Mimi

After O’Chunks’ first defeat, he reports back to Count Bleck, where we get our first encounter with the rest of Count Bleck’s forces, including his mind-controlling secretary Nastasia and a sneaky, underhanded shapeshifter who can appear as a sweet little girl one minute and then an giant mechanical spider the next.

This is Mimi, a shapeshifter character in the employ of Count Bleck. The party first encounters her in Merlee’s Mansion, where she has enslaved most of the residents and taken Merlee captive. She would go on to reappear several times, becoming an ally in the end just like O’Chunks before her.

As a fighter, Mimi’s moveset will pull from her various boss battles, making use of both her shapeshifting abilities and the rupee gems she loves so much. She will be a lighter fighter who will rely more on trickery and deception in her battles.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

O'Chunks

Mario and Tippi’s first destination is Lineland, a basic world that helps demonstrate the core concepts of the game. You will soon encounter the first of Count Bleck’s minions, a beefy, musclebound being with a thick Scottish accent and a preference for brawn over brains.

This is O’Chunks, one of Count Bleck’s faithful followers and a former disgraced general. He will crop up multiple times throughout the game, acting as a recurring boss that relies mostly on brute strength to fight Mario and his companions, becoming an ally in the end like the rest of his cohorts when the full truths are revealed.

As a fighter, he will of course be a bruiser with lots of powerful attacks and good speed, but nothing like defense or more technical moves that would require more brain power from the man. His moves will pull from his various boss battles, most of which hearken back to wrestling moves.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Tippi & Pixls

Meanwhile, Mario wakes up to find himself in a strange multi-dimensional hubworld called Flipside, where he is greeted by his old friend and ally Merlon. Merlon tells him of the prophecy from the Dark Prognosticus that Count Bleck is trying to fulfill, and another prophecy in the Light Prognosticus that tells of four heroes who can stop it. In order to do so, Mario must travel to different worlds and find the seven pure hearts to counteract the Chaos Heart’s power. To help him on his quest, Merlon introduces Mario to a strange, pixelated butterfly creature.

This is Tippi, the first of the many Pixls you will meet along your journey. The Pixls prove to be great allies, each one providing you with a brand new ability to use to traverse the various levels. As you journey, you also slowly learn that Tippi was once human, a woman named Timpani, attacked and left for dead before being found by Merlon and saved by transforming her into a Pixl.

In the game, Tippi will form the core of the fighter, with each of the other various Pixls moving and acting around her. They will be incredibly light and quick with strong attacks pulled from the various Pixls and the abilities they bring to the gameplay.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Count Bleck

The Paper Mario series would soon see another sequel in the form of Super Paper Mario for the Nintendo Wii. The game would open with Peach having been kidnapped again, waking up to find herself at the altar with Bowser, a strange shadowy being in a cloak and a top hat officiating and forcing her to go through with the wedding.

This is Count Bleck, formerly a dark being named Blumiere who fell in love with a human only to have her ripped away from him. Driven insane, he became determined to wipe all worlds from existence in order to free himself from the pain, and he did so by summoning the powerful Chaos Heart as a result of Peach and Bowser’s forced union.

In game, Count Bleck will be constantly floating, his abilities pulling from the powerful dark magic he wields. His moveset will pull primarily from his final battle toward the end of the game, with a little throughout the game here and there.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

Princess Shroob

These aliens turn out to be led by a vile, vindictive princess wearing a dress similar to Peach’s, who seems bound and determined to take down Peach and the Mario brothers and conquer their world.

This is Princess Shroob, or should I say, the younger Princess Shroob. Her elder sister was the true leader of the Shroob forces, but Princess Peach had ended up sealing her away inside a star during her encounter with them in the past. The younger princess took up the force’s leadership, determined to free her sister and take revenge.

In the game, Princess Shroob will move similarly to Princess Peach in many ways, but will pack way more of a punch with her moves. Her moveset will pull from her various boss battles in the game, and also a little from her older sister’s battle at the very end.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

Shroob

Paper Mario wasn’t the only game to get a sequel, as Mario & Luigi got itself a sequel in 2005 with Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time. The game saw Princess Peach trying out a time machine newly built by Professor E. Gadd, only to disappear on the return trip, the machine instead bringing back a vicious alien shaped like a poisonous mushroom.

These are the Shroobs, aliens that attempted to invade the Mushroom Kingdom at some point in the past, back when the Mario brothers were babies. The invasion forces the brothers to team up with their infant selves and travel back and forth through time to stop this new malicious force.

As fighters, the Shroobs will be quick and powerful, fighting with fierce and violent moves mirroring their malicious nature. Their moves will pull from across the game, forming an amalgam of all the different types and variants that appear.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Doopliss

Having defeated Rawk Hawk and exposed the evil plot of the arena’s manager Grubba, the team return to Rogueport and determine the location of the next Crystal Star to be in the quiet and spooky Twilight Town. They travel there only to find the people in a state of fear, a malicious being in the church tower turning them one by one into pigs every time the church bell rings.

This is Doopliss, a prankster and duplighost capable of changing his appearance to look like someone else, even to the point of matching their abilities. Although he seems to be easy to defeat at first, he ends up secretly switching places with Mario and forcing Mario to team up with the Shadow Siren Vivian to take him down.

