Unlocking the full roster in Super Mario RPG is more than just a quest-it’s a strategic adventure that transforms your gameplay. From Mario’s balanced prowess to Peach’s powerful healing, each character brings unique strengths to your party. Discover how to recruit Mallow, Geno, Bowser, and Peach as you journey through the Mushroom Kingdom, and learn the key moments and locations that unlock their potential to help you save the world and master the game.
Each character has their own set of spells and stats, meaning they do specialize in different things. Before certain bosses or in specific areas, you’ll want to set up your party to counter whatever the Smithy is throwing at you. Luckily, in this remake, you can swap out your characters mid-battle, so it’s not a do-or-die situation.
In this Super Mario RPG guide, we’ll introduce you to the four party members, explain what they do, and tell you when you find them.
All party members in Super Mario RPG
Super Mario RPG features a total of five party members, including Mario, who is the main protagonist and must always be in the party. The other four companions-Mallow, Geno, Bowser, and Princess Peach-join Mario at various points in the story. Players can have only three characters in the active party at a time, with Mario occupying the first slot. Each party member has unique abilities and strengths: Mallow excels in magic with ice and lightning attacks, Geno combines strong physical and magical offense, Bowser offers high HP and physical power, and Peach specializes in healing and support. All party members gain experience even when not active, allowing players to switch and strategize based on the challenges they face.
There are four playable characters in Super Mario RPG, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, which you can improve by prioritizing the best level up bonuses:
- Mallow
- Geno
- Bowser
- Peach
Below, we’ll outline how to get all four characters in your party.
How to get Mallow in Super Mario RPG
Mallow joins Mario as the first party member shortly after exiting the Mushroom Castle in the Mushroom Kingdom, which becomes accessible after defeating the Hammer Bros. You will find Mallow cowering in a corner in the first town, and after helping him, he decides to join your adventure. He is an elemental spellcaster and early-game healer, specializing in lightning and ice magic, making him valuable for exploiting enemy weaknesses and providing support with healing spells. Mallow starts at level 2 and is essential for crowd control with his area attacks and utility spells like “Thought Peek,” which reveals enemy HP and weaknesses.
Mallow is primarily a caster, so he’ll be eating up most of your flowers. He has a plethora of ice and electric spells, as well as a heal and an ability to check how much exact HP an enemy has left.
You unlock him shortly after arriving to the Mushroom Kingdom.
How to get Geno in Super Mario RPG
To get Geno in Super Mario RPG, first visit the left house in Rose Town and play with the boy’s toys to trigger a cutscene featuring Geno. Then proceed to the Forest Maze, where you must follow Geno carefully through the area. After successfully navigating the maze and defeating the boss Bowyer, Geno will join your party at level 6, becoming a powerful ally with strong attack and buffing abilities.
Geno is a powerful puppet ally who can fire strong projectiles and cast easy-to-use spells. Better yet, he can use Geno Boost, which gives an ally an attack buff (and a defense buff, if you time it right).
After heading into the left house in Rose Town and playing with the boy’s toys, a cutscene will play out with Geno, but he won’t be playable quite yet. Head to the Forest Maze and follow Geno and he’ll join your party shortly before the boss.
How to get Bowser in Super Mario RPG
To get Bowser in Super Mario RPG, you need to progress through the game until you clear Booster Pass. Bowser will join Mario’s party at the entrance of Booster Tower, appearing at level 8. Once recruited, Bowser becomes a powerful physical attacker with high base attack stats, making him a valuable party member for battles.
Bowser is a bruiser with a focus on physical attacks. He can apply status ailments and even do some big damage with later spells, but his magic attack stat is pretty lacking. That said, you should just stick to physical damage for the Koopa King.
Bowser joins your party right before you enter Booster Tower.
How to get Peach in Super Mario RPG
To get Peach in Super Mario RPG, you need to rescue her from Marrymore. She is the last party member to join and will become available once you bring her back to the Mushroom Kingdom after the rescue. Peach joins the party at level 9 and serves as a support character with powerful status-inflicting moves that can disable enemies. Equipping her with the Frying Pan weapon and Royal Dress armor enhances her effectiveness in battle.
Until you hit the end of the game, Peach won’t deal much damage, but she will keep your party nice and healthy. Her healing spells are significantly better than Mallow’s single heal, and she can even revive your party members.
After rescuing Peach from Booster Tower and returning to the Mushroom Kingdom, she’ll be banned from joining you. However, as you leave the castle, she’ll sneak out to accompany you.
What’s the secret to unlocking Bowser early in Super Mario RPG
The secret to unlocking Bowser early in Super Mario RPG is that he automatically joins your party right before you enter Booster Tower, following the events at Bowser’s Keep where you face him in the prologue. There is no special side quest or hidden requirement to recruit him early; simply progress through the story until you reach Booster Tower, and Bowser will become a playable character in your party.
Do I need a special item to unlock Bowser early in Super Mario RPG
No, you do not need a special item to unlock Bowser early in Super Mario RPG. Bowser automatically joins your party at the entrance of Booster Tower after clearing Booster Pass, without any special item requirements. However, there are special weapons and equipment related to Bowser, such as the “Chomp” weapon found inside Booster Tower through a locked door, but these are for enhancing his abilities after he has joined, not for unlocking him.
