Mario & Luigi's Excellent Adventure

Last May, Nintendo gave the world its first glimpse of the upcoming DS role-playing game Mario & Luigi 2 at E3. The game features prepubescent versions of its part-time plumbing protagonists, but Nintendo didn't give a reason for the pair's pint-sized predicament.

The latest issue of Famitsu is reporting that Mario & Luigi 2 takes place in the very familiar Mushroom Kingdom, but in an unfamiliar time. Somehow, Mario and Luigi find themselves transported back in time, where they run into their childhood selves and are forced to once again save the land, this time from a mysterious alien force.

As the previously released gameplay footage suggests, players will have to use both the young and old sets of Mario Bros. in tandem to overcome the various obstacles throughout their journey. The timing-based battle system of the first game also returns, this time allowing for tag-team attacks from all four brothers.

The game will take advantage of the DS's double screen to cut down on confusion for players juggling the four different characters. The top screen is used for displaying the babies, while the bottom screen gets used for displaying the grown-up brothers. As a result, players don't lose sight of the characters when they separate to explore different areas.

Mario & Luigi 2 is currently under development by Alphadream, which also created the original installment. The game is currently slated for a November release.