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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

#81

Post by munk-a »

chrisco255 wrote: post #67
PaulHoule wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I dunno. I was a big fan of Secret of Mana which has a really disappointing multiplayer. Three people really can control three characters at once but if you want to cast a spell or change weapons you open up a menu that stops the action for everyone else. Sometimes I think about hacking the game so the menus appear out-of-line so the multiplayer really is fun.

A multiplayer RPG was almost unheard of though until MMOs became a thing. Local multiplayer RPG was always quite rare. Interesting that Secret of Mana even attempted it.

Uh... except MUDs - which absolutely dominated the early era of gaming and still exist as a small but extremely dedicated player base to this day. Text will always be an extremely compelling medium for RPGs since you're only limited in your expression by your imagination - there is no graphical hindrance to what actions occur.

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#82

Post by djtango »

Xeoncross wrote: post #7

After Final Fantasy III/VI, Chrono Trigger, Secrets of Mana, Illusions of Gaia, Super Mario RPG, etc.. The golden age of RPG's was the release of the playstation. The combination of mechanics that had been refined into the richer world of cd quality audio, voice dialog, visual improvements to 3D worlds and CGI sequences. Final Fantasy VII, VIII, IX, Chrono Cross, Breath of Fire, Arc the Lad, Tales of Destiny, Grandia…

I grew up in this era so really try to keep my bias in check but that really did feel like the golden age of JRPGs and many other games at the time. Arguably certainly action games and shooters peaked later but late 90s Square was something else...

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#83

Post by djtango »

jjice wrote: post #15

The fact that it was developed by square was such a great decision. Square dominated the RPG space for 90s consoles for good reasons and they just crushed it. The addition of timing mechanics to attacks was such a great idea to keep young kids (the target demo) engaged in a genre that they've likely never played before. The fact that we've had probably nearing 10 Mario RPGs since then says a lot about this game.

not just kids! I still fondly remember that mechanic and I've only just realised the genius of why thanks to your comment.

Even though I devoured games like FFT, I still think of mechanics like the gunblade trigger so fondly

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#84

Post by rybosome »

a_e_k wrote: post #56
rybosome wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

The fight with Culex re-uses the boss music from FF4, though. (Even if he never appears there.)

I’m guessing that’s why I had the association. Thanks for reminding me!

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#85

Post by Trasmatta »

low_tech_love wrote: post #71
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…

Maybe it’s just nostalgia but neither paper Mario nor Mario & Luigi come a light year away from SMRPG for me. They feel just like bland superficial attempts at a formula when the formula is actually the least important part of SMRPG. The apparent weirdness that the reviewer mentioned is for me exactly why I love it: the characters just are what they are; you don’t have to understand, their unexplainable weirdness mak…

> this expectation and design will never come back.

This type of game design 100% still exists. FromSoftware is probably the best current example, but it's also prevelant in so many indie games.

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#86

Post by toast0 »

29athrowaway wrote: post #69
toast0 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, but the snes game came with a second processor, you might not have counted that. (But it probably doesn't matter)

What I mean is that the SNES cartridge for Super Mario RPG had a SA1 enhancement chip which is a processor that's faster than the one shipped with the original console, the Ricoh 5A22. So unlike most games today which are mostly a ROM device, SNES games were actual computers on a cartridge.

Oh I see.. I thought you were saying that the switch cartridge had an embedded controller that was faster than the SNES processor (and probably the SA1 chip too)

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#87

Post by glhaynes »

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…

I enjoyed this, thanks for sharing. That's sad about the 15 year friend disappearing.

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#88

Post by Slow_Hand »

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 was just thinking of this the other day. I would love to see a semi-remake/port of Earthbound in which they updated the art style to mimic the clay figures that were used in the (amazing) player's guide that was included with each copy of the game.

https://members.tripod.com/mr_saturn/pics2.html

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#89

Post by Willish42 »

Reading about this game in the late 90s when the N64 was out, it had this insane allure and lore to it that other Nintendo games lacked outside of Zelda and maybe Pokemon. This game got me into emulation and retro gaming at a very young age and I'll always think back on it fondly.

I've heard good things about the remake and still find this to be one of the most accessible games in the RPG genre that I've ever played.

Re: Super Mario RPG is an endearing, perplexing relic

#90

Post by skyyler »

toast0 wrote: post #86
29athrowaway wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What I mean is that the SNES cartridge for Super Mario RPG had a SA1 enhancement chip which is a processor that's faster than the one shipped with the original console, the Ricoh 5A22. So unlike most games today which are mostly a ROM device, SNES games were actual computers on a cartridge.

Oh I see.. I thought you were saying that the switch cartridge had an embedded controller that was faster than the SNES processor (and probably the SA1 chip too)

In a roundabout way, yes.

But I think they were saying the chip in the cartridge this time is faster than the chip in the cartridge last time (which was still faster than the SNES's processor)

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