Admit it, Mario’s RPGs are better than his platformers

Mario is the undisputed face of video games. He’s easily the most recognizable character in the world, and it’s easy to see why. His platformers were pivotal in Nintendo’s success in the early NES days, and he remains one of the company’s most marketable IPs over 30 years later. He set the standard for how 2D platformers should look and feel, and somehow did it again in 3D on the first try when nearly every other developer floundered. Whenever a new Nintendo system launches, everyone is looking for that new Mario game to show us what tricks Nintendo has up its sleeve on the new hardware.

Because Mario is such a versatile character, Nintendo has leveraged him for far more than platformers. We have Mario sports games, kart racers, puzzle games, even rhythm games. You name it, Mario’s done it. But the one genre I think Mario shines the brightest is also the most surprising: RPGs. Besides something like horror, it is hard to think of a bigger leap (pardon the pun) for Mario to make than platformer to turn-based RPG, but he not only sticks the landing but even outdoes even his best platformers. It’s time we give all the Mario RPGs their flowers for secretly being the best Mario games there are, and it all comes down to verbs. Let me explain.

Platformers have run their course

Running and jumping can only be reinvented so many times

Whether we’re talking about 2D or 3D platformers, it feels like the genre has just about hit the ceiling on new ways to approach it. Mario games do push to add in new mechanical twists every time, but there are only so many things that can be done in the format. We’re basically getting different versions of ways to run, jump, and float. The propellor hat functions almost identically to the bee suit, and the cape is no different from the tanuki suit. Nintendo makes sure they all feel and look different, but aren’t functionally different from what we’ve seen before.

Mario has also exhausted just about every type of environment to experiment with. We’ve been to dozens of lava stages, deserts, and castles, and even to the moon and other planets a couple of times. Don’t get me wrong, Mario has fully plumped all these environments for every drop of creative level design and interaction possible, but now that we’re over 30 years deep, every well is starting to run dry.

I don’t want to come off as saying Mario platformers are bad. They’re not. What I am trying to convey is the limited nature of them. If you think of the way you can interact with a game as a set of verbs, Mario platformers have very few. Typically, you get the run, jump, and one other button associated with power-up verbs, but that’s it. That’s not a lot of options for you to experiment or “converse” with the game with.

Mario RPGs breathe life into the Mushroom Kingdom

Showing the potential of Mario’s world and cast

While mainline Zelda games eventually embraced a more forward-facing narrative, Mario has resisted anything but the most basic premise for his platformers. With rare exceptions, we’re on a long journey to rescue Peach and defeat Bowser because…well, just because. Nintendo knows we’re here for the mechanics over the story, and that’s fine, but is a bit of a disservice to the cast of characters they’ve introduced us to.

Super Mario RPG (the original version on the SNES) was the first time these characters were able to express themselves as more than an avatar or enemy to be stomped. Even Mario, who never spoke, managed to convey his bravery and determination, along with his more goofy side, through gestures and actions. But it was really everyone (and everything) surrounding Mario that benefited from this less restrictive structure. Bowser became a sympathetic, lovable rival, Peach a more active and willing participant in her own fate, and that’s not to mention all the new characters we meet. Even more could be said about the Paper Mario series, plus Mario & Luigi games.

But, to bring it all full circle, every one of these RPGs is packed with verbs. Running and jumping are still here, but battles utilize various weapons, abilities, and other interactive elements depending on the game. Even simple moves are given a twist with action commands, in which you need to time button hits based on your specific weapon to do more damage, or some other unique mechanic like holding the stick back and releasing it at the right time to swing your hammer in Paper Mario.

The biggest verb here is also the least specific, which is interact. This can do everything from talking to pushing, grabbing, placing, and any other contextual action. It gives the designers the freedom to temporarily give us any verb we need for a situation without wasting a button. Of course, the most clever moments are when you can use those familiar buttons to do something in the environment, which Paper Mario is particularly adept at doing.

I understand that RPGs aren’t for everyone, but it is hard to argue that they don’t offer so many more ways to feel like a real part of Mario’s world than platformers do. Those feel more like rollercoaster rides—exciting and flashy, but very guided—while the RPGs let you explore a full amusement park.