Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (Mario & Luigi RPG 4: Dream Adventure in Japan and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros. in Europe & Australia) is a title for the Nintendo 3DS. It is the fourth installment in the Mario & Luigi series. The game was released in Europe on July 12th, 2013, Australia on July 13th and Japan on July 18th. It will be released in North America on August 11th. This game is part of "The Year of Luigi", celebrating of the 30th anniversary of Luigi's debut. As such, Luigi has a much bigger role in the game than in the previous Mario & Luigi games. A special edition of Nintendo 3DS XL with a Luigi themed print will be released in Japan as part of the event and include the digital version of Mario & Luigi: Dream Team preinstalled on the SD card.

Story
Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach, Toadsworth, and the Toads are invited to Pi'illo Island by Dr. Snoozemore through a message in his Broggy and travel to the island on a hot air balloon for sightseeing. During the flight there, Luigi falls asleep and dreams of Mario fighting Antasma. Afterwards, he dreams of the balloon they were in to fall and crash, but instead Luigi wakes up and falls to the ground out of confusion. Later on, they reach to Pi'illo Castle and re-unite with Starlow, where Peach and Toadsworth accidentally set off a test platform sending them to ancient Pi'illo ruins. Mario & Luigi follow upon pursuing the two through the ruins, find Peach and Toadsworth surrounded by a group of Smoldergeist which flee when the Bros. arrive. Here they find a Pi'illo, which later turns out to be Prince Dreambert. This action causes the Smoldergeist to come back and attack the Bros..

Upon beating the group and leaving the ruins the Bros. come to a collection room. Here Luigi takes a nap on the pillow. After everyone gathers in the collection room, a Dream Portal opens a portal to a place called the Dream World. This allows Antasma, unknown by anyone, to pull Princess Peach into the world against her will. After Mario chases after Peach into Dreamy Pi'illo Castle, he comes across Dreamy Luigi, Luigi's dream representation, who assists Mario through his treks in the Dream World.

Giving chase, the Bros. catch up to Antasma who creates Dreamy Mario to stop Mario, but upon Dreamy Mario's defeat, Antasma creates a portal to Dream's Deep and flees there, sealing it up afterwards to prevent the Bros. from giving chase. Mario and Luigi then find a Nightmare Chunk & break it, freeing Prince Dreambert. He then explains that there were two powers in the on Pi'illo island, the Dream Stone and the Dark Stone, both stones have the power to grant wishes. The Pi'illo folk were protecting the stones from misuse. Then the Bat King, Antasma, came to steal the Dark Stone to fulfill his desires. The Pi'illo could not defeat him, though managed to trap him in the Dream World, however Antasma was able to destroy the Dark Stone at the last second, thus causing the Pi'illos souls to be trapped in Nightmare chunks upon being hit by one, thus rendering them helpless. Prince Dreambert, in a haste to save his fellow people then runs out, the Bros. following him. After catching up to Dreambert and saving some Pi'illos they learn from one in particular that Eldream, a Pi'illo elder, knows how to reach Dream's Deep. The Bros. then set off to find him in Mushrise Park.

Upon arriving at Mushrise Park the Bros. learn that Brickle, the Manager of the park, has Eldream but will not give him up unless they catch him. After the Bros. chase him, gaining hammers during their attempts, they find him on top of a fountain, where he tries to flee but gets stuck in the fountain top. The Bros., going underground, turn up the water pressure causing the fountain to explode, and freeing Brickle. Meanwhile at Brickle's Maintenance hut, Grobot, the hydrozation robot, gets hit by a large peace of the fountain, damaging it and causing it to go haywire. Brickle thanks the Bros. and tells them they can use his bed in his hut. Upon arriving there, Grobot is incredibly unstable and attacks Brickle. It then attacks the Bros. After defeating Grobot, Brickle is heartbroken although quickly gets over it and allows the Bros. to use his bed to free Eldream.

In Dreamy Mushrise Park the Bros. encounter Dreambunny, Eldream's pet rabbit, who's carrying the nightmare chunk containing Eldream. Dreamy Brickle interrupts them though saying the rabbit is what will bring people to his park and competes with the Bros. for it. After Mario and Luigi corner Dreambunny, it gives up the Nightmare Chunk, allowing the Bros. to free Eldream. Eldream opens a portal to Dream's Deep with the use of Dreambunny and then goes to spend some time with his pet. The Bros. enter said portal and proceed to Dream's Deep.

The Bros. quickly corner Antasma but are held back by his obnoxious screeching. Meanwhile in the real world, Starlow is watching Luigi when Kamek appears along with Private Goomp, Corporal Paraplonk and Sergeant Guy, all three now promoted to royal guard. Bowser then enters, demanding the location of Peach, and upon catching the princess's scent, jumps into the Dream Portal. He arrives in Dream's Deep right where the Bros. are confronting Antasma. Upon being convinced by Antasma and his claims of new moves and such, Bowser fights with Antasma against the Bros. After being beaten by the Bros., Antasma increases Bowser's power and floors Mario, Luigi and Peach. Antasma then flees with Bowser, stating they will get Peach later as they have work to do. Eldream who arrives on the scene, helps get the Bros. and Peach back to the Real World.

