Are we both talking about the original game for Nintendo 64? Because that sounds like a bit of an overstatement to me if that’s the case.

Or am I remembering something wrong?

Doesn’t look bad at all, but aren’t Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series RPGs?

Feels weird to use them as examples for inspirations for a platformer.

Feels more like Yoshi’s Island elements thrown into a 2D version of Super Mario 3D World.