Highlights
- Super Mario RPG brings back a classic SNES experience with a new look, quality of life improvements, and new dynamics to battles.
- The game serves as the starting point for other Mario RPGs like Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi, influencing their mechanics and conventions.
- Super Mario RPG’s legacy can be seen in the familiar mechanics and elements that continue to be present in later Mario RPG titles, creating a sense of charm and nostalgia for fans.
Super Mario RPG brings back a classic SNES experience back into the modern day with a whole new look for the faithful remake of the fan-favorite adventure. On top of allowing Mario fans to experience one of the plumber’s unique adventures, the new Switch version adds quality of life improvements, post-game content, and new dynamics to battles that will impress both old and new players. While some elements of its age still show itself, the remake of the classic SNES Super Mario RPG still holds up as a good RPG experience for anyone willing to give it a try. This is especially true for the fans of the other Super Mario RPGs like the Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi series.
While the remake still makes it very clear that Super Mario RPG is an older role-playing game compared to more recent installments, there’s still plenty for those who love the more recent turn-based Mario adventures to enjoy. In fact, in many ways, it feels as if the developers of the more recent SMRPG experience took notes from the other games like it to improve on important features such as combat. In this regard, all the Super Mario role-playing experiences have come full circle, as Super Mario RPG was the starting point for the titles that came after it.
Super Mario RPG Triple Move Tier List
The new Triple Moves in the Switch version of Super Mario RPG add some new tactical options for players, but some of them are better than the others.
How Super Mario RPG Set The Ground Work For Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi
As Mario continued to release RPG adventures, each one continued to grow beyond what SMRPG was. With other adventures like Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga delivering on comedic writing and responsive, detailed combat systems, there are plenty of experiences for players to explore that make up for what some might feel SMRPG was lacking.
However, one of the more interesting facts about Paper Mario and Super Mario RPG is that SMRPG was originally going to have a sequel for the Nintendo 64, but it became the first Paper Mario game instead. While this may be surprising, there are signs of this change scattered all throughout Paper Mario as many important conventions actually come from the SNES game and have continued to stick throughout the Mario franchise’s many RPG installments.
Mario RPG Elements Introduced in Super Mario RPG that Continued into Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi
- Using Mushrooms to restore HP
- Using Syrup to restore “Flower Points” for special attacks (Changed to “Bro Points” for Mario & Luigi)
- Using Mario’s jump to combine platforming in RPG world exploration
- Equipment featuring shirts and badges
- Action Commands
- Leveling up resulting in players getting to choose a specific stat to raise alongside standard stat boosts
- Toads being primary NPCs
Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi Continue the Legacy of Super Mario RPG Without a Sequel
While some of the more recent Mario RPGs such as Paper Mario: The Origami King change important mechanics and the general way the turn-based mechanics truly work, the core aspects that tie them to almost all the games either remain or are brought back in-between titles regularly. Even if many of these adventures in the Mushroom Kingdom and beyond may look and feel different, these important aspects have always remained.
Through familiar mechanics such as the Mushroom-powered hit points, the syrup-powered Flower Points, and even the dances when Mario and friends level up, Super Mario RPG hasn’t been too far behind. In the last 27 years, it has left its mark on the many adventures that came after it, and has almost set unspoken expectations of what Mario RPGs are meant to do. It’s because of these traits that these RPGs have garnered such loyal fans, as these elements are not only familiar, but go hand-in-hand with the charm seen in many titles across the series. As long as there are Mario RPGs for fans to experience, then it seems the spirit of Super Mario RPG will live on.
Super Mario RPG
A remake of 1996’s Legend of the Seven Stars, Super Mario RPG revamps the franchise’s first role-playing game to make it as accessible as possible for a modern audience. The game utilizes a turn-based combat system reminiscent of old-school JRPGs, one that allows three characters to form a party. Outside of fights, Super Mario RPG features platforming, puzzles, and a more involved story than a traditional Mario game.
- Franchise
- Super Mario
- Platform(s)
- Switch
- Released
- November 17, 2023
- Developer(s)
- Nintendo
- Publisher(s)
- Nintendo
- Genre(s)
- RPG
- ESRB
- E For Everyone Due To Mild Fantasy Violence
- How Long To Beat
- 11 Hours
