Now is the Perfect Time for a Super Mario RPG Sequel

gamerant.com:

For a long time, the Super Mario family of games has found surprising success in the field of RPGs. The RPG genre is pretty far from the core platforming fare of Super Mario, but the stories and adventures made possible by the colorful Mushroom Kingdom mean Super Mario RPGs actually work pretty well. For many years, Nintendo produced the Mario and Luigi line of JRPGs, as well as Paper Mario, letting Mario fans get a taste of turn-based action. Long before those franchises came to be, though, there was Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, the SNES title that first brought RPG mechanics to the Super Mario franchise.

It's been a long time since Super Mario RPG came out, and it remains an acclaimed title with tons of fans. While it hasn't received a sequel, it has lived on through other Mario RPGs. Unfortunately, these Mario franchises have fallen by the wayside or dropped many of their RPG elements, raising questions about the genre's future in the Mario brand. Nintendo may already have the perfect solution, however; Super Mario RPG's director Chihiro Fujioka says he'd like to develop a sequel to the game. A true Super Mario RPG sequel seems like the perfect way to restore RPG play to Super Mario while supporting the Switch in its later years.

A Game Adaptation of the Mario Movie Seems Inevitable

For many years, Mario and Luigi and Paper Mario have carried the RPG mantle for the Super Mario brand, but times have changed. Mario and Luigi developer AlphaDream declared bankruptcy in 2019 due to poor revenue after some games got lukewarm receptions. Without AlphaDream, there's no clear developer for Mario and Luigi games, meaning the series is dormant for now. Paper Mario is still going strong, as evidenced by 2020's Paper