As a fighter, he will be the Ditto character of the roster. He will have minimal moves and abilities of his own, and his stats will be lacking. His standard special, however, will be a transformation move that will change him into one of his opponents, allowing him to become a perfect copy of them.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Rawk Hawk

Once they claim their second Crystal Star from Boggly Woods, the party then finds that the third star is hidden somewhere in Glitzville, a giant fighting arena floating high in the sky. Mario and his team travel there, signing up as competitors in order to get the star, which they immediately identify attached to the tournament’s championship belt.

In order to get their hands on it, the party will have to fight their way up through the ranks, eventually coming face to face with Rawk Hawk, a giant musclebound bird and the grand champion of the tournament, who uses his own skill and some underhanded cheating here and there to keep himself on top.

As a fighter, Rawk Hawk will naturally pull his moves from his own fights within the tournament, mostly based on actual wrestling moves. As a fighter, he will be incredibly strong and fast, with good aerials due to his avian nature.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Flurrie

Determined to find Peach and frustrate the X-Nauts’ schemes, Mario and his new Goomba companion Goombella head out on a journey to track down the crystal stars to open the door. They travel to a picturesque Koopa village and defeat a dragon with the help of a friendly Koopa named Koops, and then move on to Boggly Woods, where they find they need someone with control over wind to move forward.

Enter Flurrie, a diva and former actress who lives in a mansion in the woods nearby. Smitten with Mario, she agrees to help, using her powerful breath to blow the obstacles away and let the party move forward. She becomes a regular party member from that point on.

Although most of Mario’s party members in these games will simply be color swaps of their respective species, Flurrie is rather unique being a cloud woman that bears resemblance to certain cloud enemies but never quite a perfect fit. She will have the unique combination of being both heavy and floaty, and her moveset will pull from her own skillset as a party member, with some additions from similar cloud-based enemies.

Likelihood rating: Piranha Plant clause

The Shadow Sirens

Although Sir Grodus fancies himself the true villain behind the scheme, we soon find that even he is being manipulated by a trio of shadowy witches the X-Nauts allied themselves with in order to pull off this scheme.

These are the Shadow Sirens: Beldam, Marilyn, and Vivian. These three sisters would crop up again and again throughout the game, acting as mini-bosses and rivals to the main party, the youngest sister Vivian eventually breaking herself away from her abusive older sisters to join Mario in the fight against them. They serve the Shadow Queen, the ancient evil that lurks behind the door Sir Grodus wishes to open.

As fighters, they will be perpetually attached to the ground by their ghostly tails, though they will be able to jump and move around just fine. Vivian will take the first color swap, with Marilyn and Beldam as the next two. Their greatest strength will be in defense, though they will have strong magical attacks pulling from Vivian’s abilities as a party member and the trio’s various boss fights.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

Sir Grodus

After his defeat, Lord Crump reports back to the X-Naut base on the moon where we see the X-Naut forces holding Princess Peach captive. This is where we get our first glimpse of the X-Naut leader, with a bulbous computer brain and a scepter in his hands.

This is Sir Grodus, the mastermind behind the plot to use the treasure map to find the magical crystal stars and use them to open and ancient door and unleash a powerful evil sealed away thousands of years before. Though not as active as his general Crump, Grodus still puts up a fight when Mario and his team come to face him in the end of the game.

As a fighter, Grodus will be slower and less strong offensively than his general. His greatest strength will be in defense, having a personal shield projected by his two X-Yux attendants. His moveset will pull primarily from his main boss battle, though a little from his various minions as well.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Lord Crump

Two lines of RPG firmly established, a sequel to the first Paper Mario is produced for the Game Cube. Visiting a seedy town called Rogueport, Princess Peach discovers a treasure map which she quickly sends to Mario. Mario heads her way, only to find the princess missing in action. He soon encounters a friendly Goomba being harassed by a gang of strange creatures led by a large purple general with a big red beard.

This is Lord Crump, general of the X-Naut forces and right hand man to their leader Sir Grodus. As Mario investigates the mystery behind the treasure map and the X-Nauts, Lord Crump will menace Mario several times, facing him on his own, accompanied by a troop of X-Naut soldiers, or piloting a giant mech of his own design.

As a fighter, Lord Crump will be heavy and strong, though a little slow. As the leader of the X-Naut forces, he will be accompanied by a handful of soldiers who will help him out with several of his moves. His moveset will pull from his own boss battles as well as moves performed by his various minions.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Prince Peasley

Recovering from their crash-landing, Mario and Luigi will work their way through the Beanbean Kingdom eventually working their way to the top of Hoohoo Mountain, where they find an egg that hatches into a fearsome dragon. The brothers fight bravely and defeat it, transforming it back into the crowned prince of the Beanbean Kingdom.

This is Prince Peasley, who was transformed into the dragon by Cackletta in order to get him out of the way. After his release, he becomes a valuable ally to the Mario brothers, helping them out throughout their adventure with his lance and his faithful flying pillow.

As a fighter, he will definitely be a nimble swordfighter who will require a good amount of technical skill to master. His moveset will pull from his actions across the game, and he will make good use of his rapier and pillow.

