Mario & Luigi
- This article is about the video game series. For other uses, see Mario & Luigi (disambiguation).
- "Mario & Luigi RPG" redirects here. For the Game Boy Advance game known as simply "Mario & Luigi RPG" in Japanese, see Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga.
- "M & L" redirects here. For the fictional movie in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga known as "M & L", see List of implied entertainment § Yoshi Theater films.
| Mario & Luigi | |
|---|---|
 Logo design used since Mario & Luigi: Brothership | |
| First installment | Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003) |
| Latest installment | Mario & Luigi: Brothership (2024) |
| Number of installments | 8 (6 direct, 2 remakes) |
| Franchise | Super Mario |
- “Nintendo's hilarious action-RPG proves that two heroes are better than one.”
- —Nintendo Power Volume 175, January 2004
The Mario & Luigi[1][2][3] series, known as the Mario & Luigi RPG series in East Asia, is a series of role-playing video games originally developed by AlphaDream for Nintendo's handheld platforms since 2003. The series features games with long, detailed stories full of battles featuring Mario and Luigi as the titular characters. As in the Paper Mario series, the battle system emphasizes timing and elaborate attacks. Compared to that of other RPGs, the tone of the Mario & Luigi games is generally more whimsical and lighthearted, with various in-game jokes and comical references to the heritage of the Super Mario franchise.
AlphaDream developed each entry in the series from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga to Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey. Following the latter game's commercial failure, AlphaDream filed for bankruptcy in October 2019. Acquire succeeded AlphaDream as the developers of the series starting with Mario & Luigi: Brothership.
Like in Paper Mario and Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, characters and plot points originating in one game often carry over to a later game in the series. This is most particular with the antagonist Fawful, whose anger at his defeat in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is one of his primary motivations for his actions in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Mario & Luigi differs from most other role-playing games due to its focus on controlling Mario and Luigi simultaneously. During field sections, the directional pad controls Mario's movement with Luigi following closely, while Mario and Luigi's other actions are controlled individually with either of two lettered buttons: 
for Mario, and 
for Luigi. The game begins with them being able to jump independently, though they gain access to hammers and a variety of other techniques as the game progresses. For example, in Superstar Saga, Luigi's hammer can be used to squash Mario into a smaller size, allowing access to small gaps, while placing Mario on Luigi's shoulders allows them to act like a propeller and hover across large gaps. Some of these techniques are called Bros. Moves. Field gameplay has these skills used to surmount various obstacles, often in a platforming context such as to climb a mountain or activate switches to raise a bridge. Mario & Luigi is very lenient in field gameplay, with the only penalties for mistakes made in it being to drop the characters to a prior section or return them to the start of a room; damage is typically never inflicted through field gameplay. Along the way, the player can find blocks to hit to receive coins and items from. Various enemies roam the overworld, and coming into contact with these enemies initiates a battle. Landing a hit on the enemy while on the field allows the player to deal preemptive damage. Enemies can attack Mario or Luigi, which initiates a battle but does not deal damage. Should an enemy or their attack hit either character in the back, that character is stunned in the battle until their turn begins (with the exception of Mario & Luigi: Brothership, which instead has the enemy attack first regardless of speed).
Battles in these games are turn-based. Mario and Luigi can attack normally either by jumping, which can deal multiple hits, though when used against enemies covered in flames or with spikes, Mario or Luigi will get hurt instead of the enemy; or with the hammer, which is powerful, but ineffective against flying enemies. Similar to other Super Mario RPG titles (Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars and the Paper Mario series), players can time button presses to make their attacks more effective, such as earning an extra jump attack or increasing the hammer's power. Introduced in this series is the way in which Mario and Luigi can defend themselves during an enemy's attack. When an enemy attacks, the brothers will be able to either jump or use their hammer which, when successfully timed, allows them to dodge their attacks and even deal counter damage (for example: if they jump on top of a charging Goomba). Throughout the game, players can unlock Bros. Attacks, which use Bros. Points (BP) requiring players to cooperate between Mario and Luigi's actions to perform powerful combination attacks (in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Bros. Attacks are replaced with Bros. Items and are treated as consumable items). Players can also use items such as the Super Mushroom for healing, peppers for boosting stats, and 1-Up Mushrooms for reviving fallen Bros. Defeating enemies earns experience points which help the Bros. level up and increase their stats, with players given the option to further increase the stats of one attribute every time they level up. Players can further improve their stats by equipping new gear to the Bros., or making them wear badges that give them special attributes.
