My portrayal of those new TEC tracks wasn't that it was representing TEC's emotions, but Peach and the player's. The first song makes Peach's heart start to race "oh my gosh, oh my gosh, what?? what???" TEC continues on, not even caring that he's starting to say really important, scary stuff. Peach is freaking out on the inside. This music is hers. However, I will say, I do think the lack of music in the original hits harder. The ending sequence represents the emotions of the player. TEC isn't even really sad. He's happy and content with how his life played out. So the music instead reflects the player's perception. To us, he was more than just a computer. Mario & his partners don't know anything about TEC. They didn't get to know him. To them, he's just a computer. The walk to the teleporter for them is mere silence. The power is out, the enemies are gone. The bombastic-ness of the x-naut fortress that the old music portrayed is certainly not present. Instead, the music represents the player's perceived emotions. This is TEC's goodbye. The walk back isn't just a simple walk back, it's a time to reflect on TEC and who he was. The music playing and fading out during the explosion is an indication that TEC is gone. Not that that makes it better than the original. It's all subjective, of course. And this entire comment is just one interpretation. I really appreciated the new music for the ending TEC sequence, but was indifferent about the quiz music. I think a lot of the new incidental music is great. But there are a few stinkers. I am not a fan of Ghos T.'s theme, for example. I think the new one tries a little too hard to sound scary. While the original was droning and helped portray his otherworldly atmosphere that reflected his dark design. I'm glad they gave him his own theme, but it just didn't hit.

I love your videos, but PLEASE put spoiler warnings for the whole game if you're gonna talk about the final boss not even 5 minutes into the video.

I couldn't quite understand where this video was going towards as I was watching, but now I've watched everything I feel completely convinced that you're right. There's a "bland" feel to this new game, and while I believe it comes from the pure steampunk aesthetic that has nothing else to itself (nothing new), it also comes from the main characters being literally the same people just one year after Unwound future. The tragic backstories have been my favourite parts of the games, but they have nothing new to say about Layton and Luke...!

Ooh I’m still on Lemuria, but your videos make me very excited to experience the full story!

Would you say this game gave Luigi more sincerity and heroic moments? :).

How you talk about the story at 26:00 was well thought out. I understand they wanted Concordia to feel like an idyllic world before it was split apart, with all the characters living in harmony, but I feel like that shouldn't sideline an interesting use of the theme. I do love how they focus so much on the theme, but without characters that oppose it (like someone who shuts themselves in because they don't want to be heartbroken again), they are really missing out on huge opportunities for nuance like in the last section of the game. It's a flawed but heartfelt voyage through the game.

Was thinking about this a few hours after watching it and realized something I don't remember you bringing up. While M&L's bond would certainly help them break free from Reclusa, I don't think that's actually the reason why. Maybe with some time they'd be able to, but I think it'd take a lot longer. The real answer is Snoutlet. Reclusa didn't account for Snout being pulled into the world as he didn't know Snout was under luigi's hat. The world is paradise for M&L, but not for Snoutlet. Snout is the first one to notice anything is wrong, Snout is the one to keep pushing the idea, realistically Snout is the only one who would actually be able to see the camera screen to guide them out. Now how much of this is just for the sake of gameplay since he's your guide vs actually meaning something is up for debate, but I think there may be something to it. It may be touching on the idea of making bonds with those who are different from you. Obviously the third sea gives this idea a focus, but it never really answers WHY. This is the why. If you just surround yourself with those like you you can create an echo chamber. Your own perfect little world that you can't really see out of. Having bonds with people that are different helps you see the other angles, see reality.

I think the story of the two brothers is a good example of times it's good to be alone. The first quest with them always stood out to me cause it's mentioned that the guy's a scaredy cat and breaks under pressure and in the game all about connections and stuff the guy solves his fear problem by just being alone on a deserted island for a while, to the point that his older brother has trouble processing the change when he comes back.

imo the red streamer from origami king was my favorite since that focused the most on exploration with it having the most toads and less on gimmicks outside of the temple, i felt that it a lot of little fun things happening with little time between

i really like how well you explain all aspects of the game, especially the story and i feel like you approach games in a way differently from which i love i know that's kind of a basic compliment but i do mean that, i'm not very eloquent when it comes to explaining my opinion ig lol

Wow, incredible video! The store is a bit overwhelming to take in with all the information, but this video puts all of it into perspective. Thank you for putting effort into giving this master piece of a game the love it deserves.