Likelihood rating: Piranha Plant clause

Popple

Princess Peach in dire trouble, the Mario brothers and Bowser join forces to travel to the Beanbean Kingdom and find a cure. On the way though, up to even more of their tricks, Cackletta and Fawful attack Bowser’s cruiser, causing it to crash. Mario and Luigi come to with Bowser nowhere to be seen. Meanwhile, a greedy thief encounters a giant confused turtle with a bad case of amnesia.

This is Popple, a cowardly crook who takes Bowser under his wing as his personal muscle, making regular appearances throughout the game as their rival character, just like Croco and Jr. Troopa before him, and will crop up again in Mario & Luigi: Dream Team. He doesn’t do too much fighting himself, preferring to let others do the fighting, then running once they are defeated.

As a fighter, Popple will likewise not have too much going for him offensively, but he will have great speed and decent defense to make up for it. Though he lets others do his fighting, he does have a few scattered moves that will make up his moveset.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Fawful

Cackletta is not alone in her scheming, as she is helped along by a diminutive mad scientist with big teeth, swirling glasses over his eyes, a strange way of talking, and insane devotion to his mistress.

This is Fawful, Cackletta’s right hand man, who would survive the end of the game and go on to be a major villain for the next two sequels, his master plan coming to fruition in Bowser’s Inside Story. While Cackletta was focused on the magic, Fawful supplied her with technology, their combined talents proving a formidable force against our heroic brothers.

As a fighter, Fawful will be fast and tricky, using all manner of technology to get an edge on his opponents. For his moves, he will pull from all of his battles across both Superstar Saga and Bowser’s Inside Story.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

Cackletta

The game begins as Princess Peach welcomes a goodwill ambassador from the neighboring Beanbean Kingdom. The ambassador presents Peach with a gift only for it to turn out to be a trap. The ambassador steals the princess’s voice and flees, leaving the princess with a literally explosive vocabulary.

In reality, the ambassador was actually a witch named Cackletta, who had usurped the throne of the Beanbean Kingdom by poisoning the queen and prince and turning them into monster, and now wished to do the same to the Mushroom Kingdom. Cackletta would act as the main villain of the game, menacing our heroes and battling them time and time again.

As a villain fighter, she will have a lot of power certainly, though she will be a bit quicker and faster than many. She will rely heavily on her usage of black magic, and her moveset will pull largely from her many boss fights.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

Mario & Luigi

Paper Mario proved a huge success, but AlphaDream Studios had other ideas for directions to go with an RPG for the new Game Boy Advance system. They put together a new game called Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, built on the concept of the player controlling Mario and Luigi as a single unit.

With this new concept, the player controlled Mario and Luigi together, Mario programmed to two buttons on the pad and Luigi to two others. Together, they could switch back and forth as the leader and could perform a number of combo moves both in and out of battle.

This character is based on that concept. Mario and Luigi would be stylized to look like the art style of the Mario & Luigi series, differentiating them from the normal Mario and Luigi designs. Their moves would pull from all of their combo moves across the entire series, with two different versions based on which character is in the lead.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Merlon

Having returned to Toad Town, Mario and Goombario find their way to the first Star Spirit’s location blocked by a handful of Toads wearing black. As they search for help, they encounter a friendly wizard living in a spinning house who helps reveal the Toads as the Koopa Bros., minions of Bowser working against Mario.

This wizard is Merlon, who has an entire family living in the area ready and willing to give Mario some assistance. He and his family would appear regularly throughout the first three Paper Mario games, giving Mario hints to his next path in the first game, upgrading his companions in the second, and acting as his primary mentor in the third.

 As a fighter, Merlon will only be the first color swap, with Merlee, Merluvlee, Merle, Merlow, Nolrem, and Merlumina filling up the rest. As a whole, they will be slow, with a lot of skill in magical attacks but not great in physical. Their moves will pull from across the series and the abilities of all family members.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Jr. Troopa

Paper Mario’s journey begins. He heads off to Princess Peach’s castle for the party only for Bowser and Kammy to show up and cause trouble. Mario tries to fight them off only to find Bowser impenetrable, wielding a wand that grants him greater power than Mario has ever faced. Defeated, Mario falls from the castle and finds himself in a Goomba village. He is quickly joined by a friendly Goomba named Goombario and the pair head off to try again. They don’t travel too far from the village, however, when they are accosted by a young Koopa with a penchant for bullying the locals.

This is Jr. Troopa, your recurring rival throughout the series, a runty Koopa with a chip on his shoulder who keeps upgrading himself to beat Mario only for Mario’s new companion to have just the ability to counter it.

As befitting the character, Jr. Troopa will not particularly shine in any distinct attribute, being just below Mario’s level on pretty much everything. His moves will pull from his various battles and each upgrade he brought with it.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Paper Mario

The star spirits scattered and Bowser having obtained a brand-new power in the prologue, we now begin the first chapter of the story, visiting Mario and Luigi’s house as an invitation to a party at Peach’s castle is delivered to their mailbox.

Here we see Mario like we’ve never seen him before, flat, two-dimensional, and made of paper. The Paper Mario series would give Mario his own set of distinct abilities separate from the regular Mario games, both from the RPG style of the game as well as from his properties as a paper being.

