Super Mario RPG....:)

[Zidane_2006]

while i watch in the the square enix part of the forums, all you talk about are final fantasy, chrono trigger, vagrant story, KH, etc. Though the game that i rarely hear (or ever heard?) is "Super Mario RPG".

Man this game brings good memories.... but for neone who hasnt played it heres a quik review :

Story- Well The story starts out very simple, Toadstool has been captured by bowser and its up to mario to save the day. While trying to beat bowser, a Big-ass sword pops in the castle saying that its taking over, later you find out more into the game that the sword was brought up by Smithy, the leader, and that you must search for 7 stars to get so you can finish the star raod, since when the sword crashed into bowswers castle, the star road was broken. Thats basically the story, it isnt the best story but its pretty interestingly cool.:)

Graphics- This game came out just a couple of months before the N64 was going to be released, the dying days of the Snes. The graphics are in fake 3-D, but they are really well done. Plus you know u want to play as Mario in a fake 3-D world. ;)

Music- Well what can i say about the Music...its awesome. Theres some catchy tunes in the game, like the intro, or others well there just plain fun to hear (like in marry more), overall the music was done really well.

Characters- There are 5 characters that you can choose to join your mission. There is Mario, Toadstool, Mallow, Geno, and Bowser. All of these have their own special abilites, though IMO i preferably choose Mario,Toadstool, and Bowser. Another thing i really liked about the character system is that even though you are not using the character ( you can switch between characters when you want), they are still gaining experience and levels.

Controls- The controls are pretty basic in this game. Since its a 3-D world, you can move around in 360 degrees. its easy, just like in a good majority of all the rpg's.

Battle System- This system is basically an average system that SNES rpgs used. In a battle you can only have 3 characters, just like in final fantasy VII. To battle its pretty simple Pressing A while make you want to attack the enemies, B is for running away or defending, Y is for Magic attacks ( instead of MP theres FP(flower Power) which you can advance it by finding "flower Tabs" or "Flower Boxes" by doing special jobs, or by just plain finding them in chests, and as for the X is where you can use items. Another thing i really like about the system is that when someone is about to attack you, you can defend the attack if you press A at the precise moment to lessen the attack, or to not damage you at all, while you can do the same as pressing A in the right moment of the attack you can double the damage you are giving to the enemy.

Fun Factor- What can i say about the fun factor of this game...Its The Best, its one of my favorite rpg's of all time. Even though if you get tired of doing the main Objective, you can do some fun mini sidquests like yoshi races, or in moleville, you can race on the mining cart for better time. You can also fight optional bosses like Culex (I've heard somwhere that he is from final fantasy, though i really have never found him in any final fantasy game?) or Jinx, which you really have to time his attacks so you can block them with the A ;) Overall This game is really fun, though maybe its fun for me since it reminds me of good memories. Some of my friends dont like this game because they say its "too kiddie" but whatever i really dont care, its one of my favorite games of all time :)

Well what did you think about the game?

(P.S- i hope my review was helpful to convince the people that havent played this game play this game:))

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

SMRPG was probably the second RPG I've ever played, and it's still one of my favorites. It's a simple enough game, but there's so much that's unique and fun about it.

The battle system is unique in its concept of Timed Hits, in which, if the attack button is pressed again at the right time during an attack, extra damage is scored. (This also includes both curative and offensive magic, and if there's also Timed Defense, of course.) Also, unlike every other RPG I've ever encountered, magic points (here called Flower Points) are shared amongst the entire party, which comes to be another unique strategic consideration, causing you to give thought to how your party members will work together in battle. "All right, I could have Geno use Geno Flash, but then Peach wouldn't have enough FP to use Group Hug next turn. So, I'll just use Geno Blast, which should still be enough to take out one of the four Smilax." Like that.

At every level-up, the character will appear on a happy shiny celebratory screen that shows all their stat increases, and then you're given a choice of one of three options: boost physical power, boost magical power, or boost HP max. You can use this as an opportunity to either make a character's strong points stronger, or to try to bring up their weak points in order to round them out.