Back in the Real World, the Bros. learn that Antasma is going after the Dream Stone, which resides in Dozing Sands. Upon reaching Dozing Sands, the Bros. meet Britta, a ruthless construction manager who says she can't help them as there is no more treasure in the already explored areas besides the path with the large sand slide. The Bros. learn that to get up the sand slide they have to find the four Pi'illo Keepers of the Dozites, special stones that fit into Zeekeeper statues, when all collected would allow them to proceed up the sand slide. After finding three of the Dozites, the drill monster, Torkscrew eats the fourth Pi'illo Keeper, resulting in a chase on the Drilldigger. Upon drilling it several times in a chase, it coughs up the Pi'illo Keeper, who, like the other Keepers, was trapped in a nightmare chunk.

After placing the last Dozite in the last statue, the sand slide becomes climbable and Britta races ahead of the Bros. to the newly accessible area in hopes of treasure. Upon reaching the new area Torkscrew attacks Britta and swallows her. After beating Torkscrew to the point of which it explodes, Britta is freed, however fades in and out of consciousness in a bad state and is carried off for medical attention. The Bros. approach the ruins that hold the Dream Stone to discover Antasma and Bowser had already stolen it. Prince Dreambert realizes that the Dream Stone's alter is a Dream Point, a point where one can enter the Dream World easily. Dreambert suggests that the Bros. try to find the Dream Stone Soul who may be able to tell them where Antasma and Bowser went with the stone. Upon hearing this, Mario enters the Dream World as Luigi sleeps on Dreambert on the Dream Point, into Dreamy Dozing Sands. After finding the Dream Stone's Soul, it tries to hide as it doesn't want to get involved but is pestered to the point it is consumed by fury, turning into massive Drilldigger to get rid of the Bros.. Dreamy Luigi, fusing with many Luiginoids, then becomes Giant Luigi to defeat Drilldigger. After doing so, the Dream Stone's Soul tells Luigi where the Dream Stone was taking, Mount Pajamaja.

To reach Mount Pajamaja, the Bros. need to take a tour there, signing up requiring them to go to Wakeport. At Wakeport, the Bros. run into Kylie Koopa, who doesn't remember them yet offers them some optional work at her office, and Popple who just robbed a building in broad daylight, who remembers but doesn't recognize the Bros. Upon signing up for the tour and arriving, everyone who signed up but the Bros. flee in fear before the tour even starts. Mario and Luigi learn from one of the two tour guides, Lil'Massif, that the tour can't start unless Big'Massif, his older brother and the other tour guide, shows up.

During their search, the Bros. help a Hooskin make a proposal, gaining some items upon doing so and learning of a hint to Big'Massif's location. The Bros. later find Big'Massif voluntarily asleep on a Dream Point. Luigi then falls asleep in an attempt to connect to Big'Massif's dream to wake him up. The Bros. succeed in both that and in entering Dreamy Wakeport, but discover that to meet Dreamy Big'Massif they have to beat his four apprentices with special conditions involved. After beating all four, it is revealed that Dreamy Big'Massif was disguised as the Referee. Upon beating Dreamy Big'Massif, Big'Massif wakes up, notices he slept in and starts the tour to and up Mount Pajamaja.

After climbing up to the summit of Mount Pajamaja, the group comes across the mammoth guardian of the mountain, Mammoshka, who is currently sleeping. The Massif's get by unnoticed but Luigi sneezes, waking up Mammoshka, who gets enraged when it sees the Bros. After beating the Guardian, the Bros. proceed to the summit where they find Antasma, Bowser, Kamek, Private Goomp, Corporal Paraplonk and Sergent Guy with four large speakers. It is revealed that the Dream Stone needs to charge before it can grant wishes. Private Goomp then turns on the speakers and music known as the Dreambeats starts playing, making all who hear it fall asleep, except for Pi'illos, Starlow, Antasma and Bowser (who is covering his ears). The Bros. try to escape but Luigi falls asleep while Mario fights the drowsiness. Dreambert suggests going to the Dream World to escape the music until it's over upon stumbling upon one in their escape. Mario manages to escape the Dreambeats by diving through the Dream Portal into Dreamy Mount Pajamaja, but the Dream Portal soon closes as the music has made Luigi so deep in his sleep that it can't remain stable.