In Bowser's Inside Story, Bowser becomes a playable character who is controlled on the top screen. The world inside Bowser's body, which is played with Mario and Luigi, is presented in a 2D side-scrolling style. The brothers sometimes must directly interact with Bowser in order for the player to progress, and have opportunities to visit the overworld via Warp Pipes as the plot advances. In battle, Bowser plays similarly to Mario and Luigi, but specializes in punching and breathing fire. He can inhale to suck up defenses and enemies from the top screen, similar to Kirby, a character from another Nintendo franchise. Any enemies inhaled will enter his body, where Mario and Luigi will fight them instead. Bowser earns new abilities by rescuing his caged minions, or by finding living kitten-like blocks called Blitties. Further, the Mario Bros. play various minigames where they help out Bowser from inside his body in order to progress: for example, the Arm Center, where the brothers hit spark-like items into a muscle to strengthen Bowser's arms; the Leg Outpost, where they stomp on leg muscles to strengthen Bowser's legs; and the Gut Check, where they help digest food that Bowser eats. One location, the Rump Command, has the player accumulate adrenaline in order to supersize Bowser if he is crushed, leading to a new battle system in which the DS is held vertically like a book and all attacks require the stylus and microphone.
Bowser's Inside Story also introduced a new ranking system in which, after a character has reached a specific level, his rank will increase. Upon reaching these milestones, that character will receive a special bonus, such as an additional equipment slot, being able to visit specific shops or receiving a certain piece of equipment. Mario and Luigi each have six ranks, but Bowser has four. The badge system from previous games has also changed, now possessing effects that Mario and Luigi can use by charging a meter with attacks. When the meter is filled, players can touch the meter to activate its effect, which varies depending on the combination of badges equipped, such as health recovery or stat raising.
Dream Team requires Mario to enter the world of Luigi's dreams to progress through the plot. Like Bowser's body in the previous game, this "Dream World" takes place in a 2-D side-scrolling environment, where Mario is joined by a "Dreamy" counterpart to Luigi. Throughout the Dream World stages, players will find various phenomenons called "Luiginary Works," into which Dreamy Luigi can embed himself to allow players to interact with the environment by touching the real-world Luigi on the touchscreen. For example, players can tweak Luigi's mustache to manipulate a Luigi-shaped tree to fling Mario to new areas with its branches, or make Luigi sneeze to create a gust of wind that blows blocks into the foreground. Mario can also take command of a stack of Luigis known as "Luiginoids," which takes on new abilities and forms as the game progresses, such as smashing through blocks, creating whirlwinds, and rolling down hills. Also in the Dream World, Mario can combine with Dreamy Luigi in battle and fight against large groups of enemies with assistance from the Luiginoids, which allow him to attack multiple enemies with successful attacks.
In Paper Jam, Paper Mario, which is the paper-like rendition of Mario seen in the Paper Mario series interpreted as a separate character, joins his normal counterpart and Luigi to form a team of three. He can use his paper thin body to perform his own unique actions, such as squeezing through tight gaps or turning into a paper airplane in battle to help the brothers. He can also use make copies of himself, allowing him to deal extra damage or attack multiple enemies at once, as well as use special techniques called "Trio Attacks" where he, the normal Mario, and Luigi attack together. There are also sections where players control giant papercraft versions of Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Yoshi to fight other papercraft enemies.
Brothership, the first home console entry in the series, revolves around Shipshape Island, which serves as the game's hub world. Using the Ocean Map of Concordia, Shipshape Island can set sail on reefs to find drifting islands, on top of smaller islets, rare reefs featuring characters from the series, and Great Lighthouse Islands that need to be activated to access new seas to explore. The main objective is to launch into the islands using Shipshape's cannon to link the drifting islands of Concordia back by linking the lighthouses on them to the Uni-Tree on Shipshape. Due to the island-based setup, Mario and Luigi cannot move to another area by walking on another path, like in previous entries. Mario and Luigi also cannot leave most islands until the lighthouses on them are linked; After doing so, Mario and Luigi can move between islands by using special pipes that appear in the island or by using the Return Pipe. Areas that do not have Lighthouse Towers (e.g. Great Lighthouse Islands and islets) can only be left by jumping into a cannon located at their exterior. Like Paper Mario: The Origami King, main exterior areas are significantly larger, with all of them being a single segmented area, rather than being divided into multiple segments.
