Who Cannon Bros. Attack now costs 14 BP instead of 7 SP.
  • The Super Bouncer Bros. Attack now costs 12 BP instead of 7 SP.
  • The Spin Pipe Bros. Attack now costs 16 BP instead of 10 SP.
  • The Mighty Meteor Bros. Attack now costs 20 BP instead of 8 SP.
  • The Snack Basket Bros. Attack now costs 18 BP instead of 14 SP.
  • The Magic Window Bros. Attack now costs 26 BP instead of 18 SP.
  • The Falling Star Bros. Attack now costs 28 BP instead of 20 SP.
• The number of hits of the Green Shell Bros. Attacks for the Bros. has been reduced from ten hits to six hits, and the finishing attack is similar to the 3D Red Shell and 3D Green Shell from Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and the 3D Red Shell from Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam.
• Spin Pipe has been shortened so that the player must rhythmically tap the appropriate button, followed by a single long rotation.
• The Snack Basket's food now fall slightly slower and are more spread out, and Luigi can now jump to catch the falling food.
• The number of hits of the Mighty Meteor Bros. Attack for the Bros. has been reduced from five hits to four hits.
• Magic Window has been nerfed and no longer uses infinite inputs; the attack now ends with three windows on both sides opening one by one, with both bros jumping out of them to stomp on the enemy.
• The Fire Flower Bros. Attack no longer damages Calorites, but heals them instead.
• Yoo Who Cannons now aim at the enemy while the attack is in use.
• Fire Flower can now instantly defeat Jailgoons containing a Bob-omb.

Brawl Attacks

• Bowser's Special Attacks are renamed Brawl Attacks and now cost different amounts of BP (with the exception of Goomba Storm and Shy Guy Squad):
  • Koopa Corps now costs 14 BP instead of 10 SP.
  • Bob-omb Blitz now costs 18 BP instead of 12 SP.
  • Magikoopa Mob now costs 24 BP instead of 15 SP.
  • Broggy Bonker now costs 28 BP instead of 20 SP.
• The Goomba Storm Brawl Attack is much slower, making it easier for the player to tap the Goombas with the stylus, and thus get an "Excellent" rating.
• The Shy Guy Squad Brawl Attack can no longer slide with the stylus indefinitely; instead, the attack stops after the Shy Guys push Bowser three times if the player slides the stylus to get an "Excellent".

Items

• Bowser now eats Cheese instead of Syrup Jars to restore BP, and Cheesy Drumsticks instead of Star Candies to fully restore his HP and BP. Similarly, instances of Bowser receving a Mushroom have been replaced by Drumsticks. This includes the ? Block that Broque Monsieur hits during his battle, the blue bubble the Naplock blows, and the item rewarded by minions freed from a Jailgoon.
• Retry Clocks no longer appear like they do in the original version, as the player can retry a battle at any time (or in Easy Mode) if the player gets a Game Over like in the other 3DS Mario & Luigi games.
• Boo Biscuits now appear as items, serving the same role as they did in the previous games.
• Some items heal a different amount of HP or BP than they did in the original game:
  • Super Mushrooms heal 50 HP instead of 60.
  • Ultra Mushrooms heal 100 HP instead of 120.
  • Max Mushrooms heal all HP instead of 240.
  • Ultra Nuts heal 65 HP instead of 80.
  • Max Nuts heal all HP instead of 160.
  • Syrup Jars heal 15 BP instead of 10.
  • Supersyrup Jars heal 35 BP instead of 20.
  • Ultrasyrup Jars heal 60 BP instead of 30.
  • Max Syrup Jars heal all BP instead of 40.

Beans

Defense Beans, Speed Beans and Flex Beans now appear in the game. Additionally, some bean locations have been changed or altered. Beanholes found in Bowser's body are now labeled by a white X instead of a sparkling elliptical spot, and bean icons are now shown in the map after talking to the Toad in Toad Town that asks the player if they can tunnel underground. Kuzzle also now gives five of every type of bean instead of ten after completing all puzzles.

Visual changes

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey

The graphical changes between both versions, showing Dark Bowser being defeated

The graphics of the game have been greatly enhanced, patterned after the previous Nintendo 3DS Mario & Luigi installments. Several locations were redesigned, with elements of the scenery, such as the trees in Dimble Wood, Cavi Cape, and Plack Beach, now generally being more detailed and having more complex shading and animations. In addition to that, some areas now have different color schemes, such as the map of Blubble Lake now being lime-green instead of blue.

