@KaiserGX ehh I really like how the game functions with the overworld stuff. Backtracking actually means something because the overworld areas are designed for it, and the Bros abilities are actually pretty great in traversing the world. The humor is pretty well handled, and Luigi actually feels like a character as opposed to being just a tagalong NPC in Brothership.
"It is fate. Many have tried, yet none have ever managed to escape it's flow."
The more of SuperStar Saga I play, the more I begin to realize that Luigi's writing in Brothership really is bad. He only has a few scenes where he does anything comedic- when in the original games he's doing something in almost every other scene. Things like getting grabbed by a claw and moved somewhere, or poking someone when they're literally unconscious.
"It is fate. Many have tried, yet none have ever managed to escape it's flow."
@N00BiSH I read both Part 3 and 4 of the interview in depth, and I'm genuinely saddened by how they believe making Luigi controlled autonomously is emphasizing the theme of Brotherhood between both Mario and Luigi. The original gameplay loop did it so much better by giving the player control over the brothers, along with having a ton of abilities that only they could do with one another. Acquire's take is "The game shows the brothers working together to perform actions, no matter how near or far apart they are."
Another gripe I have is the fact that they're acting like Luigi Logic is this new mechanic the series has never seen before which allows the brothers to work together no matter how far apart they are. If they actually knew the source material though- it would be extremely clear that ever since SuperStar saga there's been puzzles that force you to split the brothers up in order to tackle them. You just swapped between them in order to do the puzzles instead of having the Ai do half of the puzzle for you. They basically tout what they did to Luigi's gameplay as being better because they allow the player to not have to focus on managing both characters, yet don't realize that's what made the series special in the first place.
"The feeling of cooperation between Mario and Luigi is emphasised more than ever before. This also applies to the regular attacks in battles, and even when exploring, there are things you can only do because there are two of you, like becoming a ball or a UFO." They're also touting that the abilities when exploring are new and showcase Mario and Luigi's bond- when all of the games have this? All of the games down to Paper Jam have different abilities that both brothers have to utilize together in order to get anywhere. I don't get why they're saying this is new. Sure- the combat system helps showcase their bonds a bit more by having one another aid eachother during battle, but the overworld was always handled this way across the series, with more complex ways of traversing it in comparison to how they handle it here.
"More expressiveness." I would agree, the animation can be great- but Luigi is highly neutered as a character with a ton of his expressiveness toned down from previous entries.
"Towards the latter half of development, everyone had developed a deeper understanding of what it meant to be “Mario & Luigi-like"." It feels like the team only really has a surface level understanding of what it means to make a Mario and Luigi game. The more I see them say "mario and luigi-like," the more my soul kinda gets crushed in reading the interview. The fact they have to keep using it alone makes me feel like they were so concerned in getting things right on a surface-level, like you said- that they didn't stop and think about how the games should actually be handled.
Like for this quote here: "What also impressed me was that in addition to the songs that crop up in several places, there are also lots of songs that were created for specific scenes. Normally, we create music to be used multiple times – one song for battles, one for boss fights, another for events... But he created a completely different piece of music for each cutscene." This misses the point of the music in the series spectacularly and it baffles me. Sure, Acquire usually makes one song per thing in the game, but the series is known for having unique music for bosses outside of just the standard boss fights. It's known for giving villains their own battle themes. The fact the Extension corps and Zokket don't get their own unique fight themes and instead just get the normal boss battle themes is completely insane to me- given that even Antasthma got his own boss theme in Dream Team.
"We did have to work within a tight schedule, but I think the more effort we put in, the more immersed we became. In the end, we recorded a live performance, which made the music even more enjoyable to listen to." That explains a good bit as well. The game feels a bit less polished and I've noticed a good few visual glitches. Seems like they were working on a tight timeframe instead of given time to actually make a good return for the series.
"The reason why this game ended up feeling genuinely "Mario & Luigi-like" is down to Acquire's hard work and extensive research into the series. We wanted to strengthen that further, so we invited people who'd worked on the Mario & Luigi series at AlphaDream – the director, the developer in charge of the game world and the battle director – to join us in the development of this title. We also asked Maekawa-san (11), formerly of AlphaDream, who was deeply involved in the series, to supervise the project. I think that also contributed to enhancing this game's "Mario & Luigi-like" feeling." So they had to invite these people to come work on the game instead of them actually working at Acquire. Why the hell didn't they invite people like Sato then? Yoko Shimomura? People who were also responsible for the identity of the series and making it what it was? People who could've lead the games into a better direction in terms of both the art and music? I get you said that they shouldn't need to invite them in the first place- but given that they're inviting people who worked on these games originally to come work on Brothership, you'd think they would've at least reached out to the people responsible for the visual and musical identities.
