The ''Mario'' franchise, which originated as a series of

platform game A platformer (also called a platform game, and sometimes a jump 'n' run game) is a subgenre of action game in which the core objective is to move the player character between points in an environment. Platform games are characterized by levels wi ...

s, has inspired a variety of

role-playing video game Role-playing video games, also known as CRPG (computer/console role-playing games), comprise a broad video game genre generally defined by a detailed story and character advancement (often through increasing characters' levels or other skills) ...

s released on multiple

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

video game console A video game console is an electronic device that Input/output, outputs a video signal or image to display a video game that can typically be played with a game controller. These may be home video game console, home consoles, which are generally ...

s. All games feature

Mario Mario (; ) is a Character (arts), character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Ja ...

as the protagonist, who is often accompanied by one or more playable characters, with the goal of defeating the main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Bowser , also known as King Bowser or King Koopa, is a Character (arts), fictional character and the Antagonist, main antagonist of Nintendo's ''Mario (franchise), Mario'' franchise."The Top 100 Videogame Villains". IGN. Retrieved October 8, 2010. ...

. The first role-playing game in the franchise, ''

Super Mario RPG ''Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars'' is a 1996 role-playing video game developed by Square (video game company), Square and published by Nintendo for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES). It was the final ''Mario (franchise) ...

'' (1996), was developed by

Square In geometry, a square is a regular polygon, regular quadrilateral. It has four straight sides of equal length and four equal angles. Squares are special cases of rectangles, which have four equal angles, and of rhombuses, which have four equal si ...

for the

Super NES The Super Nintendo Entertainment System, commonly shortened to Super Nintendo, Super NES or SNES, is a 16-bit home video game console developed by Nintendo that was released in 1990 in Japan, 1991 in North America, 1992 in Europe and Oceania a ...

. The two primary sub-series, ''

Paper Mario ''Paper Mario'' is a video game series and part of the ''Mario'' franchise, developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo. It combines elements from the role-playing, action-adventure, and puzzle genres. Players control a ...

'' and ''

Mario & Luigi ''Mario & Luigi'' (also known as ''Mario & Luigi RPG'' in Japanese regions) is a series of role-playing video games published by Nintendo and originally developed by AlphaDream prior to their bankruptcy. The series is a spin-off from Nintendo's t ...

'', follow conventions established in the original game. The ''Paper Mario'' series is developed by

Intelligent Systems is a Japanese video game developer best known for developing games published by Nintendo with the ''Fire Emblem'', ''Paper Mario'', ''Wario_(series)#WarioWare_series, WarioWare'', and ''Wars (series), Wars'' video game series. The company was ...

and published by Nintendo, the first game being ''

'' which was released for the

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed and marketed by Nintendo. It was released in Japan on June 23, 1996, in North America on September 29, 1996, and in Europe and Australia on March 1, 1997. As the successor to the Super Nintendo E ...

in 2000. The original Paper Mario games are role-playing games, though installments in the series since '' Sticker Star'' also incorporate

action-adventure An action-adventure game is a video game genre, video game hybrid genre that combines core elements from both the action game and adventure game genres. Definition An action adventure game can be defined as a game with a mix of elements f ...

elements. The series has received positive reviews, being praised for its paper-inspired aesthetic, writing, and characters, but changes to gameplay, such as in combat, received mixed reception. Recent entries since the release of ''Sticker Star'' have been criticized for the removal of original fictional races, the abundance of identical

Toads Toad (also known as a hoptoad) is a common name for certain frogs, especially of the family Bufonidae, that are characterized by dry, leathery skin, short legs, and large bumps covering the parotoid glands. In popular culture (folk taxonomy), ...

, and the restrictions limiting unique character designs. The ''Mario & Luigi'' series was developed by AlphaDream and published by Nintendo, the first game being '' Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga'' for the

Game Boy Advance The (GBA) is a 32-bit handheld game console, manufactured by Nintendo, which was released in Japan on March 21, 2001, and to international markets that June. It was later released in mainland China in 2004, under the name iQue Game Boy Advanc ...

in 2003. The Nintendo 3DS remake of '' Bowser's Inside Story'' was AlphaDream's final game before declaring bankruptcy in 2019. Three months after the declaration, however, Nintendo filed a trademark for the series in Argentina. The series had generally received critical acclaim, being praised for their writing, gameplay, and graphics, with some criticism for lack of innovation. * The ''Mario + Rabbids'' series is co-developed by

Ubisoft Milan Ubisoft is a French video game publisher headquartered in Montreuil, founded in March 1986 by the Guillemot brothers. Since its establishment, Ubisoft has become one of the largest video game publishers, and it has the largest in-house developm ...

and

Ubisoft Paris Ubisoft is a French video game publisher headquartered in Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, Montreuil, founded in March 1986 by the Guillemot brothers. Since its establishment, Ubisoft has become one of the largest video game publishers, and it has ...

and published worldwide by

Ubisoft Ubisoft Entertainment SA (; ; formerly Ubi Soft Entertainment SA) is a French video game publisher headquartered in Saint-Mandé with development studios across the world. Its video game franchises include '' Anno'', '' Assassin's Creed'', ' ...

and published in

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

and is a

crossover Crossover may refer to: Entertainment Music Albums * ''Cross Over'' (album), a 1987 album by Dan Peek, or the title song * ''Crossover'' (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles album), 1987 * ''Crossover'', an album by Intrigue * ''Crossover'', an album by ...

series with the ''

Raving Rabbids ''Rabbids'', also known as ''Raving Rabbids'' (), is a multimedia franchise developed and published by Ubisoft. It originated as a spin-off video game from the ''Rayman'' video game series, 2006's '' Rayman Raving Rabbids''. ''Rabbids'' is center ...

'' franchise, the first being ''

Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle Mario (; ) is a character created by the Japanese game designer Shigeru Miyamoto. He is the star of the ''Mario'' franchise, a recurring character in the ''Donkey Kong'' franchise, and the mascot of the Japanese video game company Nintendo. ...

'' for the

Nintendo Switch The is a video game console developed by Nintendo and released worldwide in most regions on March 3, 2017. Released in the middle of the Eighth generation of video game consoles, eighth generation of home consoles, the Switch succeeded the ...

in 2017.

Standalone games

''Paper Mario'' series

''Mario & Luigi'' series

''Mario + Rabbids'' series

Remakes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mario role-playing games Nintendo franchises Lists of video games by franchise