As a character, Paper Mario will naturally be much lighter than regular Mario. He is made of paper after all. He will also be flat like Mr. Game and Watch, a fact players can verify by turning the camera, and he will flap and crinkle with various attacks here and there. His moveset will pull from the entire Paper Mario library, as well as from his appearance in Mario & Luigi: Paper Jam.

Likelihood rating: Strong

Kammy Koopa

All is well for the Star Spirits as the game opens, but soon calamity strikes as Bowser attacks the summit, scatters the star spirits, and steals the magical star rod, hoping to use its power to capture Princess Peach and defeat Mario once and for all. Helping him in this scheme is an elderly Magikoopa who uses her powerful magic to lock the stars away.

This is Kammy Koopa, Bowser’s elderly and sarcastic advisor throughout the first two Paper Mario games. She bears a distinct relationship to Bowser’s regular advisor Kamek, though their connection is never touched upon. She acts as a secondary main villain throughout the first game and a companion for Bowser in the second.

In game, she will be an echo fighter for Kamek, the pair both being built upon the same basic concept. The pair will have strong aerials, relying heavily on their brooms, and will have a heavy focus on spells and magical attacks. Their moves will pull from every appearance of Magikoopas in the series, most of Kammy’s having a Paper Mario flair to them.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

The Star Spirits

With Super Mario RPG a success, plans were started for a sequel. However, with the partnership between Nintendo and Square breaking up at the start of the 3D era, Nintendo had to change course on their plans slightly and the result was Paper Mario, a story told as if from a book, with the characters being two-dimensional and seemingly made of paper. The story’s prologue opens up on Shooting Star Summit, a mystical fountain where stars gather under the watchful care of their seven benevolent rulers.

These are the Star Spirits: Eldstar, Mamar, Skolar, Muskular, Misstar, Klevar, and Kalmar. They will act as the game’s mcguffins, having been scattered all over the world by Bowser’s schemes and Kammy Koopa’s magic. Mario will have to travel the world, rescuing each and gaining their power.

As playable fighters, the seven Star Spirits will act as color swaps, the baby star Twink taking up the eighth spot. They will be very light, constantly floating, but powerful, their moves pulling from the powerful moves they provide Mario and his companions with when a new one is retrieved.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Smithy

Six of the seven star pieces collected and the bulk of the Smithy Gang defeated, our heroes head back to Bowser’s Castle to fight the giant sword in the middle of it. When the sword is defeated, it opens up a portal to the world the Smithy Gang came from. Inside, they find a massive factory, with the mastermind and forge master behind it all waiting for them.

This is Smithy, the leader and creator of the Smithy Gang. He desired to conquer the Mario world, and attempted to destroy the star pieces in order to eradicate the power of wishes, leaving the people of the world without the hope they would need to fight back. He guards the final star piece and acts as the final boss of the game.

As a playable fighter, he will be strong but slow, not too particularly built for much movement away from his forge, mostly relying on his minions for all of that. His moveset will pull from his final boss battle, both the initial phase as well as the later phases with his interchangeable head.

Likelihood rating: Piranha Plant clause

The Axem Rangers

Valentina defeated, she makes a run for it, the star ending up lost in a volcano far below. Mario and his friends head in to retrieve it, only to emerge with a massive axe-shaped airship hanging over their heads, a team of axe-wielding multi-colored members of the Smithy Gang waiting to take it from them.

These are the Axem Rangers, the final Smithy soldiers our heroes face before taking on the final level. They are pretty clear Power Ranger knockoffs, with a red, black, pink, yellow, and green member, each with different styles of fighting, though all with the axes of their names.

As a fighter, they will follow the Koopalings and the Broodals’ lead with each member taking up a different color swap. They will be fast and strong, relying heavily on their axe weapons. Their moves will pull from all five members, making them an amalgam of sorts.

Likelihood rating: Piranha Plant clause

Valentina & Dodo

Finally, reaching Nimbus Land, our party find their efforts halted as an impostor has claimed himself to be Prince Mallow, and he and his beautiful fiancée seem to have taken over the kingdom, locking the king and queen away from their people.

This fiancée in question is Valentina, and her impostor henchman is a silent bird named Dodo. Together, they concocted a scheme to take over Nimbus Land, using the king and queen’s grief over their long-lost son. They become the main villains for this part of the story, getting in our heroes’ way of collecting their next star and reuniting the true Mallow with his parents.

As a character, Valentina will be a bit on the floaty side, and will work in tandem with her partner Dodo to add his strength to the fight. Her moveset will pull from both hers and Dodo’s fights throughout the game.

Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen

Culex

The next star our heroes find is located high in the clouds of Nimbus Land. To get there, the heroes have to travel to Monstro Town, a village built into a cliffside that they then have to ascend. Before they do, however, they hear tales of strange sounds coming from one door in the middle of town. Ever the curious bunch, Mario and his friends enter to find themselves in an endless cosmic void, challenged by a mighty warrior from another dimension seeking any powerful enough to defeat him.

This is Culex, an optional secret boss hidden in the game with heavy inspiration from the Final Fantasy series. He has no bearing on the plot but has become one of the most notoriously difficult boss battles in all of gaming, many gamers making it a challenge for themselves to train their party up and take him on.