Character designs were updated to match previous Nintendo 3DS Mario & Luigi games. Mario's and Luigi's insignias on their caps are now red and green respectively, rather than black, and Luigi's green color is now closer to his usual Super Mario appearance. Luigi's overalls also now extend down to his shoes instead of leaving his socks visible. The Toads in Toad Town now also have their regular design with differently colored vests and spots, rather than differing in height and clothing.

Other visual changes

The title screen

• The title screen is heavily altered, with the image being changed from a reflection of Peach's Castle and Bowser's Castle to Bowser inhaling everything in Peach's castle and the Bros. sitting in the Trash Pit on the bottom screen, while Bowser and Bowser Jr. are posing on the bridge of Bowser's Castle.
• Some cutscenes now have automatic movement, such as Bowser walking towards the Giga Carrot after entering the room, and Mario and Luigi entering the Toad Town pipe after defeating Bowser.
• The prologue scene at Toad Town where a blorbed Toad crashes through a wall is now in 3D.
• Fawful now holds the Vacuum Shroom with one hand instead of using both of his hands.
• After Bowser inhales everyone in the Conference Hall, he also inhales two statues of Peach nearby, one of which later appears in the Trash Pit.
• When Mario and Luigi explore the Trash Pit after being inhaled, Bowser is facing away from rather than toward the player.
• The floor now sags slightly when Mario and Luigi walk around in some rooms inside Bowser's Body.
• The shipwreck in Cavi Cape has been redesigned to resemble the S.S. Chuckola. In addition, the steel balls used to open the gate are now replaced by barrels. Likewise, the web-like structure that he needs to burn down is replaced with a rope net.
• Save Blocks have received several adjustments:
  • The S letter on Save Blocks is now red instead of flashing multiple colors.
  • After the player hits and saves on a Save Block (or loads up the game from the last save point), if the player's stats are low, a message will appear that reads: "Don't forget to restore your HP & BP!".
  • When hitting a Save Block, the player will be able to fully read the message the first time without needing to hit it again. If the player uses Bowser's Fire Breath in the overworld on a Save Block, it no longer bounces briefly.
  • Wisdurm's name is no longer shown in the save message after she escapes into the Energy Hold. The same save message also fixes a spelling mistake of Bowser's name from "Boswer".
  • The save message for when the Dark Star escapes into the Airway no longer refers to the Airway as the "Air Space", instead calling it by its proper name.
• The sprouts on the Leaf Guys' heads now flutter instead of spinning around like a propeller. Despite this change, however, they still spin their propellers when they carry bombs or Mushrooms during Tower of Yikk's attack.
• The camera briefly zooms in and then out if the player successfully gets an "Excellent!" on Bowser's punch.
• Bowser no longer spins around after he uses the Chakroad. This also applies to the bros. after they break Chakron's thousand-year pose.
• When Broque Monsieur turns his head to be more menacing, it now takes longer before it lands upside-down. His head also flips the other way.
• When the water fills in Pump Works, Mario and Luigi will briefly float and sink back down.
• After finishing the Fire Flower Bros. Attack, Mario will clean his hands, spin around and tip his hat, while Luigi spins around and does a finger gun motion.
• After finishing the Goomba Storm Brawl Attack for Bowser, he will raise his left hand to look up at the Goombas as they fall.
• When Bowser gets crushed by a giant enemy, the background map of Bowser's body now shows his eyes closed.
• A cage no longer drops on top of Bowser and Midbus for their fight in Bowser's Castle.
• The white screen that briefly flashes when Bowser smells the pollen from flowers is removed.
• Luigi now balances on the Super Bouncer ball when performing the Bros. Attack. He also bounces off of the enemy before kicking the ball down at them when the attack is performed successfully.
• The little Blue Toad will remain next to the Badge Store in Toad Town after the player finishes hide and seek, rather than staying next to the blorbed Toad.
• Yikk's book now floats in the air instead of being on the floor.
• The guardian and Starlow will remain in the Memory Banks room instead of a blue background during a puzzle sequence.
• In the boss battle against Bowser Memory M and Bowser Memory L, the Koopa Troopa Memory who would show up to bring Bowser Memory M back to normal size is absent, and Bowser Memory M shrinks by himself.