Brothership definitely feels like it wanted to tell a darker story than it got the chance to, final 10% aside. Not sure if you’ve seen it, but technikki has some really good dialog on jellyfish if you’re insane enough to pick adaphne over her.

I just beat the game, and it was an excellent adventure. The graphics look great, the slow down wasn't too bad, the music is excellent, the game was challenging through just before the end, and I laughed throughout the game. The game is long, but it never felt repetitive. I would suggest getting through the first couple hours if you aren't feeling it at the start, and you get abilities to speed up the sailing at about the one third mark (I'm guessing the ign reviewer quit before this point given a few comments). Bottom line, if you like earlier games in the series you will almost certainly like this game. Oh and playing in handheld is the best way to play.

Brothership is probably my favorite Mario & Luigi game. Personally, I think the Bonds are the Beanstar Piece/Star Cure/Ultibed type collectible of Brothership. I actually kinda like it because, despite the backtracking, it gives Reclusa time to establish his character so we get supermotivated to take him down (because he's such a piece of shit). Also, I like how the connection theme worked in nature and technology/electricity into it too. You have the Concordians and battle mechanics based on plugs and sockets, and the Uni-Tree and Connectar Flowers based on flora. Reclusa even takes this further as he and his associated spawn is a mix of both.

Starlow: Green Man Bad

From the ending song : "When the sun is falling, should i chase it?" The line perfectly encapsulates Yi's philosophical struggle in the game. To explain it in as short as i can : Sun = light = good No sun = dark = bad When the sun is falling, should i chase it? When the good is fading, should i put my entire being to preserving it? When the sun sets, if you move west, you can theoretically chase the sun, and stay in its light forever if you keep chasing it. But is it worth it? Youll be dedicating your life to chasing the sun. You wont have time for leisure or rest. You will keep chasing, and for what? Whats the point? Youre just wasting your time and energy, time and energy that you could spend actually living your life instead, and when the night comes, you can be assured that the sun will eventually return. This encapsulates Yi's dilemma and the games theme, and also the teaching of taoism that the game puts forward, which is "effortless action"/"action through inaction".

I heard people saying the story was bad and childish, and I think it is poor assessment. The story is very heartwarming and might be the best story we got from mario and luigi ever Also Snoutlet is an awesome companion and I hope he shows up in a future game. Also the extension corps are a blast and are always fun and entertaining