Many other gameplay changes also appear in Brothership. Luigi now automatically follows Mario whenever he's walking and by pressing 
, he can act independently from Mario to assist in overworld activities. That same button also activates Luigi Logic, in which Luigi thinks of various problems to solve in the overworld or in boss fights, such as learning Bros. Moves, which can now be upgraded. Battle Plugs, which are crafted using Lumenade are introduced, and up to five can be used in a single battle. Each badge has a certain number of uses per turn before it has to be recharged. Mario & Luigi can now decide what certain events occur in the game, which can also affect game mechanics. Side quests, optional missions that can be cleared to get rewards, are also introduced in this game. These missions have to be cleared at a certain point in the game, as they will become unavailable later on in the game.
Games
Main series
| Title | |
|---|---|
| Cover, original release, and system | Synopsis |
| Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga | |
  November 17, 2003[?]Game Boy Advance |
The first game in the series was Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, released in 2003 for Game Boy Advance. In the game, two new villains, Cackletta and Fawful, steal Princess Peach's voice. Mario and Luigi jump into the action and travel to the Beanbean Kingdom to stop them. It is later found out that Cackletta had stolen Peach's voice to awaken the Beanstar, a powerful star that can grant all wishes, such as letting Cackletta rule the world, that is awakened by a pure voice. Princess Peach happened to be the one with the "pure" voice.
The game was later released for Wii U as a Virtual Console title on Nintendo eShop in 2014, and is included in Game Boy Advance – Nintendo Classics, released for Nintendo Switch in 2023. |
| Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time | |
 November 28, 2005[?]Nintendo DS |
A sequel to Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was released for Nintendo DS in 2005, called Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. This game centers on the Mushroom Kingdom of the past, during the invasion of an alien race known as the Shroobs. Unaware of the danger, Princess Peach uses a time machine built by Professor E. Gadd to travel into the past, where she was promptly captured by the alien leader, Princess Shroob. Teaming up with Baby Mario and Baby Luigi, the adult Mario bros. set off to defeat the Shroobs and save Peach, using Time Holes created by the malfunctioning time machine to travel back and forth through time.
The game was later released for Wii U as a Virtual Console title on Nintendo eShop in 2015. |
| Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story | |
  February 11, 2009[?]Nintendo DS |
The third installment, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, was announced at Nintendo's Fall Press Conference on October 2nd, 2008,[4] and released for Nintendo DS in 2009. While Mario and Luigi are still playable, Bowser also becomes a central protagonist in this game as he attempts to reclaim both the Mushroom and Koopa Kingdoms from Fawful, who used an outbreak of a disease known as the blorbs as an opportunity to launch his own evil plot for world domination. Fawful later gives Bowser a Vacuum Mushroom, making Bowser inhale everything around him, including Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and other characters. |
| Mario & Luigi: Dream Team | |
  July 12, 2013 [?]Nintendo 3DS |
The fourth installment, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, was announced during February 2013's Nintendo Direct,[5] and released later in 2013, for Nintendo 3DS. Due to the shift to 3D, the game uses a new art style. In this game, Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, and Toadsworth go on a trip to Pi'illo Island, where the bat king Antasma has turned many residents into stone, and kidnaps Peach. In order to save the Pi'illo Island folk and the princess, Mario must explore both the real, tridimensional world and the side-scrolling world in Luigi's dreams. |
| Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam | |
 December 3, 2015[?]Nintendo 3DS |
The fifth installment, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, was announced during Nintendo's 2015 E3 Digital event. It was initially released later in 2015 for Nintendo 3DS, and features a crossover with the Paper Mario series. The story involves Luigi accidentally stumbling over a book and releasing characters from the Paper Mario series into the Mario & Luigi world. Bowser and Paper Bowser, despite some disagreements, decide to team up, combine their respective armies, and kidnap Peach and Paper Peach. Thus, Mario and Luigi team up with Paper Mario to rescue the princesses, as well as the Paper Toads. This is the first game in the series to be compatible with amiibo. |
| Mario & Luigi: Brothership | |
 November 7, 2024 Nintendo Switch |
The sixth installment, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, was released worldwide for Nintendo Switch on November 7, 2024. First announced during the June 2024 Nintendo Direct, it is the sixth original installment in the Mario & Luigi series and the eighth installment overall. It is also the first Mario & Luigi title to be initially released on a home console, the first game in the series to feature Kevin Afghani voicing Mario and Luigi, and the first to use 3D models for all characters; most characters in previous games are 2D sprites.
