Mario & Luigi: Dream Team

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Developer	AlphaDream
Publisher	Nintendo
System	Nintendo 3DS
Release Date	EU/AU July 12/13, 2013 JP July 18, 2013 US August 11, 2013
Rating	ESRB: E10

Mario & Luigi: Dream Team (known in Japan as Mario & Luigi RPG 4: Dream Adventure and in Europe and Australia as Mario & Luigi: Dream Team Bros.) is a Mario Bros. RPG that was released for the Nintendo 3DS in 2013. It is the fourth installment of the Mario & Luigi subseries and the first of this subseries to be released for the 3DS. Its release was also connected to 2013's Year of Luigi promotion.

Story

Princess Peach receives a mysterious invitation to a resort island known as Pi'illo Island and travels there accompanied by Mario, Luigi and Toadsworth. Peach and Toadsworth get lost in some ruins, and when the brothers find them, they also find a mysterious pillow that turns out to be an imprisoned Pi'illo prince, Prince Dreambert. Luigi turns out to be a special person capable of opening portals to the Dream World by sleeping on sealed Pi'illos, but when he does so, a mysterious menace pulls Peach into the dream world. Mario and Luigi end up going on a new quest to save the Pi'illo people and Peach. The situation becomes more complicated when Bowser enters the picture and teams up with Antasma in search of the powerful Dream Stone.

Gameplay

This installment reprises the simplistic gameplay controls from the previous games. Mario and Luigi move together on the overworld, and they can perform actions using the A and B or X and Y Buttons respectively. Throughout the game, they learn new abilities that they can use to interact with the overworld in different ways: to clear obstacles, get to out of reach areas and discover buried items. They are similarly controlled with each button in battles, which continue the practices of timed attacks, Bros. Attacks and allowing players the opportunity to dodge or deflect enemy attacks. This installment also features an enhanced version of the badge system in which multiple badges can be charged and combined together. Save Blocks appear in the game as ways to save players' progress, though it is also possible to save the game at any point through the main menu.

This game also features some areas set in the dream world, which takes a sidescrolling perspective in which Mario travels accompanied by a dream version of Luigi known as Dreamy Luigi. Dreamy Luigi can merge with some background fixtures known as Luiginary Works, from which he can perform actions by using the touch screen to play with the sleeping Luigi's mustache in nose. Within battles in the dream world, Mario fights alone, though various Dreamy Luigis carry out echoes of Mario's attacks and can also be used in some special moves called Luiginary Attacks (a counterpart of Bros. Attacks). This game also sometimes features giant battles, similar to those found in the previous installment.

Continuity Notes

• Characters from each of the previous Mario & Luigi games reappear, with references being made to their respective original games: Poppley from Superstar Saga, Kylie Koopa from Partners in Time (as well as her building containing a picture of a Shroob) and several characters (Starlow, Monsieur Broque, Broque Madame, Private Goomp, Sergeant Shy and Colonel Paraplonk) from Bowser's Inside Story. Several unnamed Beans also allude to the events of Superstar Saga, and a photo of Queen Bean is part of a trading sidequest.
• Kamek disguises himself as Princess Peach and alludes to having done so before, in reference to New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

Legacy

Sequels

It was followed by Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam for the 3DS in 2015.