The 50 Best RPGs Of All Time

18 – Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars

Developer: Square

Initial Release Date: May 13, 1996

Why it’s one of the best RPGs: When an evil robot blacksmith invades the Mushroom Kingdom, all bets are off. Bowser joins up with Mario, along with a cloud guy named Mallow and a doll named Geno. The four must repair the Star Road by restoring its seven fragments, and find Princess Toadstool, lost when Smithy invaded. It may be one of the most unique plotlines present in a Mario game, but it works. It certainly leads one to wonder why Nintendo took the reigns away from Square and didn’t come back with a true sequel.

Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars is the pure excellence that spawned a genre of Mario RPG games that never quite lived up to the first and best. Turn-based combat and a colorful world populated with mini-games gave players plenty to do in between plot points. With 3D graphics, ribbing humor, and a storyline that completely subverted expectations on every level, Super Mario RPG is not only one of the best (if not the best) Mario games ever, but one of the best RPGs.

Next: 17 - Final Fantasy X