Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam Gets Its North American Release Date

The North American release date for the latest instalment of the much-loved Mario & Luigi series has finally been revealed. Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam will arrive on January 22nd, 2016 for the 3DS, which is quite a bit earlier than its initial Spring 2016 release date. It was announced last month that those in Europe and Australia will be getting the game a little earlier in time for Christmas, with a release date of December 4th.

Each outing in the series, thus far, has introduced a different game mechanic, whether it be time travel (Partners In Time) or the ability to take control of your arch nemesis (Bowser’s Inside Story). Paper Jam continues this trend by merging the universe with another RPG series featuring the famous plumbing brothers. You see, this time around you will have a third party member to tag along with you on your quest, in the form of Mario’s 2D counterpart, Paper Mario.

In case you are not up to speed on the latest installment of the joyously comic RPG series, here’s a quick overview of the premise:

Luigi, being the clumsy, slightly less competent younger brother that he is, accidentally knocks over a magical book while at Peach’s castle, inadvertently unleashing the parallel world of Paper Mario into the kingdom. Once Bowser and his paper equivalent get up to their usual wrongdoings, it’s up to Mario, Luigi, and Paper Mario to save the day.

The game will feature the same turn-based combat, with timed attacks and blocking, that players of the series are used to. Paper Mario will also be able to use his paper-thin physique to fit through small spaces as well as using origami on himself to morph into helpful objects, such as a paper airplane. The E3 trailer also showed the ability to construct an all-powerful ‘Papercraft Mario.’

In addition to announcing the release date, Nintendo has also confirmed that the six figures available in the Super Mario Bros. Amiibo series will be compatible with the game, allowing the player to unlock special in-game cards that can be used as power-ups.