In discussing Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, we ve gone into detail about the ways in which this adventure opened Mario s horizons. However, his wasn t the only character whose worldview expanded. As much as this was a story about Mario branching out as a hero, it was just as much a story about Mario and his antagonistic relationship with Bowser. For the past decade, Mario, Bowser, and Peach were one-dimensional avatars filling roles for platformers. Super Mario RPG turned these three into fleshed-out characters, crafting their dynamic in new and unexpected ways. And in 1996, no plot twist was more unexpected than Mario and Bowser putting their contentious rivalry aside and banding together to face a common enemy.