Super Mario RPG was a surprising game for a number of reasons. First of all, it was released in a time before Nintendo had flooded the market with spin-offs for its marquee franchise. Mario had not yet mastered tennis, golf, nor become the model party host yet. In addition Nintendo and Squaresoft had never teamed up before on a project this big. Before this release the only thing Mario was leveraged for was either educational games or the ill fated Hotel Mario on the CD-I. The two huge developers coming together to create a full fledged RPG based on this most famous franchise was a big deal, and I absolutely had to have it. Fortunately this one released close to my twelfth birthday, but I’ll tell you that the month of waiting was excruciating. Since then I haven’t so much as picked the game up in years, but I had a sudden and random urge when I found it buried in a box of my old things. I was surprised to find that, despite the out of style pre-rendered graphics the game has aged exceptionally well.
Despite the change in genres this Mario title starts out just the same as most of the others. Bowser has kidnapped Princess Toadstool, and it’s up to the plumber to launch a one man assault on his keep in order to rescue the damsel in distress. After duking it out a giant talking sword comes crashing down from the heavens separating Mario, Toadstool and Bowser. This sword, named Smithy, soon blocks access to the castle, and it’s up to plumber in red to travel across the mushroom kingdom to rescue the princess and eventually collect seven stars scattered throughout the land. In a rather odd twist Bowser is not the antagonist in this story, and he actually joins your party because that’s his best chance of defeating Smithy and regaining his keep. The first time I played I was surprised to see that, rather than using classic characters and references, most of the locales and characters are brand new. Soon into the adventure Mario is joined by Kirby wanna-be Mallow as well as a sentient puppet named Geno. These characters blend well in to the Mario universe, and it’s sad that they never returned in any future games. The story overall is quite enjoyable; it follows many genre staples but is infused with the franchise’s signature style and humor.
It’s interesting to note that this is the first 3D Mario game. It’s nothing fancy; outside of battle the environments are all isometric which gives the title a nice sense of depth. It’s a big contrast from most RPGs which were typically overhead views, and other Mario titles that were exclusively side scrollers at this time. Despite the change in perspective Squaresoft did an excellent job of making exploration actually feel like that in a Mario game. This is because of Mario’s innate ability to jump, and instead of featuring treasure chests items are stored in the classic style blocks that you must leap into to release whatever is stored inside. The game even requires a fair amount of platforming with moving blocks and intricate ledges you need to pass in order to proceed. This makes simple exploration a lot more involving, and lends the classic Mario feel to it. With this is mind each area of the game (the dungeons in particular) are a joy to traverse through. This title also features a ton of secrets and invisible blocks which is yet another aspect of the old Mario games that’s incorporated here. Unfortunately the world map is a simple screen wherein you choose your destination, but this is forgivable considering the vast exploration within each zone.
The battle system is also quite unconventional by genre standards. For starters you can see enemies on the field before engaging them in battle, and thanks to your jump ability these encounters are actually fairly easy to dodge. You can carry up to three characters in your party at a time, and can freely switch between them outside of battle. Where things get really different is in the combat itself. Rather than featuring a typical command window each is instead designated to a different face button on the controller. A is for attack, Y is special move, X is item, and B is to defend or run. Additionally the gameplay here is based around timed button presses. During each physical attack pressing the A button at just the right time makes the strike more powerful, and this mechanic also goes for defending against hits as well. Each character comes equipped with special moves, and these use varying mechanics for timing. For example, Mario’s techniques are based around jumping and throwing fireballs. For the jump command pressing the A button at the right moment allows him to continue jumping, and there’s even a bonus if you reach a specific number of jumps. The fire technique on the other hand requires that you mash the Y button to increase damage. Most of the other techniques require you to press the Y button at specific moments, hold it for varying amounts of time, and even rotate the directional pad. This level of interactivity makes Mario RPG more approachable for those who aren’t already fans of the genre. One aspect I particularly like is that, upon gaining a level by gaining a specific amount of experience points, you are given an option of bonus stats for growth. Your options include attack power, magic power, and HP. This allows for at least a little customization for your characters.
Rounding out the package are a host of mini-games. Super Mario RPG is chocked so full of things to do that it’ll make your head spin. You can’t go more than a few hours without one of these distractions popping up, and although some are required the more intricate ones are completely optional. One such mini-game has you jumping from barrel to barrel as you roll down a river, another throws Mario into a mining cart as you guide it along the tracks, there’s also Yoshi racing, and even a casino wherein you can gamble your hard earned coins away. For the most part these are actually a lot of fun, and the prizes make it well worth the effort. Unfortunately the main game is actually pretty short (ten to fifteen hours for an RPG is kind of bad) but the mini-games, and secret content go a long way in increasing the replay value here. Mario RPG is also very easy by genre standards. There’s only one challenging battle within the entire adventure, and it’s an optional boss that has no real place in the story and is actually a clear nod to Final Fantasy IV which is very cool.
When it was first released I was astounded by how pretty Super Mario RPG. The CG characters and detail in the environments was incredible, and it’s still quite impressive by Super Nintendo standards. The only real problem is that the style is clearly a product of the mid 90s, and this will be a definite turn off for some. The artists did a wonderful job of re-designing enemies from the classic Mario titles in this style. In addition there are several new faces, and quite a lot of creativity went into the character designs. The battle screens are a little underwhelming, but the enemy animations more than make up for this shortcoming. The soundtrack is one of my favorites of all time. The classic renditions of old Mario music are infused with a style all its own. The real highlight however is the completely original music. Nimbus Land’s theme is one of my favorite pieces of video game music ever, and the forest theme is almost as good. It’s all extremely well done in my opinion.
Super Mario RPG is a very interesting experiment. Squaresoft and Nintendo were able to combine and bring out the best of each other here. The atmosphere and themes are decidedly Mario, and the battle system feels like a combination of FF and Nintendo’s poster boy franchise. It’s an incredible fusion, and in my opinion, is significantly better than any other Mario RPGs that have since been released. It’s a little easy and short, but Super Mario RPG is one of the best genre offerings on the Super Nintendo.
