Bro Ball
- “I've dubbed this the Bros. Ball. Why you ask? Because you are bros. And you form a ball.”
- —Toadsworth the Younger, Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
The Bro Ball, previously known as the Bros. Ball, is a Bros. Move usable by Mario and Luigi that appears in Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time and Mario & Luigi: Brothership.
History
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
In Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the move is taught to Mario and Luigi by Toadsworth and Toadsworth the Younger after Yoshi's Island is cleared and before the player heads for Gritzy Desert, in which the move is required to clear a minigame in Peach's Castle to even gain access to the time hole leading to the area. When using this move, the Mario Bros. both form themselves into a wheel and start rolling along the ground like a ball, allowing them to traverse through areas faster. Additionally, the Bros. Ball lets Mario and Luigi go under walls and small spaces in the game.
Later on in the game, Mario and Luigi learn the ability to temporarily flatten Baby Mario and Baby Luigi so they can move under even smaller spaces. This move is called Baby Cakes, and it is learned, along with the Baby Spin, by the two Toadsworths after the player clears Gritzy Caves and before the quartet heads out to Thwomp Volcano. It is indicated that both people in a Bros. Ball have some influence on the ball's movement, as in creating Baby Cakes, Toadsworth the Younger drives their ball over Baby Peach while Toadsworth tries to prevent it.
Mario & Luigi: Brothership
In Mario & Luigi: Brothership, the Bro Ball, now under its new name, is learned by Mario and Luigi after they rescue Princess Peach on Lottacoins Island and have to find an escape route. It now has the ability to brake, which makes the Bro Ball move slower.
Super Mario-kun
In the Super Mario-kun volumes adapted from Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Mario and Luigi use the Bros. Ball as an attack rather than a utility move, where they smash into the Snoozorb in volume 35. Later, in volume 37, a four-brother variation of the Bros. Ball is used against the Elder Princess Shroob.
Profiles
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time
- Instruction manual description: "Press the A Button and Mario and Luigi will huddle together and form a ball. Use the
Control Pad to control where they roll. To break out of ball formation, press either the A or B Button"
See also
Names in other languages
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ブラザーボール[?] Burazā Bōru |
Brother Ball | |
| German | Brüderball[?] | Brother Ball | |
| Italian | Palla Fratelli[?] | Brothers Ball | |
| Korean | 브라더 볼[?] Beuradeo Bol |
Brother Ball | |
| Spanish | Bola dúo[?] | Duo ball |
Trivia
- Although the move is not present, Mario and Luigi go into a similar ball-shaped formation while inside the Chest Station in Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story and Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey.