Naturally, by the very nature of the character, in-game he will be extremely overpowered, with heavy-hitting attacks and strong defense in the form of his four gems that surround him. His moves, of course, will pull from the boss battle in question. Would he probably get banned? Naturally. But, hey, you gotta have a few just for fun.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Jonathan Jones

With Bowser and Peach both on board and along for the adventure, the team head for Seaside Town in pursuit of the star that fell in the nearby bay. Unfortunately, they find the star in the hands of a band of pirates, led by a ruthless shark captain wielding a trident.

This is Jonathan Jones, the fearsome pirate captain of the Mushroom Sea. Mario and his friends challenge him for possession of the star, but he agrees to only relinquish it if they can beat him in combat. Upon his defeat, Johnny shows his true colors by honoring his oath and giving up the star, even going so far as to help them against Yaridovich who awaits them on the surface.

As a fighter, Jonathan Jones is fierce and brutal, befitting a hardened pirate captain. His moves will pull from the trident he wields, as well as the attacks he uses in his boss battle, the skills of his men, and the booby traps lying hidden around his ship.

Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen

Booster

Mallow and Geno in tow, Mario will finally track down where Princess Peach landed, unfortunately inside the fortress of a greedy man-baby who claimed the princess for himself and decided to marry her.

This is Booster, who seems to be a bit of a Wario-style knockoff character. He doesn’t strictly have a boss battle of his own, being more of a coward who’d prefer to run while letting his booby-trap-laden tower do most of the work.

As a character, Booster will be fast and moderately strong, but without a whole lot of defense. His moves will pull from his various traps and minions throughout his tower, all with a distinct toy theme to them, as well as the train he rides around in constantly.

Likelihood rating: Never gonna happen

Geno

As Mario and Mallow continued their journey to find the seven stars and stop the Smithy Gang, they would find themselves joined by yet another ally: a star spirit sent down to repair the damage done by the Smithy Gang, who has taken possession of a child’s toy in order to give himself a physical form in their world.

This is Geno, or rather, Geno is the name of the doll he possessed, his true name being unpronounceable in spoken language. He is a noble warrior who fights to preserve the sanctity of the stars and the wishes made on them, making him something of the monk of the team. His moves combine cosmic power with the technology of the puppet he is possessing.

In game, he will be moderately light with good speed and quick powerful attacks. His moves, like Mallow’s, will pull from his move pool in the game, translated for the different game format.

Likelihood rating: Strong

The Smithy Gang

As Mario and Mallow travel together, they soon discover the fiends behind the attack on Bowser’s Castle, a race of machines from another dimension, all patterned after different weapons and determined to get their hands on seven powerful stars.

These are the Smithy Gang: Mack, Bowyer, and Yaridovich, a sword, bow and arrow, and spear respectively. Another bomb-based villain named Punchinello may also be part of their gang. They would play the role of the game’s bosses, fighting Mario and his crew over possession of the titular seven stars.

Mack, Bowyer, Yaridovich, and Punchinello would act as the fighters’ four color swaps, similar to the Koopalings and the Broodals. Their moves would pull from all four boss battles and make use of their weapons of choice.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Croco

The thief Mallow was in pursuit of would crop up again and again throughout his and Mario’s adventure, a greedy purple crocodile with a knack for pickpocketing and kleptomania, acting as a recurring mini-boss of sorts.

This is Croco, the resident rival character common to most RPGs, a small boss the characters would fight multiple times as a gauge to see how they’ve grown. He doesn’t have much of a role beyond that, but just enough to warrant his placement here.

As a fighter, Croco will be among the faster characters, with not too much in the way of power, preferring sneaky underhanded moves instead. His moveset will pull from his various boss battles in the game.

Likelihood rating: Probably not

Mallow

A specific branch of the Mario series we didn’t cover in the previous roster (primarily because it would have made the main roster ungodly huge) was the RPGs, the first of which was 1996’s Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars, a joint effort between Nintendo and Square Enix. The game saw Mario going on one of his regular adventure to rescue Princess Peach from Bowser, only for their battle to be interrupted by a giant sword falling from the sky and sending them all flying. Mario would wake up far away from the castle just as a young cloud boy ran past in pursuit of a thief.

This is Mallow, Mario’s first companion on his role-playing adventure, a cloud raised as a frog who would soon discover his true heritage as the true prince of Nimbus Land. He is more or less the mage of the team, with a number of powerful moves all based around weather and magic.

As a fighter, he will be light and floaty, being a cloud after all, but will pack a powerful punch with his weather attacks. His moves will pull from his moves in the game, translated for a more 2D fighter-style rather than an RPG style.

Likelihood rating: Could happen

Mario Series All-Star Mode

 ALL-STAR MODE

For these, I suppose just have them battle in chronological order, similar to how my roster is laid out already, split up by game of origin. It would probably look something like this.

