Mini-Mario

Mini-Mario (also formatted as Mini Mario and known as Mini Hammer ) is a technique used by Mario and Luigi in various Mario & Luigi games, appearing in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga / Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions
In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga + Bowser's Minions, Mini-Mario first appears as a Bros. Action taught to Luigi in Chateau de Chucklehuck by Cork and Cask alongside the Dunk Hammer move. It involves Luigi standing behind Mario and hitting him with a hammer. Mario then shrinks to about half of his normal size, allowing him to fit through gaps normally inaccessible. When this happens, the bros will be separated, though the player can switch control between the two with ( in the remake). In addition, Mini-Mario acts as a sort of dowser, generating a "!" bubble above his head when he is near a hidden underground treasure. If the game is being played on the Game Boy Player, the controller will react. A larger exclamation mark appears if Mario is directly above the underground treasure. In order for him to be restored to his normal size, Mario must either be hit by Luigi's hammer or enter a battle with an enemy. The in-battle equivalent to this move is Knockback Bros., and the move is also used in the Cyclone Bros. Bros. Attack.

Also, if Luigi attempts to High Jump onto Mini-Mario, and if Mario jumps when Luigi is directly above him, he earns a coin every time Luigi is hit. However, every time Luigi is hit, he loses 1 HP (2 HP in the Japanese version, 4 in the remake); if his HP is at 1 (2 or below in the Japanese version, 4 or below in the remake), when Mario hits him, nothing happens.

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey
In Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey, the Mini-Mario ability reappears and is learned much earlier than in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, being learned at Pump Works. Once Mario and Luigi find Toadsworth in a certain area of the location, the brothers come across a small space that leads to a nubbin switch that they must activate to remove the walls to free him. Mario and Luigi then get the idea to use this move in order to reach it, and afterwards, they can use it for the rest of the game.

This ability is used for the same reasons as in Superstar Saga; allowing Mario to fit through and get past tight spaces that are normally inaccessible, causing him to be separated from Luigi, as well as enter tiny pipes in some areas that take Mario beneath the ground, allowing him to hit ? Blocks in the ground. Unlike Superstar Saga, this ability does not help the player find items hidden underground, the player cannot switch control between the two brothers, and Mario may move around in Bowser's body, a complete two-dimensional area, making the physics of the move somewhat different.

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
In Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, the Mini-Mario ability reappears once again, and is learned from two Shelltops working for Britta in Dozing Sands, along with the Mole Mario move. The ability retains its purpose and function from the previous games it appeared in. The player can only use the Mini-Mario ability when standing on hard surfaces, such as rock or metal; using it on soft surfaces, such as dirt or sand, will make the player perform the Mole Mario ability instead.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

 * Instruction manual description: "When Luigi's in the back, he can hit Mario with his Hammer, shrinking him. Mini-Mario can do things only tiny creatures can do. To return Mario to normal, Luigi must hit him again using ."

Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story

 * Instruction manual description: "Press to make Luigi swing his hammer—it'll make Mario small so he can fit through tiny openings. If you hit Mini Mario one more time, he'll return to normal size."

Trivia

 * There is a glitch in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga where, if Mario and Luigi leave an area or a location, the background music that plays in the area or location they leave from will not change. This happens even when they use a Warp Pipe to travel to another location.