The Super Nintendo is widely considered one of the greatest consoles ever for the RPG genre. The system played host to a number of genre classics, including Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy VI, and Earthbound. Even Mario got a chance to explore RPG mechanics when Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars debuted on the SNES in 1996. Over the last 26 years, Super Mario RPG has established a passionate following, but the game has never received an official sequel. In an interview with MinnMax, director Chihiro Fujioka expressed his hopes that he could end his career by making a sequel.

"Yeah, I would absolutely love to make one… in my career I've been involved with a lot of games, and I would really like my final one to be another Mario RPG game if possible," Fujioka told MinnMax.

While Super Mario RPG never got an official sequel, the first Paper Mario was tentatively titled "Super Mario RPG 2," at one point. Fujioka was also involved with the Mario & Luigi series of games developed by AlphaDream. While the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi games have kept the spirit of Super Mario RPG alive, Fujioka would like to go back to the beginning.

"I think Mario & Luigi is cool, but I would like to go back and create a Mario RPG where you're only controlling Mario."

A Super Mario RPG sequel would be welcomed with open arms by long-time Nintendo fans! The game was developed by Square, but Nintendo could easily make a sequel in-house. It's worth noting that some of the game's original characters, including Mallow and Geno, are owned by Square Enix, so those characters would be prohibited from appearing without permission. There has been demand for years to see Geno as a fighter in the Super Smash Bros. series. The character has appeared in Smash as a Mii Fighter costume, and he did make a small cameo in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, so it's possible he could still return. Of course, it's all just conjecture, but hopefully Fujioka's interest will lead to a real sequel getting made!



Posted: Feb 22, 2022 8:32 pm
Related Forum: Gaming Discussion

Source: https://comicbook.com/gaming/news/super-mario-rpg-2-super-nintendo-director-comments-potential-sequel/