Saturday, September 09, 2000

Super Mario RPG | 9.5

To be honest, I like this game a whole lot better than Mario 64.


When the Super NES was beginning its end, games sometimes are rushed out to beat the discontinuing of games and systems. Mega Man 6 was the last NES game released in America and it was not all that worthwhile of a game (although it is necessary to complete any Mega Man collection). However, for the Super NES, one of the last few games ended up being a great classic: Super Mario RPG. Combining the world of Mario with the designs of a classic RPG setting, this game is not only a great game, BUT a landmark game in the RPG genre.

Since it came out near the end of the Super NES (at least in America, anyway), this game is very hard to find. Nevertheless, it is WELL WORTH YOUR TIME. The music is very good, the characters and story well developed, and the OldSkool-style battle system is very pleasing indeed. Plus, Mario and Bowser actually fight side-by-side.

This game uses a simple RPG system to introduce newbies to RPGs, but at the same time, it captivates veteran gamers with a great story and interesting characters. The biggest irony is that Mario doesn't speak, which is intended to be classic because a lot of RPGs have main characters that never speak. This will surely please even the jaded RPG gamer.
It was cool having Bowser Koopa on my side for once, as well as two new characters (Geno and Mallow) I was disappointed that Luigi wasn't part of the game, but having Peach as a playable character's cool. Everyone has nice attacks, and I liked playing with all of them - I was often switching between characters because none of them were really weak (unlike other games where some characters are practically useless) and the storyline itself is unique and interesting. The game length was also good, you have all of these quests (and side-quests) to explore, along with quite a few bonus quests (which turn up a few cool and rare items). Overall this really is a lot of fun, and gets 4.5/5 stars from me. Enjoy!

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