Meanwhile, the entire island falls asleep and Dream Orbs, orbs created by those who sleep, are absorbed into the Dream Stone to power it. Mario suggests to cause a eruption in the Dream World's volcano to stir Luigi awake to re-open the Dream Portal. Upon reaching the summit, the Bros. discover the dream version of the mountain volcano, Mt. Pajamaja, is alive and anger it by popping a pimple on its nose. Mt. Pajamaja's reaction sends the Bros. running back to where the Dream Portal was but it hadn't re-appeared yet, leaving the Bros. to face Mt. Pajamaja, resulting in another Giant Luigi battle. After beating the Volcano, the Dream Portal reappears and Mario returns to the real world. Starlow and Dreambert discuss their next plan of action and decide to hide Princess Peach as that would be Bowser's prime target and head back to Pi'illo Castle.

At the crater of Mount Pajamaja the Dream Stone is finished charging and Antasma makes the first wish. Antasma wishes for a Castle for him and Bowser, one that is impenetrable and also one that is feared, and a large castle, a mix between Bowser's and Antasma's designs, comes out of the Dream Stone and floats into the sky. Antasma then tries out the castle and destroys several small islands around Pi'illo island with large lasers. Then a large impenetrable shield surrounds the castle. Bowser dubs this castle Neo Bowser Castle. Antasma then offers Bowser the next wish. When the Bros. arrive at Pi'illo Castle, they find everyone in panic and soon learn what the first wish was for. They decide to find Princess Peach and protect her and find out she's at Driftwood Shore.

When they arrive, they are told to go see Broque Madame who has disguised Peach and Toadsworth as Block folk. It is suggested that Peach should be hidden in the Dream World from Bowser. The Bros. meet Popple again who is on a tour but still can't find anything worth stealing. After that the Bros. find a Dream Point and they meet Seadric, a Dream Genie that would be glad to help hide Peach. It is suggested though that Peach should be held deeper in this Dream World and Seadric suggests the use of Dream Eggs to expand the world. Seadric then tells the Bros. to go see his two brothers and one sister to get their three Dream Eggs. After doing so, Seadric expands the world and then tells the Bros. to meet him in the next area after finding the prizes he left for them. After meeting up, the Bros. asked why he left monsters, with Seadric replying that monsters shouldn't be here and that something bad got in. After the final expansion and hiding Peach in the deepest part. It is revealed that Peach was actually Kamek in disguise, along with the royal guard, Private Goomp, Corporal Paraplonk and Sergant Guy, and it's revealed they already had Peach. The royal guard then battles the Bros. and reveal they can only be beaten if all of them are KO'd at once. After doing so, they are demoted to janitors and teleported out by Kamek who then leaves.

The Bros. start looking for a way to get to Neo Bowser Castle when they discover Dr. Snoozemore has returned and go to see him. Upon finding him in the collection room of Pi'illo castle, he is startled to see a living Pi'illo. He suggest trying to find the Zeekeeper to break the shield around the Castle. Dreambert remembers seeing a Zeekeeper statue in Dream's Deep in Pi'illo castle. The statue will allow the Bros. to find the Zeekeeper's location but is deactivated. Upon reactivating it, Mario and Luigi learn to summon the Zeekeeper, they must use the Ultibed, which in order to access, must first be built by a Bedsmith once they collect the five Zee Parts scattered across the island.

The Bros. have little trouble getting the parts, but upon finding the Jelly Sheets, a group of Fly Guy Rs steal it. The Bros. locate the group taking a break on the path towards the Blimp's. Mario devices a plan to steal the sheets back. While the Bros. sneak by, Starlow and Dreambert have a loud conversation about a rumor of Bowser having a birthmark in a certain place in a certain shape. The Fly Guy Rs get interested and distracted allowing the Bros. to steal it back before having to fight the Fly Guy Rs.

After collecting the necessary parts the Bros. head to Wakeport and run into Popple again, who is trying to steal from Pi'illo-per's, a Pi'illo artifact collector, collection room. The Bros. follow Popple to a sealed-off area full of ruins. Popple mistakes Wiggly, a Wiggler, as a security guard. When the Bros. walk past Popple he pulls them to one side and still doesn't remember them. He then tricks the Bros. into helping him fight Wiggly, by talking first, and then after insulting Wiggly fighting him. Popple causes problems to the Bros. during the battle by enraging Wiggly, preventing a Bro from dodging or saving his own skin. After Wiggly is defeated he turns on the Bros. immediately but is beaten. Upon learning Wiggly wasn't a security guard he insults Wiggly again, getting chased, and claiming he's had enough of the island.

The Bros. then find Pi'ill-oper who is amazed at the Bros. Pi'illo artifacts and takes them to his prize possession, Bedsmith, who is trapped in a Nightmare Chunk. When the Bros. finally reach the Nightmare Chunk, Earth-Waker, the guardian holding the nightmare chunk in its head, activates and forms a robot made of buildings resulting in another Giant Luigi battle. After beating Earth-Waker and breaking the nightmare chunk, Bedsmith is more than happy to help, but needs to meet the Bros. at his workshop in Somnom Woods to build the Ultibed.

