Gab Hernandez 
After years of silence, Nintendo has possibly tipped its hand regarding more Super Mario RPGs with a survey probing fans on the Mario & Luigi RPG series.
Mario remains a go-to for Nintendo more than 40 years after his introduction. What started as a series of platformers grew into a library of games so expansive that Mario might as well be his own genre. Some of the most memorable games from the catalog aren’t even platformers but instead, RPGs.
Super Mario RPG launched in 1996 with a unique RPG gameplay style that surprised fans of the franchise. Paper Mario followed suit in 2000 with its snarky humor and flair for dramatic moments. Finally, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga brings the brothers together in a whimsical RPG where players take control of Mario & Luigi simultaneously. But while Paper Mario and Super Mario RPG have both been dusted off and re-released on the Nintendo Switch, the handheld-based series has been dormant since 2015. But after a recent survey, Nintendo teased a return to RPGs, hinting at a possible revival.
Is Nintendo making a new Mario & Luigi game?
Nintendo has not announced a new Mario & Luigi game but a survey from the company discussed the series, sparking excitement regarding its potential revival.
In 2000, former SquareSoft employees founded AlphaDream to develop Mario & Luigi games. The studio’s final release, Bowser’s Inside Story + Bowser Jr.’s Journey in 2018, is one of the worst-selling Mario games ever.
AlphaDream filed for bankruptcy in 2019 and shut the door on new Mario & Luigi games. Interestingly, in January 2020, Nintendo filed new trademarks related to the series, which hinted that the company may have plans for it after all. The logistical issues presented from 2020 to 2023 may have altered Nintendo’s plans regarding a possible revival. The recent Nintendo survey in April 2024 may hint at the company finally dipping its toes back into the franchise.
Highlights of the survey include questions about which RPG from the Super Mario franchise is the subject’s favorite, what features they liked about said games, and which characters they would like to see return. The survey was quite thorough and reportedly acknowledged every Mario RPG that exists.
While the survey likely means a new Mario & Luigi isn’t in active development, Nintendo gauging interest is a good sign for fans of the long-dormant RPG series. Time will tell if enough fans pushed for Mario & Luigi’s revival.
