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Mario might be known to some as “Jumpman,” but some of the plumber’s best games are actually RPGs, not platformers.
Taking a platformer series known more for its gameplay than its story or worldbuilding into the narrative-rich RPG genre may sound like an odd choice, but Mario made the transition very well back with the original Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars on the SNES. In fact, Mario’s first RPG worked so well that not only is the beloved SNES classic now getting a full remake for the Nintendo Switch later this year, but it also spawned multiple Mario-themed RPG sub-series, including the humorous adventures of the Mario & Luigi series, the ever-evolving Paper Mario franchise, and even a duo of tactics RPGs with Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle and Mario + Rabbids: Sparks of Hope.
So far, Nintendo’s main man has starred in 14 RPGs–a surprising number for a mascot mostly known for running and jumping. And while not all of Mario’s role-playing outings measure up to the quality of genre pillars as, say, Chrono Trigger, there are several that easily rank among the best RPGs on their respective systems, and a few could be counted among the very best RPGs of all time. That’s pretty good for a dude mostly known for jumping on things and saying “Wahoo!”
In light of the upcoming Super Mario RPG releasing on Switch on November 17, and the fact that multiple other classic Mario RPGs are now easily available on the Nintendo Switch via the Nintendo Switch Online service, we decided to rank Mario’s many RPGs into a definitive list.
If you’re curious how we feel about Mario’s other games, be sure to check out our rankings of every Super Mario platfomer. We also have similar rankings for The Legend of Zelda series and mainline Final Fantasy titles as well.