"It was a true learning experience. After all, we wouldn't want people who've played previous games in the series to find this one jarring." I mean, they failed with that. A good chunk of people who played this one found it to be pretty jarring in comparison to previous titles in the series. Combat was fine- but it had an issue that made it feel more jarring to enjoy, and the art style looks extremely off in places due to the lighting and way they handled the shading.
As for pacing, it seems like the way the devs intended it to be played was in thirty minute sessions every day. They wanted it to be like a cartoon series that you played through- hence why they put more emphasis on the islands being built like levels instead of being similar to previous Mario and Luigi maps. I guess that's why players who played the game in shorter bursts have been enjoying this one far more than players who ran through it.
"It is fate. Many have tried, yet none have ever managed to escape it's flow."
@NintendoByNature Good news! I beat that boss. It ends up with you needing to do 6 different EXCELLENT bros moves. So, there are two that you can get away with not being able to do.
Still a bit tricky as failing to get an Excellent means you get killed instantly (thankfully, this becomes 3 chances if you keep dying)
A question for players who have finished the game.
I went with Technikki's plan to fly over the spikes to get to Fortress Zokket. If I go to the Fortress will I face the final boss, or do I have some more game left?
Please give a direct yes or no answer, I don't want any spoilers! Thanks
@VoidofLight
That last point about the devs designing for short bursts makes a lot of sense, and it emphasizes why someone going for completion (like me) ended up loathing this game by the end. Going for completion in many games can become tedious, but this was more than that. It made me hate a game that I was really enjoying up until a certain point.
Idk, I've been having fun doing everything in the game but I've been playing it kind of slow. Somedays I play for hours then come back to it like a couple days later or save some small stuff (like item grinding) for other days.
As for pacing, it seems like the way the devs intended it to be played was in thirty minute sessions every day. They wanted it to be like a cartoon series that you played through- hence why they put more emphasis on the islands being built like levels instead of being similar to previous Mario and Luigi maps. I guess that's why players who played the game in shorter bursts have been enjoying this one far more than players who ran through it.
I'd be fine with playing in short bursts if not for the game being about 30 hours longer than it should've been.
"Now I have an obligation to tag along and clear the area if Luigi so much as glances at a stiletto."
@N00BiSH I agree there. It IS more fun in short bursts. Problem is, you make such little progress due to the amount of cut scenes and talking that goes on in that short session. It does not feel like you have made much progress due to the immense running time!
@N00BiSH Yeah, the game feels like it was made a bit longer than it should’ve been. The originals are actually far shorter than I remember as well. I thought the Bean Star splitting in the original was midway through the game, but I’m not even 8 hours in and I’m at the point where you have to go collect the fragments.
"It is fate. Many have tried, yet none have ever managed to escape it's flow."
I posted this on the Games you Dropped thread as well:
I am temporarily dropping M&L Brothership, it's just such a slog to play through. Currently I'm at Fortress Zokett, and with low enemy variety and it not being the final boss area it's so long to get through. And knowing I have more hours to play afterwards it's too long of a game. I wanted really badly to not drop this game but it's far to long.
Finally finished up the game tonight. My final time was about 54 hours
Favorite Switch games:
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Super Mario Odyssey
Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu/Eevee
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3
Friend code: SW-4428-8318-9398
Discord server: https://discord.gg/VSSVQ5MH
@MarkL1987 Must be nearly there myself....at around the 50 hours mark. All side quests completed as they have come. Most of the challenges done. Just working on fighting 300 enemies without any equipment before moving to the Fortress...where I presume must be near the end, but I can't be sure with this game!
According to the Grampy Turnip on Ship Shape, I have found 9/18 of all available Grampys, but there will be more when I discover new islands. How? I swear there can't be 9 more islands at this point....
Forums
Topic: Mario & Luigi: Brothership
Posts 661 to 680 of 718
Please login or sign up to reply to this topic