Even without Timed Hits, there's more to magic than just selecting it from the menu and letting it go. Spells like Mario's fireball techniques require you to press the Y button repeatedly to get off as many fireballs as you can in the space of one moment, while his Super Jump technique relies on Timed Hits to repeatedly smash an enemy's skull. (An exclusive accessory and armor are actually rewarded for achieving 30, then 100 consecutive jumps.) Meanwhile, Peach's Sleepy Time spell and the like require you to move your thumb in a clockwise circle along the D-pad to increase their effect. And most prominently, the majority of Geno's special techniques instruct you to, in a legendary manner,

Hold "Y" for power!

There are also a plethora of minigames, and while some are connected to the story and some just serve as diversions, they often begin as the former and become the latter. Midas River has Mario at the mercy of a mighty waterfall and river with branching paths leading to various treasures. The mining settlement of Moleville contains a Mode 7 mine cart obstacle course that can be returned to for time attacks that can earn riches. One area has a mole-whacking game (run by a mole from Moleville, naturally) in which the moles are goombas and Mario is the hammer. In one town, three ghosts will visit Mario while he sleeps and give him hints for a worldwide scavenger hunt. Yos'ter's Isle, a completely optional area, has you tapping the A and B buttons in rhythm in order to win the Yoshi races. Grate Guy's Casino is also optional, but unlike Yos'ter's Isle, it's a well-kept secret that requires the decryption of scattered clues in order to gain access. Nearly ever single place where Mario travels has some minigame to offer; some have several, and they're all very satisfying and fun to try at least once.

In terms of plot, this game is one of the most humorously frivolous ever made. The gigantic sword that pierced Koopa's Keep set the entire world on its ear; while Mario was sent flying safely back to his home by the impact, both Peach and Koopa were sent flying far away, landing in situations they'd never expected. Koopa's left trying to rally what little remains of his army to take back his keep (the joke is that his army gets smaller and smaller every time we see him until he's finally left all alone), while Peach finds herself the helpless captive (of course) of someone she'd never though she'd meet: someone even more disgusting and immature than Koopa. Rounding out the party are Mallow, the sage Frogfucious's adopted grandson whose emotions control the weather, and Geno, a presence from on high who possesses a child's favorite action figure in order to have a terrestrial form.

The new villains are a humorous lot, from the perpetually ravenous Belome to the indignantly delusional Punchinello, the frothing-at-the-mouth mad (but beetle-loving) Booster and his Snifit compatriots, the shapeshifting Yaridovich, the scheming Margarie Margarita, and the smooth, honorable pirate Johnathan Jones. Almost all of their plotlines continue after they've been beaten, too, which serves to develop their characters and distinguish them from any other minor bosses along the road.

The music is composed by Yoko Shimomura, who has also been responsible for the scores of Street Fighter II, Parasite Eve, Seiken Densetsu: Legend of Mana, and Kingdom Hearts. There are numerous cameos from and references to Zelda, Metroid, F-Zero, Final Fantasy, and the original Super Mario Brothers. Good gravy, man, if you're still reading, go play it already!

[Bahamut2000X]

I loved that game. Played it a few months back the whole way through. I loved that game so much, Geno and Bowser were by far the best, too bad nintendo screwed up the sequeal to it so horribly. Just let's you know that nintendo should never be allowed to ever make a RPG ever again.

[Sefie1999AD]

Kishi wrote a really long post? o_O

I thought Super Mario RPG was a pretty good game. Since I hate all those normal platform Marios but I still like RPGs, I guess this is one of the only Mario games that I can like. Here's a little analysis on what I thought about the game. I'll do it like Zidane_2006 did.

Storyline - It's better than in normal Mario games, and it's great how it makes fun of the normal "beat Bowser and save the Princess" storyline. IMHO, The overall storyline about gathering Star Pieces is pretty weak, but the sub-stories in each location are done quite well. The plot is pretty lighthearted, and there's nothing really special to amaze you, but it keeps you relatively interested.

Graphics - This game has one of the best graphics in SNES. Everything looks really good and detailed, and the graphics work well with the game's world.

Music - The soundtrack isn't excellent, but it works very well in the game. I still don't like the classical old Mario theme from NES era, but fortunately, it isn't used that frequently. The songs get really catchy near the end of the game, although there are some good tunes all around the game. My favorite is probably the Mushroom Kingdom theme. Good job by Yoko Shimomura.

