Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga Plus is one of those GBA RPGs that just nails the balance between goofy charm and legit strategy. You control both brothers in turn-based battles where timing your button presses actually matters—mess up a jump and Luigi faceplants in the most dramatic way possible. The writing’s full of dumb jokes (Beanbean Kingdom’s obsession with coffee had me laughing way more than it should’ve), and the sprite animations are weirdly expressive for a Game Boy Advance game.

The "Plus" version adds some quality-of-life tweaks, like an easier mode if you just want to enjoy the story without sweating the boss fights. I still prefer the original’s challenge, but it’s nice to have options. Either way, the bean blasters, bros attacks, and Cackletta’s ridiculous villain rants make this one of the best Mario RPGs out there. It’s aged way better than most early 2000s handheld games.