Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super Nintendo, 1996)

This game is truly fantastic! Any fan of Mario or any fan of RPG's in general should play this game. This game is kind of like Dragon Warrior for the NES in that you walk through an overworld map and bump into enemies in which you go into battle mode, the only difference is that you actually see and know when you'll bump into enemies in Super Mario RPG. A lot of elements from Dragon Warrior and staples from a lot of other RPG's are present in this game. When in battle mode you can choose between normal attack, run, item or magic. Every time you defeat an enemy in battle mode you level up your experienced points which go towards leveling up. The more you level up the more experience pointsit takes to get to the next level and the longer it will take. You team up with other characters that you can fight with in this game as Mario, such as Princess Toadstool, a tubby little character named Mallow, a wizard named Geno, and beleive it or not, Bowser. Yes Lord Bowser. Every character has their own specific attack, healing and magic abilities. You can also purchase special items such as body armor that will increase your defense and elixirs which can bring back fallen friends. The graphics on this game is quite impressive for an SNES game, quite possibly the best you'll encounter, maybe save for Donkey Kong Country. The music is high quality as well. The storyline is pretty good too. It's quite the in depth game. For a game made for the SNES it is quite extensive as well. It will take you awhile to beat this game. There are a lot of secrets in this game such as hidden question mark blocks and hidden paths leading to special items, enemies and upgrades. There are quite a few fun mini games thrown into the mix as well if you need a break from the action, though you will have to find them and some may be hidden. The boss fights especially towards the end of the game are pretty hard, so make sure the your at a high level. If you're not strong enough you'll have to beef up your EP and level up, though you'll have to fight some of the more challenging enemies in battle to level up quicker, goomba after goomba really isn't going to do it. I loved this game so very much when I was younger and I'm going to have a lot of fun playing it again. I can't really say enough about this game. This is one of the few times Nintendo had deviated from the usual sidecrolling adventure that we're all used to and it was nothing short of an epic grand slam. This gmae is also one of the more rare SNES titles. I've seen it at a few of my local used video game stores going from $50-$75. I am lucky and absolutely elated that I picked it up for around $40!!! If you can pick up this game for that or less, jump on it! It'll be well worth your time and money, especially if all you plan to do is flip it, though personally for me, it's going to stay in my colleciton and represented as one of my shining gems amidst my collection. Highly recommend!!!

Super Mario RPG is a groundbreaking title for its time and has set standards that few modern RPG's can meet.

Story: The game itself starts out in Super Mario Bros. tradition: Princess Peach (called only Princess Toadstool back in the '90s when this game was released) is kidnapped by Bowser once again. This time however, there's a little twist. Bowser's no longer a blip on the radar as an even greater enemy emerges from the sky. So not only is the Princess still missing, but now you have to save the whole world.

Gameplay: An incredible facet of this game is the active role that players must perform in battle. The style would seem to be your traditional RPG fighting sequence, but the game incorporates "Timed Hits" which allow you to do extra damage. This seemingly simple mechanic adds a level of interactivity to fight scenes that really pulls you in.

Graphics: Personally, I don't pay much attention to graphics in a game, but this was probably the absolute limit to the Super NES. 8-directional movement in a pseudo-3-dimensional world breaks all the rules.

Flavor/Fun: This game is jam-packed with a rich storyline and lots o' little secrets that will keep you playing for hours AFTER beating it. Plenty of light-hearted humor that's both entertaining and kid-friendly.

I really could go on and on...but this was and is one of my favorite Mario games to date.

This game was released four months prior to one of Nintendo's greatest system, the N64. SMRPG wan't given a fighting chance to gain popularity among the American people.

Therefore, Super Mario is hardly ever mentioned when people converse nostalgically about SNES games.

An big hype was made about Donkey Kong Country's fully rendered graphics and ACM. DKC is fully deserving of such praise, but when the game that was finally released that wasn't a part of the DKC series and obtained the ACM technology, Mario's final appearance on the SNES came out with a whine.

Because of such carelessness of Nintendo developers, many players do not know the Magic of Super Mario RPG.

I am one of those who did not know of such a game until eight years after it's release. Sure, I heard about Super Mario World, Zelda, and Donkey Kong Country as I was growing up, but I was a victim of the N64's engaging power.

Once I ordered it from eBay, I experienced the missing link; the Mario game that ended the SNES legacy and that opened the frontier to the (I must admit) awesome Nintendo 64.

If you have not played SMRPG, please do not go what I went through. For your sake, buy it now. For a mere $50 a day (for one day), you can finally fulfill the duty of a player, and revive the dead game, Super Mario RPG.

Super Mario RPG is the golden love child between Square and Nintendo. Absolutely everything about this game is classic 16 bit era fun. As the title states, this is an RPG game which was completely new to the realm of Mario games. However despite the red plumber not being in his normal platforming world, Square knew what they were doing, as they had the Final Fantasy series under their belts, and made the new experience almost second nature.

One of the highlights of the game is the variety of music. Every character, town, map, and subworld has it's own theme. Not only that but it's some of the catchiest music the SNES ever had and severely rivaling Donkey Kong Country's music.

The graphics are also a killer. SMRPG looked fantastic back then, and due to the art style, still holds up very well compared to today. Mode 7 was used in a lot of the parts(other games such as F-Zero, and Star Fox also used this), which added a lot to the game.

The characters themselves are all quite lovable. Never before were we shown Princess Peach's personality, or just how witty Bowser really was. The character development is just as high as any other popular RPG game. Even as I'm closing into my 20s, I find hilariously witty comments sunk into the dialogue that keeps adults as well as kids amused and not just hammering on the B button to the next action sequence.

All in all, this is a game you must have for your SNES. Like Final Fantasy 7 was for the PS1, Super Mario RPG is for the SNES. You don't have to be a Mario or an RPG fan to enjoy it. It's what gaming should always be, fun.

If you like Mario games or Final Fantasy games, then this one is right up your ally. At first it seems like the typical story, Bowser kidnaps Peach and Mario has to rescue her, but instead the story takes a plot twist with the introduction of Smithy so it's up to Mario and his friends that he meets along the way to defeat Smithy. The game is very funny and interactive and it has a Final Fantasy feeling to it. As you travel around the Mushroom Kingdom, you meet Mallow, The lost Cloud Prince, Geno, a doll that is controlled by a star spirit, Bowser, YES Bowser, King of Koopas, and finally Princess Peach, Ruler of the Mushroom Kingdom who actually plays a role in the game. You go to a variety of different areas, from a sunken ship to the skies and from a pipe system to a volcano. There are also side quests which you can do for fun but some of them can give you items that power you up. Speaking of power ups, in this game you have to buy stuff and weapons to make your characters stronger but sometimes you can be given these power ups. What else is there to say except this, SQUARE needs to get back with Nintendo and make a sequel for this game. I give this game a 10/10 go out there and play it, it will be well worth your time.