• The Mushroom that enlarges Bowser Memory M is now a Mega Mushroom.
• The Mushrooms and 1-Up Mushrooms Bowser Memory L uses are now memory-based.
• Beef can be spotted in the Bob-omb Storage Depot which Bowser accidentally blows up. His presence there is explained in Bowser Jr.'s Journey.
• The meteor in the Mighty Meteor Bros. Attack is now a 3D meteor that lacks the "?" icon. It also explodes into confetti unlike in the original.
• In Broque Madame's Goomba Storm minigame, if enough Goombas have been burned, some will clump together into a ball before dropping onto Madame Broque's back.
• Bowser now has a whistle during the Bob-omb Blitz Brawl Attack.
• Big enemies in the overworld (apart from Toothies) no longer attack Mario and Luigi, although normal-sized enemies still attack them.
• Puzzle Sacks now remain visible on the map after completing the Spin Pipe puzzle from Kuzzle.
• The PR Toad that hosts Mushroom Ball Derby for the bros. to collect Mushroom Balls now opens all 16 of them rather than repeatedly opening them one by one once they are found.
• The area Luigi explores to rescue Mario from Sockops now has a purple poison fog.
• The Sockop that goes inside the giant Sockop now jumps out of it after putting Mario inside.
• Bowser shoots fireballs out of his mouth at the Magikoopas rather than summoning them with his hand during the Magikoopa Mob Brawl Attack.
• The Bros. briefly show their breath when Bowser inhales Blizzard Midbus's frosty gas.
• The Bros. can now jump off the sticky block in the Airway without Bowser's help to freeze.
• The Dark Star now turns into Dark Bowser and briefly inhales Luigi after defeating it; in the original game, this happened before the fight. Starlow also does not appear in both cutscenes when entering the pipe before hitting the ! Block and when the Dark Star transforms into Dark Bowser.
• Bowser will now toss soap on Broggy when he uses the Broggy Bonker Brawl Attack.
• Color-coded objects receive additional visual distinguishers to make it easier for colorblind players to differentiate them. Among others, green adrenaline is now square-shaped (in contrast to red adrenaline, which remains round), the Vacuum Helmet twitches its wings to signal which Bro. it plans to attack, and Kretin has unique facial expressions for its red and green nodes while it is in Alpha form.
• Kretin X now has a color scheme similar to its normal counterpart, albeit much darker.
• The Dark Star X and the Dark Satellmites X have been recolored yellow with pink eyes, rather than being red with blue eyes as in the original version.
• At the beginning of the Dark Star Core part of the final battle, Fawful briefly points at the bros before changing in size.
• Peach's Castle now has a far darker appearance than before inside and outside, with much more Fawful logos upon Fawful's takeover and the Dark Star being unleashed with, as well as his likeness being present everywhere. In the original game, it had minimal overall changes, with a more ruined appearance and Fawful's logo being strewn about.
• Plack Beach is now partially flooded with water.
• The Giga-carrot now has a bite mark to match the events of Bowser Jr.'s Journey.
• Bowser is no longer shown when Durmite heals during her battle or when the Bros. defeat Snawfuls; additionally, the steam from defeated Snawfuls now stays on top of the screen instead of all the way up.
• The trophies for beating Bowser Memory MLX and Dark Star X in the Gauntlet's trophy display screen have swapped places.
• The 99 Block now starts at 99 instead of 0, decreasing with each hit.
• There is now a statue for the Chakroad on top of Peach's Castle instead of being exposed.
• The stage where Bros. and Brawl Attacks (along with regular attacks) are practiced is now a black and white version of Plack Beach rather than a starry stage.
• In the final battle inside Bowser, Fawful now hangs on the ceiling if his legs are being attacked. Likewise, Fawful now uses his arms and hands to crawl toward the Bros. while the Dark Star Core attacks.
• When Bowser visits Broque Madame for the first time, she briefly alludes to Bowser Jr.
• During the final battle, Dark Bowser's windstorm continues with debris flying over the top screen.
• Wisdurm no longer summons a meter when she is fought for the red Star Cure, and instead uses a wand to take place of the meter.
• When Wisdurm summons the crystal heart to crush the Bros., the Bros. have their full bodies shown rather than just their heads in the heart's image. She also no longer jumps when the Bros. repel the heart.

