Mario & Luigi (series)

The Mario & Luigi series (Mario & Luigi RPG in Japan) are installments of Role Playing Games developed by AlphaDream for Nintendo's handhelds, starting in 2003 with Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Game Boy Advance. Each title has Mario and Luigi team up for a meandering quest in which they must battle evil, all the while completing various and often banal side-quests. More playable characters were introduced in the second and third Mario & Luigi games. The series is renowned for its inventive plots and humorous dialogue and is notable for maintaining continuity between the four installations.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Artwork from the Mario & Luigi series appeared as stickers in Super Smash Bros. Brawl: Cackletta, Luigi with Baby Luigi, Luigi, Mario with Luigi, Prince Peasley, a Shroob, Stuffwell, and Toadsworth. Additionally, one of the random names in Brawl when naming something (for example, naming a friend code) is FWFUL, obviously referencing Fawful. Additionally, Gritzy Desert's music from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time is selectable as the Mushroomy Kingdom's stage music.

Super Mario-Kun
Super Mario-Kun has devoted a few volumes to the series. The art style on the covers even reflect the Mario & Luigi art style (especially seen in the color of Mario and Luigi's insignias). Although the storylines are similar to the story in game, there are multiple variations and twists. General examples include Mario and Luigi being able to speak fully, and Baby Mario and Baby Luigi are capable of talking as well. More specifically, Yoob, for example, is actually a friendly giant Yoshi that Sunnycide manipulates while Tanoomba can transform into clones of Mario and company to cause mischief. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, however, does not have entire volumes devoted to its story.

Other Characters

 * Broque Monsieur
 * Broggy
 * Broque Madame
 * Brickle
 * Britta
 * Elder Princess Shroob
 * Kamek
 * Lady Lima
 * Prince Peasley
 * Queen Bean
 * Toad
 * Toadbert
 * Yoshi
 * Pi'illoper
 * Eldream
 * Bedsmith
 * Wiggly
 * Private Goomp
 * Corporal Paraplonk
 * Sergeant Guy
 * Lil' Massif
 * Big Massif
 * Dr. Snoozemore
 * Smoldergeist
 * Wisdurm
 * Kuzzle
 * Chakron

Gameplay Elements
The Mario & Luigi series features games on a turn-based RPG system. Enemies are encountered in the overworld, and the main protagonists, Mario and Luigi (and Baby Mario and Baby Luigi in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time; and Bowser in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story) can interact the enemy and enter into a battle scene. If they attack the enemy, they get a first-hit advantage by dealing damage with the enemy (or stunning the enemy if they use hammers), unless they jump on spiked or fire enemies. If the enemy hits the rear brother in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, that rear brother misses the first turn, stunned and vulnerable to attack, unless he has a higher speed stat. This has changed in the next games, since enemies have to hit behind either of the two brothers to make them stunned.

In all four Mario & Luigi games, the Mario Bros., the Baby Mario Bros., Bowser and Mario and the Luiginoids can receive various new abilities to enter otherwise inaccessible spots. For instance, the Mario Bros. can use the High Jump ability to reach high areas.

In Battle, the Mario Bros., the Baby Mario Bros., and Bowser have various methods to attack the enemy. They have a basic attack or a special Bros. attack. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the Bros. attack consumes Bros. Points (BP). In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, items activate these attacks.

The Mario & Luigi series battle system also comes with the ability to avoid attacks by jumping, using a hammer, punching, and using the shell (the latter two that Bowser uses). Often, when facing against the Mario Bros., enemies signal which brother they will attack.

As in all Mario series RPGs, the characters have a choice to flee the battle, but by first attempting it.

Stats
As in most RPG games, each character has a different stat. When characters level up by earning enough experience points (or alternatively use special items made from beans in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga), their stats elevate. Players can decide which stat to add a bonus via roulette, but they should be aware that the numbers that boost the star will eventually decrease if consistently chosen.

Stats are also temporarily increased or decreased when peppers are consumed or from enemy attacks.

