Lost Classics: Super Mario RPG (Super Nintendo)

In 1996, the Super Nintendo and Sega Genesis were on their last legs. Won over by their technical capabilities, long time publishers and developers were abandoning the 16-bit cartridge based systems in favor of new stand alone 32-bit disc based systems such as Sony Playstation and Sega Saturn. One of these publishers was Square. Before leaving Nintendo’s side however, Squaresoft joined forces with Nintendo to produce one of the best role playing games ever. Sadly, along with being the last Squaresoft product released on the Super Nintendo, this would also be the last Mario game released for the system. Even so, this game managed to push the Super Nintendo to its limits by providing cutting edge SGI rendered graphics, innovative gameplay, and a solid story line. The game starts off as any other Mario game does. Bowser kidnaps Princess Toadstool, and Mario runs off to rescue her. However, when a new enemy arrives causing chaos, things immediately spin out of control and Mario finds himself teaming up with his arch nemesis (along with a few other characters) in order to set things right.

Super Mario RPG can best be described as an RPG for people who hate RPGs. It contains many traditional featured you would expect in an RPG game (turn based battles, character stat building, item management, etc), but they’ve been simplified, making it easier for Mario fans and RPG newbies alike to pick up and play the game. Special attacks in battle are reminiscent of Final Fantasy 6, but they’ve been taken a step further in interactivity, making use of times button presser and controller rotations to increase damage. Many of the quests in the game make use of minigames in order to get through, making this more interactive than most RPGs. Hidden features and easter eggs are about in the game, including a throwback to Final Fantasy 4 that has to be seen to be believed.

This would be the last Squaresoft/Square-Enix game on a Nintendo system for 6 years. Even through there has been no direct sequel to Super Mario RPG, its innovation and quirkyness lives on through spiritual successors such as the Paper Mario series, and Mario & Luigi: Super Star Saga. This game is also arriving on the Wii Virtual Console (as if you didn’t already know), so players who didn’t check it out the first time can have a chance to play this masterpiece.