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10) Peach, Bowser, and Luigi
First Appearances: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES, 1996)
It was tough deciding whether or not to include any of the primary Mario series’ mainstays like Peach, Bowser, and Luigi, as there are so many unique characters in the RPGs that it felt wrong to take any spotlight away from them. At the same time, it also felt much worse to ignore some of the wonderful character development and moments these three have all experienced over the years in the Mario RPGs. Fans wouldn’t know the trio as they are today if the Mario RPGs didn’t step in and further enrich their personalities, so ultimately they had to make an appearance here.
Peach shined as a party member in Super Mario RPG (I always had her equipped with the Lazy Shell armor so she could heal and revive everyone unhindered!), stepping out of her usual role as the defenseless damsel in distress for the first time since Super Mario Bros. 2. Her second best turn in the Mario RPGs are her appearances in the Paper Mario titles. It was always a treat to switch over to controlling Peach, as her segments of gameplay were charmingly goofy; she beat Cooking Mama to introducing the world to digital baking by a good margin.
Bowser also got to be a party member in Super Mario RPG, and what a turn it was; legions of Mario fans around the world looked on in bewilderment at his greatest enemy becoming an ally! Square showed players a markedly different side of the character’s personality, with one of the best examples of this coming in towards the end of the game when Bowser struggles with satisfying his own desires versus doing what’s right. Beyond that, though, Bowser has been a source of infinite humor and intrigue in the Mario & Luigi games. The developers constantly put Bowser in the strangest scenarios, with the funniest and strangest being the Mario Bros. trapped inside him and controlling the big lug’s body.
Finally, dear Luigi, who has been more fleshed out in the Mario RPG games than any of his other appearances elsewhere. Though he only makes a brief cameo at the end of Super Mario RPG, it’s a touching moment in the game when Mario stumbles upon Luigi’s wish at the top of Star Hill, reading, “I wanna be a great plumber like my brother Mario”. With series like Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario, Green Stache has grown from a simple color swap to a lovably feeble hero who might not always have the guts to save the day, but does it anyway. One of the best Mario RPG experiences is Luigi’s misadventure as the villainous Mr. L in Super Paper Mario. Luigi gone bad! The Brobot! Intrigue and mystery! Welcome to the darker side of his past in this, the Year of Luigi.
I was about to complain that Geno wasn’t number one, and then I saw Fawful and realized that, yes, Geno is not as awesome as Fawful. He had Fury! And as he would like to remind you:
“But…the day comes soon when Fawful rises again, and then no baby’s candy has safety! I am counting chickens before they are even eggs, before the chickens are even chickens!
I miss Jr. Troopa. He had a very brief cameo in TTYD, though. I miss Paper Mario in general. Like… REAL Paper Mario type stuff. I was a big fan of Super Paper Mario, and was glad to see the change in gameplay. I expected Sticker Star to be like the first two games, but it really wasn’t. Not to say that Sticker Star wasn’t a great game in its own right, but I want another Paper Mario with a long story, crazy partners and action commands, and a seamless world.