Nintendo threw everyone for a loop in the mid 90’s when they teamed with Squaresoft to create Super Mario RPG. It was such a radically different idea for the series, but is remembered fondly. Due to Square and Nintendo’s late 90’s falling out, a true sequel was never made and Nintendo instead created the Paper Mario series with Intelligent Systems as a successor series. Paper Mario 64 was well liked even if it was felt it wasn’t up to the level of Super Mario RPG while its sequel, Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door for the GameCube, is regarded as a true classic and one of the best Mario games ever. Since that game came out, the series gradually shifted its focus and later entries have been rather polarizing.
While Super Paper Mario was well liked for its writing and blend of different gameplay styles, Paper Mario Sticker Star and Color Splash left fans feeling that the series has lost its way. It doesn’t help that Nintendo’s other Mario RPG series, Mario & Luigi, has also had fans claim a decline in quality as well. So what is a Mario RPG fan to do at this time?
While we may never get a Paper Mario game that again reaches the heights that series once had, we now have another game in its place. Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was mocked and jeered when it was leaked and then announced, only for everyone to come around when they finally played the game. It played nothing like Paper Mario obviously, being instead a turn based tactics RPG, but that didn’t matter. The game managed to capture the spirit of the Paper Mario series far better than the ones put out by Nintendo recently, with a great story, surprisingly deep gameplay, and also having music and humor that helped win over fans.
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle showed something that fans wanted to see, and that was creativity and innovation. This isn’t to bash on Nintendo, but there has been a bit of creative sterility when it comes to their attempts at Mario RPGs lately, both Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi. while Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle was full of new ideas that work well. So yes, Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle may play nothing like Paper Mario but it feels somehow exactly like it. It doesn’t matter if its a different genre, or a different variation of a genre and I will even go so far as to say that when it comes to spiritual successors, a game can play completely differently. Equally important to the gameplay is the feel and atmosphere of the game and that is where Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle shines bright,
My hope now is that Nintendo sees the great response Mario + Rabbids: Kingdom Battle has received, and apply that to their own Mario RPGs. Failing that however, I would at least like to see them commission more games in the Mario + Rabbids series, as it is truly something special.
The above was the opinion of the author and does not necessarily reflect the views of ROG or its staff.