In the game, Mario and Luigi end up in Concordia, where they, with assistance from a piggy bank–like creature named Snoutlet, set out to reconnect the separated islands and stop the plans of the evil Extension Corps, led by the mysterious Zokket. |
Remakes
| Title | |
|---|---|
| Cover, original release, and system | Description |
| Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions | |
 October 5, 2017[?]Nintendo 3DS |
Announced during a Nintendo Treehouse Live webcast at E3 2017, this remake of Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was released for Nintendo 3DS later in 2017. It features revamped and updated graphics akin to Mario & Luigi: Dream Team and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (including the use of additional lighting effects), as well as re-scored music. A previously untold storyline also exists in a new mode called Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser, where players control members of Bowser's army in efforts to reunite and rally his troops and find Bowser, in an adventure relying on new mechanics, with Captain Goomba leading the cause. The game features amiibo functionality, tied to figurines of three enemies of the Mario Bros.: Goomba, Boo, and Koopa Troopa. |
| Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey | |
 December 27, 2018[?]Nintendo 3DS |
Announced during the March 2018 Nintendo Direct, this remake of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story was released for Nintendo 3DS, initially later in 2018. Like Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, it features revamped and updated graphics and music, adds in many of the improvements introduced in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, and features a previously untold story/mode where players control Bowser Jr. on his own adventure, where he sets off to find a cure to the blorbs.[6]
This would be both the last Mario & Luigi game to be developed by AlphaDream, which shut down in October 2019, and the last Mario & Luigi game to feature Charles Martinet's voice work before it was announced that he had moved to the role of Mario Ambassador. |
Miscellaneous
- An Adobe Flash game was published on the FEkids website to promote Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, this being Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga Joke Spinner.
- To promote Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, a trivia game was released on the Play Nintendo website called Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions Trivia.
Characters
Major protagonists
| Character | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image | Brief biography | First Mario & Luigi appearance in role |
| Mario | ||
 |
Mario, with his brother, as the series name suggests, is the star of the series. When there is trouble, Mario attempts to solve the problem as quickly as he can, dragging Luigi alongside him. In this series, Mario is a very famous and popular hero, being well-known in various lands. As in most games, Mario is a silent protagonist, but he communicates by body movements and speaking in Italian-sounding gibberish. | |
| Luigi | ||
 |
Luigi is Mario's younger, lesser-known brother. He often gets dragged into adventures beyond his will. Luigi is more cowardly and more hesitant than Mario, but he is willing to help solve any trouble that has arisen. Luigi's clumsy antics are usually comic relief, but it can be sometimes dangerous, including when he left Baby Luigi alone to Petey Piranha in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and when he inadvertently caused the paper characters to be released into the Mario & Luigi world in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam. As in most games, Luigi does not speak either in this game, communicating similarly to Mario; only in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team do Luigi's thoughts take the form of words, and this happens only in Dream's Deep and whenever he becomes a giant. | |
| Baby Mario | ||
 |
Mario and Luigi encounter Baby Mario and Baby Luigi in their adventures in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. Similar to Mario, Baby Mario often jumps ahead when a problem rises. Baby Mario is impulsive at times, unlike Mario, including when he uses his hammer in misbehavior. Baby Mario, alongside the other time-displaced characters, returns to his point in time at the end of the game, after helping to defeat Shrowser. | |
| Baby Luigi | ||
 |
Much like Luigi, Baby Luigi is a more timid brother than Baby Mario. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, he is easily frightened, and he frequently cries in troublesome situations. Baby Luigi has shown to be key to destroying the Shroobs in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time when he reverted characters to normal with his tears. He is also shown to know that an object has bad vibes, such as crying at the Cobalt Star because it contains the Elder Princess Shroob inside it. Baby Luigi, alongside the other time-displaced characters, returns to his point in time at the end of the game, after helping to defeat Shrowser. | |
