Eventually, the crackdown came for the Mario & Luigi series as well, their next game Paper Jam doing away with many of the unique characters and elements of its previous games and becoming more standardized with the rest of the Mario series. After Paper Jam, they seemed to take a break from making original games, instead remaking old games and adding in a bonus extra mode. After all, they’re not overcomplicating Mario anymore. They’re just revisiting what already exists. The new mode wasn’t anything too extreme, it just followed a handful of Bowser’s minions following the crash in Superstar Saga as they regrouped their forces and went looking for Bowser.
We started out with just a plucky Goomba, who takes command of the few minions around him and leads them into battle with a flag on his head. Over time, he picks up more fellow captains, a Koopa, a Boo, and a Shy Guy respectively. Together, they had to strategically align their forces against their various opponents, finding the right balance between melee, aerial, and long-range fighters.
The four captains will work together as a single unit in the game, the flags on their heads standing tall and clear. Their playstyle would mimic the three-type balance of the game, with moves being pulled from the four different types and other extra abilities the captains could use here and there.
Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen
