Mario RPG was one of the games that showed the Super Nintendo still had a lot
of kick in it when the 32-bit revolution hit. Featuring an interesting storyline,
graphics rivaling even the Playstation and Saturn's at the time, and, most importantly,
tons of cool secrets.
The game starts as Bowser kidnaps the princess, again, and Mario goes to save
her. Now's where it gets different from every other Mario game. In the middle
of the battle a sword crashes into Bowser's Keep sending Mario, Bowser, and the
Princess off into the unknown. Seems this shattered a star which grants wishes,
so Mario of course has to go find them and stop a new sinister evil from
removing all hope from the land. Along the way, a few characters will
join your party, including a tadpole (supposedly) guy named Mallow and
a puppet named Geno. Even Princess Toadstool and Bowser can team up!
Unfortunatly, there's no Yoshi or Mario, and only three people can be
in the party at once.
The artists obviously paid attention to even the smallest detail to create one
of the most beautiful games on the SNES. The game goes at a high frame rate, so
there is no jerkiness during any of the character movements. The sound,
however, is a mixed bag. The music is very good and has several tracks, but
they quickly grow repetitive and can grate on your nerves. The effects are very
good and have crystal clear clarity.
The controls are rather unique for an RPG. While on the main screen, Mario can
run and jump, two effects which are not in most RPGs. In battle each button
controls a seperate type of action (ie.. B=block, X=items) which is different
from the usual RPG's A button selects from a list and B cancels.
The main thing that sets this apart is the sheer number of extras placed in the
game. Sure you could buy it and beat in about a week just to see the ending
quickly, but that would be like buying a car and only driving it home and then
leaving alone forever. Sure you know sort of how it feels but you have missed
out on most of the experience. Sub quests range from helping Yoshi win a race
to finding 3 invisible flags hidden throught the entire game world. Other
memorable extras include finding the Final Fantasy 3 character, getting a
sheep attack, and getting a kiss from Bowser and Booster.
The only downside other than the repetitive music is that the game is way too
easy. Even if you go for all the secrets, the game will only take you about a
month. All in all, if you see this game, buy it. You won' t be sorry.
