Switch 2 Could See This Mario Spinoff Series Return In A Major Way

With Nintendo set to announce its successor to the Nintendo Switch by the end of this fiscal year, the company’s software plans for the new console are sure to be taking shape. Judging from the trends within its final round of releases for the Switch, those plans bode very well for fans of the Mario franchise’s RPG spinoffs.

Mario has become synonymous with gaming as a whole for a reason, as his name has appeared on far more than just the platformers he’s known for; from kart racing to parties to just about every professional sport, he’s done it all. His forays into the role-playing genre hold a particularly special place in the hearts of many, but those games haven’t always been treated with the most respect by Nintendo. That trend seems to be changing for the better based on what we saw in 2024.

The Thousand-Year Door Remake Was A Return To Form For Paper Mario

The Struggling Series Found Its Way Again

The Paper Mario games got off to a strong start with the release of the original N64 game in 2000, but the spinoff series really hit its stride with the release of the second installment, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door for GameCube. Despite TTYD‘s rave reviews, the following titles were received less warmly, with critics often noting the games’ departure from the RPG style that made the first two games bona fide classics.

It was beginning to look like the Paper Mario series would never return to its beloved roots, but Nintendo shocked the world in September 2023 by announcing a remake of Thousand-Year Door for the Switch. The remake was praised for further refining an already-fantastic game and would go on to outsell the original version. To many, the remake felt like a make-good gesture from Nintendo, an admission that the previous games had missed the mark, and it was encouraging to play a Paper Mario game that actually played like how Paper Mario should.

Mario & Luigi: Brothership Revived A Dead Series

Commercial Failures & Studio Closure Seemed Like A Death Blow

Running alongside the Paper Mario games was another series of RPG spinoffs that put the spotlight on not just Mario, but his cowardly younger brother Luigi. The Mario & Luigi games began on the Game Boy Advance and stuck around on Nintendo handhelds through the days of the DS and 3DS. The games were beloved for their reflex-testing battle system and quirky brand of humor and seemed like they would become a mainstay of Nintendo’s catalog.

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Unfortunately, trouble was brewing for the series developer AlphaDream as it began remaking the older entries for the 3DS and found themselves competing against the Switch. Edged out by the newer hardware, the remakes failed to recoup their budget and AlphaDream was forced to file for bankruptcy in 2019. With the creators of the series now shuttered, it seemed like the death knell for any future Mario & Luigi games.

But those fears were put to rest earlier this year when Nintendo shockingly revealed a new game in the series, Mario & Luigi: Brothership, released for the Switch in November 2024. Many of the original staff from AlphaDream returned to work on the entry, ensuring that the spirit of the old games would continue to live on. Brothership was a warmly-received revival of a series no one thought we’d see again, breathing hope into the idea of more Mario & Luigi games to come.

Mario RPGs Could Make A Major Comeback On Switch 2

The Stars Are Aligning For A New Wave Of Mario RPGs

The release of not just one, but two new installments in Mario RPG sub-franchises within the same year is a clear indicator that Nintendo is paying attention to these games in a way that it hasn’t for some time. Coupled with the release of 2023’s Super Mario RPG remake, a trend begins to emerge – as the saying goes: once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, three times is a pattern. And that pattern indicates that Mario RPGs could be making a big return on the Switch 2.

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There’s still a strong backlog of games that could potentially be remastered or remade, whether it be the original N64 Paper Mario or one of the other Mario & Luigi games that are still locked to discontinued handhelds. With Nintendo’s digital storefronts for older hardware shutting down, many of these games are in need of preservation, and many could also benefit from a fresh coat of paint.

Even more exciting than the allure of remakes is the prospect of all-new Mario RPG games that may be coming to Switch 2. Prior to the remake of Thousand-Year Door, the most recent Paper Mario game was in 2020; the last release for Mario & Luigi before Brothership was in 2018, and the last one that wasn’t a remake was in 2015. Both series are easily due for a fresh installment, and if the Nintendo Switch 2 can deliver, then it very well may become the new go-to platform for Mario RPG fans.

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Nintendo Switch

The Nintendo Switch is the successor to 2012’s Wii U console. The Nintendo Switch allows gamers to easily switch between playing on a TV to a handheld console. The first model was released in 2017, followed by the Nintendo Switch Lite, which is strictly a handheld console. In October 2021, Nintendo released an upgraded Switch console with an OLED screen.

Brand

Nintendo

Original Release Date

March 3, 2017

Original MSRP (USD)

$299.99

Weight

.71 lbs