When Super Mario RPG’s remake was announced in June 2023, the response from fans was enormous. Those unfamiliar with the game may have been puzzled by why fans were going crazy over it, but this would become clear when the game launched later the same year. A sentiment arose among old and new fans alike: Now is the perfect time for a sequel to Mario’s first RPG.

Super Mario RPG Enlivens the Mushroom Kingdom

The context of when Super Mario RPG first launched on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System is important to how its central appeal came to be. Before its release, Mario’s games had only explored its world through platforming levels. While other forms of media presented interpretations of the Mario world such as the cyberpunk setting of the 1993 movie and the whimsical kingdom of the 1986 anime OVA, this could not be said for the games. This is not to say earlier Mario games entirely lacked worldbuilding, but Mario RPG was the first to flesh out the universe to a greater extent.

The high fantasy world presented in Super Mario RPG is a bizarre place filled with quirky characters. Whether it’s the manchild Booster trying to marry Peach without understanding what a wedding is or the kingdom’s capitol being attacked by creatures obsessed with bouncing on pogo-sticks, the wacky world of Mario RPG always delivers. These scenarios are entertaining and stand out because of how surprising they are. While more serious moments occasionally arise, Mario RPG is a comedy that always wants to keep you on your toes. Our overall-wearing hero fighting a bow-shaped Yoda-impersonator is funny largely because one would not expect this from a Mario game.

What Defines Mario’s World?

A common criticism of the New Super Mario Bros series is that it became stale and repetitive after so many entries presented similar worlds. This complaint may seem strange when it boils down to the games being “too Mario”. Those critiques hold merit because they speak to Mario’s core appeal: Nintendo’s flagship franchise can be almost anything it wants. This is why Mario RPG can build a world filled with so many unusual characters and still be beloved by the plumber’s fans; the series is at its best when it’s unpredictable.

The mainline Super Mario lore depicts Princess Rosalina as a high power presiding over the world from her observatory, but Mario RPG has a slightly different depiction. In it, the unnamed people of Star Road grant the wishes of the Mushroom Kingdom’s residents, and a spirit who uses the name Geno acts as the road’s guardian. He claims to serve a higher authority, adding a sense of mystique to the god-like entities that presumably live on Star Road. These depictions of the overseers of Mario’s world differ, which gives each of them a distinct flavor. Super Mario RPG’s flavor cannot be found anywhere else.

The Purpose of Returning with a Sequel

No other games have the exact appeal of Super Mario RPG, but there are many other places to take its world. A sequel wouldn’t necessarily need to bring back all of its characters or be set in the same locations, but the game’s style deserves to be expanded upon. With only one game that introduces so many unique ideas, characters, and locales, there is massive potential to make a sequel that expands on what has already been established.

A sequel of this nature would stand out against every other Mario game that Nintendo puts out. This aligns with the most appealing aspects of the brand. Whether the sequel is closely tied to the original’s story and contains a lot of returning characters, or expands on what is there in new and exciting directions, it could easily astonish and amaze players around the world with more quirky writing and worldbuilding. Now that the Switch remake has reintroduced the game to Nintendo fans, there is no better time for Super Mario RPG 2.