super mario rpg review
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars1996 marks the ultimate return to Super NES of the most famous plumber, this time in an episode that certainly must have stood the hair on the fans' heads. Indeed, it is no longer a question here of unconditional and unique phases of platforms, but rather of an episode turned towards the register of role-playing! What, Mario, in a role-playing game, you say? Without a doubt, this is still a crazy idea from Squaresoft!
Super Mario RPG is the latest game in Super NES in which you can play Mario, the famous mustache with blue overalls. Fruit of the association between Square and Nintendo, the title was a huge success in the world ... except of course in Europe where it was never published. Eternal frustration that gamers know well, unfortunately. Only players who had recourse to import were able to immerse themselves in this adventure, well on the fringes of the genre having precisely built its success on this lag while retaining what makes the charm of a Mario game. Thus, the story is announced from the start very simple and customary. You play as the nice Mario who goes to the castle of the bad Bowser in order to save Princess Peach once again. A few battles will mark your route in order to familiarize you with the controls, until you end up with a wacky duel against your lifelong enemy. But an earthquake then occurs and a huge sword from heaven comes to lodge in the middle of the castle, ejecting our trio and all its inhabitants in the vicinity. Having lost track of the Princess and Bowser, Mario embarks on a new adventure where it will still be a question of rescuing his beloved, but especially of finding 7 stars scattered around the world and whose origin will be revealed to you in course of play.
The universe that awaits you travels as in Super Mario World. It is thus separated into 6 zones in which different places are accessible and unlock as you progress. Then, once your level chosen, you switch to isometric 3D view where you can run and jump freely in the different environments offered, similar to the closed maps of the adventure game Equinox. The cities remain built on a common model, which in addition to basic housing, offers several services that can be found in any role-playing game: inn, sellers of various objects and equipment. The whole thing is for a few gold coins, which you will get in several ways. On the one hand by slaying the enemies encountered, and on the other hand by striking the famous treasure chests which are scattered all over the world. Know also that many of them are invisible and that it will therefore be necessary to jump in every corner in order to flush them out. These will not give you gold coins, but mainly another currency known as Frog coins. They stand out for their green color and rarity, and can be exchanged at an NPC for objects or equipment with effects often much greater than the basic ones.
Outside of these cities, you find yourself in hostile areas, where you see enemies moving around you. Not without reminding Chrono Trigger, you can avoid them as you see fit, thus obscuring all notions of random battles. However, some people will not stop rushing at you if you get too close. In this case, contact with one of them will propel you into a new area where your heroes will face your opponents, each positioned on each side of the screen. The battles then take place in turn by means of four keys, visible on the screen and surrounding your character. Each of them corresponds to its own command, which will open its associated menu. For example, the choice and the use of an object is done exclusively with the X key. In offensive terms, your 5 playable characters all have a basic attack whose effects really differ depending on the weapon equipped. To this is added a whole panoply of unlockable skills as you progress, and staying closely in correspondence with the character concerned. You will not be disoriented to see Mario jump like crazy on his enemies, or launch devastating fireballs! Their use is of course not unlimited, and is based on a quantity of flowers (and not of MP) common to the whole group and not specific to each one. A single object will therefore suffice to recharge the entire reserve, thus implying a very different strategic vision from other RPGs. Another also very interesting feature, you can double your damage as well with a simple attack as with a skill, simply by pressing the corresponding key at the time of impact. This concept was also taken up a few years later by a few games, including Final Fantasy VIII. Likewise, you can also reduce the damage received with this method, or in rare cases even cancel it. Once the fight is over, you gain a certain amount of experience which will result in leveling up. In addition to the automatic progression of your basic statistics, you will have the possibility of increasing several yourself. These are grouped into three groups: attack and physical defense / maximum number of HP / attack and magic defense. It will therefore be necessary to choose the best combinations according to each character in order to optimize them in the best possible way. Although in the end, it has little impact.
But beyond all that, what undeniably makes the richness of the game is that even if this episode was produced by Square, the game can still boast of keeping everything that makes fame and magic from the Mario saga. We thus rediscover its inimitable universe where magic mushrooms, carnivorous plants and green pipes are mingled together here and there. Without forgetting the usual bestiary of Goomba and other Boo, and of course our adorable Toads that you will come across with flying colors during your adventure. You will also notice the presence of countless winks referring to the previous parts of the series, whether musical or simply visible on the screen, that the most nostalgic among you will greatly appreciate. To this is added the presence of emblematic characters, such as Yoshi whom you can ride during a race which may also frustrate more than one, or else Bowser who sees himself still losing his castle here and becoming homeless ! Humor therefore remains omnipresent and burlesque situations will not fail either. And if that were not enough, many mini-games will be there, often appearing in the least opportune moments to the great surprise of the player. In the end, despite the real fears linked to the change of course, we can attest that all of Mario's magic is indeed preserved. Once again, Squaresoft demonstrates its immense talent, by admirably transcribing the Nintendo universe in its own way.
The notes
Graphics 17/20
Like the Donkey Kong Country series and the Killer Instinct game, the characters and scenery were modeled in polygonal 3D, all of which were then converted to 2D according to the capabilities of the Super NES. The final result is therefore grandiose and thus retains all the artistic richness so particular of the series. However, although enjoying beautiful light effects and remaining just as diverse as they are detailed, some environments sometimes look very similar in terms of textures.
Gameplay 15/20
The RPG side does not overlook the famous platform phases inherent in the series. On the contrary, they are omnipresent despite an isometric angle that is not always suitable. The fights are very basic and involve little challenge, the powers not being numerous enough to diversify the fights.
Lifespan 14/20
Not really hard and rather short, so count around ten hours to save the Mushroom Kingdom. You can't really talk about side quests next door. The presence of many mini-games can incidentally extend the life, even if you absolutely want to find all the treasure chests.
Soundtrack 16/20
The music is often arranged covers of the essential themes of the series. Obviously that fits perfectly with the atmosphere of the game, even if the eternal combat music can annoy more than one. We also note the presence of three sound tracks from the Final Fantasy series.
Scenario 14/20
The script has never been the spearhead of the series. Here, besides saving Princess Peach for yet another time, you will simply have to rescue the kingdom by recovering 7 stars, no more no less. There are, however, during the adventure many references to legendary Nintendo games, not to mention the typical humor of the series which once again remains the small plus.
An adaptation of this type could have significantly tainted the universe of the series. However, Square has managed to admirably link the workings of role-playing games to those of platform games, without in the least distorting it. It is still mainly intended for hardcore fans of the series and not regulars of RPGs, because this episode offers only a very simplistic approach to the genre. Super Mario RPG therefore remains very nice and really fun to play.
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