Nintendo continues to keep everything related to the successor to the Nintendo Switch with great mystery that will hit stores sometime next year. Until then, he doesn’t want to leave us without a good dose of video games, which is why one of the most anticipated ones that will be released soon is Mario & Luigi: Conexión Fraternal, the new installment of the saga in RPG form starring this charismatic couple of characters.
Just a few days ago I had the opportunity to tell you my first impressions after having played for just over an hour and in a couple of very specific moments of the adventure. However, I already have the final version of this title in my hands, to which I have so far been able to dedicate about ten hours, which has generated a series of sensations for and against What I am going to tell you below to whet your appetite for the analysis that we will publish soon.
A most extensive adventure through the world of Concordia
Our beloved plumbers embark on a new adventure that takes them to the world of Concordia. Once, this place was a peaceful continent where all its inhabitants lived in complete tranquility, but due to a series of events it has been fractured into a large number of pieces in the form of islandsso Mario and Luigi must find a way to reunite them in order to restore peace.
This is possible thanks to the power hidden in the gigantic TreeConnect and a most peculiar method. Each island has a plug-shaped port that is connected to the tree with a cable so that they remain hooked and come back together like before this whole catastrophe occurred. Besides, each island is completely different from the restwith its own themes, enemies, characters, puzzles and another series of challenges.
And don’t think that they are small areas, because getting over each island takes time. But that’s not all, because it turns out that all parts of Concordia They have been spread across five continents. and in the time I have spent at the controls I have only completed the first of them, so we could perfectly well be facing the delivery of the most extensive saga of all.
As if that were not enough, not everything consists of simply locating the plug and something else, because the game offers you the option of returning to these islands whenever you want to level up again by facing the enemies that are everywhere. the surroundings. However, in reality there are other more important reasons, such as secondary missions that the inhabitants are requesting those you rescue and who serve to receive very interesting rewards in exchange in the form of objects or pieces of equipment that boost the statistics of our pair of protagonists.
Of course, one detail about these alternative tasks is that you have a time limit to carry them out that depends on how much you progress in the story, since the game itself warns you that something may happen later that prevents you from successfully completing these tasks. missions. Even so, it is best not to pass them by, either to continue enjoying this great game or also to explore more places on the islands. And you are unlock additional paths once you have connected them with Nao Island, the main one, so there are more than enough excuses to visit them two, three or as many times as necessary.
The latter is mainly due to the fact that in many parts of the colorful and magical settings the flares are hiddenbrilliant beings that are said to be very useful for some reason that I have not yet discovered, although from what I said in my first impressions I have a good idea of the relevant use that they will have later. Therefore, between one thing and another, in the end it is normal that the adventure seems to last so long if, like me, you are one of those who do not want to miss anything and not focus exclusively on the main story.
The strong connection between Mario and Luigi
It is indisputable that the Mario brothers are inseparable and form an unbreakable team. in this game that union is more reinforced than everbecause when it comes to attacking each one will not do it on their own, but they will always support each other when jumping on top of an enemy, hitting them with the hammer or performing one of the powerful tandem attacks. This means that, as in other installments of the series, each one has their own assigned buttons that must be pressed appropriately each time an action is executed in battles.
I loved these because The enemies are very varied among them and have several patternsso that you don’t have to learn just one and you are forced to have all your senses activated so as not to suffer serious damage. This is an essential point to keep in mind because all the enemies hit quite hard, so it is better to pay attention to all their movements in order to memorize them and be well prepared for any attack capable of making the couple of plumbers bite the dust.
In any case, their cooperation will not be limited exclusively to combat and that’s it. Throughout the stages there are puzzles in which it is essential that Mario and Luigi agree to carry out certain actions by activating switches, jumping on platforms of a certain color, others in the form of see-saws and much more, which requires that the synchronization between the two is greater to overcome any adversity.
Along with all this, something that I loved is that the characters have calls available to them. tandem actionswhich are vital to cross the Concordia Islands. I have no doubt that throughout the game I will find more, but the only one I have unlocked so far transformed the plumbers into a kind of UFO by spinning around at full speed, thus allowing them to fly over a part of the terrain for a while. slight period of time.