1.       Pauline and Jumpman on Donkey Kong

2.       Mario, Luigi, and Koopa Troopa on Mario Bros.

3.       Foreman Spike on Wrecking Crew

4.       Goomba, Piranha Plant, Bowser, Toad, Blooper, Cheep Cheep, Lakitu and Spinies, Hammer Bro, Buzzy Beetle, and Princess Peach on Mushroom Kingdom

5.       Ninji, Birdo, Beezo, Mouser, Pokey, Tryclyde, Bob-Omb, Flurry, and Wart on Subcon

6.       Fursuit Mario, Dry Bones, Boom Boom, the Koopalings, Thwomp, Boo, Chain Chomp, and Spike on Mushroom Kingdom 3

7.       Pionpi, Tatanga, and Daisy on Sarasa-Land

8.       Dr. Mario on Pill Bottle

9.       Rex, Chargin’ Chuck, Monty Mole, Wiggler, and Mechakoopa on Dinosaur Land

10.   Mario Kart on Donut Plains

11.   Wanda on Mario & Wario

12.   King Bob-Omb, Whomp, and Mr. Blizzard on Bob-Omb Battlefield

13.   Koopa Kid on Peach’s Birthday Cake

14.   Plum on Golf Course

15.   Kid on Golf Course (maybe together, it could go either way)

16.   Alex and Nina on Tennis Court

17.   Tumble on Toy Box

18.   Ghost, Professor E. Gadd, Vacuum Luigi, and King Boo on Luigi’s Mansion

19.   Toadsworth, Pianta, Shadow Mario, FLUDD Mario, Petey Piranha, and Bowser Jr. on Delfino Plaza

20.   Toadette on Rainbow Road

21.   Mini Marios on Mini-Land

22.   Brighton and Twila probably on Toy Box again

23.   Robo Mario on Mario Highway

24.   Perry on Vibe Island

25.   Super Team on The Underground

26.   Ace and Clay on Royal Academy

27.   Dry Bowser on Grass Land

28.   Mini Donkey Kong on Mini-Land again

29.   MC Ballyhoo and Big Top, maybe Fortune Street could give the feel of his game

30.   Rosalina and Luma, Honeybee, and Captain Toad on Comet Observatory

31.   Pom Pom on Airship Fleet

32.   Nabbit on Mushroom Kingdom U

33.   Sprixie Princess and Cat Mario on Super Bell Hill

34.   Dr. Luigi on Pill Bottle again

35.   Builder Mario on Mario Maker

36.   Rabbid Mario, Ziggy, and Rabbid Kong on Ancient Gardens

37.   Cappy and the Broodals on New Donk City

38.   Peachette on Mushroom Kingdom U again

Mario Series Adventure Mode

ADVENTURE MODE

This is an outline for how a story mode within the game might play out:

Opening scene: We zoom in on Peach’s Castle. Inside, Peach is hosting a party and everyone the princess and the Mario brothers have ever become friends with are in attendance. In a group shot, we see Princess Daisy, Rosalina and her Lumas, Pauline, Toad, Toadette, Toadsworth, and the Toad Brigade, Birdo, Cappy, the Mini Marios, Professor Elvin Gadd, Beep-0 and their four mutated Rabbid friends, several Piantas from Isle Delfino, the Sprixie Princesses, Wanda the fairy, Perry the talking parasol, the Honeyqueen and her servants, Tumble the living dice, MC Ballyhoo and Big Top, Brighton and Twila, most of the students from the Royal Tennis Academy, and most of the members of the Royal Golf Club.

Everyone is having a good time, catching up on old adventures, when a fleet of Bowser’s airships attacks the palace. Each airship has a commander, accompanied by a Koopaling with the Broodals and other boss characters scattered here and there. The commanders include: King Bob-Omb, Wart, Tatanga, Petey Piranha, Foreman Spike, King Boo, Bowser Jr., and Bowser himself. Mario and Luigi jump into action, many of their friends leaping into the fray behind them, only for a giant hand to extend from Bowser’s airship and grab Peach. The others fire off a bunch of bullet bills that send everyone else in attendance flying.

Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Toadette land a great distance away, waking up in the middle of a standard opening grassland area. The four quickly jump to their feet, taking off on their adventure to rescue the Princess Peach and find all of their friends.

World 1: Mushroom Kingdom

The idea here is that the adventure mode will be able to stand on its own as a solid Mario game, while also being a big Smash game. Each world will be made up of levels to complete, most of which will yield up one of the missing characters who will then join your party. Each world will also have a few staples, including a tennis match with one or two of the tennis players, a round of golf against one of the golfers, and a kart race. Nabbit will also pop up once in each world and you will have to chase him down to unlock one of the power-up forms (FLUDD Mario, Vacuum Luigi, Builder Mario, Fursuit Mario, and so on). Each world comes with two mini-bosses and a final boss.

This first world is the standard Mario grassland world, occupied by a lot of starting enemy characters: Koopas, Goombas, Piranha Plants, Bob-Ombs, and the like. Nabbit will yield up the Fursuit power-ups this time around. Boom Boom and Larry Koopa are the mini-bosses, while King Bob-Omb acts as the final boss of the stage, having taken over full occupation of Princess Peach’s castle.

World 2: Subcon

After King Bob-Omb’s defeat, our heroes discover a secret door hidden behind him, which leads them into the world of Subcon from Super Mario Bros. 2. This world is occupied by most of the SMB2 original enemies, including Birdo, Ninjis, Beezos, and Flurries. Nabbit will yield up the Cat power up this time around. Tryclyde and Mouser work as a tagteam for the first mini-boss while Morton Koopa acts as the second. Wart is the final boss.