| Bowser | ||
 |
Bowser is on the protagonist side in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Unlike in most games, Bowser aided Mario and Luigi in reaching the Beanbean Kingdom in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, but after the crash landing, Bowser unintentionally became a rival, being used first by Popple as an amnesiac minion and then by Cackletta as a body to possess. Bowser is the main protagonist in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, with Mario and Luigi adventuring inside him after he inhales the Vacuum Mushroom. | |
| Paper Mario | ||
 |
Originally from the Paper Mario series, Paper Mario is introduced to Mario and Luigi when Luigi tips over a book and releases the Paper Mario characters into their world. Paper Mario is one of them, and he immediately helps Mario and Luigi defeat some Paper Goombas, and the three team up to rescue Paper Toads, stop Bowser and Paper Bowser, and rescue Peach and Paper Peach. Paper Mario can create copies of himself to mitigate his low HP and attack multiple times at once. When dodging, when he jumps, he can float briefly. Paper Mario and the Mario Bros. are needed when performing Trio Attacks, and they also partake in papercraft battles. Paper Mario, alongside the other paper characters, returns to the Paper Mario world at the end of the game. | |
| Captain Goomba | ||
 |
Captain Goomba is the main protagonist of the Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser story mode from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, the 3DS remake of the original GBA game that started off the series. After the Mario Bros beat him and Private Goomp and the Koopa Cruiser crashes in the Beanbean Kingdom, the young Goomba wakes up in a cave and after some adventuring, he comes across a small group of his brethren, and after a comical reunion, they name him the captain of their squad. Although they do this because no one else wants to and they have no respect for Captain Goomba, the captain all but takes off from there as he turns into the leader the army needs and rallies the army back to rescue Bowser. | |
| Captain Shy Guy | ||
 |
Captain Shy Guy is a deuteragonist of the Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser story mode from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions. He is the second captain after Captain Goomba, and joins him in Beanbean Fields after mistaking him for Fawful's minions. Being a Shy Guy, he is often quiet and can be very embarrased easily, as shown during the Cutie Battle Contest. | |
| Captain Boo | ||
 |
Captain Boo is a deuteragonist of the Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser story mode from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions. He is the third captain, and joins Captain Goomba in Chucklehuck Woods, although he only wanted a flag to help block the sunlight but took on his role as a captain anyway. Out of all the captains, Captain Boo appears to possess the most amount of common sense. | |
| Captain Koopa Troopa | ||
 |
Captain Koopa Troopa is a deuteragonist of the Minion Quest: The Search for Bowser story mode from Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions. He is the last captain, and joins Captain Goomba in Teehee Valley. He often speaks in rhymes which is often followed by the sound of wind, and is often ignored when doing so. | |
| Bowser Jr. | ||
 |
Bowser Jr. appears as the main character of the Bowser Jr.'s Journey mode in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey. He and the Koopalings go out to find the ingredients for the Skeletone Formula:D, so that Bowser Jr. can impress his dad. However, his selfish nature causes problems for everyone around him, and when the Best Fitness Friends begin to attack the Koopalings, Bowser Jr. has to start taking things seriously and rescue the minions. | |
Major antagonists
| Character | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image | Brief biography | First Mario & Luigi appearance in role |
| Bowser | ||
 |
Bowser is the final boss of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, one of the main antagonists of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (alongside Antasma), and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam (alongside Paper Bowser), and a supporting antagonist in Mario & Luigi: Brothership. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Bowser is mainly an antagonist, teaming up with Baby Bowser to fight Mario and causing trouble by kidnapping 'Princess Peach' (later revealed to be a disguised Princess Shroob). He is manipulated once again when he is turned into Shrowser by the elder Princess Shroob. In Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Bowser allies with Antasma to take advantage of the Dream Stone's wish granting powers. In Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, Bowser teams up with his paper counterpart to further his plans to take over the Mushroom Kingdom. In Mario & Luigi: Brothership, Bowser winds up in Concordia with his minions and attempts to fight against Zokket while still hindering Mario and Luigi. | |
