On the games side
Super Mario RPG (almost straight JRPG with a few Mario elements)>(spiritual sequel)Paper Mario (Many more platforming and action elements thrown in)>(quirky sequel)Super Paper Mario (2D Platformer with heavy RPG elements)
That doesnt include PM: TTYD which was pretty much a straight sequel of Paper Mario and the Mario and Luigi games, which are like spiritual sidequels to the Paper Mario games....weird