Games

Classic Nintendo Duos That Need An RPG Like Mario & Luigi Brothership

Published

2 weeks ago

November 10, 2024

Christoph Rediske

falco and fox in super smash bros and doc louis training little mac in punch out

Key Takeaways

Mario & Luigi RPG series started in 2003 with unique duo gameplay that uses A & B buttons for each character.
Other classic duos like Wario & Waluigi, Diddy & Dixie, and Link & Zelda could work well in similar RPG spinoffs.
Active RPG combat systems can be adapted to different Nintendo duos, providing new gameplay opportunities for characters like Jesse & James.

The Mario & Luigi RPG series began on the Game Boy Advance in 2003. It was the third attempt at making an RPG franchise starring Mario and the first to give Luigi a co-starring role. What set the first game, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, apart from the previous RPGs was that each character was controlled by a single button whether in battle or in traversal mode.

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Mario was mapped to A while Luigi had the B button. The formula could work so well with other classic duos in Nintendo franchises for an RPG spinoff. All they need are a few ideas to get the ball rolling, so here they are.

7 Wario & Waluigi

The Opposite Side Of Mario & Luigi

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3

Systems

Released: March 13, 1994
Developer(s): Nintendo R&D1

Wario and Waluigi have never starred in a game together outside all of the Mario sports titles. Wario has certainly starred in a bunch of non-sports titles but Waluigi hasn’t. An otherworldly version of the Mario & Luigi RPGs but with antagonists could work well as Nintendo could go wild with the characters.

When AlphaDream was still developing the series, they attempted something like this via the third game, Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story, making Bowser the co-lead. This idea is too good to pass up so whether Wario and Waluigi co-star in an RPG, a platformer, an RTS, and so on, the characters deserve more.

6 Diddy Kong & Dixie Kong

An Ape Escape

Diddy Kong and Dixie Kong in the Super Mario movie

Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest

Systems

Released: November 21, 1995

Donkey Kong and Diddy Kong became partners when Donkey Kong Country was released on the SNES. Every Donkey Kong Country sequel following that on the SNES had two different leads like Diddy was joined by his cousin Dixie in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest. That pairing would work the best for an RPG spinoff as it would give players of different mindsets someone to root for.

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Maybe the RPG could have Diddy and Dixie try to rescue Donkey Kong as they did in Donkey Kong Country 2: Diddy’s Kong Quest. It would also be interesting if the RPG could incorporate the various mounts from the series into battle or traversal like Rambi the Rhino.

5 Link & Zelda

2/3 Of The Triforce

Zelda and Link in The Legend of Zelda Tears of the Kingdom

Systems

Released: March 24, 2003
Developer(s): Nintendo EAD
Engine: Havok

Link and Zelda have not worked together in many games so much as they have been love interests. Also, Zelda has typically been a literal damsel in distress for players to rescue. With the release of The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom, it seems like Nintendo is more open to allowing Zelda to be a playable lead. The opening of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom even has the two characters exploring with each other, teasing fans about what could be.

Whether Nintendo chooses an already-established universe or creates a new one, the active RPG combat system of Mario & Luigi would work well in Hyrule. To bounce off of Mario & Luigi: Brothership specifically, a sailing RPG set in the world of The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker would be fun as Tetra seems the most capable out of all the versions of Zelda.

4 Jesse & James

Prepare For Trouble And Make It Double

Jesse, Meowth, and James in the Pokemon anime

Pokemon Yellow

Systems

Released: October 18, 1999

Jesse and James were created for the Pokemon anime and they are two members of Team Rocket. They did appear in Pokemon Yellow though which tried to add things from the show. Now, the anime had the two villains try and steal Pikachu from Ash and various other Pokemon in nearly every episode. They’re fun villains to hate on even though they do seemingly have good qualities underneath too.

Good qualities that could be likened to Wario or even Bowser, making Jesse and James the perfect unlikely stars for a Pokemon spinoff. The Pokemon series are already turn-based RPGs and they feature the titular monsters as party members. So, giving that battle role to Jesse and James would be odd but there are ways to make it feel less weird. Jesse and James could command Pokemon in RTS or tactical battles with active elements like in the Mario & Luigi games, for example.

3 Fox & Falco

Do A Barrel Roll

Technically, the Star Fox series hasn’t had a new gamesince 2017 via Star Fox 2. That was based on a canceled SNES game though, so the last real entry was 2016’s Star Fox Zero. Now, most entries in the series have been aerial space shooters but there have been spinoffs into other genres like platformers and RTS games.

Also, the star, Fox, doesn’t just have one partner in the series, he has three via Slippy, Falco, and Peppy. Of those three, it would make the most sense to pair Fox with Falco in a buddy-buddy RPG. They butt heads in the series, giving the characters room to grow as they have to work together in this proposed RPG.

2 Callie & Marie

Pop Idols Under The Sea

Systems

Released: May 29, 2015
Developer(s): Nintendo EAD
Publisher(s): Nintendo
Multiplayer: Online Multiplayer
Engine: LunchPack
ESRB: e
How Long To Beat: 5 Hours
OpenCritic Rating: Strong

Post-apocalyptic games exploded in the late 2000s and the genre is seemingly here to stay. Nintendo doesn’t have a lot of post-apocalyptic exclusives under their belt save for the Splatoon games. The theory goes that humanity was wiped out and fish mutated into anthropomorphic beings who now live in old human societies like Japan. That’s why the squid-like Inklings have a lot of Japanese customs like their worshiping of pop idols.

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In every game, there is a pop group set up as broadcasters to give players the lay of the land. Callie and Marie were in the first game, Pearl and Marina were the stars in Splatoon 2, and Shiver, Big Man, and Frye were the idols of Splatoon 3. Basing an RPG on any of these groups would be interesting like a collage between Tokyo Mirage Sessions #FE, The World Ends With You, and Mario & Luigi. That said, Callie and Marie, as the OG pop idols, deserve the role the most.

1 Little Mac & Doc Louis

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Doc Louis training Little Mac in Punch-Out

Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out!!

Systems

Released: October 18, 1987
Developer(s): Nintendo R&D3

Little Mac is the hero in most of the Punch-Out games but he is aided by his coach, Doc Louis. Sometimes Doc has good advice while other times his lines are silly like telling Little Mac about the advantages of joining the Nintendo Fun Club. The Punch-Out series has been dead since the Wii game launched in 2009 unfortunately.

While fans may want a pure sequel of boxing mayhem, that may not be enough to sell copies anymore. Instead, the sequel or spinoff could take on an RPG system wherein Doc will help Little Mac train in turned-based battles around the city. Big boss battles could be classic Punch-Out stylized boxing matches then as Little Mac makes his way to the top.