| Cackletta | ||
 |
Cackletta is the main antagonist in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. She and Fawful had stolen Princess Peach's voice. She has also caused trouble in Beanbean Kingdom by transforming Queen Bean into a giant beast and stealing the Beanstar. After Mario and Luigi defeated her, Fawful took her soul and placed it into Bowser's body, transforming Bowser into Bowletta. | |
| Bowletta | ||
 |
Bowletta is the form Bowser takes after being possessed by Cackletta, and is the final boss in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. Bowletta kidnaps Princess Peach and demands Mario and Luigi to find all of the shattered pieces of the Beanstar and bring them to her in exchange of releasing Peach (although it is implied she was lying about this). After she loses Peach and the Beanstar however, she uses Bowser's Castle to attack the Beanbean Kingdom, at which point Mario and Luigi go and defeat her for good by destroying her heart, and releasing Bowser from Cackletta's control in the process. | |
| Fawful | ||
 |
Fawful is Cackletta's servant. He speaks in Engrish and uses many food-related metaphors. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, he steals Princess Peach's voice and helps transfer Cackletta into Bowser. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Fawful plays more of a supporting role. He runs an underground badge shop the Baby Mario Bros. can access. Fawful plays as the main antagonist in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. He has usurped Bowser's Castle while creating an outbreak of Blorbs. He has also given Bowser the Vacuum Mushroom to aid him in his plot to rule Mushroom Kingdom. | |
| Shroobs | ||
 |
The Shroobs are an alien race that has invaded Mushroom Kingdom in the past. They have trapped Toads and extracted their vim to power their technology. They can shoot bolts transforming characters into Shroob Mushrooms. The Shroobs speak a foreign language. One of the Shroobs major weakness is baby tears. Several Shroobs were also frozen in a preservation chamber in Bowser's Castle as shown in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, where three of them are fought as an optional boss. | |
| Princess Shroob | ||
 |
Princess Shroob commands the Shroob fleet during most of Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, and is thus the game's main antagonist. When Princess Peach has traveled to the past, Princess Shroob manages to capture her, but not without Peach trapping the elder Princess Shroob - the real leader of the Shroobs - in the Cobalt Star. It is only after Princess Shroob is mortally wounded in battle that this is revealed, however. | |
| Elder Princess Shroob | ||
 |
The elder Princess Shroob is the older sister of Princess Shroob from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. She was trapped in the Cobalt Star by Peach and the bros and babies collected Cobalt Star Shards thinking the star could destroy the Shroobs. However, it freed the elder Princess Shroob, who promised to kill the bros for her sister's recent death. | |
| Dark Star | ||
 |
The Dark Star is the ultimate antagonist of Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. It was put in the Toad Town Caves so that nobody would be able to use its power. However, Fawful steals it, and uses Peach to awaken the Dark Star so he can absorb its power. Once the Dark Star awakens, it goes inside Bowser's body, and steals his DNA to become Dark Bowser. | |
| Antasma | ||
 |
Antasma is a bat king and one of the antagonists of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. He is behind the destruction of the Dark Stone and the freezing of the Pi'illos. Mario must enter Luigi's dreams in order to rescue Antasma's victims, which by the time Mario starts to enter Luigi's dreams include Princess Peach, whom Antasma abducts early in the game. He also teams up with Bowser, and the two villains later set their sights on the Dream Stone, which holds the power to grant any wish. | |
| Paper Bowser | ||
 |
Paper Bowser is one of the main antagonists of Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, based on Bowser's design from the Paper Mario series. He, along with other paper characters such as Paper Mario, escapes from the storybook Luigi accidentally opens. When Paper Bowser initially meets Bowser, the two bicker, but they ultimately cooperate and kidnap Princess Peach and Paper Peach. He is forcefully returned to the book's world after he and Bowser are defeated. | |
| Best Fitness Friends | ||
  
|