Audio changes

• The returning music has been rearranged.
• The title screen has new music rather than being an arrangement of the original game's title theme. The original music can still briefly be heard at the end of the credits.
• Like in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, getting a Game Over plays an arrangement of "Player Down" from Super Mario Bros., while in the original game, the music fades out.
• There is a sound that plays whenever the player selects a Brawl Attack for Bowser.
• Bowser's footstep sounds have been changed, and vary based on the current area he is in.
• Fawful's voice sounds are slightly lowered in most instances, being pitched slightly higher near the very end of the game; however, his speech text sounds remain normal.
• When the Bros. enter a boss battle, Luigi screams Mario's name and Mario screams Luigi's instead of them saying the usual "Let's-a go! Okey-dokey!"
• When Mario fights Bowser for the first time, the music that plays is the boss battle theme, rather than the regular battle theme.
• After Bowser inhales everyone in Peach's Castle, the music does not stop until Midbus gives his line. In the original, the music stops after Bowser collapses.
• The Cavi Cape music starts playing when the Bros. enter the Funny Bone instead of the Bowser Path/Tunnel/Tower of Yikk music.
• The variant of Dimble Wood's music that plays inside Bowser starts playing in the room where the Giga-carrot was yanked right after Bowser finishes the Giga-carrot minigame instead of the regular Dimble Wood music.
• After Midbus throws the cannonball onto Bowser, the music changes back to the Bowser Path/Tunnel/Tower of Yikk music instead of the "Evil Plan" music continuing until the minigame in the Arm Center starts.
• Fawful's main music plays when Bowser enters the room with food instead of his Castle music.
• The Blubble Lake music starts playing when the Bros. enter the Toad Town pipe after defeating Bowser.
• Bowser does not make a sneeze sound after he enters Blubble Lake.
• The roar sound when a Fawful Guy or Dark Fawful Guy gets eaten and aimed at a bro for its attack is removed.
• The tutorial music now plays while doing the puzzle in the Memory Banks.
• After Luigi enlarges during the Snack Basket Bros. Attack, he will make a low-pitched laugh. When he lands on Mario after this happens, Mario will make an angry sound, and will grunt each time he pushes Luigi up.
• The Dark Star and Dark Fawful now have their own battle themes; the Dark Star's theme is completely new, and Dark Fawful's theme is a darker and slower arrangement of "Fawful and Cackletta" from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Despite this however, the Dark Star X still uses the normal boss theme.
  • The music list mistakenly titles the Dark Star's new boss music "Destroy the Dark Power! DX", despite the fact that it was introduced for the remake and does not have a counterpart in the original game.
• The Fawful's Plan music now plays during Super Peach's Castle of Fury's transformation instead of the Final Castle music.
  • This music also plays when the dark barriers in front of the castle are first created.
• When the Dark Star Core changes into its true form inside Bowser during the final battle, Fawful does not laugh, rather laughing more quietly before he transforms. That laugh is instead used when he begins his chasing attack.
• The music for the final battle now continues to play after the Dark Star Core is defeated. Likewise, the battle music for the Dark Star and the Dark Star X also continues to play when they do their vacuum attack.
• When Mario rescues Starlow and when the Bros. unlock the hammers, the jingle used when Bowser obtains the Vacuum Block is used instead of the regular item acquisition jingle.
• Using a Chakroad no longer makes a sound after selecting an area to teleport.
• After Dark Bowser is defeated, Bowser roars instead of shouting, "I rule!"

Enemies

Main article: Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey bestiary

Mushroom Kingdom

• ⁱ Indicates they can be inhaled by Bowser and then fought by Mario and Luigi.
  
• ^m Indicates only Mario can battle them.
  
• ^m&l Indicates only Mario & Luigi can battle them.
  
• ^b Indicates only Bowser can battle them.
  

