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Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

polygon.com

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Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#41

Post by thowaway91234 »

ocardoso wrote: post #31
Trasmatta wrote: post #9

SMRPG has an interesting place in my life. I got it when I was 12, and it sort of kickstarted my "online life". I started posting on the SMRPG GameFAQs message board, which was sort of my introduction to the internet. I made a lot of online friends there, some of whom I would stay up for hours and hours chatting with on AIM. One of those, I stayed friends with for about 15 years, until he disappeared one day. Sometim…

So...Which Final Fantasy is Culex from?

None. He's original to Mario RPG. The allusion to Final Fantasy is just an easter egg.

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#43

Post by [deleted] »

throw4847285 wrote: post #3
PH95VuimJjqBqy wrote: post #2

I know it's anathema to say this, but I played Super Mario RPG when it was first released and didn't think much of it.

I tried playing through multiple times throughout my childhood and could never finish it. Finished Final Fantasy III/VI. Beat Chrono Trigger multiple times. SMRPG never did it for me.

[deleted]

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#44

Post by mjamesaustin »

CM30 wrote: post #5

As someone who's also playing through the game for the first time now, I can both see the ways in which it holds up, and the ways it doesn't. Personally I don't think the characters feel out of place in the Mario universe, since the RPGs in general tend to take a very different approach to their cast and universe than the platformers do. The Smithy Gang feel as Mario like as the Shroobs, X-Nauts, Super Paper Mario ca…

As someone who adores Paper Mario, I'm actually really enjoying the simplicity of all actions being timed A presses. I've found that combats have a snappiness and flow to them due to it, and there's enough variety in the changing timing of different weapons that it stays fresh.

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#45

Post by tobiasSoftware »

noirscape wrote: post #19

SMRPG is great. It's absolutely "baby's first JRPG" (but with actual stats, not the low stats of Paper Mario) and it wears that badge with pride. I don't think there's a JRPG more accessible than this one if you're not familiar with the genre - the UI of the original is very much geared around "make it understandable to people who've only ever played the Mario platformers" and it just... works. From what I've seen, t…

" I don't think there's a JRPG more accessible than this one"

I'd argue there's one more, though I may be biased as it's what got me into RPGs - Final Fantasy Mystic Quest. It's a relatively unknown title as it was an attempt by the Final Fantasy franchise to get beginners into RPGs. It's like Super Mario RPG in a lot of ways, including seeing monsters on the overworld. However, it's much more like table-top RPGs, without mechanics such as timed hits and with more standard RPG monsters and spells. Personally I love the art style they went with in the game, it's the peak of pixel art IMO.

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#46

Post by djur »

swozey wrote: post #24
FooBarBizBazz wrote: post #22

It was good. The story and gameplay were good, and the art was excellent. But you know what game will really mess with your head? I mean, the art isn't as good, but it doesn't matter: Earthbound . (Also its predecessor, Mother . You can find translated ROMs.)

I loved SMRPG and I have tried to play Earthbound probably 50+ times in my 39 years of existence and I have never, ever found it fun or interesting. I don't think I've ever gotten past that opening where the village/city/whatever is under attack by aliens and you're running around trying to find people or something.

It's not surprising that you would find a game boring if you've only played the first 10 minutes of it 50+ times, but you might enjoy it more if you stick some of those 10 minute sessions together and try getting past the tutorial.

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#47

Post by goostavos »

vecter wrote: post #27

What was so fun about Super Mario RPG for me was the sheer amount of Easter eggs. From Geno's Whirl's 9999 damage (only to normal enemies, not bosses, EXCEPT for Exor), to fighting Culex, to all the steps you need to do to unlock the lazy shell, and hundreds of others I forgot or never knew about, it felt like a truly endless adventure.

Yes! The whole world feels special and lovingly crafted. I spent so much time tracking down the frog coins as a kid (my horror when I discovered one can only be gotten at the beginning of the game). The journey to get the belt in monstro-town? God, it was so engaging as a kid.

My favorite little bit of hidden functionality was that you can become an indentured inn-keeper in Marrymore. It had this weird mechanic that you could request to stay another night right from your room. The game designers could have been lazy and just prevented you from staying another night if you didn't have the funds, but instead they built this entire game mode where if you go into debt, you can't leave the hotel until you pay it back by working as an inn-keeper. I remember getting stuck there for a ridiculous amount of time because of how many nights I stayed at the hotel thinking I was getting away with something.

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#48

Post by wingmanjd »

One feature I loved was that player characters that weren't in the current main party would still gain XP from battles, even if they weren't involved. It allowed me not to have to choose early on who would be the party member and avoid my terrible case of analysis paralysis.

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#49

Post by etra0 »

cdelsolar wrote: post #4

Mario RPG might possibly be my favorite video game of all time. I grew up pretty poor and really wanted an N64 for Christmas. We couldn’t afford it at the time so I found an alternative - I remember being sad about it, but I found a used copy of Mario RPG for something like $30, this was at the end of 1996. When I sat down with it it’s like something clicked. I didn’t get the N64 for another year but it didn’t matter…

I also have very fond memories of the game.

I only played it through emulation (on ZSNES, in Windows 98!) but I was very young, and I'm a non-native English speaker so the gameplay felt even more obscure to me. It's crazy how now, that I have a better understanding of English, some things I got stuck for a long time when I was a kid were actually quite simple.

The most fun to me, it's that still retains the magic, the OST is still great (and the option to use the classic one is quite a gift), it feels mysterious and magical. They did an amazing job.

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#50

Post by Trasmatta »

rybosome wrote: post #32
ocardoso wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So...Which Final Fantasy is Culex from?

4! Edit: looks like I was wrong. I genuinely believed this for 26 years.

Your edit makes me so happy that the "Culex in Final Fantasy" rumors still persist to this day

I hope a new generation of SMRPG players gets to experience that now for the next 26 years

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