The Best Fitness Friends, Dieter, Beef, and Kaley, are the main antagonists of the Bowser Jr.'s Journey story mode from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey. They were three of Fawful's minions who sought to overthrow him and take control of the kingdom themselves. They tricked Bowser Jr. and the Koopalings into gathering the ingredients for Skeletone Formula:D, thus leaving Bowser's Castle defenseless and allowing them to use the Skeletone to create Malatone Formula:X, which could brainwash many minions. | |
| Zokket | ||
 |
Zokket is depicted as the initial main antagonist in Mario & Luigi: Brothership. As well as being the chief of the Extension Corps, Zokket schemes in the shadows while relishing over his ultimate goal of seeing the downfall of Concordia. Later, he is revealed to be a woman named Cozette in disguise who had been brainwashed by Reclusa. | |
| Reclusa | ||
 |
Reclusa is the true main antagonist of Mario & Luigi: Brothership, and the one who turned Cozette into Zokket. A millennia old creature that despises the very concept of bonds, he sought to enforce isolation and destroy Concordia by trapping the Concordians in individualized dream worlds and letting them starve to death. | |
Supporting protagonists
| Character | ||
|---|---|---|
| Image | Brief biography | First Mario & Luigi appearance in role |
| Princess Peach | ||
 |
Princess Peach is usually a victim when trouble arises in Mushroom Kingdom. Peach, however, is not entirely helpless, since she has provided help to the Mario Bros. such as warning the dangers of the Cobalt Star and later the Dark Star, as well as joining IDLE to help restore Concordia. | |
| Toadsworth | ||
  |
Toadsworth is Princess Peach's companion. He is often worrisome about Peach, especially if Peach decides to take a trip. Toadsworth provides help and advice to the Mario Bros. during their adventures. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Toadsworth allies with his younger counterpart and attempts to take care of Baby Peach. | |
| Professor E. Gadd | ||
 |
Professor E. Gadd helps Mario & Luigi with his items and inventions. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, he gives them a special item after he samples a new drink. His time machine in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time has helped Mario, Luigi, and Princess Peach travel to the past. E. Gadd has also invented the Hydrogush 4000 from an event in Thwomp Volcano, which is vital in allowing the Mario Bros. to enter the volcano, and defeating the Shroobs. | |
| Baby Peach | ||
 |
When Princess Peach was a baby, her castle is being attacked by both Baby Bowser and the Shroobs, with Baby Bowser attempting to kidnap her. When Baby Bowser has realized he lost to the Shroobs, he allows the Baby Mario Bros. and Toadsworth the Younger to flee. Baby Peach is taken to safety in the future Princess Peach's castle, with Toadsworth and Toadsworth the Younger taking care of her. After Shrowser is defeated, she returns to her own point in time alongside the other time-displaced characters. | |
| Stuffwell | ||
 |
Stuffwell is a friendly talking suitcase, invented by Professor E. Gadd, and acts as Mario and Luigi's assistant in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. He carries Mario and Luigi's items and can show the party's stats. His catchphrase is, "BACK TO ADVENTURE!". | |
| Kylie Koopa | ||
 |
Kylie is a recurring supporting character in the Mario & Luigi series. She appears in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time in the past as a traveling reporter first encountered on Yoshi's Island. She encounters the brothers several times after this, and is the only person to see Elder Princess Shroob in the Cobalt Star besides Baby Luigi. She returns in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, though not remembering the brothers, in a much smaller role. | |
| Starlow | ||
 |
Starlow is another supporting character that holds Mario and Luigi's items. She is one of the four Star Sprites shown in the game. She helps Mario and Luigi advance in their adventures in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam by giving them tutorials and advice, and joins IDLE alongside Princess Peach in Mario & Luigi: Brothership. After Bowser inhales her, she tricks Bowser by calling herself "Chippy". Throughout Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, she has demonstrated irritation toward Luigi, but started to warm up to him in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. | |
| Prince Dreambert | ||
 |
Dreambert is the Prince of the Pi'illo people that helps Mario and Luigi in their adventures on Pi'illo Island in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. He aids them in the Dream World, helping them learn new moves to further advance deeper into Luigi's Dreams and information to aid them in their exploration. His main goal is to prevent Antasma from taking the Dream Stone and using it for malevolent reasons. His role is similar to Starlow and Stuffwell from the past games. | |
| Paper Peach | ||
 |
Originally from the Paper Mario series, Paper Peach, along with multiple paper characters, came out of the storybook that | |