Items
The series features many items. Items can be obtained if the characters hit blocks, win battles, win minigames, and others. Mario and Luigi can buy items at various shops with coins they earned in battles and blocks. Clothes and badges are earned usually as a prize while key items are needed to advance the storyline or complete a sidequest.

Beans
Beans are consumable items found in all Mario & Luigi games, but in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, special beans are found, and they can be blended in the Starbeans Café. The drinks made from a blend of these beans can increase stats. In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, beans are used to buy badges. In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, and in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, beans are used to increase stats.

Badges
Badges can be equipped on the playable characters to give them extra effects or more power in battle. Badges are bought in shops, earned as prizes, or found in defeated enemies. Characters can equip only one badge at a time. In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, only the Mario Bros. can equip badges. The badges are part of a gauge that fills when an action command is executed well. When the gauge is filled, the Mario Bros. can use various actions including healing themselves.

For a full list on badges, see here

Clothing
The main protagonists can also equip clothing to increase stats, such as DEF, HP, and SPD. Clothes can be bought at shops, earned as prizes, or found in defeated enemies. Some clothes are exclusive to Mario while only Luigi can wear others; some clothes are compatible with both. In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, clothes can provide extra effects. In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, clothes received additional types including overalls, gloves, socks, boots, and accessories for Mario and Luigi, and shells, arm bands, rings, and fangs for Bowser. Characters can equip more clothing if their rank go up (the maximum is three), but they can equip only one of each type.

For a full list on clothing, see here.

