There is no doubt that Mario is the undisputed king of the platformer genre. Through the years, the plumber from Brooklyn has evolved with the changing times. One genre seemed to be out of reach, the turn based role playing genre. Would Mario and the residents of the Mushroom Kingdom be able to fit in this type of game? The answear was yes with Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. This game from Nintendo was a resounding success, with a little help from the front runner of the genre.
It seems like business as usual in the Mushroom Kingdom: Princess Toadstool has been kidnapped by Bowser and Mario has come to save the day. Things take a turn when the world is invaded by The Smithy Gang, sending everything into chaos. Mario must find the seven star fragments, make some new friends, and also team up with his worst enemy in order to repel this new threat.
The game is classic RPG. Created by Square, not yet Square Enix, it moves from over-world exploration to turn based combat. Mario and his party have a wide variety of attacks in order to beat their foes. There is an added element, as players must hit the correct sequence of buttons in order to deal the maxim damage.
The graphics and world design were ahead of their time. For the first time, Mario and his world were in 3D and the Mushroom Kingdom never looked better. The different worlds also pop as Mario meets characters never before encountered. The addition of an entirely new main big bad was remarkable for how well it worked. Smithy is the type of villain that would make Bowser and Mario team up.
Super Mario RPG never had a sequel, but it did create Mario games in the RPG style. Paper Mario and the Mario & Luigi series keep many of the same type of mechanics in their series of games. Super Mario RPG has been released for virtual consoles as well as the Super NES Mini. If you have not played this game, you are missing out on one of the best games of all time.
