Summary
The unique turn-based combat of the Mario & Luigi series is a big part of what helps this Mario spin-off stand out, and this aspect shines during boss encounters.Mario & Luigi Brothershipis no exception with some of the best boss fights in the series.
While there is not a massive selection of bosses compared to how frequently they can turn up in other turn-based RPGs, the ones that are present are fantastic. With the Luigi Logic mechanic, plenty of these bosses also have twists thrown in part way through to help spice up the encounter, so which are the best?
7Gorombula
Vandal Violence
The first proper bossyou’ll run into during Mario & Luigi Brothership is Gorombula, the head of the gang that’s trashing all of the artwork and statues on Rumbla Island. Once you finally track him down, you’ll quickly notice that there’s more to this boss than meets the eye, but you won’t have long to think about it before the fight starts.
He’s a massive step-up in difficulty compared to all of the previous standard enemy encounters, but it doesn’t take too long to learn how to counter the projectiles he throws at you. The battle turns in your favour when Luigi discovers how to launch your own boulder projectiles at him, making him a lot easier to take down.
6Mega Snaptor
Back Down To Earth
In the second quarter of Mario & Luigi Brothership, you’ll constantly be running into Snaptors, littering plenty of different islands, and always helping the villainous Extension Corps get around. It’s only fitting that near the end of this section of the game, you’ll have to face off against the Mega Snaptor atop the rooftops of Lottacoins Island.
This monstrous bird has similar moves to its standard counterparts, but they’re more aggressive and harder to dodge. And since he’s flying, he’s immune to a good few of the attacksin the brother’s arsenal. Luckily, Luigi will work out how to ground the bird with some well-timed plumbing, making it vulnerable to a volley of attacks for one turn.
5Bowser
Classic Rivalry
With the brothers traveling to the land of Concordia, most of the friends and enemies they encounter are original characters. However, as you progress, you’ll realize that Mario and Luigi were by no means the only Mushroom Kingdom locals pulled into this alternate world.
While you’ll ally with characters like Peach, Dorrie, and Starlow, eventually you’ll run into less friendly faces likeKing Koopa himself; Bowser. Unlike some of your other encounters with the royal baddie in previous Mario & Luigi adventures, he’s not in the mood for an alliance, and he’ll throw all of his forces against you during your boss encounter with him.
4Gobblick
Italian Plumbers Are On The Menu
After getting to the end of the first grand lighthouse, the Extension Corps will not be ready to face off against the Mario brothers, and will instead choose Gobblick to do the dirty work for them. While Gorombula is the first boss in the game, Gobblick is likely the first enemy to pose a real threat.
This greedy plant-based creature will use its vines to try and launch sneak attacks on the brothers and is even willing to regurgitate its previous meals for the sake of using them as impromptu projectiles. Luckily, mid-boss fight, Luigi will have the bright idea to take advantage of the unique terrain to use fans to blow Gobblick off course, giving you an advantage the next turn.
3Pipegunk
Triple Threat
As you get closer to finally getting a proper fight with the Extension Corps near the game’s finale, you’ll once again have another massive enemy set on you instead, this time being Pipegunk.
The boss doesn’t stand out too much at first, feeling like a standard, but still pretty difficult encounter, but that all changes as Shun enters the fray, manipulating the platform you’re fighting on to give Pipegunk new elemental affinities. However, if Luigi manages to snatch the remote off Shun in a brief wrestling mini-game, you may switch Pipegunk back, causing some hefty damage at the same time.
2Sharpcask
The Barrel From Donkey Kong Back With A Vengeance
At the end of the second grand lighthouse, after finally working your way through a tough factory full of obstacles, you’ll finally come face to face with Sharpcask, the barrel-shaped boss of the area.
As you may imagine with such a sturdy design, this boss boasts a high defence, and at some points in the battle, it’ll even hide inside its casing making it practically invincible. However, with the power of Luigi Logic, you can stack massive crates on top of the hefty boss, compressing it down, and then, when it’s weak, throw it down a series of platforms, making him take massive damage.
1Extension Corps
Switching Things Up
While there are more threatening villains working behind the scenes, the Extension Corps (formed of members Ecks, Ten, and Shun) are the main villainous force you’ll be up against for most of Mario & Luigi Brothership. You’ll fight them individually at different points throughout the game (whether they’re hiding behind bigger bosses or not), but later on you’ll finally face off against the bumbling trio directly.
It’s a frantic battle, with all of the members attacking in their own unique pattern, and it’s even tougher to keep track of since they’re constantly empowering themselves with different plugs. These plugs change up almost every turn of combat, but some have easily exploitable weaknesses, making this entertaining boss fight a lot easier if you know exactly what to do.