Characters - The characters are pretty nice personalities, and I like it how they're all individuals in battles instead of being clones of each other. A problem is that they don't develop at all during the story. Except for maybe Bowser, but his role is more for comic relief. But I really like having Princess Toadstool and King Bowser join the party instead of being a completely stereotypical damsel-in-distress (she still was like that a bit) or a big-bad-villain-who-tries-to-destroy-the-world-for-no-reason. My favorite character was probably Geno.

Controls - They're alright, and easy to learn. Running, jumping around, doing timed hits, special attacks and all that can be done with these controls.

Battle system - The battles are turn-based, but they're quick and fun. Fighting in this game gets really addictive, actually. However, there's one thing that bothers me: the battles are way too easy! Every normal enemy falls in 1-2 turns, and bosses aren't that hard, either. Your item storage, money and levels also reach their maximum way too early. Those aren't really that much of a problem since the battle system is so fun, but I still thought I'd mention those.

Fun factor - The game's pretty fun to play. Although it's very linear, you can always get side-tracked a bit and go play some side-quests. If there's some bad to say about it, I must say that I absolutely dislike the Sunken Ship. However, there are other mini-games and sidequests that are fun. Yoshi races, composing music and doing the Midas River quest are all fun. Culex battle is IMHO the best thing in the game. It's a fun battle with great FF music playing in the background. Culex is harder than the last boss, but he was still a bit too easy for me.


Some of my friends dont like this game because they say its "too kiddie"

Nah, they just don't know how to have fun. :p Kingdom Hearts is also like that, but it's one of my favorite games ever. You can't always play dark and serious games. Variety is good. :)

[Kossage]

I played SMRPG about two years ago and I liked it. The story was ok, enemies and bosses were individual (I liked Yaridovich's appearance) and the battle system was fun too. I liked the minigames very much (especially the part where you compose music). The areas of the world map were nice.

I was so thrilled to have Bowser in my party (although I didn't use him much because my other team members had better skills). Music was ok although it wasn't anything spectacular, but at least it suited the game well. SMRPG was an overall good game although I've played better RPGs.

[m4tt]

Originally posted by Kawaii Ryûkishi
Everything Kishi said

I agree. The game is awesome.

[The Man]

I can't be arsed to repeat everything kishi said, so I'll just leave this little post saying the game is bloody great. One of these days I need to get off my bum and actually finish it.

Oh, and I found Bowser to be one of the most useful playable characters, actually. And I thought the way the mute Mario mocked the similarly mute Chrono was classy ;D

[m4tt]

I always liked Geno. At level 30 he becomes quite a powerhouse.

[Talus]

I was playing through Super Mario RPG not too long ago, I got really far and my Super Nintendo mysteriously deleted my saved games. But it's still a great game, I forgot how good it was till I picked it up again.

[Zidane_2006]

I just recently played again Super Mario RPG and ive beaten it for the millionth time *gives a pat in the bak* i love going to this game over and over because everytime i play it i find something new :)

[Imperia]

It was a fun game. It was very humorous, the other characters in the game were great. Especially that guy Booster (I think that's what his name was), and the giant bird Dodo.

[Divina]

Originally posted by m4tt
I always liked Geno. At level 30 he becomes quite a powerhouse.

...well...level 30 IS the max level in that game...xD

I LOVE this game. I'm a big Mario fan, so the fact that a Mario RPG was made just completely appeals to me.

'Kishi...you put the whole thing together beautifully. *tear comes to eye*

[DJZen]

AXEM 4 LIFEZ!!!!!!!!!1

[FInalfantasyfinatic4]

smrpg was my first rpg besides zelda. man good times good times.

[m4tt]

Originally posted by Divina
...well...level 30 IS the max level in that game...xD

Well yes. :p But whenever I play the game, Geno does more damage than Bowser for me. Plus his magic is 10x better.

Mario, Princess and Geno are teh ultimate TEAM. Even with the Lazy Shell, Princess' group hug is awesome.

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

And if you time Come Back correctly, it completely recovers the target's HP in addition to reviving him. And although some enemies are immune to it, Geno's Geno Whirl can deal 9999 damage with the right timing. Perfect examples of how Timed Hits are useful, really.

[Chzn8r]

I agree on Mario/Peach/Geno being the best. Most well rounded, and Geno has the best stats at the end of the game.

