Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

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Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Developer(s)	Square Co., Ltd. & Nintendo Co. Ltd.[1]
Publisher(s)	JPN Nintendo Co., Ltd. & Square Co., Ltd.[2] NA Nintendo of America & SquareSoft
Designer(s)	Yoshihiko Maekawa Chihiro Fujioka
Release date(s)	SNES JPN March 9, 19961 NA May 13, 1996 Virtual Console NA 2007
Genre(s)	Adventure, Role-playing game
Mode(s)	Single player
Rating(s)	ESRB: SNES K-A (Kids to Adults) VC E (Everyone)[3]
Platform(s)	SNES, Virtual Console
Media	32-Mbit cartridge[4]
Input	SNES controller
1In the Japanese version, "© 1995 Nintendo/Square" appeared on the Title Screen.[5] While development started in early 1995, Nintendo & Square Soft released it 1996, correcting it in the North American version.[6]

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, known in Japan as simply Super Mario RPG (スーパーマリオR(アール)P(ピー)G(ジー) Sūpā Mario Āru(R)pī(P)jī(G)^?), is a hybrid adventure-RPG, both Square Co., Ltd. (now Square Enix Co., Ltd.) and Nintendo Co., Ltd. developed and published.^[1][2] It is the final Mario game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console as well as the final major Square-produced game for a Nintendo video game console until Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles in 2003 for the GameCube. Nintendo first released the game on March 9, 1996 in Japan and May 13, 1996 in North America. It is also the first console role-playing game (RPG) in the Mario series. It contains token similarities to Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy series with a story based in the Mario universe.^[7] Long-time Mario fans sometimes see it as an introductory RPG, since it was an easy-to-play RPG starring Mario. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars also became the first game in which Mario and Bowser fight as allies. Neither Nintendo nor Square ever released a PAL version. IGN confirmed that Nintendo will re-release Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars on Wii's Virtual Console in North America in 2007.^[3]

[edit] Gameplay

Mario and Mallow battle the boss Belome in a battle screen.

Many of Mario's enemies are visible in the field, and a battle ensues if he comes in contact with one. This allows the player to avoid most unwanted battles by jumping over or walking around the foe, although some fights are difficult to evade and others are necessary for the game's storyline to progress.

[edit] Battle system

The battles themselves are a blend of platforming elements and traditional RPG battles. As well as selecting attacks, the player is usually required to perform action commands to increase the damage done. These consist of timed button presses and other movements (such as rotating the D-pad or pressing Y repeatedly) to determine the power of the character's attack. As with many other RPGs, items are an important tool in battles. The need to perform action commands in between navigating menus requires the player to be engaged in the battle the whole time. Unlike many RPGs before and after its release, much of the gameplay was outside of monster battles. In the field, the game plays much like an isometric platformer, with many traditional Mario features as well as many new ones (such as magic spells) playing a key role. There are five characters the player can control: Mario, Mallow, Geno, Bowser, and Princess Toadstool. Each character has a unique set of attacks and techniques.

[edit] Plot

[edit] Characters

Main article: List of characters in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

The game's main characters include three of the main individuals of the franchise as well as two original characters. Mario is the main character, who plays the role of the silent protagonist, and hero who often saves the world. On his way to find and rescue Princess Peach, he meets up with the cloud-like being, Mallow, who believes he's a tadpole. As he returns to his home with Mario, he learns the truth, that he's not a tadpole, and he was found floating in a river by his adoptive father, Frogfucius, and sets off with Mario in the hope of finding his true parents. On their search, they meet a being from Star Road, who possesses Gaz's doll, Geno, taking on its name and persona. He explains that he is a "star agent" sent by a higher authority to recover the Seven Star Pieces that must be found in order to stop Smithy, the main villain of the game. They eventually run into Bowser, and save Princess Peach. Bowser decides to help Mario, so he can reclaim his castle from the Smithy Gang, and Peach, desperate to help, sneaks out of the Mushroom Kingdom to help on their travels.

[edit] Story

The story begins with Mario entering Bowser's Castle in order to rescue Princess Toadstool. Mario defeats Bowser, but a giant earthquake shakes the castle, sending Mario, Bowser, and Princess Toadstool flying in three different directions. The earthquake was caused by a giant sword called Exor that descended from the sky and now resides in Bowser's castle.

Mario falls through the chimney into his house and returns to the Mushroom Kingdom with Toad to inform the Chancellor of the current situation. The Chancellor insists that Mario locate the Princess, defeat Bowser once and for all, and discover the truth behind the sword's intentions. Upon exiting the Chancellor's castle, Mario finds a new character named Mallow, who starts crying after his grandfather's coin is stolen; Mario helps Mallow retrieve the coin from Croco.

Mario and Mallow return to Mushroom Kingdom so Mallow can complete his errand, but they find the Kingdom under attack. After defeating Mack, they discover their first Star Piece, which the Chancellor suggests is connected to the arrival of Smithy. Mario and Mallow head to Tadpole Pond to see Mallow's grandfather, Frogfucius, for more information on Smithy's forces.

