Games Like Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga
Quick Answer
The closest games to Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga are Mario and Luigi: Brothership, Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door, Bug Fables and Sea of Stars. Below are 9 picks with the reason for each — what carries over from Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga, and what does not.
What Made Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga Work
Superstar Saga is a turn-based RPG where every attack and every defence has a button press attached, so battles never become menu-watching. The comedy is the other half — it is one of the funniest games Nintendo has published. Both need to survive in any recommendation.
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga is AlphaDream's 2003 Game Boy Advance RPG, remade for 3DS in 2017 with a bonus Bowser's Minions mode. The brothers travel to the Beanbean Kingdom, where every attack and dodge uses timed button presses, with one button for each brother. The writing, including the villain Fawful, is some of Nintendo's funniest. Fans usually want another action-timed RPG with the same humour.
Also written as Superstar Saga, Mario and Luigi — same game, same list.
9 Games Like Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga
1.Mario and Luigi: Brothership
The most recent entry, and the timing system is intact.
Why it fits: Acquire's 2024 Switch game continues the series, with the brothers sailing between islands and timed battle actions intact.
What is different: An ocean of islands to sail between, 3D cel-shaded art, and battle plugs that add a layer of customisation.
Where to play it: Switch.
More about this game →2.Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story
The best-written game in the series.
Why it fits: AlphaDream's 2009 DS game alternates between the brothers inside Bowser's body and Bowser himself.
What is different: You also play as Bowser, with the brothers working inside his body, and touch-screen minigames.
Where to play it: DS; the remake is on 3DS.
More about this game →3.Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door
The other Mario RPG line, and the remake is excellent.
Why it fits: Intelligent Systems' 2004 GameCube RPG uses timed Action Commands and was remade for Switch in 2024.
What is different: Paper-craft visuals, a partner system and an audience that reacts to your moves in battle.
Where to play it: GameCube; the remake is on Switch.
More about this game →4.Bug Fables
An indie Paper Mario, and better than it has any right to be.
Why it fits: Moonsprout Games' 2019 RPG, subtitled The Everlasting Sapling, has a party of three bugs and timed Action Commands.
What is different: Three bugs whose turns you can pass between; it is a Paper Mario homage, not a Mario and Luigi one.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch.
More about this game →5.Sea of Stars
Timed hits in every battle, with a much bigger story.
Why it fits: Sabotage Studio's 2023 RPG uses timed hits and blocks in every battle.
What is different: Two solstice warriors instead of two brothers, and a straighter fantasy story with less slapstick.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Switch.
More about this game →6.Super Mario RPG
Where the timed-hit idea started, and the remake is faithful.
Why it fits: Square's 1996 SNES game introduced timed hits to Mario's RPGs and was remade in 2023.
What is different: The first Mario RPG: isometric, with a party of three and timed hits that are simpler.
Where to play it: SNES; the remake is on Switch.
More about this game →7.Legend of Dragoon
For the timed-input combat, in a far more serious game.
Why it fits: Sony's 1999 PlayStation RPG uses timed button inputs for its Additions.
What is different: A serious war story; the timed attacks are here, the jokes are not.
Where to play it: PlayStation; later PS4 and PS5.
Games like this →8.Undertale
Turn-based battles where dodging is a real-time skill.
Why it fits: Toby Fox's 2015 RPG uses real-time dodging during enemy turns.
What is different: You can talk your way out of every fight, and dodging is a bullet-hell box rather than a well-timed jump.
Where to play it: PC, PS4, PS Vita, Switch and Xbox One.
More about this game →9.Earthbound
The other funny turn-based RPG that people never stop asking about.
Why it fits: Ape and HAL Laboratory's 1994 SNES RPG is known for its humour and odd modern setting.
What is different: A modern-day American town rather than the Mushroom Kingdom, with rolling HP instead of timed attacks.
Where to play it: SNES; later Wii U and 3DS.
Games like this →
Where to Start
Bowser's Inside Story is the best next game in the series. Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door is the pick for the other Mario RPG line. Bug Fables is the best indie choice.
How We Picked These Games
Every pick either uses timing in turn-based battles or pairs RPG battles with comedy. We gave priority to the Mario RPG series and to indie games that clearly learned from it.
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How These Picks Match Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga
Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga is catalogued here as a Japanese RPG on the Game Boy Advance. All nine picks share at least one of its genre tags — nine RPGs among them.
Going by the "where to play it" notes, three can be played on PC, four can be played on a PlayStation, eight can be played on a Nintendo system and three can be played on an Xbox. Bug Fables, Sea of Stars and Undertale are from small or self-published studios. Mario and Luigi: Brothership, Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story, Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Super Mario RPG are the ones a child and an adult can play together.
This list also answers "games like Paper Mario": seven of the picks we wrote for it are on this page, so the two lists are kept as one.
| Game | Genre | Shares with Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga | Where to play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mario and Luigi: Brothership | RPG, Adventure, Family | RPG | Switch. |
| Mario and Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story | RPG, Adventure, Family | RPG | DS; the remake is on 3DS. |
| Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door | RPG, Adventure, Family | RPG | GameCube; the remake is on Switch. |
| Bug Fables | RPG, Adventure, Indie | RPG | PC, PS4, Xbox One and Switch. |
| Sea of Stars | RPG, Adventure, Indie | RPG | PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S and Switch. |
| Super Mario RPG | RPG, Adventure, Family | RPG | SNES; the remake is on Switch. |
| Legend of Dragoon | RPG, Adventure | RPG | PlayStation; later PS4 and PS5. |
| Undertale | RPG, Adventure, Indie | RPG | PC, PS4, PS Vita, Switch and Xbox One. |
| Earthbound | RPG, Adventure | RPG | SNES; later Wii U and 3DS. |
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