An Interesting Possible Idea for Mario and Luigi 4?

Just yesterday, in a similar sense to the Super Mario 64 DS Expanded topic, I was thinking about what Nintendo might put in the fourth Mario and Luigi game, and from that, how I could manage to have this whole Wario and Waluigi idea discussed on various sites as part of the series. Below, I have my possible answer. It may completely wreck some continuity along the line somewhere. It may not be particularly indepth, and at least one aspect of this will get heavily flamed for being too generic RPG like, I can foresee it. But never the less, my semi unique idea for what a fourth Mario and Luigi game could be plot and gameplay mechanics wise.

First things first, the main villain would be an unidentified new villain, playing as The Dragon to Midbus (Fawful's second in command from Mario and Luigi Bowser's Inside Story). This follows because the last game's main villain was the second in command to the first game's main villain, so continuing the trend, it would make sense for Fawful's underling to potentially become the next big threat. How he gets out of ice? Who knows, Fawful survived being hammered out a flying castle and apparently exploding in mid air, so anything's possible.

There are then two sides to this game. Bit like Mario and Luigi Bowser's Inside Story had Mario plus Luigi on one quest, and Bowser on another, this game has Mario and Luigi on one quest, Wario and Waluigi on another quest, and then both joining up after about the fourth or so dungeon for each team. On Mario and Luigi's side, Midbus has taken Bowser's Castle, which has one of the four or so pieces of some lost treasure (you may have guessed, this will not be the final needed McGuffin to reach the final dungeon, but it's the starting point). He wants these pieces to possibly... unleash some kind of sealed away evil (think like the Dark Star), or maybe just power. These pieces are in four major places, which will be important for the overall plot. They learn of this plan after Bowser's failed attack on the castle (independantly), then various villain forces moving in (because Peach's Castle holds one of the pieces). Unlike the other games, the very first dungeon would pretty much be at the start of the game, and it would set them on their quest towards Bowser's Castle...

Meanwhile, Wario and Waluigi are the other side of the map. Remember Diamond City from WarioWare? It's here, and basically... you guessed it, one of those pieces of the treasure is found in the centre of the town. So one of the main villains orders his troops (similar to the Shroobs and Cackletta's forces in the last few games) to launch a military type attack on the city. So there and then, Wario (and Waluigi I assume?) are just relaxing in relative peace, when the sound of various explosions, UFOs and monsters are heard, with various parts of the city from the WarioWare series literally being torn apart in the search for this 'treasure'. Hearing the news broadcasts, and the general chaos outside, Wario thinks treasure means something like gold, jewels, money, etc, and practically charges straight into the all out anarchy that's ensuing just beyond his door, Waluigi in tow.

To add to all this, Mario and Luigi's journey will basically take them through places found normally in the Mushroom Kingdom, reflecting the standard games and earlier RPGs. Not the same exact places, but with similar climates, enemies, items, etc. On the other hand, Wario and Waluigi's adventure takes them to some areas slightly more off the beaten track, including areas from the Wario Land and Ware series like Kitchen Island. When they join forces eventually, they'll be able to revisit each area as any combination of characters.

Of course, this is all not as basic as it seems. There's obviously more peril and general danger beyond the point which they team up, and it's extremely obvious that a mere four pieces of some star shaped treasure won't cover the whole game. What about the Shroobs that remain sealed in the cryo preservation chamber in the basement of Bowser's Castle? What if this Midbus, in a similar way to past villains, realises their power and technology is of potential use? Or finds a way to control the survivers? And what of the villain from back in Wario Land 3, who's not been properly sealed away after his Doctor Mario 64 comeback? Nothing good could come if he got unleashed about the Mushroom World again...

In terms of abilities outside battle, this would see the return of some elemental powers (distributed among all four characters), as well as from about six to eight unique abilities usable on the overworld per team (counting standard jump and hammer/shoulder barge abilities). No idea if you could even program abilities requiring four characters, Mario and Luigi Partners in Time didn't really manage this too well from my last recall. As usual, stand rules apply for gear, items, enemies being visible on the field and being able to first strike them by attacking them before battle (and vice versa).

In battle, it's a bit different. Each team has it's own unique attacks learnt and used in the format of those in Bowser's Inside Story (items with refillable general meter for usage). However, when both teams meet, another four, more powerful special attacks get added to correspond to this. Of course, these special attacks are more than a tiny bit more complex than the ones you get at the start of the game.

Newly added would be the ability to learn new touch screen based attacks (new block in attack menu) from various characters you encounter, usually that involve said character. So for example, Mario and Luigi would come across Bowser, and his way of semi team up would be to let them use an attack involving his minions in battle, controlled similar to how Bowser's Special Attacks are used in Bowser's Inside Story. Both sides of the game have this way of learning new abilities from respective encountered major characters.

I'm not sure what else to say to be perfectly honest. This game would have an option to rebattle any boss you've encountered and beaten in a mode like the Gauntlet, and multiple levels of added power would be unlocked as you beat the boss at higher and higher levels. For example, the boss could be by default at about 200 HP and 4 attack (attack stats not visible, guess), then be about four times that power in the second ranked X form. Unlike the Gauntlet in Bowser's Inside Story, you'd get some decent prizes for winning too. Similarly, there would also be a decent array of replayable mini games like the original Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, possibly some kind of high score mode for special attacks like in Bowser's Inside Story, and the whole premise of bean collecting (and maybe mixing into coffee again?) would make a full return.

For this matter, some interesting new pieces of gear/badges/gimmicks would make an appearance, like a version of the Game Boy Horror SP which actually shows you all possible dropped items from an enemy, and whether you've caused them to drop the item and hence will get it if the battle ends this turn. That way, you can know whether you've obtained your super rare one time only boss given gear, or need to restart the battle for another try. Good for people wanting 100% completion.

I would also assume some form of mini games controlled by the touch screen or D Pad and buttons would appear here, like the last three games or so. Again, anything not officially a side quest can be repeated with an option, which means if the equivalent of the Giant Bowser battles occurs, beating the corresponding mini game would activate the sequence again for a battle repeat.

So, think any of the ideas here are good, or interesting? I know they're probably a tad controversial, what with some Mario fans not particularly liking the spinoffs being referenced in any way or form, but I tried to come up with an idea that would fit all the forum posts saying how another game should involve Wario and Waluigi.

Note: This is just a fan fiction/game idea by cheat-master30. If Nintendo wants to use it freely, go ahead, no credit needed.