Image	Name	Level	HP	EXP	Coins	Location
	Chuboomba	2	18	15	4	Cavi Cape, Plack Beach
	Borpm&l	9	54	220	40	Cavi Cape
	Toothy	2	24	18	5	Plack Beach
	Drillbit Crabm&l	21	115	240	45	Plack Beach
	Pendrilm&l	22	157	260	55	Plack Beach
	Treevil	5	95	35	10	Dimble Wood
	Trashure	6	112	40	15	Dimble Wood
	Scutletm&l	21	72	100	25	Dimble Wood
	Sockopm&l	22	110	240	55	Dimble Wood
	Flifit	10	120	50	20	Bumpsy Plains
	Sneedi m&l	13	74	160	50	Bumpsy Plains
	Lakitu Kingi m&l	8	72	35	30	Bumpsy Plains
	Chain Chawful	11	145	75	30	Bowser Path
	Fawfulcopteri m&l	8	32	40	20	Bowser Path
	Fawful Guym&l	11	98	240	60	Bowser Path, Bowser Castle
	Choombab	13	210	120	50	Tunnel
	Coalbiti	10	34	30	15	Tunnel
	Noozm&l	12	62	50	25	Toad Town Caves
	Fawflantm&l	13	70	70	30	Toad Town Caves
	Beehoss	14	158	150	40	Blubble Lake
	Crawful	15	173	170	45	Blubble Lake
	Glam Lakitui m&l	13	208	60	40	Blubble Lake
	Fawflopperm&l	20	96	200	40	Blubble Lake
	Mawful Molem&l	20	154	230	45	Blubble Lake
	Jailgoon	17	210	340	55	Bowser Castle
	Sniffle Thwomp	18	256	400	60	Bowser Castle
	Magifoofam&l	23	124	260	50	Bowser Castle
	Mechawful	22	190	380	70	Peach's Castle Garden
	Mechawful Headi	22	98	150	20	Peach's Castle Garden
	Metal Mawful Molem&l	21	128	420	60	Peach's Castle Garden
	Naplockb	26	312	720	100	Peach's Castle
	Alarm Bob-ombi	24	123	170	50	Peach's Castle
	Dark Trashureb	27	360	660	200	Peach's Castle
	Dark Fawful Guyi m&l	26	128	200	65	Peach's Castle
	Dark Mechawfulb	28	280	800	100	Peach's Castle
	Dark Mechawful Headi m&l	27	180	200	60	Peach's Castle
	Dark Mechawful.5b	30	330	880	120	Peach's Castle
	Dark Fawful Bombi m&l	26	312	0	0	Peach's Castle

Inside Bowser

Image	Name	Level	HP	EXP	Coins	Location
	Goombule	1	4	3	2	Trash Pit, Pump Works
	Elite Goombule	1	16	4	2	Trash Pit
	Spike Blop	2	5	5	3	Trash Pit, Pump Works
	Bubble Blooper / Dried Blooper	3	Bubble Blooper - 13 Dried Blooper - 11	10	4	Pump Works
	Protobatter	4	24	15	5	Pump Works
	Tenderling	8	30	30	12	Flab Zone
	Calorite	9	48	40	20	Flab Zone
	Napse	15	68	100	35	Energy Hold
	POW/DEF/SPEED Pep	16	94	120	40	Energy Hold
	Piranha Plorp	17	165	140	55	Energy Hold
	Pwallop	18	130	150	45	Energy Hold
	Air Cheep	27	200	600	90	Airway
	Stonk	28	314	630	100	Airway
	Airnapse	29	150	610	80	Airway
	Air Cannon	30	254	670	120	Airway

Bosses

• ^e Indicates the battle automatically ends after several turns.

