Long before Mario started appearing in RPGs like Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi series, there was Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars on the Super Nintendo. To call it a classic is an understatement: it's Mario, developed by Square, the creators of Final Fantasy. What's not to love?

The game is hard to find (and expensive) if you're trying to snag it for your Super Nintendo, which is exactly the kind of game that is perfect for Nintendo's virtual console service. Nintendo has announced (via Eurogamer) that Super Mario RPG will arrive on the Wii U's virtual console in Europe on Dec. 24 for €7.99.

That's good news for European fans, who actually never had a chance to play the game until its Wii virtual console release in 2008. But what about North American gamers? Sadly there is no news yet of a North American release, though it seems like there is a good chance the game will be released on the Wii U in North America sooner rather than later. 

Normally we would point towards Nintendo's Super Mario Maker as a solution in the meantime, but while players can make almost any kind of Mario level they can think of, crafting an RPG using the game's tools unfortunately isn't possible. However, that doesn't mean you shouldn't check out some of the insane creations players have already cooked up for the title. Perhaps they will tide you over just long enough for Nintendo to announce Super Mario RPG's North American release date.