Collection essentials #526: Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (GBA)

A Mario JRPG had first been conceived, made and released in 1996 by Square. The second such game was Paper Mario a few years later, also a JRPG but developed by different people and largely doing its own thing rather than copying the template of the previous game. Now, perhaps surprisingly, there would be a third Mario JRPG that would also have its own style rather than being a follow-up to one of the other two games. It would be developed by AlphaDream, a company founded in part by former Square employees, so some who worked on the original Mario RPG would also work on this one.

Thus, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was born. As the title implies, this game prominently features both of the brothers sharing the spotlight as main characters, with no other party members joining in. Like the previous games, it features an emphasis on timed button presses during the turn-based battles, as well as platforming elements outside of battle. And like the first Mario RPG, it features some completely original villains. But Superstar Saga features plenty of originality in its own implementation of these elements, making it still feel very fresh.

The features a duo of villains, a witch named Cackletta from a race of people known as the Beanish, and she is joined by her right-hand man Fawful. At the start of the game, they still Princess Peach’s voice taking a page out of Ursula’s playbook (though it’s done by outright thievery rather than manipulation). Bowser had been planning to kidnap the princess as well, but instead helps out Mario and Luigi a bit, though he doesn’t join the party like he does in Super Mario RPG. The game’s story and dialogue leans on the silly side, and does it well, with some rather amusing dialogue. Fawful’s words tend to be especially colorful, and he’s known for his catchphrase, “I have fury!” 

The Game Boy Advance has two face buttons, and so the two buttons serve to control one of the two brothers at pretty much any given time. Outside of battle, you can swap the brother that’s walking in front, and the A button will execute the action of the front brother and B the rear. This action can be jumping, swinging a hammer, or some kind of special action that’s unlocked over the course of the game. 

During battle, Mario is always assigned to the A button while Luigi is B. As is the norm for Mario RPGs, you’ll want to hit the button right as they’re striking their foe for extra damage. Mario and Luigi can team up for powerful attacks that require multiple timed button presses for full damage. It’s defense, though, that really sets this game apart. When opponents attack, Mario and Luigi can either jump or swing their hammer to try and dodge or deflect their attack, completely avoiding damage if done successfully. Enemy attacks can sometimes be tricky and/or elaborate, so it’s quite difficult to avoid damage 100% of the time, but technically possible. This is in contrast to Super Mario RPG and Paper Mario where you’re usually just reducing damage rather than preventing it altogether. It’s a fun spin on turn-based RPG combat.

I should also note that this game includes a remake of the 1983 arcade game “Mario Bros.”, but this exact remake had already been present on a few other GBA releases that I haven’t covered yet, so I’ll be talking about that when I get to those.

I remember when Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga first came out, and I was excited as I was already a huge fan of Super Mario RPG and had some experience with Paper Mario as well. I can’t remember specifically when I got it, but at some point during the GBA’s lifespan I grabbed a pre-owned cartridge at GameStop (got the box and manual much later) and proceeded to have a lot of fun with the game. It didn’t dethrone Super Mario RPG on my favorites list, but since that had been my first JRPG, that probably wasn’t realistic. It still became one of my favorite GBA offerings.

Mario & Luigi started a whole series that has lasted for many years, which ran alongside Paper Mario at the same time as two different Mario RPG series. This first entry got a full-fledged remake on a future Nintendo handheld in the following decade, though I still have yet to play through that version so I can’t compare the two. The original GBA iteration is playable on Switch Online for those who have the Expansion Pack subscription. If you think this game sounds fun and you somehow haven’t tried it, you absolutely should! And if you’ve played one of the newer Mario & Luigi releases, I assure you that this one is still very much worth experiencing, and it certainly holds its own multiple decades later. It’s a wonderful title for the GBA and another collection essential for everybody’s favorite pair of plumbers.