I had a feeling you'd voice my sentiment on the story in a better way I ever could, just as happened with Xenoblade 3, and it seems I was right! I whipped out my own video on Brothership in the meantime, but lacking any experience and the necessary time or motivation, my video is decidedly less elegant than yours, and less kind or eloquent about it. I found Brothership a rather large disappointment story-wise precisely because of the reasons you put out. I have seen a lot of praise for its message, but the message feels as hollow as the praise. Connections are important, yes, but it fails to make a single believable connection for me due to its focus on overly positive naivety. Not a single friendship feels natural or robust, because the characters and their connections lack any depth due to a lack of meaningful communication or struggle. Everybody magically becomes friends about as soon as they meet after all, cause yay connections. Glohm being a literal loneliness laser that gets cured by a random berry almost felt like an insult to the very concept they were putting so much focus on, since if it was as easy as just popping a berry in someone's mouth and all the damage their words may have done is automatically undone, why communicate at all? I also feel like Gorumbla was a good example of a character that could have been handled better in the story, even if it was early on. Wilma is supposed to be his parent figure, and he destroyed art because he was treated like an outcast, but all the game can think to do is have this be used for slapstick comedy where Willma slaps her own adoptive son to kingdom come. It will last until the very end of the story before they actually make up, only cause her own children push her a bit, and then immediately produce a bond strong enough to fill the watering can. As with Technikki, more could have been done with this but it decides to take the most straightforward way out. I have gone around checking out why other people love the game as someone who really could not get on with it, and the message and characters often did get brought up as strong points, that strong theming like this in a mario game should be celebrated. More power to those who could enjoy it, but as someone who has always had a particular tough time connecting with others because most people either used me or did not care for my efforts to make some sort of meaningful connection, I could not at all get on with this vapidly positive portrayal of bonds. Friendships have broken over petty arguments even in adult life, and it takes more effort than just thinking 'I value our bond' to keep a friendship afloat. In a game with no natural conflicts or solution to said conflicts, with a status like glohm where words are absolutely useless but a berry will cure it instantly, where connections are always the right answer and solitude is always wrong... it is a good theme, a valuable theme, but I think it does show a disinterest in actually talking about the theme at all in a meaningful way. Yes, it is a mario game, but even mario can do better and has done better when it comes to just making for believable bonds. A very apparent, valuable theme also does not equal a well-realized one in this case. When cliché 'friendship is our power' anime plots beat out your 50 hour game focused on connections in terms of how real the characters and friendships feel, I think that says it all. The lack of any struggle, even just a difference in opinion that leads to some valuable conversation or decision, makes every character feel rather fake or part of this overly nice massive blob of plugs where they all just say essentially the same thing. It lacks any sense of community when everybody says the same thing, and even entire peoples who disagree vehemently at first immediately reconcile after a wedding or so. Connie lacking any sense of character or actual importance because everybody immediately parrots her outlook on connections did just make her feel like she was kind of nothing, just a big walking megaphone for the game's message. It destroyed my interest in talking to npcs, even if there was a lot of attention to detail, and even characters like technikki with decent nuance in the smaller parts of her character just feel like the story does nothing with it, as you pointed out. I am particularly harsh on it because I feel like due to oversimplifying it, it does more harm than good. As a children's game, teaching children this overly simple way of looking at bonds as always good is not my idea of a good message, and to older audiences it teaches us little new and adds nothing to the conversation past the very end, though it still feels the game does just put more of the fault on Reclusa than recontextualizing the resident's understanding of connections. I think many adults will walk away with just as superficially a perspective on the value of connection as before they played this game. Add to that the horrible pacing, which bothered me more so because the story thus had more than enough time to actually develop its themes but did not do so for hours on end, and I'd say this is the worst M&L game for me tied with paper jam. The combat is great and the exploration adequate, but the way the message is presented and how the characters end up feeling because of it is personally just a big problem. Your rewrite ideas were honestly great and would still feel in line with the depth one could expect from a mario rpg, I feel. I believe Acquire could make for a great sequel, just really hope they drop AI Luigi, another gameplay aspect I felt went against the idea of connection in their game, but I have yapped more than enough already. Great video as always!

Hear me out: Technikki. What? Smart, humble (too humble, if I may add), and cute. What’s not to like?

The Issue Was That Nintendo Played It To Safe. Many people said the Game Was Rushed Can't Blame Them

Really nice video by a criminally underrated channel! I haven't bought the game yet but as an avid Mario and Luigi fan I definitely plan to pick it up once I have the money for it :D

To be honest i do not like the remake’s music. It makes everything feel like a hollywood movie instead of a quiet yet menacing story.

I was expecting the being that hatched from the egg to be a cold, calculating god, even moreso than Zokket, who’d just be serious all the time and say ominous shit like “You have done well, Cozette, but you have outlived your usefulness.” But instead we got the complete opposite. An insane maniacal clown with the personality of the average 4Chan user, that wants to trap everyone in the Matrix not to harvest their souls or something like that, but just because they’re *annoying* to him. A complete manchild, despite the thousands of years he’s probably lived, that hasn’t quite gotten to the point of understanding the other people are… well, people that live independently of his needs and wants. And honestly? I think that makes much more sense as an embodiment of loneliness than the ominous anime villain. To him… Why should he mature? Why should he learn and grow? Why should he change? To make other people comfortable? That’s dumb. He clearly has an incredibly shallow understanding of friendship and connections, as we see in Mario and Luigi’s personal Matrix, but it’s just because he quite literally doesn’t give enough of a shit to understand it. All in all, I think I wanted to say that Reclusa is my favorite Mario villain of all time, and one of my favorite game villains in general, honestly. I think making him this way was an amazing decision and made the game so much better than if he’d just been Zokket 2.0.