Also, a leveling tip: The first and best place to get easy, quick levels is when you go to the pirate ship, go to the area with the 6 doors. In the small transition room (with the shop dude and the one treasure chest), you can keep fighting the skeleton in the corner repeatedly. The battle is 2 skeletons, 2 ghosts, and that dead jack-in-the-box thing. Put in Mallow with Zoom Shoes, and you can just have him go first and kill everyone with Thunder Bolt every battle! 27 repetetive experience adds up fast. And, you're FP won't run out fast, because Thunderbolt is the most cost-efficient attack spell in the game.

[Sefie1999AD]

Originally posted by Chzn8r
I agree on Mario/Peach/Geno being the best. Most well rounded, and Geno has the best stats at the end of the game.

Also, a leveling tip: The first and best place to get easy, quick levels is when you go to the pirate ship, go to the area with the 6 doors. In the small transition room (with the shop dude and the one treasure chest), you can keep fighting the skeleton in the corner repeatedly. The battle is 2 skeletons, 2 ghosts, and that dead jack-in-the-box thing. Put in Mallow with Zoom Shoes, and you can just have him go first and kill everyone with Thunder Bolt every battle! 27 repetetive experience adds up fast. And, you're FP won't run out fast, because Thunderbolt is the most cost-efficient attack spell in the game.

Yes, and there's that shopkeeper guy nearby, so you can buy a Maple Syrup for restoring 40 FP if Mallow runs out of FP. The fights against that group of enemies give you lots of coins and EXP. I leveled up there too. Another pretty nice thing about Super Mario RPG is that everyone gets equal EXP, so you don't have to worry about your other party members (who aren't participating in battles) being left behind in EXP.

[m4tt]

Originally posted by Kawaii Ryûkishi
And if you time Come Back correctly, it completely recovers the target's HP in addition to reviving him. And although some enemies are immune to it, Geno's Geno Whirl can deal 9999 damage with the right timing. Perfect examples of how Timed Hits are useful, really.

I've only used Geno Whirl a few times, and each time it's done the 9999 damage. It's awesome. I've had problems with timing Come Back though, I can't always get the character's HP maxed.


Originally posted by Chzn8r
Also, a leveling tip: The first and best place to get easy, quick levels is when you go to the pirate ship, go to the area with the 6 doors. In the small transition room (with the shop dude and the one treasure chest), you can keep fighting the skeleton in the corner repeatedly. The battle is 2 skeletons, 2 ghosts, and that dead jack-in-the-box thing. Put in Mallow with Zoom Shoes, and you can just have him go first and kill everyone with Thunder Bolt every battle! 27 repetetive experience adds up fast. And, you're FP won't run out fast, because Thunderbolt is the most cost-efficient attack spell in the game.

Those SkelBone fights are awesome. I always tried to fight them over and over. Especially after I bought the Experience Booster from Frogfucious' student. Mario was close to level 30 by the time I left that place. If not at it.

Edit: I can't believe I just double posted.. agh!

[Kawaii Ryûkishi]

Originally posted by m4tt
I've only used Geno Whirl a few times, and each time it's done the 9999 damage. It's awesome. I've had problems with timing Come Back though, I can't always get the character's HP maxed.The trick is to push "A" just as the star enters the fallen one's body. Works every time for me.

[Ramza_Beouvle]

heh heh heh... SMRPG was probably the shining gate that showed me to the RPG world! When I didn't even know what RPG is, I unknowingly bough the game and popped it in my SNes. I saw my very first Goomba and I stepped onto it, and WHAM!! Three different Goombas attacked!! I was all confused unlit I finally realised that I was playing one of those great games that people were all chit-chatting about!! Then I started to play Chrono Trigger, than the FF series! Yep, SMRPG was the first big step into the RPG world!

[Avalon_Beouvle07]

This game kicks ass. I'll even say that it's the greatest RPG of all time, and I really wish someone would make a darn sequel to it. As for Geno, well...he was kind of a permanent team-member with me. He rarely ever took a break.:)

[CloudDragon]

Great game, one of my first SNES RPGs. One of the games that got me back onto gaming as well. I am currently in the middle of a game, closer to the end. Always good stuff.

