Mario & Luigi (series)

The Mario & Luigi series (Mario & Luigi RPG in Japan) are a series of role-playing games based on the Mario franchise developed by AlphaDream for Nintendo's handheld systems, starting in 2003 with Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the Game Boy Advance. Each title has the player controlling Mario and Luigi to fight the antagonists. More playable characters have been introduced since the second game.

Gameplay elements
The Mario & Luigi series features both brothers responding to a specific input, Mario being controlled with "A" and Luigi "B". Like Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario, the Mario & Luigi series features a turn-based battle system. Enemies are encountered on the overworld, and the player can interact the enemy and enter into a battle scene. In battle, Mario and Luigi can attack either by using one of their basic attacks (jumping or with a hammer) or by using a special Bros. Attack (Special Attack in the third game). In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, the Bros. attack consumes Bros. Points (BP) (in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story they are Special Points, and in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time the Bros. Attacks. are instead items). The Mario & Luigi series battle system also comes with the ability to avoid attacks by jumping or counterattacking by using the hammer, depending on the attack. Enemies often signal which brother they are going to attack.

On the overworld, the player can jump using the brothers' respective buttons, and can hammer by pressing another button to switch to the hammer commands. In all six Mario & Luigi games, the brothers can also receive various new abilities to enter otherwise inaccessible spots. For instance, the Mario Bros. can use the High Jump ability to reach higher areas. The overworlds commonly feature various obstacles and platforming challenges that require the player to make use of various techniques to pass them.

Stats
As in most role-playing 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 Starbeans Cafe. The Bean Juice 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, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam, 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.

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.

Lists

 * Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
 * Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
 * Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
 * Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
 * Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam

Other characters

 * Broque Monsieur
 * Broque Madame
 * Broggy
 * Brickle
 * Britta
 * Elder Princess Shroob
 * Kamek
 * Prince Peasley
 * Queen Bean
 * Toadbert
 * Toadiko
 * Eldream
 * Private Goomp
 * Corporal Paraplonk
 * Sergeant Guy
 * Lil' Massif
 * Big Massif
 * Dr. Snoozemore
 * Zeekeeper
 * Dr. Toadley
 * Chakron
 * Starshade Bros.
 * Wiggler
 * Petey Piranha
 * Koopalings
 * Toadette

Super Smash Bros. series
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.

A cover of the battle theme, "Try, Try Again" from Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, appears in the Paper Mario stage in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and in Woolly World in Super Smash Bros. for Wii U. As the original track, it was composed by Yoko Shimomura. Additionally, Super Smash Bros. for Wii U features original versions of "Tough Guy Alert!" in Woolly World and "The Grand Finale" from Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story in Mario Galaxy.

Super Mario-Kun
Super Mario-Kun has devoted a few volumes to Partners in Time and Bowser's Inside Story. 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.

