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 and Australia on July 13th. It will be released in Japan on July 18th, and North America on August 11th.

It is part of "The Year of Luigi" alongside Luigi's Mansion: Dark Moon and the New Super Luigi U DLC for New Super Mario Bros. U. The two titles and the DLC are in celebration 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 guardian of the mountain, who is currently sleeping. The Massif's get by unnoticed but Luigi sneezes, waking up the guardian which 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, Dreambeat, starts playing with makes anyone fall asleep, except for Pi'illos, Starlow, Antasma and Bowser who is covering his ears. The Bros. try to escape but Luigi falls asleep. Dreambert suggests going to the Dream World to escape the music until it's over. Mario manages to escape the Dreambeat in Dreamy Mount Pajamaja, but the Dream Portal soon closes as the music has made Luigi so sleepy 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 Volcano is alive and anger it by popping a pimple on its nose. The Volcano's reaction sends the Bros. back to where the Dream Portal was but it hasn't re-appeared, leaving the Bros. to face the Volcano, 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 there next plan of action and decide to hide Princess Peach as that would be Bowser's 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 shield surrounds the 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 people. 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 Seadring, 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 Seadring suggests the use of Dream Eggs to expand the world. Seadring then tells the Bros. to go see his two Brothers and Sister to get three Dream Eggs. After doing so, Seadring 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 Seadring 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 Antasma and Bowser's 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 must collect the five Zee Parts scattered across the island.

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. 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 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 power. 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.

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

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

Bros. Attacks (Real World)
Mario's -
 * 3D Red Shell (4 BP)
 * Bye Bye Cannon (7 BP)
 * Bomb Derby (9 BP)
 * Jet-Board Bash (12 BP)
 * Zee Egg (15 BP)

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

Luiginary Attacks (Dream World)

 * Luiginary Ball
 * Luiginary Stack
 * Luiginary Hammer
 * Luiginary Flame
 * Luiginary Wall
 * Luiginary Typhoon

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.
 * 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
 * Seadring, A Dream Genie
 * Seadring's Sister
 * Seadring's Brother
 * Seadring's other Brother
 * Private Goomp
 * Corporal Paraplonk
 * Sergeant Guy
 * Kamek
 * Popple, seen helping Mario & Luigi fight a Wiggler.
 * 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
 * Wiggler
 * Bandit
 * Banzai Bill
 * Piranha Plants
 * Talantula
 * Caccac
 * Sandoon
 * Beehoss
 * Flounderflage
 * Hermite Crab
 * Eyepi'illo
 * Pi'illodactyl
 * Pi'illodactyl R
 * Grumbell
 * Viruses
 * Pink creatures with green leaves on their heads
 * White ghost-like creatures with black eyes
 * A purple, pink and peach goo monster
 * A pink and yellow moth creature
 * Red and pink birds
 * A yellow ball enemy with brown feet, a white spike on its head, and goggles.
 * A shark with a drill on its head. Mario & Luigi race it.
 * An igloo that chases Mario & Luigi.


 * Dream World
 * Dromba
 * Dreamcap
 * Dreamcap Captain
 * Dreamcap R
 * Dreamcap Captain R
 * Dreamy Sandoon
 * Propellion
 * Chizzle
 * Cocoknight
 * Ticksquawk
 * Lob-omb
 * Lob-omb R
 * Cocoknight
 * Cocoknight R
 * Lakitu
 * Piranha Plant
 * Bloopurn
 * Icead
 * Krubbish
 * Pelicrump
 * Spritzbloom
 * Gold Beanie

Bosses

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

Items

 * ? Blocks
 * Coin Blocks
 * Attack Piece Blocks
 * Coins
 * 5 Gold Coins
 * 10 Gold Coins
 * Mushrooms
 * Super Mushrooms
 * Nuts
 * Super Nuts
 * Wonder-nuts
 * Syrup
 * Super Syrup
 * Candies
 * Super-Candies
 * 1-Up Mushrooms
 * 1-Up Mushroom+s
 * 1-Up Deluxe
 * Refreshing Herbs
 * Ghost Cookies
 * Secret Boxes
 * Slingshrooms
 * Seesaw Shrooms

Locations

 * Real World (Pi'illo Island) will presumably take place in
 * Pi'illo Blimport
 * Pi'illo Castle
 * Mushrise Park
 * Ohapaku Breeze
 * Wakeport
 * Dozing Sands
 * Mount Pajamaja
 * Drifwood Shore
 * Somnom Woods
 * Neo Bowser Castle
 * A quarry area with fences on the floor and rock enemies.
 * A grassy area with mountains.
 * A shop with small pink creatures as employees.
 * A castle with purple rock enemies.
 * A Bridge which breaks down and leads into a cave.
 * Dream World
 * A grassy area with flowers.
 * An area with wooden floor with orange drill and purple slime enemies.
 * Dream's Deep
 * A grassy area with rolling rocks.
 * A bright castle area with a greenish blue background.
 * A snowy area where a giant Luigi faces off against a volcano creature.
 * A cloudy area with protrusions of land in the background.

Luiginary Works
Luiginary Works are special objects 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.

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 the tutorial battle does not feature Bowser.
 * This is the first time in the series that Bowser is not an ally or a minor foe.
 * Unlike the first three installments, Lakitu does not appear in the Level Up system.

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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * New Super Mario Bros. Wii: Kamek is disguised as Princess Peach again.
 * 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
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. The game though was positively received

Trivia

 * This is the first game in the Mario & Luigi series to be rated E10+ (Everyone 10 and Up) as opposed to the usual E (Everyone) by ESRB.
 * This is also the second Mario game (excluding Donkey Kong and Wario series) to receive this rating, after Mario Strikers Charged.
 * 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.