Games Like Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Square's quirky 1998 action-RPG featuring a miniature legendary swordsman summoned to save a kingdom — Brave Fencer Musashi combines real-time combat, enemy ability absorption, and a day/night time system with Square's production values and sense of humor. A charming alternative to Square's Final Fantasy dominance that built a cult following.

Hudson Soft's 1987 action-RPG set in the world of Xanadu — Faxanadu (Famicom Xanadu) is a side-scrolling action-RPG hybrid where a warrior returns to the World Tree to find it under attack by Dwarves and must ascend through towns and dungeons seeking the elven king's wisdom. Platform action, experience-based leveling, magic words for save passwords, and a quest that takes 10+ hours.

Capcom's 1990 Game Boy RPG-platformer hybrid where Firebrand the gargoyle — villain of the Ghosts 'n Goblins series — becomes the hero of his own adventure. Gargoyle's Quest blends overhead RPG-world exploration with side-scrolling action stages and a progression system that grows Firebrand's wings, fire breath, and wall-clinging abilities.

Ancient's Saturn-exclusive action RPG sequel to Beyond Oasis — Leon controls six elemental spirit companions who provide combat assistance, puzzle solutions, and traversal abilities as he uncovers the story in an Arabian Nights setting. The Legend of Oasis pushed Saturn's 2D sprite capabilities to showcase what the hardware could do for the genre.

Working Designs' final Saturn localization and one of their most elaborate productions — Magic Knight Rayearth blends action RPG combat with the CLAMP manga's distinctive art style, featuring three playable Magic Knights and Sega's impressive Saturn production values. A Saturn exclusive that became a collector's trophy for Working Designs completionists.

BlueSky Software's 1994 Genesis RPG-action game based on the Shadowrun tabletop RPG — completely different from the SNES Shadowrun, this version follows Joshua, a street samurai in a cyberpunk Seattle, through a third-person action-RPG perspective with a contract-based mission structure, hacking, magic, and a more open-ended approach than the SNES linear narrative.

Square's late PS1 action-RPG with two protagonists sharing the same world with different motivations — treasure-hunter Rue seeking resurrection magic, princess Mint seeking world domination. Threads of Fate's dual narrative, real-time combat, and shape-shifting mechanic make it a distinctive Square alternative to Final Fantasy's dominance.

Sega's Master System port of Falcom's classic action-RPG — Ys: The Vanished Omens brings the story of Adol Christin and the lost land of Ys to home console with the series' distinctive bump combat system, six Books of Ys to collect, and the iconic orchestral soundtrack. An excellent SMS version of one of Japan's most beloved RPG franchises.

The finest handheld Castlevania and a landmark Metroidvania that introduced the Soul system — absorbing enemy abilities — creating one of the deepest ability collections in the genre. Set in the future year 2035, Aria of Sorrow reinvented the series with a bold narrative twist and exceptional mechanical depth.

The GBA launch Castlevania that brought the Symphony of the Night formula to handheld — Circle of the Moon introduced the DSS card combo system and proved the Metroidvania formula translated perfectly to portable play.

The second GBA Castlevania — Harmony of Dissonance follows Juste Belmont through two parallel castle sub-dimensions simultaneously, with a furniture decoration system, boss rush mode, and spell book combinations adding depth.

HAL Laboratory's 2004 GBA Kirby game with a unique open-world Metroidvania structure — instead of linear stages, the Amazing Mirror world is a single interconnected map of ten areas accessible in non-linear order, requiring Kirby to backtrack with new abilities to reach previously inaccessible sections. Features four-player simultaneous multiplayer via Game Boy Advance link cable with four Kirbys of different colors.