Normal

Image	Name	Level	HP	EXP	Coins	Location
	Bowser (1)m	1	18	0	0	Peach's Castle
	Midbus (1)b e	1	95	0	0	Cavi Cape
	Broque Monsieurb i e	2	80	0	0	Plack Beach
	Sea Pipe Statuei	3	198	Sea Pipe Statue - 120 Stone Blooper - 30	50	Plack Beach
	Scutletm&l	5	187	200	50	Flame Pipe
	Broggyb	3	98	60	50	Plack Beach
	Wigglerb (possibly with Leaf Guysi m&l)	Wiggler - 8 Leaf Guy - 6	Wiggler - 360 Segments - 180 Leaf Guy - 36	Wiggler - 0 Leaf Guy - 20	150	Dimble Wood
	Durmite with Biffidusm&l	7	Durmite - 298 Straw - 18 Biffidus - 10	300	120	Nerve Cluster
	Midbus (2)b	12	800	550	300	Bowser Castle
	Kretinm&l	11	Alpha - 1 Beta - 333	700	200	Flab Zone
	Bowser (2)m&l	14	520	1000	500	Toad Town shopping mall
	Wisdurmm&l	18	1610	2800	600	Energy Hold
	Bowser Memory M and Bowser Memory Lm&l	19	Bowser Memory M - 285 Bowser Memory L - 490	3000	700	Memory Banks
	Shroobsm&l (×3)	22	500 (each)	900	300	Bowser Castle
	Chakronm&l e	23	9999	0	0	Plack Beach
	Junker with Junker Cansm&l	24	Junker - 1680 Junker Can - 60	6000	900	Peach's Castle Garden
	Blizzard Midbusb with Snawfulsi	Blizzard Midbus - 30 Snawful - 27	Blizzard Midbus - 2580 Snawful - 105	Blizzard Midbus - 6500 Snawful - 220	1200	Peach's Castle
	Dark Star with Dark Satellmitesm&l	Dark Star - 31 Dark Satellmite - 30	Dark Star - 1600 Dark Satellmite - 260	9999	2000	Airway
	Dark Fawfulb with Vacuum Helmeti	31	Dark Fawful - 2280 Vacuum Helmet - 1760	Dark Fawful - 7500 Vacuum Helmet - 220	1600	Peach's Castle
	Dark Bowserb	32	1260	0	0	Peach's Castle
	Dark Star Corei m&l	32	Main - 2070 Glasses - 250 Appendage - 156	0	0	Peach's Castle

Giant

Image	Name	Coins	Prizes	Location
	Bowser's Castle	800	Lightweight Shell Cheesy Drumstick Heart Bean Special Bean	Dimble Wood
	Tower of Yikk	1200	Brawl Fangs Flashy Fangs Power Bean Defense Bean	Blubble Lake
	Fawful Express	2000	Gilt Shell TNT Drumstick Ultra Cheese Speed Bean	Project K
	Super Peach's Castle of Fury	3000	Intruder Fangs Cheesy Drumstick Miracle Cheese Flex Bean	Peach's Castle Garden

Gauntlet

Note that all the X bosses will only award coins after their first defeat. All these bosses are fought by Mario & Luigi.

Image	Name	Level	HP	Coins
	Durmite X with Biffidus X	18	Durmite - 575 Biffidus - 61 Straw - 24	600
	Kretin X	21	Alpha - 135 Beta - 810	1200
	Wisdurm X	26	2380	2400
	Bowser Memory MLX	29	Bowser Memory MX - 2500 Bowser Memory LX - 3000	3600
	Junker X with Junker Can X	34	Junker - 3080 Junker Can - 143	5400
	Dark Star X with Dark Satellmite X	38	Dark Star - 3420 Dark Satellmite - 416	7500
	Bowser X	45	5800	15000

Shops

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Bowser Jr.'s Journey

Main article: Bowser Jr.'s Journey

The adventures of Bowser Jr. and the Minions!

This additional strategic side story runs concurrently with the events of the main game and features Bowser Jr. as he embarks on a quest to find a cure for the blorbs disease. He leads the Koopalings and armies of minions in real-time, squad-based 9v9 battles. The gameplay involves selecting unit types, arranging tactical lineups, and deploying special abilities to defeat enemy forces. This mode operates independently from the main story and can be accessed separately throughout the game.

Multimedia

For the complete list of media files for this subject, see Multimedia:Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey. For this subject's sound test, see Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey sound test.

Mario, Luigi, and Bowser Too! - The title screen music for the remake.

File info ​

Destroy the Dark Power! DX - The Dark Star's battle theme, exclusive to the remake.

File info 0:30

A Fateful Clash! DX - Dark Fawful's battle theme, exclusive to the remake.

File info 0:30

A Battle Brawl! - The main battle theme in Bowser Jr.'s Journey.

File info 0:30

Help:Media file • Having trouble playing?

Nintendo eShop description

American English version

Laugh your way through a hilarious story told from three perspectives! Search the Mushroom Kingdom for a cure as Bowser, explore his innards as the Mario Bros., and discover the untold story of Bowser Jr.'s Journey. Overcome the fury of Fawful, action-packed battles, puzzling tasks, and giant bosses in a classic action RPG—stuffed with new content! Mario and Luigi are stuck inside Bowser, forced to accomplish unusual tasks to assist their arch nemesis with hero stuff across the land. The scenes and dialogue that ensue will have you cackling like Fawful, even in battle! Time your button presses and keep up with the action: turn the system sideways, blow into the mic, or tap the touch screen. In an all-new mode, Bowser Jr. will cross paths with our unlikely allies as he recruits Ranged, Flying, and Melee troopers to fight for his cause. Strategically form teams and pit them against enemies to reign supreme in frenetic combat.