World 3: Sarasa-Land

Upon Wart’s defeat, Mario and his friends wake up to find themselves in the world of Sarasa-Land, ruled by their friend Daisy but now taken over by Tatanga. This world is mostly inhabited by a bit more advanced enemies commonly found in desert areas and such, including Lakitus, Pokeys, Buzzy Beetles, and Pionpis. Nabbit will yield up the Doctor power-ups so that Mario and Luigi can cure some of the diseases Tatanga and his minions have been spreading. Topper of the Broodals and Wendy O. Koopa are the mini-bosses this time, and Tatanga acts as the final boss.

World 4: Isle Delfino

Our heroes fly off in a plane after Tatanga’s defeat only for it to start losing power and crash-land in the middle of the ocean. Our heroes wash up on the shores of Isle Delfino, once again polluted by Shadow Mario and Petey Piranha. The island is inhabited by enemies such as Cheep Cheeps and Bloopers, and Nabbit offers up the FLUDD powerup to help you on your quest. Hariet of the Broodals and Iggy Koopa act as the mini-bosses while Shadow Mario and Petey Piranha tag-team you as the final boss.

World 5: New Donk City

After Petey is defeated, Bowser Jr. drops his Shadow Mario disguise and takes off running. Our band of heroes go after him, only to spot Cappy and the Odyssey ship appear on the horizon. Cappy tells them that New Donk City has been taken over and Pauline desperately needs their help. The party join him and fly out to find that Foreman Spike has taken over the city, renovating it all and rebuilding the buildings with all sorts of death traps designed by him. The stage is filled with Hammer Bros. and Spikes and such, and Mario even has to use Mini Marios to get through certain points. If caught, Nabbit will offer up a twofer this time, the Jumpman ability and the Builder Mario ability. Rabbid Kong will be wreaking havoc as the first mini-boss and Roy Koopa will act as the second. Foreman Spike himself acts as the final.

World 6: Luigi’s Mansion

Upon Foreman Spike’s defeat, the gang is surprised to find an eerie fog rolling into the city from a nearby forest, King Boo taking advantage of Spike’s demise to move in on his territory. Luigi gets a call from his old friend Professor Gadd, telling him that a haunted mansion has appeared in the forest and that Gadd is trapped inside. The mansion is full of Boos and Ghosts, and Nabbit will give you the Vacuum power-up if you catch him. Pom Pom fights you inside of a carnival stage as a mini-boss and Lemmy appears as the second. King Boo fights you as the final boss at the end.

World 7: Comet Observatory

Having defeated six of their enemies and gathered up a sizable army of heroes, Mario and his team chase after Ludwig and Bowser Jr., who flee into space. The gang is picked up by Starship Mario and taken to help Rosalina, whose Observatory has been usurped by Rango. A lot of spacefaring and just generally advanced enemies hang out here, like the Super Team and Chain Chomps. Nabbit will give you the Captain Toad power up, and Rango and Ludwig act as the mini-bosses. Bowser Jr. steps up as the final boss in the end.

World 8: Bowser’s Castle

Armed with as many powerups as he could gather and joined by a veritable army of old friends, Mario storms Bowser’s Castle to take him down and rescue Princess Peach once and for all. This stage is filled with Thwomps, Dry Bones, Mechakoopas, and the like. Nabbit appears for one final time, and gives you the Peach Crown upon his capture, joining you as he does so. Spewart acts as the first mini-boss, but for the second mini-boss, Bowser Jr., all seven Koopalings, and all four Broodals will come together and pilot a giant mech. You will have to hit all twelve pilots in order to take the thing down. It’s also worth noting that Robo Mario will appear as your final challenge in this world’s Kart race. Bowser will be your final boss. Upon his defeat, Peach will join your party only for Bowser to rise from the lava as Dry Bowser, kicking off the true final fight.

Ending scene: Bowser and his minions will fall into the lava. The heroes will return to Peach’s Castle and have a celebration in honor of their victory. Just as they’re about to cut the cake, however, five portals will open up. The scene will end as Mario, Luigi, and Peach stare into them.

Mario Series Classic Mode

CLASSIC MODE

So, for the Classic Modes, I had an idea. What if, instead of being built around each individual character, there was a classic mode recreating each major game. Now, maybe they'd be limited to six or eight battles, or they'd recreate each major world or story beat, but generally it would be a string of battles mirroring at least the most memorable parts. I don't want to do them all, but the general concept for a Super Mario 64-based one would go like so:

1.       Peach’s Castle: a first fight set on the Peach’s Castle stage. If it requires you to play as the main character, you will be Mario and you will fight a single Lakitu. If you can choose whoever you want, then the fight will be against Mario and Lakitu.

2.       Bob-Omb Battlefield: If forced to play as Mario, Lakitu will be a constant companion from here on out. This stage will recreate the feel of the first world. It will be set on Bob-Omb Battlefield and you will fight a horde of Bob-Ombs ending in King Bob-Omb himself.

3.       Whomp’s Fortress: It will probably be set on the New Donk City stage or something like it, and you will fight a large-sized Whomp.

4.       Jolly Roger Bay: While Cheep Cheep Lagoon would be strong, the murky feel of it leads me to think Donkey Kong’s Gloomy Gulch stage (you’ll see) would work better. Maybe you could fight Captain Syrup to match the strong pirate theme.

