With the Super Mario RPG remake officially announced, it's a good time to look back on the Mario RPGs released throughout the years. Mario and other characters from the Mushroom Kingdom have been part of multiple RPG series, particularly Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario. Now, Nintendo is bringing back the original Mario RPG as a remake set to release in November 2023 if no delays pop up.
While no Mario RPGs have been widely panned, there are some that have had less ecstatic receptions than others. For many longtime fans, the Super Mario RPG remake offers something of a reset for the iconic plumber's role-playing titles, which have continuously scaled back on the genre's cornerstone features. For the ranking below, critical reception - including Screen Rant's reviews when applicable - has been taken largely into . Additionally, since this ranking focuses on just Mario RPGs, the RPG crossover games with Rabbids aren't included here.
12 Paper Mario: Sticker Star
Paper Mario: Sticker Star was the first Mario RPG released for a handheld console, launching on the 3DS to mixed reviews. Bowser has the power of the strongest Royal Sticker and uses it to kidnap Princess Peach. Before Mario can save her, he first has to collect the other six Stickers that have been scattered across six worlds. Despite having the traditional Mario formula, Paper Mario: Sticker Star receives the lowest rating among its peers.
11 Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam
Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam is a crossover between the Mario & Luigi series and Paper Mario series that was released for the Nintendo 3DS. It's just barely more well-regarded than Paper Mario: Sticker Star, and ultimately doesn't benefit in any meaningful way from combining the two series. In this game, Mario and Luigi have to work with the paper versions of themselves to save Princess Peach and the paper version of her from Bowser and Paper Bowser. In the end, Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam didn't become the best of both franchises put together.
10 Paper Mario: Color Splash
Paper Mario: Color Splash was released for the Wii U as a direct successor to Paper Mario: Sticker Star. Paper Mario: Color Splash improved on some gameplay elements from Sticker Star and earned slightly better ratings, though still not great. Despite the improvements it made, it received criticism for being too similar to Sticker Star and for the levels being too linear.
9 Paper Mario: The Origami King
Paper Mario: The Origami King is one of the more recent Mario RPGs, having been released in 2020 for the Nintendo Switch. It was received favorably in general, and Screen Rant's Paper Mario: The Origami King review even awarded the game 4.5 stars. Praised for its wit and mechanics, Paper Mario: The Origami King brought with it all the charm that players enjoyed in other Paper Mario games and added puzzles, though its lack of unique characters if often a sticking point and an example of an unwanted trend in more recent Super Mario spin-offs.
8 Mario & Luigi: Dream Team
Mario & Luigi: Dream Team is another Mario RPG that was released for the Nintendo 3DS, and it gave Luigi a bigger role than normal since it was part of the 30th anniversary of his debut in the franchise. Well-received upon release, it found praise for mixing the normal Mario world with a Dream World filled with Luiginoids. Mario & Luigi's turn-based combat makes this RPG feel like a classic JRPG mixed with the charm of the Mario bros.
7 Super Paper Mario
Super Paper Mario brought Mario to the Wii, being the first game in the franchise to be released for it. Overall, Super Paper Mario was a successful debut for Mario on the Wii, deviating from other Paper Mario games to create a mix of gameplay elements from RPGs and side-scrollers. Super Paper Mario also mixed up the traditional formula by having Mario, Luigi, Bowser, and Princess Peach all work together against the antagonist this time. Despite not being the highest rated Paper Mario game, it is the best-selling of the series.
6 Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time
Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time was released for the Nintendo DS instead of the 3DS, making it the only game in the series that's available through backwards compatibility rather than being directly created for the 3DS. Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time reviewed well, and received a lot of overall praise for its gameplay and design. However, there were complaints about the combat system and the fact that what players do in the past doesn't change the future.
5 Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is the second entry in the Paper Mario series, and it brought with it all the charm of Mario mixed with classic RPG gameplay. It worked to expand on and improve the gameplay of its predecessor, taking the elements that worked and making them even better. The response to The Thousand-Year Door was overwhelmingly positive, with special attention given to the balance of gameplay, humor, story, and soundtrack. Many consider it to be the last true RPG released in the Paper Mario series.
4 Super Mario RPG: Legend Of The Seven Stars
Developed by Square before its merger with Enix, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was the franchise's first RPG, and it was released for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System. The game became an instant classic, and is being remade and released as Super Mario RPG, without the subtitle. Compared to other RPGs that were being released in the 90s, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars set itself apart by having a more lighthearted tone rather than following the trend of darker RPG themes.
3 Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story was released on the Nintendo DS, and then later remade for the Nintendo 3DS. Perhaps the most novel part of the game is that Bowser is not only a playable character, but he gets the bulk of the screen time rather than Mario and Luigi. This game was very well-received, and the spotlight on Bowser gave the game a different feel from the rest of the series, as well as letting players enjoy the brute force that he uses when solving his problems.