Not liking Pmd 2 is a sin 😭

For multiple reasons, one of my biggest gripes with the story is the fact that Zokket completely turned back into Cozette. I personally think it would have been more engaging to have Cozette stay as Zokket, permanently altered by Reclusa, representing how Connie and Zokket/Cozette's relationship and bond has been forever altered by the events of the story. Connie, while Zokket was active, eventually grew out of being Cozette's student and into a Wattanist of her own. Cozette already feels like she needs to atone for what she did as Zokket, and doesn't want her former student to truly understand. Maybe get rid of the wire cutters and bring back the scarf in their place but other than that I find Zokket's design more appealing, distinct, and interesting, and kind of more fitting for the kind of story they seemed to have wanted to tell. My other reason is selfish and ultimately unimportant to the point I'm trying to make.

11:50 theres a sort of what now.

Hey it might sound weird, but do you know how to cure my own glohm? After brothership I realized I did not make many social interactions. I was spending time a lot in internet (glohm irl) and I am starting to feel remorse of it. I sometimes think myself as half-reclusa as I think I am immature, selfish and spends a lot of time in loneliness. Maybe I could understand a concept of bonds in college? I need to reconnect with the world and kill my inner reclusa and if I don’t I could also be nowhere in this world. I need help

So like. This might be a weird comparison to make but. I think this is honestly a story beat Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Gates To Infinity pulled off really well, at least in my opinion. It didn't get much time to focus on individual characters past their introduction or their involvement in the story, but it still showed the problem that was a lack of connection to the point of distrust.

Phenomenal video. I've been eager to hear people dissect this game's story. The recurring theme of the game piqued my interest, but I agree that it went about exploring its theme naively to the point where it diminished the impact of various character interactions. I was particularly disappointed with the side story featuring Buddy and Bowser Jr. For a game so set on hammering home themes of true friendship, their eventual reconnection as we collected their bonds towards the end of the game felt entirely undeserved. Kamek's lecture at the end of the "A Dear Friend" sidequest seemed to lead up to Bowser Jr. apologizing to Buddy, because he HAD been pretty harsh to him prior. But we see no evidence of this apology and we're left with Buddy being the one begging for forgiveness in the end. I get that it's a "baby's first friendship" scenario, but the game refuses to acknowledge that Bowser Jr. may have also been in the wrong during this whole arc. The fact that Buddy's sole character trait is wanting to be pals with Bowser Jr. doesn't do the situation any favors. It makes Buddy appear almost dependent on him, which is a weird take for an arc centered around "true friendship". Their whole arc left me with a weird taste in my mouth. It's a questionable lesson at best.

I tried speaking to as many NPCs as I could after major story events. I could never believe just how much dialogue they were given. There are dozens upon dozens of subplots that are introduced when an island is isolated, developed when first reconnected, often further developed when a future island is reconnected and another NPC can finally meet the previous one, twisted when the Glohm starts spreading and finally taken to their extreme when Reclusa's flowers show up. For me it was one of the most obvious signs of how deeply Acquire cared about the game and it gave me major whiplash coming after the lack of character in Paper Jam. I also loved how the sidequest NPCs are there on Shipshape Island in the epilogue to see you off if you've done their sidequests. Perhaps the clearest indication of the bonds you as the player decided to make.

I think pacing issues could have been improved by having more bosses. There were parts of the game where I thought there would be a boss battle like Chilliams and Burnadette’s wedding. The great lighthouses are great in terms of puzzles but the music is repetitive and feels like a castle level in Super Mario bros

Your videos are always so profound and in-depth, I think it's really unfortunate that they don't get as much attention as they should.

