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Super Mario fangame Super Mario & The Rainbow Stars returns with haunted stages, a new ghostly companion, and a standalone second chapter.
A New Adventure Has Finally Arrived
Two years of glimpses, progress updates, and mysterious forest footage have led here: Super Mario & The Rainbow Stars Chapter 2 is now available to play on PC. It takes Mario away from sunny shores and drops him into a much stranger place, where lanterns flicker, spirits lurk, and the safest-looking path probably hides a secret passage.
The second chapter follows the events of the first while working as its own adventure. Mario arrives by boat in an unfamiliar land populated by spooks, specters, and other supernatural nuisances. This time, he won’t be traveling alone. His new partner is Ralle, an original character created specifically for the game—a ghostly flame spirit whose abilities help Mario navigate the gloomy stages.
Ralle’s main talent is lighting special lanterns scattered throughout the levels. Doing so reveals hidden platforms and opens routes that would otherwise remain invisible. It’s a simple idea, but it gives the platforming a little extra texture. Instead of merely running from left to right, Mario has to poke around, test suspicious corners, and decide whether that lonely lantern is decoration or the key to the next section.
That kind of interaction is exactly what makes the project feel more like a Mario RPG-inspired journey than a straightforward collection of platforming stages. The adventure still has the familiar rhythm of jumping, exploring, and collecting, but the setting and companion mechanics add a more deliberate sense of progress.
From Old Level Ideas to a Complete Chapter
The journey to this release began with a handful of level concepts created in 2018. The first public demo didn’t arrive until early 2023, when the project was built using the SMBX38a engine for PC. That version served as an introduction to the game’s direction, but development soon moved to the newer and more advanced SMBX2 engine.
The team spent the following year rebuilding the experience, eventually releasing an updated version of Chapter 1 in 2024. That change matters because the current project isn’t simply an abandoned demo with a new coat of paint. It has been repeatedly adjusted, expanded, and reworked as the developers refined the tools behind it.
I’ll admit, at first I expected Chapter 2 to feel like a small collection of bonus levels attached to the original. The separate-chapter structure made me wonder whether the game would have enough identity of its own. That impression changed after seeing how strongly the new setting, companion, and lantern mechanic shape the adventure. This feels less like an add-on and more like a fresh seasonal episode.
Players who already completed Chapter 1 can head straight into the new material. Those who haven’t played it can select the earlier chapter from the main menu and begin there. Each chapter is designed to function as a standalone experience, with its own setting and overall theme.
That approach is helpful for a fan project with a longer development cycle. Nobody has to remember every plot detail before picking up the controller, while returning players still get the pleasure of seeing the broader story continue.
A Sunny First Chapter Meets a Haunted Follow-Up
The contrast between the two chapters is impossible to miss. The first adventure focused heavily on beaches and water-themed stages, giving it a bright, summery personality. Its scenery was built around warm colors, open spaces, and the sort of breezy atmosphere that makes you imagine playing beside a fan on a humid afternoon.
Chapter 2 takes the opposite route. Forests, ghosts, lanterns, and shadowy pathways give it a distinctly autumnal mood. It’s the sort of setting where even a harmless platform seems to be waiting for a dramatic reveal. The result is more mysterious than frightening, but that balance suits Mario perfectly. This isn’t horror in the traditional sense; it’s spooky in the way an old seasonal game level can be spooky, with playful spirits rather than anything truly grim.
Both chapters are described as love letters to Mario RPGs, filtered through a more traditional Mario platformer. That description fits the project’s personality. The game borrows the sense of traveling through a storybook world, meeting unusual companions, and uncovering a larger adventure, yet its moment-to-moment action remains rooted in jumping and stage exploration.
The RPG influence seems most visible in the cast and structure. Mario isn’t simply marching through familiar territory alone. He’s teaming up with new characters, moving through themed regions, and gradually uncovering the shape of a larger rescue mission.
Mario’s Search for His Missing Friends
The wider story begins after Mario’s hot air balloon crashes. His friends go missing, leaving him to search for them across a series of chapters. The premise is straightforward, but it gives the project room to move between very different environments without forcing every stage into the same visual mold.
In the first chapter, Mario partners with Starry while traveling through beach and water-focused areas. Chapter 2 introduces Ralle and shifts the tone toward forests and supernatural obstacles. That rotating-companion structure should help each chapter feel distinct rather than like a repeated template with new backgrounds.
It also gives the new characters a practical purpose. Ralle isn’t just there to deliver dialogue or stand beside Mario in the story. The ghostly flame spirit changes how players approach the levels by making hidden platforms and blocked routes part of the central design.
