The time is finally upon us for the remake of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Originally on the Super Nintendo, SMRPG gave us a fresh take on everyone’s favorite Italian plumber. With its turn-based combat and story-driven campaign, it was unlike anything Nintendo had ever released in the Mario universe. It sometimes felt like playing a Final Fantasy game with a Mario skin. That made sense, with Square being directly involved in its development.
Super Mario RPG was a huge success and was just the first in what is now a storied history of Mario RPGs. The Mario & Luigi series and Paper Mario series are spiritual successors to Super Mario RPG and have had multiple installments each. I'm curious why we never got a sequel to The Legend of the Seven Stars. Being the father of all Mario RPGs with sequels of their own, it seems like a big misstep not to show some extra love to the game that started it all. Heck, we had to wait nearly 30 years to get just a remake of SMRPG.
My sincerest hope is that the remake of Super Mario RPG gives us a chance to awaken a new RPG series for fans of Mario. What if Mario, Mallow, and Geno teamed up with other established kingdoms or introduced some new kingdoms for more adventures? The possibilities are endless, but I do have a few thoughts and speculations of my own.
Super Mario RPG 2: The Dark Lands
In SMRPG, Bowser became an ally when the villain, Smithy, saw no difference between the plumber and Koopa. In my idea for a second Super Mario RPG, Smithy is back, but this time, he’s trying to take over the Dark Lands. Bowser will have to be the central protagonist, trying to protect the Koopas, Shy Guys, Goombas, and more. Of course, it wouldn’t be a true Mario RPG game without Mario!
Bowser will quickly have to team up with Mario if he wants to protect the Dark Lands. To make this a true sequel, we’ll need Mallow and Geno, too. Like the Toads in the Mushroom Kingdom, Goombas, Koopas, and Dry Bones could each have different personalities giving us opportunities for auxiliary characters to help build the team.
Super Mario RPG 3: New Donk City
Donkey Kong is known for being around whenever Mario wants to have a party or do some go-karting. He’s also become the star of the 2D platforming series Donkey Kong Country. However, in Super Mario Odyssey, we saw many callbacks to Donkey Kong’s origins in New Donk City…a city ripe for an RPG.
Donkey Kong, Diddy Kong, Pauline, and more will have to team up with Mario and friends to save New Donk City. The expectation after two games will be that Smithy is back at it again, and he totally could be, but it would be better if every few games, Nintendo subverts expectations and introduces a new villain. With a heavy reliance on nostalgia to make these known worlds come alive, it’ll be important to freshen things up by introducing new villains to the series rather than going back to villains that we’ve seen before.
Super Mario RPG 4: The Flower Kingdom
With the recent release of Super Mario Wonder, we also got a new kingdom to explore, The Flower Kingdom. Eventually, it’ll be a good idea to return there for another adventure. With all of the new mechanics that the wonder flower brings to the franchise, it wouldn’t be unexpected to simply do a Super Mario Wonder 2 but there is also a great option to make it into an RPG. I have to wonder what new and exciting ways we could play with these fresh mechanics in an RPG that couldn’t be done in a platformer.
Historically, Bowser has been the villain, but that all changed when he fought alongside Mario in Legend of the Seven Stars. While he could easily fall into a protagonist role in this new Mario RPG series, it’s still important for him to flex his villain muscles from time to time. In a potential Super Mario Wonder-based RPG, Bowser should fall back into familiar territory and be the villain we know he’s capable of.
The flowers could potentially offer some auxiliary characters but the wonder flower will do more of the heavy lifting there by giving Mario and friends the ability to change. We’ve seen our favorite Mario characters as elephants but what about Mallow or Geno? They would make for really cool elephants with unique abilities tailored to both their elephant side and incorporating their normal abilities.
Super Mario RPG 5: The Snow Kingdom
The Super Mario Bros. Movie was a huge success and an absolute joy for fans of the Mario series. In the movie's opening moments, we see Bowser and his armies arrive at The Snow Kingdom to see the Penguin King, proud and fearless, ready to defend his land. It’s absolutely hysterical that moments later, you realize that his entire defense was tossing snowballs.
Image via Fandom
The last idea I’ll share with you is that The Snow Kingdom needs to be the home of a Mario RPG. The Penguin King will enlist the help of Mario, Mallow, and Geno to fight off a new menace. Of course, we’ll have to upgrade his attacks because snowballs aren’t going to cut it but I see ice attacks in his future. Other penguins could offer auxiliary characters but let’s face it; this story writes itself. The same army that tried to take down the king of the Koopas with snowballs will be the same army to find a way against all odds to take down a new threat before they lose their kingdom for good.
Conclusion
I could sit and write premises for Mario RPG games all day. There are different worlds to visit and different characters to let shine. And what luck! Nintendo seems to be in the mood to let other characters be the star right now. The release of a new Luigi’s Mansion game and the announcement of an adventure centered around Princess Peach show that Nintendo is willing to let Mario share the limelight with others.
It would be an absolute shame if, after 27 years and two releases of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the story ended there. The Mario franchise is as ready as ever to see Mario, Mallow, and Geno take on more than saving Star Road and kicking Smithy to the curb. My hope and prayer is that Nintendo sees the treasure trove and cash cow in front of them and brings a whole new generation of Mario RPGs to life.