European English version

Nintendo DS classic, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, is back for more gut-busting adventures in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey.

Mario and Luigi have been tasked with finding a cure for the blorbs, a disease threatening all life in the Mushroom Kingdom. But, thanks to Fawful, both brothers have been devoured by Bowser!

And so, their journey takes them deep into the belly of the beast, leaving Bowser to scour the kingdom for the cure. The only way forward is to change between the Bros. and Bowser.

The big bad will even beef up for monstrous boss battles fit for a king! Take 'em down in this action-packed RPG, and find out what happens behind the scenes in the untold story of Bowser Jr.

Reception

Critical reception

Similarly to the original Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey has received positive reviews from critics. Critics tend to praise the gameplay of the main story, though the Bowser Jr.'s Journey mode has had a more mixed reception, and some of the game's aesthetic changes received criticism.

Reviews
Release	Reviewer, Publication	Score	Comment
Nintendo 3DS	Drew Hurley, Cubed3	9/10	"In an age where remakes and remasters are as hotly anticipated as the biggest AAA title, it's great to see yet another gem from yesteryear arrive, giving players who never experienced it the first time around a second chance and letting players who enjoyed it originally revisit just what made it stand out to them. The Mario RPG series is a perfect example. It is criminally underrated and deserves to be lauded far more. Any new opportunity to do that is a blessing. This was an awesome game almost a decade ago and now it has gotten a fresh lick of paint and it is looking better than ever."
Nintendo 3DS	Mitch Vogel, Nintendo Life	9/10	"Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey stands as a well-made remake of a game that was excellent to begin with, polishing up the original in small ways and adding some extra content that meaningfully establishes its own identity. If you’ve ever been a fan of the Mario & Luigi series (or are looking for a reason to dust off the old 3DS), do yourself a favour and pick this game up. Although Bowser Jr.’s Journey is just an ‘okay’ addition, the inventive battles, great writing and creative gameplay of the main game make this one an easy recommendation."
Nintendo 3DS	CJ Andriessen, Destructoid	8/10	"It's tough to recommend this release to anyone who already owns the DS version, a game that is still completely playable no matter which member of the 3DS family you own. Everything that was great about the original is still great here. But if you're one of the dwindling number of people still rocking a 3DS and you have yet to take a trip to the bowels of Bowser, it's an unforgettable adventure full of wit, charm, and comedy. Bowser Jr's Journey may not add anything worthwhile in regards to gameplay, but it does reaffirm that the strength of the Mario & Luigi franchise lies in its writing."
Aggregators
Compiler		Platform / Score
Metacritic		84
GameRankings		83.50%

Sales

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey was considered a commercial failure, becoming one of the worst-selling Super Mario games to date since the Virtual Boy—having comparable sales figures to download-only titles and Mario's Tennis, a stark contrast to the original release it was based on which remains to be the best-selling Mario & Luigi title. In Japan, it sold under 9,500 units in the first week and dropped off the top 20 charts by the second week. In comparison of the time period released and another rerelease of an older Super Mario game, New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe has sold 381,469 units in a lesser period of time. Comparing to other Nintendo 3DS ports of the Super Mario franchise released at a similar time frame on their first week, Luigi's Mansion and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker sold 27,000 and 20,547 units respectively. Famitsu's sales tracker reported the game as selling a total of 34,523 units over its Japanese lifetime, making it one of the worst-selling games in the entire Super Mario franchise.

Though not cited as a direct cause, the Mario & Luigi series developer AlphaDream would eventually shut down after filing for bankruptcy on October 1, 2019, citing "sluggish revenues" as one of the factors. One gaming journalist also claimed that he was told by an inside source that Nintendo had "axed other 3DS plans" due to the game's poor sales.

Gallery

For this subject's image gallery, see Gallery:Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey.

