Banner image of Mario encountering enemies in the caves.
Super Mario RPG: Descent Into Darkness Logo

A Fanmade Super Mario RPG made in RPG Maker XP

Super Mario RPG Descent into Darkness is a demo project made in RPG Maker XP. The main intention of this project was to study RPG mechanics such as turn based battles, level design, story design and UI design.

The purpose behind making it a Mario fangame was primarily because the franchise had a lot of easily accessible art assets and had a pre-established lore. This allowed for a much easier learning process while having minimal resources at my disposal.

RPG Maker XP was chosen due to the ease of access and the vast array of tools offered allowing something to be built without having to go through the time consuming process of creating a brand new engine.

The player in the overworld.
The player in the overworld.
Encountering enemies in the caves.
Encountering enemies in the caves.
An example of the battle UI.
An example of the battle UI.
Princess Peach's castle from a scrapped version of the early game.
Princess Peach's castle from a scrapped version of the early game.
A placeholder menu screen inspired by Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story.
A placeholder menu screen inspired by Mario & Luigi Bowser's Inside Story.
The item inventory system which can display consumable items, keys items and player gear.
The item inventory system which can display consumable items, keys items and player gear.
The badge system, inspired by the Paper Mario games.
The badge system, inspired by the Paper Mario games.