5.       Cool Cool Mountain: Probably set on the Shivering Snow Land stage. You’d probably be fighting a couple of Mr. Blizzards and maybe a Tucks in their Mario Penguin coloration.

6.       Big Boo’s Haunt: Set on the Luigi’s Mansion stage, probably fighting five Boos followed by a bigger Boo.

7.       Hazy Maze Cave: Maybe on Underground but with a fog effect. You’re most likely opponent would be Mario with a metal effect.

8.       Lethal Lava Land: Set on the Grumble Volcano stage. Maybe Bob-Ombs with a Bully-themed color scheme could work, with Bully assist trophies showing up.

9.       Shifting Sand Land: Set on Desert Hills. If bosses are going to be a thing, I would be willing to have Eyerok as a boss. If not, Tiki Tong could easily stand in for him.

10.   Dire Dire Docks: Probably set on Cheep Cheep Lagoon. For some reason, I always imagined the Koopalings were manning that submarine and we just didn’t see them, so maybe them, but a fight with Bowser would make sense here since Bowser’s second battle shares an entry point with this world.

11.   Snowman’s Land: Probably Shivering Snowland again, but we could possibly use another snow stage from some other game series too. The fight would be against a gigantic Mr. Blizzard.

12.   Wet-Dry World: New Donk City with a water effect might work here, or we might borrow a stage from some other series. I think Mechakoopas in red and purple color swaps are probably the best stand-ins for the common enemies here.

13.   Tall Tall Mountain: Bullet Bill Mountain or Mushroom Gorge probably fit well, and Ukiki would be a solid opponent for it.

14.   Tiny-Huge Island: Set on Tiny-Huge Island obviously, with Wiggler as the main fight. (Maybe with some giant Goombas or something)

15.   Tick Tock Clock: Set on the Tick Tock Clock stage. The only enemy I can think of to make sense here would be a Thwomp in its blue color scheme.

16.   Rainbow Ride: Set on Sky Garden, I assume, or maybe Airship Fleet. The only enemy I can think to include is a couple of Lakitus.

17.   Bowser’s Road: The final battle. You’d fight Bowser in a three-stock battle, probably just on the game’s Final Destination, but with a couple of bombs set to hover just off the edges of the stage.

Mario Series Assist Trophies

Here's my list of assist trophies. These are mostly arbitrary. I basically put together a list of characters that didn't make it in, and narrowed them down to a handful I thought could bring something distinct to the table if summoned. They are:

a.       Biddybugs: a line of them will appear and fly back and forth across the stage for a while. They won’t do any damage, they’ll just get in your way.

b.       Bird: It will fly up to one side of the stage, release its piercing cry and swoop across the stage to the opposite side, mimicking its Super Mario Land 2 battle.

c.       Bullet Bill: Bullet Bills will fire regularly from both sides of the stage for the next twenty seconds or so.

d.       Bully: it will come out and do what it does best, charging at the first person it sees and slamming its full weight into them.

e.       Coin Coffer: it will randomly wander the stage, coins popping up behind it. Anyone who manages to KO it will receive a large bonus in their points at the end of the match. Coin matches I’m sure you can figure out.

f.        Hellen Gravely: she will pose in the background and send her cat to do her dirty work. The cat will roam the stage and attack various fighters.

g.       Huckit Crab: the crab will randomly wander the stage for a little while, picking up rocks and chucking them at players for light damage.

h.       King Totomesu: he will stand on one side of the stage and spit fireballs across it, jumping occasionally.

i.         Lava Bubble: it will pop up at random spots, leaping out of the stage floor and back down just like in the games. A fiery lava effect from the games will appear a split second before it leaps as a warning to players.

j.         Magmaargh: it will lurk in the background just behind the stage for a few seconds before lunging and leaping over the stage, severely damaging any fighter it connects with. This will repeat a few times.

k.       Penguin: it will waddle out and then slide on its belly across the stage a few times, tripping up anyone it bumps into.

l.         Pidgit: it will fly up and cross back and forth across the stage, acting as an extra platform.

m.     Polterpup: he will sniff around the edges of the stage, finding hidden items and delivering them back to his summoner for use.

n.       Rocky Wrench: at random spots, his manhole will appear, rattle for a split second, before he pops up and tosses a wrench. He will then tuck back in and his manhole will appear in a different spot.

o.       Spawny: he will glitch and fire off a few blasts of his warping beam in random directions. Anyone hit by the beam will have their controls scrambled for a little while.

p.       Scuttlebug: it will dangle from the top of the screen, hanging around until it is collided with, at which point it will drop and attack the nearest fighter.

q.       Swoop: it will flutter up and hang from the bottom of a platform. At random intervals, it will take off and divebomb a character, doing light damage.

r.        T-Rex: it will let out its stunning roar and then rampage across the stage, similar to the Rathalos assist trophy.

s.        Viruses: they will latch themselves onto nearby opponents. The opponents will soon take on symptoms of the different ailments the viruses represent.

t.        Wingo: he will teleport himself to the background and flap his wings hard enough to whip up a hurricane, blowing anyone with high enough damage off the stage to faceplant on the screen.

You could probably come up with others. For instance, I forgot about Fuzzies when I first made this, but everything I could think of them doing was basically already done by the Viruses and the Biddybugs