Mario & Luigi: Brothership Power Taps Glitch Lets Players Unlock Upgrades Early on Nintendo Switch

Nintendo’s Mario & Luigi: Brothership marks the highly anticipated return of the beloved role-playing game franchise, delivering a fresh experience and its first-ever installment designed for a home console, the Nintendo Switch.

Developed and published by Nintendo, Mario & Luigi: Brothership revitalizes the classic series with new mechanics, including the introduction of Battle Plugs and Power Taps—features that enhance combat strategy by allowing players to boost attacks and defense during battle sequences. Since its official release, Brothership has generated significant buzz across the gaming community for its innovative gameplay and return to form for the Mario & Luigi series.

A recent discovery by dedicated fans has only fueled excitement further: a glitch now makes it possible to access all five Power Taps early in the adventure, unlocking expanded gameplay options well ahead of schedule. The glitch first came to light on Reddit, where user TheHeroShade shared a detailed report on the r/marioandluigi subreddit.

The information was soon corroborated and analyzed in detail by the site Gaming Reinvented, which published an extensive breakdown for players seeking to replicate the shortcut.

According to verified accounts, players can unlock all five Power Taps—typically distributed gradually over the course of the game—shortly after completing the Merrygo Island segment.

The process involves interacting with the in-game tutorial NPC for Battle Plugs, initiating the tutorial sequence twice.

During the subsequent training battle, players must deliberately fail their timed attacks, allowing the Seedles enemies to defeat them.

By choosing the "Try Again" option, the game restarts the encounter, and upon accessing the Battle Plug menu, all five Power Taps are available.

This method grants players unparalleled early access to enhanced abilities, bypassing the progression normally required. Significantly, the Power Taps earned through this exploit remain available even after defeating later bosses like the Lighthouse Bosses—events where these upgrades are typically awarded in standard gameplay.

While many speculate whether Nintendo may address this oversight in a future patch, no official statement has been made regarding a potential update as of this writing. With Mario & Luigi: Brothership reinforcing Nintendo’s strong legacy in RPG innovation for the Nintendo Switch, the community’s discovery of this glitch demonstrates the ongoing collaboration between developers and dedicated fans.

For now, players are free to take advantage of this glitch, enjoying a broader range of battle strategies and options early in their Brothership adventure. Mario & Luigi: Brothership is available now on the Nintendo Switch via the eShop and at retailers worldwide, continuing to garner attention as a standout entry in Nintendo’s celebrated RPG catalog.

Nintendo Mario Luigi Mario & Luigi: Brothership Nintendo Switch Switch