Similarities between the games

 * The Mario Bros. have been inside someone's body in the first three games (Bowletta's belly in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Yoob's belly in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and Bowser's and a giant Sockop's body in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story).
 * Although Luigi's dreams, which is his subconscious can also count as inside his body, only this time mentally, not physically.
 * All of the games are mainly set somewhere other than the Mushroom Kingdom of the present (Beanbean Kingdom in Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, the Mushroom Kingdom of the past in Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time, Bowser's body in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Pi'illo Island and Dream World in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team).
 * All four games have Bowser. (As a helper and Cackletta's host in "Superstar Saga", a boss in "Partners In Time", the protagonist in "Bowser's Inside Story", and the main antagonist in "Dream Team")
 * All four games have their own version of the Mushroom Kingdom enemies (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga have bean-related enemies, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time have Shroobified enemies, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story have Fawful-themed, organ-themed and Dark Star-themed enemies, and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team have Antasma-themed and dream-themed enemies.
 * The first three games have similarities between the boss fights, starting with the fact that Bowser is always the first boss.
 * During the initial fights, Mario learns the action command while Luigi is occupied with something else (watching in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, playing in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, sleeping in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, and dreaming about the fight in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team).
 * In all four games, at least two other versions of Bowser must be battled (Rookie and Bowletta in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga; Baby Bowser and Shrowser in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time; Bowser X and Dark Bowser in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story; Bowser possessed by Antasma, Giant Bowser, and Dreamy Bowser in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team).
 * All four games have at least one boss that only gives the player a limited number of turns to defeat before Game Over. The bosses are: Roy Koopa, Wendy O. Koopa, and Larry Koopa in Superstar Saga, three Shroobs in Hollijolli Village, and Elder Shrooboid in his larger form in Partners in Time, Fawful Express and X bosses in Bowser's Inside Story, and Heavy Zest and X bosses in Dream Team (though the X Bosses and Heavy Zest do not give a Game Over, rather they are just pulled away from the battle).
 * In all four games, there is at least one Wiggler-esque boss.
 * In all four games, an altered form of Bowser is the final Boss (Bowletta, Shrowser, Dark Bowser, and Dreamy Bowser).
 * On that note, two of the final bosses (Cackletta in Superstar Saga and Fawful in Bowser's Inside Story) are fought inside Bowser.
 * In all games starting with Partners in Time there is a boss that has more HP than the final boss.
 * All four games have one character that is stuck and needs help, but as soon as they are rescued, something bad happens. In Superstar Saga, Bloat is stuck in a gap, and after he is rescued, the S.S. Chuckola starts to move out to the Oho Ocean, and sinks. In Partners in Time, the Hollijolli Mayor is stuck in a chimney, and after he is rescued, Shroob UFOs come and kidnap him. In Bowser Inside Story, Bowser is stuck in a hole on the floor in Bowser's Castle after eating too much food. After he falls down from the hole, he soon catches on fire and is bombed to Underground Tunnel by a great number of Bob-ombs, In Dream Team, Brickle gets stuck in the Mushrise Park fountain. As soon the bros frees him by adding more water pressure, the fountain shoots and lands on Grobot which then goes out of control.
 * All four games' storyline is about collecting the pieces of a Star or another magic item (the Beanstar in Superstar Saga, the Cobalt Star in Partners in Time, the Star Cure/Miracle Cure in Bowser's Inside Story and the Ultibed in Dream Team).
 * The Final Bosses of all four games are defeated by eliminating parts of the bosses' body to conceal a weak point: Cackletta's arms and her head must be destroyed to make attacking her heart possible, the Elder Princess Shroob's tentacles must be destroyed to conceal her crown, which after being de-activated will drop the boss's defense, the Dark Fawful Bug needs its arms, legs and glasses to be destroyed so the player can attack the Dark Star Core, and Dreamy Bowser needs his arms to be destroyed before he himself can be attacked.
 * All four Mario & Luigi games have an elite version of an enemy. In Superstar Saga, there is an elite version of the Troopea called the Elite Troopea; in Partners in Time, there is an elite version of a Boom Guy called the Elite Boom Guy; in Bowser's Inside Story, there was an elite version of the Goombule called the Elite Goombule; in Dream Team the word "elite" isn't used, but there are many "R" versions of enemies. Also, the Elite Trio is fought including Sergeant Guy, Corporal Paraplonk, and Private Goomp.
 * All games have the bosses exploding, and the enemies disappearing or a small explosion.
 * All four games in the series start somewhere in Princess Peach's Castle.
 * All four games' last area to explore is in a castle.
 * In the first three games, The main antagonist takes over Peach's and/or Bowser's Castle in the game. In Superstar Saga, Bowletta takes over Bowser's Castle. In Partners in Time, Princess Shroob takes over Peach's Castle of the past. In Bowser's Inside Story, Fawful takes over both castles.
