Instructions for the Bros. Ball inMario & Luigi: Partners in Time

“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

TheBro Ball, previously known as theBros. Ball, is aBros. Move usable byMario andLuigi that appears inMario & Luigi: Partners in Time andMario & 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]

Bros. Ball being used in theKoopaseum

InMario & Luigi: Partners in Time, the move is taught to Mario and Luigi byToadsworth andToadsworth the Younger afterYoshi's Island is cleared and before the player heads forGritzy Desert, in which the move is required to clear a minigame inPeach's Castle to even gain access to thetime 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 flattenBaby Mario andBaby Luigi so they can move under even smaller spaces. This move is calledBaby Cakes, and it is learned, along with theBaby Spin, by the two Toadsworths after the player clearsGritzy Caves and before the quartet heads out toThwomp 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 overBaby Peach while Toadsworth tries to prevent it.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership[edit]

Bro Ball being used in the Lottacoins Island

InMario & Luigi: Brothership, the Bro Ball, now under its new name, is learned by Mario and Luigi onLottacoins Island after they reach the top floor and have to find an escape route. It now has the ability to brake, which makes the Bro Ball move slower.

Additionally, in the newYoo 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

Upon being blocked by powerful wind stopping the Bros. from reaching the lighthouse onSlippenglide Island, Luigi comes up with theBall 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]

Mario, Luigi, Baby Mario, and Baby Luigi rolled up in the four-brother version of the ball inSuper Mario-kun, volume 37

In theSuper Mario-kun volumes adapted fromMario & Luigi: Partners in Time, Mario and Luigi use the Bros. Ball as an attack rather than a utility move, where they smash into theSnoozorb in volume 35. Later, in volume 37, a four-brother variation of the Bros. Ball is used against theElder 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]

• Tube Mode
• Ball Hop

Names in other languages[edit]

Notes[edit]

• Although the move is not present, Mario and Luigi go into a similar ball-shaped formation while inside theChest Station inMario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story andMario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story + Bowser Jr.'s Journey.

References[edit]

• Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time moves
• Mario & Luigi: Brothership moves

• Articles with unsourced foreign names