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. As its name implies, it involves the Bros. joining hands and feet and merging into a ball.
History[edit]
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time[edit]
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[edit]
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.
Additionally, in the new Yoo Who Cannon, which has a ninth barrel that the Bros. and their clones jump into after their onslaught, all eight fuse into a bigger version of the Bro Ball that looks more like a wheel and rips through all the enemies in combat.
Ball Blitz[edit]
Upon being blocked by powerful wind stopping the Bros. from reaching the lighthouse on Slippenglide Island, Luigi comes up with the Ball Blitz ability to charge the Bro Ball's momentum by holding 
, and dashing with incredible speed upon releasing. This also allows a new method of dealing a first strike: by ramming into the enemy, one of the enemies will be damaged by both Bros. at the start of the battle.
Super Mario-kun[edit]
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[edit]
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time[edit]
- 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[edit]
Names in other languages[edit]
| Language | Name | Meaning | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | ブラザーボール[1] Burazā Bōru |
Brother Ball | |
| Chinese | 兄弟球[?] Xiōngdì Qiú |
Brother Ball | |
| French | Boule frères[?] | Bros. Ball | Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time |
| Frèroule[?] | Portmanteau of frère ("brother") and boule ("ball") | Mario & Luigi: Brothership | |
| German | Brüderball[?] | Brother Ball | |
| Italian | Palla Fratelli[?] | Brothers Ball | |
| Korean | 브라더 볼[?] Beuradeo Bol |
Brother Ball | |
| Spanish (NOA) | Bola tándem[?] | Tandem ball | |
| Spanish (NOE) | Bola dúo[?] | Duo ball | Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time |
| Colabola[?] | Portmanteau of colar ("to sneak into") and bola ("ball") | Mario & Luigi: Brothership |
Trivia[edit]
- 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.