 * All four games have at least two new characters with at least a different speech patterns or language. Superstar Saga has Fawful's odd metaphors and Cork and Cask's French accents, and also Popple's slang. Partners in Time features the Shroob language and Kylie Koopa's slang. Bowser's Inside Story had Midbus with his broken, poor English, the Emoglobin's odd vocal patterns, and Broque Monsieur's French accent. And in "Dream Team" Broque Monsieur, Popple and Kylie Koopa return and Hooskis language with "hoo" in it, Li'l Massif and Big Massif's Russian accents and words with "beef" in it, and as well as Antasma's Slavic accent.
 * All four games have a move where the player can spin or drill into the ground.
 * All 4 games have their host system appear in the game somewhere (a purple and then a yellow Game Boy Advance is used as a message device by Bowletta in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, the DS Radar - actually a grey Nintendo DS - is used by E. Gadd as well as a DS used by the Shroobs to call other Shroobs in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Dark Fawful uses a red Nintendo DSi to pursue the Dark Star in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story), and a giant 3DS is seen as a computer used by a Shelltop in Pi'illo Castle in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team.
 * Final Bosses in all four games have some form of HP recovery moves - Dark Star Core is the only final boss who lacks HP recovery moves, while he recovers Dark Bowser by 1,000 HPs.
 * Fawful appears in the first three games (As Cackletta's assistant in Superstar Saga, as a badge dealer under Princess Peach's Castle in Partners in Time, and as the main antagonist in Bowser's Inside Story).
 * All four games plays a remix of the Super Mario theme.
 * All four games have the same sound effects similar to Super Mario Bros..e.g Jumping and Fireball sound effects.
 * When Mario & Luigi speak in all four games, they sometimes mention a type of Italian pasta as part of the gibberish.
 * Each game, starting with Partners In Time has an antagonist from the previous installment.
 * In all four games, a character disguises him/herself as Princess Peach; Luigi and Birdo in Superstar Saga, Princess Shroob in Partners in Time, a strange, round creature from the Memory Banks turns into a blocky version of Princess Peach called Memory P(though it isn't really supposed to be a disguise)in Bowser's Inside Story, and Kamek in Dream Team.
 * All four games has at least one or two brothers in danger/kidnapped where the other needs to save the brother. (In Superstar Saga, Mario falls into a Chuckola Cola barrel, then struck with Bean Fever where Luigi needs to save him while Luigi is taken by a crane and kidnapped by Popple to use as a hostage where Mario needs to save him. In Partners in Time, Both Mario and Luigi are kidnapped by brainwashed Hammer Bros., where Baby Mario and Baby Luigi need to save them. In Bowser's Inside Story Luigi is stuck in an immune cell only to be saved by Mario, and later Mario is kidnapped by a Sockop for his energy to be taken, only to be saved by Luigi. In Dream Team Luigi is sent into an unnatural sleep by the Dreambeats and Mario needs to defeat Dreamy Mount Pajamaja to wake him up, and Luigi's fear of losing Mario is what allows Dreamy Luigi to turn into Giant Luigi to save Mario.
 * The first three games have Mario and Luigi saying "Let's-a-go!" and "Okey-dokey!" respectively at the start of a battle.
 * The first three games have the playable characters say "Nintendo!" at the start of the game. (Mario and Luigi in Superstar Saga, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi in Partners in Time, and Bowser in Bowser's Inside Story.)
 * In games after Superstar Saga Mario and Luigi have a partner that store their items, give tutorials, and also speak in Mario and Luigi's stead.
 * They also all hide in Mario's pocket.
 * In the first three games the heroes meet a friendly character who reappears in the many different areas they explore. Prince Peasley in Superstar Saga, Kylie Koopa in Partners in Time and Broque Monsieur in Bowser's Inside Story.
 * With the exception of Broque Monsieur, they all lend a hand when the bros. are in danger at one point: Prince Peasley defeats Fawful when he has the upper hand, Kylie disguises herself as a Shroob to save them, and Big Massif with his brother helps Mario and Luigi scale up Mount Pajamaja.
 * In the first and fourth games in the series, Mario and Luigi have to escape a castle before it collapses. Also, someone flies them to safety (In Superstar Saga Blablanadon in Dream Team Zeekeeper).
 * The second, third, and fourth games have a main gameplay element that is science-fiction related: time traveling in Partners in Time, journeying throughout someone's body in Bowser's Inside Story and entering the Dream World in Dream Team.
 * A portrait of Princess Peach appears somewhere in all four games: in Mario's Pad in Superstar Saga, in Peach's Castle in Partners in Time, inside a Toad House in Bowser's Inside Story, and as part of a trading quest in Dream Team.
 * In all four games, there are at least two bosses that become friendly NPCs: Tolstar, Prince Peasley (who was transformed into Dragohoho), Queen Bean (who was forced into eating a Belly Blech Worm), and Hermie III in Superstar Saga, the L33t Hamm3r Broz. and Mrs. Thwomp in Partners in Time, Broggy, Wisdurm, and Bowser Memory ML in Bowser's Inside Story, and Big Massif and the Zeekeeper in Dream Team.

Virtual Console Release
The first entry in the Mario & Luigi series, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, was released for the Wii U's GBA Virtual Console on April 3rd, 2014 for $7.99.

Trivia

 * The popular discontinued soon-to-be remade Nintendo-acknowledged internet series Super Mario Bros. Z uses many sprites from the the Mario & Luigi series.
 * Mario & Luigi: Dream Team was made for The Year of Luigi, which is the reason Luigi has so many new powers and is the only one who can use Pillows.
 * Also in this game, Kamek references New Super Mario Bros. Wii when he wears Peach's dress.