A look back at: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

 

Just one week and I'm already done with an RPG? Wow, I definitely invested my time in RPGs this year. I guess this being a very easy Mario RPG helped matters too. I didn't bother with sidequests, which means I missed out on battling Culex and such, but eh, I really wanted to beat the game before Christmas time comes. There's quite a lot of charm to Super Mario RPG, one of the most revered games on the SNES and in the RPG genre as a whole. Surely it must be great!

Except that I wasn't really as impressed with this game. As a seasoned RPG player, much of it feels quite average when it comes to the gameplay. Personally, I find this to be quite overrated as it is. While games such as Chrono Trigger are overrated and excellent Super Mario RPG is overrated and...average, leaning on above average. Just take out the Mario assets and take out the humor and you have a fairly linear and average RPG that the die hard RPG fans will play and then move on to something else.

It's honestly thanks to the Mario assets, their familiarity, and the always ever-present humor which makes the game slightly above average. The turn-based battle system would have been super boring if it weren't for the "Timed Hits", or as we probably know by now, Action Commands or other such terms. Mario RPGs are good with this kinda thing, not penalizing you too severely for messing them up. The storyline bobs and weaves between finding seven stars, which of course becomes a major gimmick in the two first Paper Mario games, not to mention the enemy variety in the game straddles between unique and interesting and familiar Mario fauna.

Make no question, even a novice RPG player can breeze through Super Mario RPG even if some of the bosses can beat the crap outta them. The locations and storyline are well-made, the idea of having Mario, Bowser, and Toadstool (Peach of course) all allied against a common enemy is a true selling point, and the gimmicks and puzzles can be quite interesting, along with the harder sidequests. Geno has become a fan-favorite character for loads of reasons, and although Mallow is the least popular party member, he at least makes up for it with what he can do in battle. Timed hits can turn hard bosses into easy ones. It's just that on the surface, without any of the positives the game wouldn't have much glory to it.

A look back at: Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door

One of the Gamecube's treasures was Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door. Basically, take the original Paper Mario and make it miles better. That's what this is. Still a very easy RPG, chapter-based, action commands to use, and the usual Mario-style humor. The storytelling is a little better, the interludes add Bowser to the mix and make him seem like a fun joke as always being behind, and Luigi even gets to have his own adventures while Mario has his. Fun, isn't it? You get newer abilities, changes to old ones, the always wonderful badge and level up system, riddles and puzzles. The Crystal Stars are basically the Star Sprites from the previous game in function, and their specials are far better so long as you use them properly. I guess the Pit of 100 Trials is something too, although I'm not in the mood for it right now.

The partners are so much better too. In the previous game, I felt Goombario fell out of favor later in the game, while Lakilester didn't have good abilities and was acquired too late. Bow had trouble with enemies with defense, and apart from Tidal Wave Sushie wasn't that good overall. Here, we don't see too much of trouble. The first member, Goombella, when upgraded, can give Mario extra turns. Flurrie is often hated, but has a good niche as a healer and lots of HP. Bobbery has the best overall attack, and the Yoshi is incredibly versatile. Koops is a better Kooper, and Vivian is versatile and can pierce defenses. Ms. Mowz probably falls out of favor, being a bit like Bow and also being an optional recruit, but also having a healing move and can steal too. It's all helpful.

Well, one thing I'll be happy to no longer see are the battle stage mechanics. They're annoying. You've got audience members who are dweebs and like to interfere. Random items just fall on combatants, as well as the stage background. The stupid sprinklers do nothing but annoy, and THAT FOG. I hate it so much. It's no wonder Bobbery is a godsend when you get him because you can remove the fog with a bomb attack. Now that I think of it, what is the deal with having an audience for every battle? It's so strange. All in good fun though, this is far superior than other games in the Paper Mario series and I'm glad to have played it.

A look back at: Paper Mario

The Nintendo 64 was all about action-packed games and weird controller layouts. It was definitely a complex system, but surprisingly not a whole lot of RPG-style games came out of it. Enter Paper Mario, probably the only decent one on the entire system.

Paper Mario sure manages to make an interesting story using denizens from all over the franchise (at least at the time). Who would think that a chapter-driven Mario RPG would have companions in the forms of several different Mario enemies? Yeah, they're all cool, a nice tattling Goomba, a shades-wearing Lakitu, and a lady Boo. And then there's all the enemies Mario actually does fight, Bowser himself just so happens to be the big bad of the game, taking something straight out of Kirby in order to make himself all-powerful. And rummaging the ground off of Peach's castle to make it float in the air with a clown face and spiked balls flailing is hilariously silly.

