Super Mario RPG Review

I do want to take a second and tell you that this is a remastering of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars from the Super Nintendo (SNES). I’ll also admit that I am a huge fan of the original and going into playing this game again I had very high expectations, with that being said let's get into the actual review.

The Mushroom Kingdom is in trouble, and Mario is needed to rescue Princess Peach from the clutches of Bowser. The outcome will be the same as always, you will defeat Bowser, but there’s an unexpected twist that is going to happen just as you win the day. That twist is a giant sword falling from the sky and piercing Bowser’s castle. In the aftermath Mario, Bowser, and Peach have been thrown to different regions. This is when the real game begins. You, Mario, will be tasked with saving the world yet again, but this time your focus will not be on Bowser, it will be on The Smithy Gang. In a twist you’re going to team up with Bowser, Princess Peach, a fluffy cloud person named Mallow, and a puppet come to life named Geno.

This RPG, RolePlaying Game, will see you exploring areas, navigating from point to point on an overworld map, and battling in a turn-based system. There are plenty of secrets hidden in those areas, so always be on the lookout. New points of interest will reveal themselves on the overworld map as the game goes along. The battle system might be turn-based, but that doesn’t mean that you are going to be able to relax during combat. One of the mechanics in this game is a timing mechanic. If you can hit A at just the right time you can do more damage, or lessen damage done to you. This timing mechanic can turn the tide of battle, and allow you to survive in some very tight situations. Here’s a helpful hint: different weapons have different timing to them, so if you change from say a glove to a hammer you’re going to have to press that button at a different speed than you previously did. I recommend that after a weapon change don’t go charging into a boss fight, perhaps take on a couple of easier battles to work out the timing.

I personally steamrolled through this game, I only died twice, and both times it was against the same optional, SUPER POWERED, boss that is hiding in a town full of monsters. That’s not to say that the game was easy, I just found a good balance and a good set of characters to use (you can only have 3 active in combat at a time), and I also got extremely lucky a couple of times. My biggest qualm with this game is that it was over too fast, in my opinion. It took just under 10 hours to play the game from start to finish, and I’d do it all over again, given the change. This might not be the best game of all time, but it stood up pretty well to my expectations, and allowed me to enjoy a good case of nostalgia.