After arriving in Somnom Woods, Bedsmith makes the Ultibed, and then tells the Bros. to find the Zeekeeper they would have to sleep in the temple in Somnom Woods. To reach the temple, the Bros. have to free the Pi'illo Masters which hold the keys to reaching the temple. Mario and Luigi, however slightly slowed by the antics of the Nommons, manage to save all six of the Pi'illo Masters and are able to continue towards the temple. Unfortunately, upon reaching the ideal spot for the Ultibed to be slept on, the temple's defense system releases the guardian, Pi'illodium, who then attacks the Bros.

After defeating the guardian, the Bros. then place the Ultibed into position, and Mario enters Dreamy Somnom Woods to find the Zeekeeper. Climbing up the large tree towards where the Zeekeeper sleeps, Mario and Luigi survive several of the tree's confusing tricks and make it to the top, where they find a large rainbow egg (known as the Zee Egg) of which Mario smashes, releasing the Zeekeeper who instantly attacks the Bros., this soon triggering another Giant Luigi battle. After the Zeekeeper is defeated, he notices Dreambert with the Bros. and begins to act all casual, no longer hostile.

Upon hearing the dire situation, the Zeekeeper agrees to help after being promised (against Mario's will) that after Antasma's defeat he would get every single coin Mario has, takes Mario out of the Dream World and then proceeds to scope out Neo Bowser Castle, once doing so returns near the forest entrance, awaiting the Bros. to shatter the barrier. Once they board the Zeekeeper and he flies near the castle, he unleashes the Wakebeam upon the castle, shattering the barrier and causing the castle to plummet in an empty area slightly to the north of where the forest entrance is, right between Mt. Pajamaja and Somnom Woods. The Zeekeeper lands with the Bros., and then rests, allowing Mario and Luigi to then storm the castle once prepared after a shopkeeper rushes by to set up shop near the castle to reap much cash from desperate shoppers.

Upon infiltrating Neo Bowser Castle, Kamek casts a spell on the rooms and passages, making it harder for the Bros. to navigate the castle. Upon doing so, Kamek and Antasma flee into the Dream World through a platform behind a sturdy fence. Mario and Luigi soon figure out the tricky navigation, and eventually are able to chase after the duo into Dreamy Neo Bowser Castle. After hunting down Kamek, they do battle with him, however Kamek exits the battle midway in order to flee to another Dream World, releasing the spell on the areas in Neo Bowser Castle and leaving.

Mario and Luigi follow suit and re-enter Neo Bowser Castle, and proceed deeper. Meanwhile, upon Bowser stating his desire to conquer the world now, Antasma suggests Bowser sleeps due to his potential dream energy being raw and powerful. Bowser agrees to this line of logic, and goes along with the suggestion. Mario and Luigi after continuing through, find Kamek who casts a similar spell as before on to the nearby rooms, making navigation tricky. Antasma appears and once again opens the Dream Portal, the evil duo entering again from a similar fenced off platform.

Upon Mario and Luigi once again maneuvering the tricky corridors of this next area and setting the wind turbines to blow the huge rolling Bob-ombs over a gap in their track and on to the switch removing the gate fence, they return to the platform and re-enter the Dream World. After escaping the rising lava, the Bros. find Kamek disguised as Peach, however do not fall for it this time, causing Kamek to drop the act and engage battle with them yet again. Deep into battle, Kamek once again exits the duel along with the Dream World, heading deeper into the castle yet again, causing the Bros. to follow.

Mario and Luigi quickly catch up to Kamek, startling him as he was in the middle of muddling up the rooms. He flees through another Dream Portal, as like before. The Bros. adapt to this area's emphasis on large rolling Bob-ombs, and manage to lower the gate blocking the platform Luigi would then sleep on. Mario enters the Dream World, and eventually finds Kamek who takes the Bros. head-on this time. After a rough battle, Kamek is defeated soundly, and the magic departs from the Real World, allowing Mario and Luigi to continue upon their leave of the Dream World. The battered Kamek then decides to use the rest of his magic to assist Bowser, and disappears.

Mario and Luigi are once again stopped from their trek deeper into the castle quite soon by several intense flames being shot out of three Dream Worlds, and then realize they must enter each of the Dream Worlds and stop whatever is causing the flames. Upon succeeding in doing so, Mario and Luigi enter the doorway at the end to find Bowser sleeping on Antasma as a pillow with a barrier protecting him. Dreambert states that the strange purple vines they've seen everywhere throughout the castle are what powers the building, and that they originate from Antasma. Luigi suggests they enter Bowser's Dream World, Dreambert realizing they could try what they did with Big'Massif with Bowser. Dreambert connects himself to the vines as pillow form, and Luigi sleeps on him, Mario entering the Dream World.