[bennator]

First RPG I ever played... probably the most fun too. I mean some are better, deeper, more complex, better storyline, better music, etc., but none are just as much of a blast to play.

[The Big Bad]

Originally posted by Bahamut2000X
I loved that game. Played it a few months back the whole way through. I loved that game so much, Geno and Bowser were by far the best, too bad nintendo screwed up the sequeal to it so horribly. Just let's you know that nintendo should never be allowed to ever make a RPG ever again.

Why not? Althought I've never played Paper Mario, every review I've read (only a couple, I admit, from sources which I like to call respectable) comparing the two say that Paper Mario is the better game. Plus, the other "sequel", Mario & Luigi, I feel fares favorably when compared to Mario RPG. In fact, I'd venture to say it's better, if it weren't because it'd be comparing apples and oranges.

And as for Mario RPG in itself, it was cool. Mayor Kudos for the very distinctive Towns, and for the whole Booster section, which was just genius. And Princess Toadstool is cool. Plus, some of the best minigames ever.

[SpikingZero]

I'm sorry, but a gigantic slapping glove and a frying pan combine to be the greatest weapons ever used in such an 'epic' of an RPG. XD

[Shoeberto]

I just like the quotes from it.



"The mustachioed one is strong!"



And, y'know, the gameplay and such.

[eestlinc]

when did this game come out and why did I never hear of it at the time?

[crono_logical]

It says ©1996 on the titlescreen, so some time around then :p

[eestlinc]

it was made by square?

[Del Murder]

Yes! eest play it! The two greatest video game companies ever (Square and Nintendo) came together to make this game. And it was good.

I'm playing Mario & Luigi and it reminds me of this game. I can't get the SMRPG battle music out of my head.

[The Man]

square in conjunction with nintendo, yup. it's great. i never finished it 'cause i got my playstation at around the same time i was gonna beat it, but the first 80% of the game was beautiful and i expect that whenever i get aroudn to completing it i'll find the last 20% to be as beautiful. definitely a game well worth playing.

if you can pick up the snes version somehow, i recommend doing so because there's a few features of the game that don't seem to work properly under emulation. bad luck.

[eestlinc]

I'll look around, yea. *dusts off the SNES*

[Azure Chrysanthemum]

Great game. Paper Mario pales horribly in comparison to Mario RPG. Pretty funny, I liked the spoof off of Final Fantasy in the Monster City when you unlock the sealed door and face the optional master who's name I do not remember as I haven't played that game in years and do not own, as if my SNES worked anymore which it does not.

<gasp>

[Sefie1999AD]

Originally posted by Behold the Void
Pretty funny, I liked the spoof off of Final Fantasy in the Monster City when you unlock the sealed door and face the optional master who's name I do not remember as I haven't played that game in years and do not own, as if my SNES worked anymore which it does not.

That's Culex. The fighting scene against him is probably my favorite part in the game. The dialogue, the crystals, the feeling of beating him up, the music (which is taken from Final Fantasy IV) and the general FF feel in that battle make it so great.

[Trumpet Thief]

*Many unmarked spoilers*

I thought Super Mario RPG was one the best game EVER made.

The graphics for it's time were really great. And for once, Bowser is on the good side.

I found the battle theme to be really catchy. The music was great as well. Not to mention the characters. For once, Peach is not a damsel in distress, rather, is helping you fight Smithy. And Geno was a character so great, I thought that he was even better than Vivi. I remember, for one boss (Can't remember his name) that the Geno Whirl attack actually worked, besides that, it works for pretty much any enemy.

Next, the mini games were probably the best from any game I have ever played. WHen I was little, I was under so much tention during Yoshi Racing, that I accidentally snapped the controller. That swimming game that makes you collect those green coins was excellent; same thing goes for that Coal one.

The character abilities were great. I loved the Bowser Crush move. The graphics for it were pretty good. Some of the abilities had the funniest names, for example: PRincess Toadstool's (Peach's) Group Hug, and therapy.

The bosses were really creative. Fighting a giant cake? Now that was funny.

Overall, I found this game to be the best one I have ever played. And yes, it brought back a lot of memories to me too.

[Kirobaito]

Super Mario RPG = best game ever made. 'Nuff said.

[Trumpet Thief]

Super Mario RPG = best game ever made. 'Nuff said.

Couldn't agree more...