There’s a mild weakness here, at least from what has been shown: the concept may depend heavily on players enjoying careful searching. Lantern-based exploration sounds appealing, but if too much progress is hidden behind identical visual clues, the pace could become sluggish. I’m not certain that will happen across the full chapter, though. The previews suggest the developers understand the difference between rewarding curiosity and simply making players inspect every wall.
A Project That Kept Growing After Launch
Chapter 2 wasn’t built in isolation. Since the first chapter launched, the developer has continued updating it with refinements and extra features. Those additions include a new badge system and a bonus multiplayer mode, showing that the project has expanded beyond its initial story campaign.
The badge system adds another layer for players who enjoy tweaking how they approach a game. The multiplayer mode, meanwhile, gives the first chapter something to offer after the main adventure is complete. Those features may not directly affect Chapter 2, but they reveal a willingness to keep polishing the game instead of treating the first release as the finish line.
That ongoing development also explains why the second chapter took time. The game began with early concepts, moved between engines, received a rebuilt first chapter, and then continued growing through updates. Fan projects often appear suddenly and disappear just as quickly; this one has taken the slower, messier route of actually evolving.
During development, sneak peeks offered early looks at Ralle and the forest-themed stages. The footage showed Mario using the ghostly companion’s abilities to light lanterns and reveal hidden paths, giving players a clear sense of how the new chapter would differ from the first.
The preview footage also helped set expectations. Rather than presenting Chapter 2 as a total reinvention, it showed a familiar platforming foundation dressed in a more atmospheric costume. That sounds modest, but it may be the right choice. A Mario fangame doesn’t need to throw away the comfortable parts to feel new; sometimes changing the weather is enough.
How to Play the Two-Chapter Adventure
The complete project is available to download through the official Super Mario & The Rainbow Stars website, with an option to download the game alongside the required SMBX engine or obtain the game files separately.
New players can begin with Chapter 1 from the main menu, while returning players can jump directly into Chapter 2. Since each chapter is intended to stand on its own, there’s no need to treat the first adventure as homework. Still, playing both should make the contrast between their settings and companions more apparent.
The first chapter offers the relaxed beach-and-water atmosphere, while the second leans into haunted forests, ghostly flames, hidden platforms, and lantern-lit exploration. Together, they present the project as a series of themed Mario-style adventures rather than one enormous, uniform campaign.
The release also arrives after a long stretch of anticipation. A planned 2026 launch was announced ahead of time, and the eventual arrival gives those early previews a satisfying conclusion. There’s always a strange moment when a heavily teased fan project finally becomes playable: the mystery disappears, but the real test begins. Screenshots can promise atmosphere. Only the finished levels can make the journey worth taking.
While it’ll still take a bit for it to be ready, I can officially confirm that SMATRS Chapter 2 is releasing in 2026! — Starshi (@Super_Starshi)
A Cozy, Creepy Detour for Mario
What stands out most about Chapter 2 is how clearly it understands the appeal of contrast. The first chapter brings sunshine, water, and summer color. The follow-up brings foggy forests, restless spirits, and lanterns glowing in the dark. Neither approach has to overpower the other; they simply give the same larger adventure two different moods.
I’m still slightly unsure how the full chapter balances hidden routes with forward momentum, especially for players who prefer fast, obvious platforming. Yet the concept has enough personality to make the experiment worthwhile. Ralle gives the levels a mechanical hook, while the autumn setting creates an immediate visual identity.
That’s the charm of Super Mario & The Rainbow Stars. It doesn’t appear interested in copying one specific Mario game piece by piece. Instead, it mixes the character-driven travel of Mario RPGs with the movement and stage design of classic platformers. The result is familiar without being entirely predictable—which is a difficult balance for any fangame to achieve.
Conclusion
Super Mario & The Rainbow Stars Chapter 2 turns Mario’s next outing into a spooky woodland detour filled with ghostly companions, glowing lanterns, and hidden routes. After years of development and a major engine transition, the project has grown into a two-part adventure with its own changing moods. The sunny first chapter and haunted second chapter make a surprisingly nice pair. Which setting would you rather play first: the beach or the forest?
FAQ
- What is Super Mario & The Rainbow Stars?
It’s a fan-made PC adventure inspired by Mario platformers and Mario RPGs, featuring an original story, new companions, and multiple standalone chapters. - What is new in Chapter 2?
Chapter 2 introduces the ghostly flame spirit Ralle, forest-themed stages, haunted scenery, lantern puzzles, hidden platforms, and a more autumnal atmosphere. - Do I need to play Chapter 1 first?
No. Each chapter is designed to work as a standalone experience, although playing the first chapter provides more context for the wider rescue story. - What engine was used to build the game?
The early demo used the SMBX38a engine, while the project was later rebuilt using the newer SMBX2 engine. - Where can I play the game?
The chapters are available for PC through the official Super Mario & The Rainbow Stars website, with download options provided there.
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