Similarities between games

 * The first three games have the playable characters say "Nintendo!" when the game boots up (Mario and Luigi in Superstar Saga, Baby Mario and Baby Luigi in Partners in Time, and Bowser in Bowser's Inside Story).
 * The first four 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 five games have their own version of common enemies (Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga has bean-related enemies, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time has Shroobified enemies, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story has Fawful-themed, organ-themed and Dark Star-themed enemies, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team has Antasma-themed and dream-themed enemies, and Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam has paper versions of enemies).
 * The first three games all feature Bowser as the first boss, so that the player can learn about the basic battle gameplay. During the initial fights of the first four games, Mario learns the action commands 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 five games, an altered form of Bowser is the final boss (Bowletta, Shrowser, Dark Bowser, Dreamy Bowser and Shiny RoboBowser). The only forms of Bowser that aren't actually him is Dark Bowser, which is really the Dark Star, and Bowletta and Shrowser were possessed by Cackletta and Elder Princess Shroob, respectively.
 * All games' storylines are about or heavily feature 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, the Ultibed in Dream Team and Fire Ore to build Papercraft Fire Mario in Paper Jam ).
 * All games have the bosses exploding, and the enemies disappearing or a small explosion.
 * Fawful appears as a recurring character 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).
 * The first three games and Paper Jam have Mario and Luigi saying "Let's-a-go!" and "Okey-dokey!" respectively when transitioning into a battle.
 * 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.
 * In the first three games, three versions of Bowser must be battled (Bowser, Rookie and Bowletta in Superstar Saga, Bowser, Baby Bowser and Shrowser in Partners in Time and Bowser, Bowser X and Dark Bowser in Bowser's Inside Story).
 * Dream Team and Paper Jam takes it two steps forward, with five (Bowser, Giant Bowser, Bowser X, Giant Bowser X and Dreamy Bowser in Dream Team and Papercraft Bowser, Bowser, Paper Bowser, Shiny RoboBowser and Dry Bowser in Paper Jam).
 * All five games have a Wiggler boss fight, with the exception of Swiggler.
 * The Wiggler becomes stronger and stronger as the games go on.
 * In all five games the main antagonists have an alternative form in their final battle. Cackletta transforms in her spirit, Elder Princess Shroob in a biggest and monstrous form, Fawful in Dark Star Core, Antasma in a ghost and Paper Bowser in an armor.
 * Since the second game, there are other characters playable over Mario and Luigi. In the second there are the babies, in the third there is Bowser, in the fourth there is Dreamy Luigi and in the fifth there is Paper Mario.
 * The first four games all have a character who disguises themselves as Peach for one reason or another. In the first Luigi, in the second Princess Shroob, in the third the memory of Bowser and in the fourth Kamek with the Elite Trio.
 * The fifth game pulls a twist on this, with Peach and Paper Peach using fake Princess Peach decoys to escape from Bowser.
 * In the first four games Mario & Luigi always end up inside someone (Superstar Saga was Bowletta, Partners in Time was Yoob, Bowser's Inside Story was Bowser and the Giant Sockop, and Dream Team was inside Luigi's dream.) In fact, this serves as the main founding element of Bowser's Inside Story.
 * The first four games feature at least one Beanish character, although the species itself as a whole only appears in Superstar Saga and Dream Team. Fawful appeared in Superstar Saga as the secondary antagonist, Partners in Time as an underground shopkeeper, and Bowser's Inside Story as the main villain. Popple appeared in Superstar Saga as a rival to the Mario Bros, and Dream Team as a minor character.
 * Four of the five games have a battle that cannot be won, with Dream Team the exception to this pattern. (Superstar Saga was Fawful, Partners in Time was the three Shroobs and Bowser's Inside Story was Midbus.) In Paper Jam the Paper Goomba Wheel battle cannot be won by Mario & Luigi, and instead must be won by Paper Mario.
 * In Dream Team, the battle with Bowser and Antasma in his bat form can be won (as the victory screen shows), but instantly after the battle, Bowser uses Antasma's power to breathe purple flame and knock Mario, Luigi, and Peach out cold.
 * All games have Bowser in the same or involved with a similar situation as the Bros at some point:
 * Developing his own Bros. Attacks with Popple, as Rookie, in Superstar Saga
 * Partnering up with his younger self while traveling to the past in Partners in Time
 * Dark Fawful helping Dark Bowser from inside his body, similar to how Mario and Luigi help Bowser from inside his body in Bowser's Inside Story.
 * Being powered up by a Dream entity (Mario) and unleashing his power through his dreams (Luigi) in Dream Team
 * Teaming up with his paper self, and even obtaining his own Trio Hammer in Paper Jam.
 * In all five games, the game does not save after the final boss is beaten, only resuming at the last save before fighting them.
 * Only the last two games show any indication of the game having been finished, with a jukebox option being unlocked, and Hard Mode in Dream Team.
 * The third, fourth and fifth games all have two different normal battle themes: the Mario Bros. and Bowser's battle themes in Bowser's Inside Story, the real world and dream world battle themes in Dream Team and a battle theme for the Mario Bros. with and without Paper Mario in Paper Jam.