Games in Review #4 – Super Mario RPG

Welcome back to Games In Review. Today, we’ll be reaching way back into my childhood to the ol’ SNES days and reviewing Super Mario RPG.

Story

The game starts out like any other Mario game: the Princess is missing, and it looks like Bowser is up to his old tricks again. After a bit of investigating, however, we discover that the true culprit behind all of the goings on is a villain named Smithy, a smith, who has somehow managed to put a stop order on all the wishes in the stars. If he isn’t stopped, nobody’s wishes will ever come true again…

Gameplay

As the title might imply, this is a Mario game, except it’s an RPG. The usual Mario linear world map applies, and each area is free movement until Mario gets into an encounter, followed by a turn-based battle to the death. I’ve gotta say, this game is full of Mario-themed fun. Lots of running, jumping, dodging enemies, and movement based mini-games; it’s a hell of a good time. Mario once again navigates the world with runs and jumps. This game was a refreshing change from the simple Mario platformers more common with the franchise to this point, as Mario was free to move in eight directions.

Mario is joined in combat by four friends: Princess Toadstool, Bowser, and two new characters; Geno and Mallow. Each has varying strengths, weaknesses, spells, etc. What is really different about this game is the Timed Hit functions. Each weapon has a method of timing to it that allows extra damage, what other RPGs usually deem a critical hit. This game allows you to, if you’re paying attention, constantly dump critical hits on your enemies. The spells work the same way after a fashion. You might have to press Y repeatedly, or hold Y to charge depending on the spell, but the game ends up being some button-mashing fun.

Graphics

For a Super Nintendo game, this game has amazing graphics. Well-rendered sprites abound and bounce around the screen and our heroic plumber’s frantic gait takes us past well-rendered environments. No grainy crap for this game.

Sound

Just what you would expect from Mario, the soundtrack is perfectly fitting for the game. It almost seems to fit the mood everywhere. From exploring the Mushroom Kingdom town to battling the Axem Rangers, Super Mario RPG manages to keep it’s sound on track throughout. Sound effects are the usual Nintendo bonks and smashes, but my only complaint is possibly the battle music. I found that it started to get old fairly quickly.

Overall

This game is beautiful, and an absolute treat to play. The story moves along quickly, and the game can be played through in a relatively short amount of time without missing anything important. The characters are fun, and the dialogue is certainly entertaining. And let’s not forget that this game introduced one of the most iconic characters of all time, the infamous Chef Torte. With all of the new-gen games on my shelf, I could easily sit myself down and play through this title again.

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