Put simply though, this game loves to go all out with what it has. Maybe not in its simplistic battle system though. That's just Mario and companion vs whoever, using abilities, special abilities, star abilities, and the well-touted action command. Yes, Paper Mario actually debuted the actual term, although I'm sure as heck it was in a prior game before this. I'd rather be dodging attacks than defending, but alright.

But yeah, this game has a nice story of finding the seven star spirits and freeing them from the monster that you will obviously well know at the start of each chapter. And then the sidequests, whether or not a minigame is involved, who knows, but these sidequests are certainly worth whatever rewards I'm gonna be given. Oh yes, and the Peach interludes. Those are surprisingly well done, especially since it has a semi-tactical espionage for Mario when he needs it. Though I do always wonder, what's with the Koopatrol always roaming the castle with flashlights? Do they honestly expect Peach to always be roaming around like that?

So yeah, this game is quite interesting. Nowhere near the level that the Mario & Luigi games are, though, but it at least tries.

A look back at: Mario & Luigi: Partners In Time

For some really weird reason on a Christmas holiday, I was so addicted to this particular game I beat it in two days. That's when I was young and had the experience of playing through Superstar Saga fairly well.

So everything here is doubled in a sense, double the bros, double the ho...excuse me. Anyways no weird kingdom of nonsense this time around, this is basically Chrono Trigger or some other past/present movearound RPG done Mario & Luigi style, bringing in heroes past and present. E. Gadd certainly has quite the role, but then again, it's those Shroobs that stole the show.

You know, back when kids were sitting around playing a game like this on their Nintendo DS, they get rather attached to some of their favorite characters that they see all the time like Mario and Luigi and all that. Seeing an alien invasion that somehow proves not comical or terrifying but comically terrifying was quite a nightmare the first time I saw this game. Not helping is the fact that the very first (and for some super strange reason, the only) fight with three regular Shroobs is an unwinnable fight and you know things aren't as holly or jolly as the village that the fight happens in. And then you take a look at what happens to other locales in the past.

Well, Bowser's Castle, the desert, the volcano, and the star road/shrine don't seem to have any major problems. But look at everything else. Peach's own castle has become Shroob castle thanks to the more alien princess taking it over. Yoshi's Island has its own denizens being devoured by a huge ass shroobified thing that you even go into the belly of so they can be freed. I already talked about Hollijolli Village, but Toad Town is just as bad, an actual ghost town. And Toadwood Village? One of the earliest locales? Good lord. Just take a look and see for yourself. My 13-year-old self still has nightmares seeing this stuff. Sure, the bros solve the hardiest of puzzles and defeat the worst of foes, Shroobified or not. And heck, even the Elder Princess Shroob, as plausibly hard as it is, was surprisingly not as terrifying as what I had seen well before these final moments. Yeah, I remember this well. Even Mario RPGs are quite the heart-wrenchers.

A look back at: Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

We were all gaming noobs at one point, always playing the most popular games at the time when we were kids, and sucking horribly at them in a lot of ways. I remember Superstar saga as such a notable example of what I was back in the day, someone who enjoyed Nintendo's overall gaming experiences especially when Mario is concerned. And what do you know, a story-driven game involving the bros, Peach, and Bowser! It didn't get me into RPGs, thank Pokemon for that, really. But it was an interesting game.

The idea of actually dodging direct attacks and enhancing your own with timed action commands is delightful, and it is probably heard of at least one expert player who can dodge literally every attack thrown at them. Such players are pretty good overall and can obviously take that low-level playthrough in the palms of their hands. Indeed, I at least try to do similar to that. Mario and Luigi are NOT strong characters, they are generally okay at dishing damage, but could fall easily to strong attacks. With a little memorization, their strongest attacks will destroy enemies, and so will they be able to dodge whatever is thrown at them with relatively excellent timing. There's plenty of actually good minigames too, a hallmark I notice in quite a few Mario RPGs, where none of them are really groan-inducing.

The other major hallmark? The humor. Now, I'm pretty sure you can laugh your ass off at any funny RPG moment, then lose your sanity at another. But Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is a generally funny game overall with barely any major nightmarish scenarios. You look at Cackletta and she's generally dangerous, but in a quite comical way. Double for Fawful as well, who will naturally make a reappearance in Bowser's Inside Story as its main villain. You also look at minor villains like Popple, as well as none other than Bowser himself, who has mostly been relegated into comic relief almost entirely until Cackletta decides to fuse with his body. Naturally, that's one of those moments that I'm not a fan of, but at least the intimidation factor increases here. And the natural sense that despite any possible separation, the gibberish-speaking bros will ALWAYS triumph over whatever possible threat that Cackletta ended up providing. All in all, a very humble effort that Nintendo provided.