After traversing the Bowser-infested Dream World, the Bros. soon come across Bowser gulping down chunks of meat. Bowser spots Mario and Luigi, and orders to have more meat served to power him up, finishing all the meat, and entering a rage upon finding that out. He starts inhaling the area around him, growing in size just like when he ate the meat. Bowser then jumps off the ground and into a pit in what seems to be a fatal fall. Mario and Luigi run over to where Bowser jumped, and look down in the pit. They see no sign of Bowser, and assume he's been dealt with. Mario and Luigi try to move, but they are knocked back by a Giant Bowser wrecking the place up, clearly unharmed.

Luigi signals Mario that they're going to do what they normally do in this situation, a Giant Battle. The real Luigi confidently signals Starlow, and a Giant Battle commences. Upon Bowser getting struck by Finishing Bros., Mario and Luigi celebrate, only for Kamek and some Magikoopas to appear and power Bowser up, causing the Giant Battle to continue. When Luigi manages to make Bowser woozy and open to damage, the Bros. start up Star Driver, another version of Finishing Bros. where Dreambert powers up the star instead. With this attack being successful, the Bros. had defeated Giant Bowser.

Mario and Luigi leave the dream world and discover that Bowser was planning to double-cross Antasma all along. Antasma makes another wish on the Dream Stone for the ability to create dream portals, and flees from Bowser through one. Bowser, meanwhile, flees himself with a Paratroopa holding Princess Peach. Dreambert decides to fight Antasma just as he did centuries ago, and loses. Mario decides to avenge him and jumps into the dream portal himself. Dreamy Luigi and a barely conscious Dreambert are there to lend a hand. After a long fight, Mario and Co. prevail, though they still have Bowser to take care of.

Narrowly avoiding Private Goomp, Sergeant Guy, and Corporal Paraplonk's Bob-omb attacks, Mario, Luigi, Starlow, and Dreambert make it to the castle balcony, where Bowser and Peach await. Bowser boasts about the power he now has, with the Dream Stone and Peach in hand. Suddenly, Peach and Starlow activate their wish power from the previous game and, at the request of Dreambert, destroy the Dream Stone. Bowser is initially shocked about this, but then screams in rage, "NOT YET!" as he inhales the Dream Stone's pieces and becomes a form known only as Dreamy Bowser. Mario and Luigi engage battle with him, and upon winning, knock him flying into the sky. Suddenly, without the Dream Stone to maintain it, the castle begins to crumble, but the Zeekeeper gives them a lift back to Pi'illo Castle.

Back at the castle, Toadsworth is so relieved to see the princess. Dreambert presents the Zeekeeper with the Dream Stone's essence extracted from Bowser's body, hoping to get it repaired. He does so, but it becomes the Dream Coin, which spouts infinite coins, instead. The Zeekeeper explains that he made it this way because simply having the power to grant all wishes is too risky, and it's more intuitive to "buy" your wishes. Dreambert pouts at the sight of the concoction, but Broque Monsieur says it'd be a great attraction, and Mario, Luigi, and Peach agree. Meanwhile, Bowser and his minions are desperately trying to escape the island in the Koopa Clown Car, and Bowser announces he will come back for revenge, finally remembering Luigi's name. They are then showered in coins from the Dream Coin, Private Goomp and Sergeant Guy rock the Koopa clown car so much, trying to get coins, that it falls into the ocean. The group then start their vacation, shown during the end credits.

Gameplay
The gameplay seems to shift between Luigi's dream world, where Mario and Luigi move in a 2-D fashion and the regular world, where they freely roam the overworld, unlike the previous three titles. While Mario is playing inside Luigi's dreams, Starlow can move Luigi's face to affect the area, such as spinning platforms. The battles give the player coins directly from enemies in battle, like Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Due to the shift to 3D, the game also uses a new art style. Badges similar to those in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story seem to make an appearance in this game. Sometimes Gifts may also appear in between or after battles. Giant battles from Mario & Luigi's Bowser Inside Story return, this time with Luigi instead of Bowser. The games art style also changes in this installment. Unlike the previous games' basic sprite look, this installment uses a pre-rendered look that makes the sprites smoother with the backgrounds.

During an developer interview it was revealed the game has a hardcore mode that's unlocked after completing the game. In this mode, you can't start again after losing a battle and must instead go back to the title screen and continue from where you last saved. You can also only carry 10 of each item.

Also during battles if the player fails at Bro. moves a numerous amount of times in battle a slo-mo feature will activate allowing for easier hits. The game also has a added hint option which appears in battle if the player is struggling with an enemy, if chosen this gives information on the enemies weakness's and attacks.

The bottom screen of the 3DS displays the area map, unlike previous installments the map shows and follows the actual location of the Bros.