A tremendously ingenious idea that occurs to Luigi, who has been granted on this occasion an unparalleled intelligence that makes him a true genius. This is reflected in the game in that on countless occasions you will start thinking to discover a very fun and curious way to overcome certain puzzles, so you could say that it is the way to give a greater role to the plumber in green, because The only one who is controlled when going from one place to another is Mario, while Luigi moves automatically or performs certain actions on his own if we tell him to.
The constant humor that the game gives off
As always, all the games in the Mario universe are focused on all types of players so that they can be enjoyed by the whole family. Here it is clear that this idea has been respected once again by developing a product that children and adults alike will love, especially for the tremendous sense of humor that comes off and for the masterful translation in the names of the characters and in certain aspects, which makes clear the ingenuity of the localization team in knowing how to make us laugh non-stop.
The sympathy of the characters and even the villains is constant, thus achieving a very friendly adventure, no matter how many dangers may arise. This is also demonstrated in the colorful and animated appearance that has been achieved in this gamebut especially in the animations of all the characters, especially with Mario and Luigi, because the faces and expressions they show in certain situations are worthy of framing.
In this sense, to reach the islands it is necessary to place yourself inside the Nao Island canyon, from which the characters fly through the air, although the best of all is that Mario always manages to land on his feet, but Luigi has trouble. everything and something completely different depending on the island he lands on, so that leaves you wanting to see what will happen next when discovering a new area. Of course, With the graphic section a formidable result has been achieved so that sailing through the seas of Concordia and interacting with its peculiar inhabitants is a pleasure.
Infuriating loading times
We come to one of the not so good parts of this game and it makes me see that the power of the Nintendo Switch is reaching its limits a little. When a new battle begins, a curtain appears to give way to these confrontations, like in any other title in the series, but the difference is that here they seemed a bit high to me, both at the beginning and at the end. I’m not talking about spending ten seconds or more with arms crossed, but It’s not like it’s something instantaneous either..
This means that in the long run, after so many hours that I have played so far, there comes a time when you continue fighting in order to gain experience points to level up, but it is a bit tedious to have to wait for these constant loading screens over and over again. In fact, they are also present when changing islands with the cannon or pipes that take you from one to another “quickly”.
What’s more, the action of the game runs at 30 fps at all timeswhich is not that it is a problem because it is equally enjoyed perfectly, but it is at least striking that we are once again faced with a Nintendo title that is not capable of moving at a higher speed.
In search of more final bosses
After overcoming a good handful of islands and having completed the first of the continents, I have lost count of how many the amount of combat in which I have been involved and of enemies that I have managed to defeat. Especially because for me it is inevitable to skip a fight for fear that I won’t get enough experience for a more advanced point in the adventure, which is why so far I have never found myself in a dangerous situation that has put against the ropes.
It’s not just that combat against enemies becomes relatively easy when you have learned their patterns well. The thing is the final bosses are practically non-existent. I also don’t want to specify how many I have defeated so as not to give spoilers, but I will tell you that I can count them on the fingers of one hand and I have fingers to spare, which I found quite surprising for the amount of hours I have dedicated to it, so I have really missed more fights of this type that can pose a greater challenge than a normal and ordinary one.
I’m not saying that there is one on every island, but at least there could be a mini-boss or something similar, but not even that. Honestly, it has been a bit the aspect that has disappointed me the most so far and even more so because The battles against final bosses that I have fought have seemed brutal to me because of how powerful they are, the number of different attacks they can perform and also because at a certain point it is Luigi’s turn to demonstrate his ingenuity to perform a special attack with some element of the stage, although this requires coordinating well with the buttons so as not to fail.
Mario & Luigi: Brotherly Connection release date
I am clear that Mario & Luigi: Brotherly Connection It still has reasons to surprise me even more and time will tell if those details that raise doubts in me end up improving or not. At the moment the balance is much more inclined to recommend this great game that you can purchase exclusively for Nintendo Switch when it goes on sale. November 7.
In iGamesNews | The most anticipated games for Nintendo Switch of 2024
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