Where would you rank this game compared to the rest of the series?

24:55 What exactly is wrong with this one in particular?

9:40 you just put my gripes with the story structure into words, it just didn't feel like a Mario and Luigi game

When I first played it, I listened to various pieces composed by Yoko Shimomura because I wanted to keep that feeling that I had when I first played Dream Team in tact and I realised that I wasn't doing the game justice when I did that because a lot of the soundtrack composed by Hideki Sakamoto is top tier. When it comes to the function of sailing the seas and finding islands in the seas however, I feel that the pacing would have been streamlined if the islands in the first three seas were still attached to their respective Great Lighthouses and that pulling the plugs out of the regular lighthouses unlocked branching paths as well as adding power to Shipshape Island. The worst offender of the pacing to me is the two times that Mario and Luigi go to the final area to face off against the scary man, only to be faked out twice. I struggled to stay fully invested in the game when I first got to Fortress Zokett, and had to revisit it again and then go to the Soil-Tree. I can see what they were going for with it, with this feeling of unresolved issues and stuff, but it should have gone in a direction where in one visit, everything crazy that happened, still happened, in order to keep the feeling of the villain uprooting the heroes in tact, replacing what is conventional with something fresh as opposed to adding more stuff for you to do and that if you're expecting the end, you are getting it, but it's not the one that you were fully expecting. Feeling like that you're about to reach the ending of the game three times and then suddenly being given more stuff to do, is quite frankly a pain in the arse for a lot of people.

After finishing Brothership, I honestly really loved it, and thought it’s story was among the best of Mario RPGs. Your dissertation really helped me to think about a lot of these aspects, though. I believe you're right in that it would've been more compelling to have something to grapple with people who already aren't disposed to connections and would prefer isolation. Hell, it could've been cool to even have an entire character who embodies this who stays on Shipshape but refuses to socialize, watching the other characters from afar, only to be spared when Reclusa appears and become spurred to act after realizing the importance of bonds firsthand. I originally felt Brothership portrayed a really strong message about the significance of connections, which is especially topical in our modern world, but I do agree that with even a little more nuance it definitely could've been made into something better. I don't think just being a Mario story justifies its lack of this either. While I love Connie, I have to be honest I can't think of her ever being a more compelling character than Huey or Olivia in my mind because as you said, there's not much for her to grapple with. She doesn't have to grapple with the fact that her mentor was the one responsible for the tragedy, since Cozette was being controlled. She doesn't have to grapple with the weight of being a junior Wattanist because everybody already supports her and believes in her. If there were some dissenters, or even moments where Connie herself failed, it would've been easier to feel sympathetic for her and cheer her on, but honestly, she may embody many traits of a Mary Sue if anything, which hurts my heart to say because Connie is great and adorable, but it's true. I did enjoy the focus on different types of bonds, whether it be familial or friendship, but I can't help but agree that the inclusion of negative bonds would've made the story a lot more interesting. I suppose you could say that manifests in Zokket's treatment of the Extension Corps, but I still feel it would've been more impactful if it were affecting characters we interact with more rather than villains. What a thought-provoking video.

I think the Extension Corps was one of my favorite parts of the game, they were such unique and colorful villans, just oozing with charm. They somehow felt surprisingly competent and extremely dumb at the same time.

Man the Professor Layton series is one that i gold close to my heart, it has always been there when i started playing videogames and i see it as my favorite game series, Azran legacy is an incredible Game and probably one of my favorite games on the 3ds, just perfect

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Despite how mean this game is, and how boring the story is, I think I'm one of the few people that enjoyed the battle system. The over-world exploration isn't awful either. When replaying the game, I would skip through most of the dialogue JUST to get to the battle segments. I'm not sure if that says more about me or more about the game though...

Now you are making me want a Brothership remake more than a Partners in Time remake. lol. Both games could definitely modify their own stories, but I feel like the story here is more important and worth perfecting more.