Battle system
The battle system in the overworld is similar to those in previous titles, but the system in Dream World is different, as Mario will fight in all battles with Luigi's dream form. There are now five categories of attack, as in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. They are Jump, Hammer, Item, Luigi's face (which are Special attacks in Dream World) or Red Shell (which are Special attacks in the overworld), and Flee. There can be more than five enemies in battle, as in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. The Rank feature returns again. One change is the lack of Lakitus from the level up system.

Luiginary Works
Luiginary Works are special abilities found in the Dream World. When Dreamy Luigi is near a Luiginary Work, both react to each other, causing them to be surrounded by a green light. Dreamy Luigi, then, can "possess" the object, creating a special object that can be controled by the sleepy Luigi, with Starlow's help. As said by Dreambert, the Luiginary Works are the objects of connection between the real world and the Dream World.

Giant Battles
Giant battles play similarly to the ones in the previous installment, with the boss on one screen and Luigi on the other. The battles now offer a choice of left-handed or right-handed play. In this installment several things are different. Luigi is able to perform extra jump attacks like in normal battle. Also for Luigi to heal himself he has to get Mario to throw him mushrooms. The player has to tap to the timing of Mario's throws to catch the mushrooms and heal Luigi. Mario gets worn out after one of these moves and must recover for a few turns. Another new feature is that to finish a boss a special move has to be performed. This works with Luigi jumping high and grabbing a star, which Mario hops on and steers towards the boss after being thrown by Luigi. The player has to line up the star's trajectory with the boss's heart to finish them off. It is currently unknown what happens if they miss.

Ranks
Ranks works slightly differently to the way they did in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. Instead of set rewards, such as extra gear slots and shopping privileges, the player is given limited choices of what one Rank-Up Bonus they wish to give to Mario and Luigi respectively upon reaching a new rank per rank, excluding Rainbow Rank where the player gets two Rank-up Bonuses, giving the player the limit of five slots for bonuses per character if the player reaches Level 40.


 * Mushroom Rank (default)
 * Shell Rank (Level 8)
 * Flower Rank (Level 16)
 * Star Rank (Level 26)
 * Rainbow Rank (Level 40)

The Rank-Up Bonuses are the following:
 * Gear Slot +1 - Increases your apparel slots by one, letting you use more gear!
 * Badge Stock +1 - Adds an additional effect stock for your badges.
 * HP Up+ - Gives you an additional +2 HP every time you gain a level.
 * POW Up+ - Gives you an additional +1 POW every time you gain a level.
 * BP Up+ - Gives you an additional +1 BP every time you gain a level.
 * Quick Level - Gives you 20% more EXP from enemies you defeat, making it easier to level up.
 * Iron Body - Reduces damage you receive from enemies by 25%. (Flower Rank and higher)
 * Jump Man - Boosts your solo-jump attack power to 125% of normal. (Flower Rank and higher)
 * Hammerhead - Boosts your solo-hammer attack power to 125% of normal. (Flower Rank and higher)
 * Counterer - Boosts your counter-attack power to 150% of normal. (Flower Rank and higher)
 * Shroom EXP - Makes Mushrooms give you EXP as well as HP. Mushrooms lovers level up easily! (Star Rank and higher)
 * Big Lucky - Boosts the power of Lucky Hits so you can deliver 200% the normal damage. (Star Rank and higher)
 * Casual Bros. - Makes Bros./Luiginary Attacks cost half the BP they normally do. (Star Rank and higher)
 * Quick Healer - Makes restoration items restore 200% of what they normally do (in battle). (Star Rank and higher)

Bros. Attacks (Real World)
Bros. Attacks are powerful and complex team techniques that Mario and Luigi perform in unison in the Real World. These moves are unlocked by gathering the ten Attack Pieces in a particular area. Like in the prequel, the player is given the option to practice their unlocked Bros. Attacks in the menu. In this game however, certain Bros. Attacks are influenced damage-wise by either Mario's or Luigi's Boots POW stat, Mario's or Luigi's Hammer POW stat, or just Mario's or Luigi's normal POW stat, whose variable POW stat depends on who's performing the attack. Once again exclusive to this game, Mario and Luigi each have Bros. Attacks unique to themselves that only they can activate, excluding the 3D Red/Green Shell which they both share.


