It makes up for an otherwise terrible year for V.C. games.
Ever since the Virtual Console was released on the same day of the Wii, Mario fans have been anticipating the release of Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, a game that was originally released on the Super Nintendo in 1996. After waiting for nearly two years, Super Mario RPG was added to the Virtual Console out of nowhere and we are all glad it did.
If you are familiar with the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series than you will feel right at home with Mario RPG. As implied by the title, it is an RPG. Unlike Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi however, it was developed by Square-Enix, known for their Final Fantasy and Dragon Warrior series. Mario RPG sports a turn based battle system very similar to the battle system in other popular Super Nintendo RPG's like Final Fantasy VI and Chrono Trigger except minus the Active Time system. Instead Mario RPG goes for a timing based system in which you can increase your attack power and defending by pressing the "A" button right as you are about to attack or right as a enemy is about to attack you. This is a very unique way of taking the battles up a notch.
The plot of Super Mario RPG starts off with the typical Bowser stealing Peach ordeal and then Mario coming to the rescue. But as Mario is about to rescue Peach, a giant sword crashes into Bowser's castle. This enemy, Smithy, has placed his minions all around the Mushroom Kingdom and Mario's only hope is to gather the seven stars in order to repair a bridge destroyed by Smithy. Mario sets off on his quest and is joined by friends he meets on the course of the journey.
Mario RPG is also comparable to Chrono in the sense that there are no random battles. You will see the enemies before you get into battle, giving you the opportunity to dodge them if you wish. However, they will still run after you making it tough to avoid a lot of battles. The battle system is turn based and works like many other RPG's except with the new timing system I mentioned earlier. Mario and company also learn a lot of new skills and magic and can be equipped with different weapons and accessories.
The graphics in Super Mario RPG are similar to the graphics in Rare's Donkey Kong Country series. They are 3D and look extremely top-notch for the Super Nintendo. There is a lot of detail everywhere and everything in the game looks fantastic. The battle animations are impressive and there is little slowdown to be found anywhere. Super Mario RPG is one of the best looking games on the console, if not the best.
The music in this game consists of a lot of remixed songs from previous Mario games which is a good thing because it adds to the Mario theme of the game. There are plenty of new tracks as well but sound very Mario like which also adds to the game. Square-Enix tends to do more mature soundtracks for their games so it is good to know that they made Mario RPG's heavily Mario style. The sound effects are also very much Mario sound effects.
As amazing as this game is, I have but a few complaints. First off, the game is decent in length but compared to other RPG's, it comes in a bit short. The dungeons could've been a bit longer and the towns a bit bigger. Also, the game's difficulty doesn't really come in until nearly the end of the game. The first 3/4 of the game is pretty easy with not too many challenging portions of it. Although the game may be short, their are a few sidequests and some mini games which add to the replayability.
I recommend playing this game with the Classic Controller because the Gamecube controller has a semi-awkward button layout but only for jumping and running. Also, the analog stick is even better for the game than the D-Pad due to the isometric viewpoint of everything in the game so you don't need to hold down two directions at once like you did with the D-Pad.
Super Mario RPG is a classic game and one of the Super Nintendo's very best. Fans of Mario and Final Fantasy alike will have a blast playing this game. It appeals to so many people on so many different levels and it is only 800 points (equivilant to $8), making this one of the best deals on the Virtual Console.