Best video on the game that I've seen. The way you approach describing each aspect is truly next level. You put out nothing but bangers so it was to be expected

I'm glad someone else can see a story for its themes especially something like M&L which has always had strong themes that people dont talk about because theyre mario games, but I have to disagree on your evaluation of what could have been. I think that the last 5 or so hours of Reclusa's reign do fully state everything I would want this kind of story to say. Maybe outwardly the concordians are all for bonds and connections, but the second they get the chance to live their perfect one-man-show life they take it and would rather starve then try to break out. I think this switch up does actually get to the heart of the loneliness epidemic than any outward asshole concordian could. People love to have friends but its difficult to forgo your own pleasure and ego to make them. In an age where pleasure and ego boosting is easier than ever, and people are just pixels on a screen, its easy to believe you are the main character of the world rather than just the main character of your own story. Making connections sounds nice until you remember that they need just as much time and attention as you do, that the other person's wants, needs, past, and opinions are just as important as yours. Its like trying to water a plant while you are wilting, you both need that mutual bond for that connection to survive, and some people are just not willing to give that, they would rather just live in their own simulated world. Even if on the surface they seem selfless and kind, people can become so enraptured in their own problems that they forget about others, a self fulfilling cycle of loneliness and solitude that only makes people suffer alone instead of together. To me, Technikki is so enraptured in her own self worth issues that shes unable to even talk about it without a lot of time and prodding, which leads her to stay with her self worth issues until the end. Thats why shes susceptible to the virtual world, its the easiest way out of her problems. She gets to live in a world where all those self worth issues melt away and she doesn't have to have any connections to solve it. For her problem to truly be solved, she would have to let go of her ego and instead of just making inventions to try and prove herself by herself, actually get to the heart of the problem with someone else. (Not to say shes like, a bad person for this. Actually the opposite, i think this is a universal struggle which is why the story hit so hard for me.) Theres a reason why the Great Connector needs to call across universes to find 2 people so in sync to save their world. Mario and Luigi are like the anti-ego, they share a bond so close and care about each other so much its almost unreal. Something that a world thats outwardly pleasant but deeply flawed like concordia, or really our own, needs. They could just focus on the safety of each other, or their friends. But they are able to be sucked as far away from home as possible just to lend an ear to this worlds citizens and do what none of the others could. At least thats how I see it. I get wanting more in the middle of the game but I think it kinda not being there says something to me.

Love your videos man. I would like to give a more insightful comment, but I haven't played brothership yet, so I can't compare your video with my experience. That said, great video as always.

another absolute banger, i love a compelling and convincing analysis !! i’m a themes > plot girlie through and through so it’s always enjoyable to see someone take the time to prioritize metaphors over lore.

I know this is a minor thing in the grand scheme of things, but I really appreciate you taking the time to add subtitles to the video. I don't struggle with understanding what you say, but it does make it easier to watch the video, and it's great that it's there for the people who do need it, accessibility is something that I personally have come to care a lot about recently. Anyways, I'm gonna actually watch the video now, been looking forward to this since I first found you through the Paper Jam video. Minor note: I'm not gonna pick this apart like a reviewer or anything, but I feel like you probably should've added a spoiler warning in the beginning, or moved the spoiler content to the end of the video. I know the game isn't completely new anymore, but it is still relatively fresh and I feel like some people wouldn't be happy to suddenly see the secret villain being revealed only 4 minutes into the video. I'm personally fine since I've already beat the game, but I still think that's something to note for next time.

I can’t believe they directly mentioned the events of Bowser junior’s journey in this game. That’s insane. That is the last thing I ever expected them to mention but I love that they did because the stories of the side modes are very underrated

I love hearing people talk about what they *thought* Reclusa was going to be before the reveal, because they're wrong everytime and I love it. I had the exact same thought process. Brothership isn't a perfect game, but in some ways, it kind of is to me. Hearing people discuss its story and themes, good and bad, is so engaging.

This was a pretty dope game I think. Its just so goddamn nice to have Mario and Luigi back, man. (would love to see the bonus roulette return for the next one, though!!)