 * Mario's
 * 3D Red Shell (4 BP) (Boots)
 * Bye Bye Cannon (7 BP) (Boots)
 * Bomb Derby (9 BP) (Hammer)
 * Jet-Board Bash (12 BP) (Hammer)
 * Zee Egg (15 BP) (Hammer)


 * Luigi's
 * 3D Green Shell (4 BP) (Boots)
 * Fire Flower (5 BP) (Normal)
 * Dropchopper (7 BP) (Boots)
 * Slingsniper (9 BP) (Normal)
 * Star Rocket (12 BP) (Boots)

Luiginary Attacks (Dream World)
Luiginary Attacks, like Bros. Attacks, are powerful and complex team techniques that Mario and a group Luiginoids perform in unison in the Dream World. These moves are unlocked by gathering the ten Attack Pieces in a particular area. Like with Bros. Attacks, the player is given the option to practice their unlocked Luiginary Attacks in the menu. Much like Bros. Attacks, certain Luiginary Attacks are influenced damage-wise by either Mario's Boots POW stat, Mario's Hammer POW stat, or just Mario's normal POW stat. As Mario battles solo (in a sense) in the Dream World, only he can activate these moves.


 * Luiginary Ball (6 BP)(Boots)
 * Luiginary Stack (10 BP)(Boots)
 * Luiginary Hammer (10 BP)(Hammer)
 * Luiginary Flame (14 BP)(Normal)
 * Luiginary Wall (14 BP)(Hammer)
 * Luiginary Typhoon (16 BP)(Hammer)

Playable

 * Mario
 * Luigi
 * Dreamy Luigi (Dream World)
 * Starlow (Dream World)

Other

 * Princess Peach
 * Toadsworth
 * Toads
 * Bowser, the secondary antagonist who forms an alliance with Antasma
 * Yoshi
 * Starlow
 * Antasma, the antagonist, Also known as the "Bat King".
 * Pi'illos
 * Dreambert, leader of the Pi'illo people
 * Eldream, a Pi'illo that knows alot about the Dream World.
 * Bedsmith
 * Dreambunny, presumably Eldream's pet rabbit.
 * Dr. Snoozemore (Dr Snoozemore in PAL versions), proprietor of Pi'illo island, who is mysteriously absent when the heroes arrive at the island.
 * Broque Monsieur
 * Broque Madame
 * Broggy
 * Brocks: Other members of Broque Monsieur's race.
 * Brickle
 * Britta
 * Zeekeeper
 * Smoldergeist
 * Shell Top
 * Beanish
 * Hooskis, citizens which resemble brown Hoohooligans.
 * Big Massif, One of the tour guides
 * Li'l Massif, One of the tour guides
 * Dream Stone Soul, Soul of the Dream Stone
 * Seadric, A Seadring
 * Seadric's Sister
 * Seadric's Brother
 * Seadric's other Brother
 * Private Goomp
 * Corporal Paraplonk
 * Sergeant Guy
 * Kamek
 * Popple
 * Wiggly a wiggler on vacation
 * Kylie Koopa
 * Shroob image in Kylie's place.

Enemies

 * Real World


 * Gromba
 * Monolift
 * Monolift R
 * Bloatula
 * Storch
 * Capnap
 * Thorb
 * Walker Guy
 * Chain Chomp
 * Goomba
 * Goomba R
 * Fly Guy
 * Fly Guy R
 * Flibbee
 * Flibbee R
 * Propellion
 * Boomerang Bro.
 * Lakitu
 * Spiny
 * Bandit
 * Banzai Bill
 * Piranha Plant
 * Talantula
 * Caccac
 * Sandoon
 * Flaming Antasmaton
 * Fire Bro
 * Beehoss
 * Flounderflage
 * Hermite Crab
 * Eyepi'illo
 * Pi'illodactyl
 * Pi'illodactyl R
 * Grumbell
 * Viruses
 * Shy Guy
 * Shy Guy Airtub
 * Shy Guy R
 * Shy Guy Airtub R


 * Dream World


 * Dromba
 * Dreamcap
 * Dreamcap Captain
 * Dreamcap R
 * Dreamcap Captain R
 * Dreamy Sandoon
 * Propellion
 * Dark Block
 * Chizzle
 * Cocoknight
 * Ticksquawk
 * Lob-omb
 * Mechakoopa
 * Lob-omb R
 * Cocoknight
 * Cocoknight R
 * Lakitu
 * Spiny
 * Lakitu R
 * Spiny R
 * Piranha Plant
 * Nipper Plant
 * Bloopurn
 * Icead
 * Krubbish
 * Pelicrump
 * Spritzbloom
 * Gold Beanie

Bosses

 * Antasma (first time, tutorial battle)
 * Smoldergeist
 * Dreamy Mario
 * Grobot
 * Antasma (second time), possessing Bowser
 * Torkscrew.
 * Dreamy Drilldigger
 * Sorrow Fist
 * Beef Cloud
 * Heavy Zess
 * Thunder Sass
 * Big Massif
 * Mammoshka
 * Dreamy Mount Pajamaja (giant boss)
 * Private Goomp, Corporal Paraplonk & Sergeant Guy
 * Wiggly
 * Popple
 * Earth-Waker (giant boss)
 * Pi'illodium
 * Dreamy Zeekeeper (giant battle)
 * Kamek (three times)
 * Giant Bowser
 * Antasma (final time)
 * Dreamy Bowser (final boss)

Battle Ring Bosses

 * Grobot X
 * Bowser X and Antasma X
 * Torkscrew X
 * Big Massif X
 * Mammoshka X
 * Private Goomp, Corporal Paraplonk & Sergeant Guy (Elite Trio X)
 * Pi'illodium X
 * Antasma X
 * Bowser Jr.