• 

  English logo

• 

  Mario, Luigi, Starlow, and Bowser

• 

  Bowser Jr., Kamek, and the Koopalings

• 

  Spike Blop

• 

  A Toad with Blorbed Toads

Quotes

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Main article: List of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey quotes

Staff

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Main article: List of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey staff

Glitches

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Main article: List of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey glitches

References to other games

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

• The game runs on the same engine used in this game. Many graphics originate in this game.

Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

• One of Bowser Jr.'s artwork is reused from this game.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions

• The Minion Quest mechanic returns as a story mode for Bowser Jr.
• Captain Goomba, Captain Koopa Troopa, Captain Boo, and Captain Shy Guy make a reappearance as enemies and allies, and Captain Goomba's inadvertent role in giving Bowser amnesia (as well as that mode's ending where he got demoted as a result) is indirectly referenced right before Bowser Jr.'s tutorial fight against him, where Captain Goomba cites he does not wish to upset Bowser again.
• Both Morton and Ludwig also reference the Captains' role in saving Bowser near the beginning of and late in the game, respectively.

Development

While not much is known about the remake's development, several key details were shared in an interview with Game Informer shortly after the game's launch. According to AlphaDream producer Yoshihiko Maekawa and Nintendo producer Akira Otani, the main reason they remade Bowser's Inside Story for the 3DS instead of the Nintendo Switch was due to timing; they could easily build the game based on existing assets and, more critically, they wanted to retain the dual-screen elements of the original title such as the minigames and Giant Battles. The reason they skipped over a remake of Partners in Time was because they wanted to remake the best received title in the series. Additionally, they wanted to take the opportunity to explore the parent-child dynamics between Bowser and Bowser Jr., which manifested in Bowser Jr.'s Journey.

Pre-release and unused content

During the Nintendo Direct on March 8, 2018, badges were shown to be available much earlier than in the original. In the final release, badges are obtained at the same point as in the original. It is unknown if this change was actually intended for the final product.

Unused sprites of Iggy on the ground in battle, Ludwig in a Clown Car, their dark versions, Bloopers, Golden Eggs, blue, green, yellow and purple Toads, and green, red and white Magikoopas on broomsticks can be found in the game's files.

• 

  Blooper

• 

  Golden Egg

• 

  Iggy

• 

  Iggy (Dark)

• 

  Ludwig

• 

  Ludwig (Dark)

• 

  Magikoopa (Green) (flying)

• 

  Magikoopa (Red) (flying)

• 

  Magikoopa (White) (flying)

• 

  Toad (blue)

• 

  Toad (green)

• 

  Toad (yellow)

• 

  Toad (purple)

Update history

Version 1.1

Date Released: 5 February, 2019

Nintendo eShop Update Content Description:

• Depending on the event, sometimes the player got stuck on a certain map when controlling Luigi solo and trying to save the game progress by using the Save Block. The issue has been fixed.
• By downloading the update data, this issue will no longer occur.
• Also, if the issue has already occurred, it will be fixed so that the player can continue playing.

Version 1.2

Date Released: 19 March, 2019

Nintendo eShop Update Content Description:

• Addressed an issue where sound wouldn’t play for music from the Nintendo DS version of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story in the Music Menu, under Records.

Names in other languages

Language	Name	Meaning	Note(s)	Ref.
Japanese	マリオ＆ルイージRPG3 DX Mario ando Ruīji RPG3 DX	Mario & Luigi RPG 3 DX
Chinese (Traditional)	瑪利歐&路易吉RPG3 DX Mǎlì'ōu & Lùyìjí RPG 3 DX (Mandarin) Máhleih'āu & Louhyihkgāt RPG 3 DX (Cantonese)	Mario & Luigi RPG 3 DX
French (European)	Mario & Luigi : Voyage au centre de Bowser + L'épopée de Bowser Jr.	Mario & Luigi: Journey to the Center of Bowser + The Epic of Bowser Jr.
German	Mario & Luigi: Abenteuer Bowser + Bowser Jr.s Reise	Mario & Luigi: Bowser Adventure + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
Italian	Mario & Luigi: Viaggio al centro di Bowser + Le avventure di Bowser Junior	Mario & Luigi: Journey to the center of Bowser + The adventures of Bowser Jr.
Spanish (European)	Mario & Luigi: Viaje al centro de Bowser + Las peripecias de Bowsy	Mario & Luigi: Journey to the Center of Bowser + The Adventures of Bowser Jr.