Battle Ring Giant Bosses

 * Drilldigger X
 * Mount Pajamaja X
 * Earthwake X
 * Zeekeeper X
 * Bowser X (Giant Form)

Items

 * ? Blocks
 * Coin Blocks
 * Attack Piece Blocks
 * Coins
 * 5 Gold Coins
 * 10 Gold Coins

Locations

 * Real World (Pi'illo Island) will presumably take place in
 * Pi'illo Blimport
 * Pi'illo Castle
 * Mushrise Park
 * Dozing Sands
 * Wakeport
 * Mount Pajamaja
 * Drifwood Shore
 * Somnom Woods
 * Neo Bowser Castle
 * Dream World
 * Dreamy Pi'illo Castle
 * Dreamy Mushrise Park
 * Dreamy Dozing Sands
 * Dreamy Wakeport
 * Dreamy Mount Pajamaja
 * Dreamy Driftwood Shore
 * Dreamy Somnom Woods
 * Dreamy Neo Bowser Castle
 * Dream's Deep

Expert Challenges
Expert Challenges are optional battle objectives that if Mario and Luigi complete, earn points that if hit certain requirement totals, can result in various equipment rewards upon meeting the set requirement total. Different types of challenges give different amounts of points.

Rewards

 * Pro Gloves (800 Points)

Differences from other Mario & Luigi games

 * Unlike the other Mario & Luigi games, Mario and Luigi don't let out their battle cries of "Let's-a-go!" and "Okey-dokey!" respectively when starting a battle.
 * This is the first time in the series that Peach's Castle isn't the tutorial level.
 * This is the first time in the series that the tutorial battle does not feature Bowser.
 * This is the first time in the series that has Bowser as the main antagonist.
 * Unlike the first three installments, Lakitu does not appear in the Level Up system.
 * This is also the first game in the Mario & Luigi series to depict the letters on Mario and Luigi's caps as red and green, respectively, instead of black, and to have Luigi's pants reach his shoes, hiding his socks.
 * This is the first time in the series Bowser doesn't merge with an antagonist for the final battle.
 * This is the first time Fawful doesn't appear in a Mario & Luigi game.

References to other games

 * Super Mario Bros.: A remix of this game's main theme is heard while a tutorial is been displayed.
 * Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island: Part of Driftwood Shore's theme is a remix of this game's title screen music.
 * Super Mario 64': One counter attack you use against Giant Bowser has Luigi grab him by the tail and spin him around before launching him off the platform, like in the Bowser battles of Super Mario 64.
 * Luigi's Mansion / Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon: One of the messages from Luigi displayed in Dream's Deep is "I fight ghosts!"
 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga: Popple and other Beanish characters appear in this game. Part of Driftwood Shore's theme is a remix of Oho Oasis. The way the Mario Bros. get to Big Massif's apprentices by having to go through their own puzzle-filled sections in Dreamy Wakeport is similar to how the the Koopalings in Bowser's Castle were reached in the first game.
 * Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time: The Bros. Ball attack from this game returns. Also, Bowser resembles Shrowser when possessed by Antasma. Kylie Koopa also reappears along with a picture of a Shroob.
 * Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story: The badges are similar to the ones from this game. Starlow, Broque Monsieur, Broque Madame, Broggy, Private Goomp, Corporal Paraplonk, and Sergeant Guy return as well. Bowser's theme is reused. The boss theme is a heavily remixed version of this game's. The boxart is also similar to the one from this game. The Banzai Bill Blaster re-appears as well as a prop during the battlle with Private Goomp, Corporal Paraplonk and Sergeant Guy. In the final battle, before Bowser becomes Dreamy Bowser, he inhales the fragments of the shattered Dream Stone using the inhaling power he received in this game. The Earth-Waker battle plays out the same as the Tower of Yikk battle. Bowser before his Giant Battle also states he invented transforming into a giant.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Kamek is disguised as Princess Peach again.
 * Super Mario 3D Land: A tail Goomba enemy (actually called that, not a Tanoomba) appears in the Neo Bowser Castle dream world.
 * New Super Mario Bros. U: Bombs very similar to the ones used by Lemmy Koopa in this game appear in the Bomb Derby attack.

Reception
The game was positively received. Both Gamespot and IGN gave the game an 8 which is the lowest review in the series by both of them. The reasons for this were that IGN believed that the overworld was less apealing than Dream World and that the game's intro was sluggish and filled with too many tutorials.