Although Frogfucius doesn't know what the Star Piece is, he does reveal to Mallow that he is not a tadpole at all: Frogfucius actually found him as an abandoned baby and raised him as one of his own. Frogfucius encourages Mallow to find his real parents and to accompany Mario on his quest, advising them to head to Rose Town.

With the assistance of another new character (who very much resembles a doll that Mario saw inside Rose Town), Mario and Mallow manage to defeat Bowyer, the creature responsible for shooting paralyzing arrows at the citizens of Rose Town, and get a second Star Piece. The new guy in blue thanks them and introduces himself as a visitor from the Star Road. He explains how Exor shattered the Star Road into seven Star Pieces, and that all seven must be recovered to repair the Star Road. Since the visitor's name is unpronounceable, he tells Mario and Mallow to call him Geno, after the doll that he inhabited to give him a physical form. With the mystery behind the origin of the star pieces finally solved, Geno joins the party and they set out to search for the remaining five pieces and Peach.

The heroes next arrive at Moleville where a shooting star has crashed into the hollowed-out mountain on the outskirts of town and trapped two kids that were exploring inside. The party defeats Punchinello to retrieve the two missing kids and the third Star Piece. While in Moleville, Mario also sees Bowser trying to reassemble his forces, but Boswer exits before Mario can confront him.

When the crew receive word that someone, possibly a princess, was seen falling from the sky and landing on the roof of Booster Tower, the home of a rich and greedy madman, they decide to check it out. When they arrive, Bowser is seen standing outside the entrance, reminiscing about his own castle and how much he misses it. When the party explains how Smithy's involvement has affected Star Road, Bowser reluctantly decides to join up with Mario and his friends and help stop Smithy in order to get his castle back from Smithy. Bowser's strength comes in handy as the party ascends Booster Tower, but Booster manages to escape with Peach and takes off for the nearby town of Marrymore in an attempt to marry her.

Upon arriving in Marrymore, the heroes learn that Booster has kicked everyone out of the chapel and barricaded the doors. Fortunately, they find a secret entrance, and manage to rescue Peach after Booster gets distracted by the enormous wedding cake.

Finally, with the Princess found, the party returns to the Mushroom Kingdom and explains the situation to both her and the Chancellor. Against the wishes of the Chancellor, the Princess decides to join the party. On Frogfucius' advice, they head to Star Hill, where the party discovers a fourth Star Piece.

The quest for the three remaining Star Pieces brings the party to Seaside Town, where the Elder informs the party that a Star Piece has fallen into the ocean and likely is controlled by a ruthless pirate called Jonathan Jones. The party finds Jones' Sunken Ship and manage to defeat Jones, earning the party the fifth Star Piece and Jones' respect.

They return to Seaside Town and find that the Elder was Yaridovich, a spear-themed member of the Smithy Gang, in disguise. In exchange for releasing the citizens of the town, Yardovich demands the fifth Star Piece. Yardovich's departure is delayed by Jones, which allows the party to defeat Yardovich to regain the Star Piece.

The party's journey continues through Land's End, a desolate conglomeration of mountain and desert regions, and Monstro Town, a place teeming with reformed monsters. With some help from the town's residents the party scales an inaccessible cliff in order to get to Bean Valley, which leads to a city in the sky.

The city, Nimbus Land, is made up of inhabitants who look just like Mallow. As the party arrives, the royal advisor Valentina announces that the King's ill condition has turned critical. However, she also claims to have found the lost prince, who takes over for the ill king; Valentina becomes the new queen when the prince asks her to marry him.

Looking around the city, Mallow learns from Garro, the royal sculptor, that he is in fact, the real prince. Garro is able to sneak the party into the castle in order to rescue the king and queen. Seeing the real prince, Valentina and Dodo (the impostor prince) flee. After briefly falling out of Nimbus Land, the party defeats Valentina and Dodo to get the key and rescue Mallow's parents, the perfectly healthy king and queen.

After Mallow's reunion with his parents, the party continues onward, told by the queen that a star fell into the Barrel Volcano. The party finds the sixth Star Piece, but it is stolen by the Axem Rangers, an elite Smithy Gang fighting force. After chasing them onto their warship, Blade, the party defeats the Rangers.

The last star piece is in Bowser's Keep. Using the Nimbus Land Royal Bus, the party finally arrives. After battling through many of Smithy's elite forces, they battle Exor, the giant sword. After defeating him, Exor transports them to a dark and lifeless factory, the center of Smithy's operations. Bowser considers leaving the party since his castle is safe, but Geno convinces him to stay.

The party makes its way through the factory, ultimately confronting Smithy. The party attempts to reason with him, but to no avail, and are forced to fight him. After being defeated, Smithy, in a rage, destroys the factory, and reveals his true form. Despite this, he is defeated and explodes.

With Smithy gone, and the final Star Piece in hand, Geno thanks the party, and returns to the Star Road to repair it. The party heads outside in time to see Exor disintegrate.

[edit] Audio

Yoko Shimomura (Parasite Eve, Legend of Mana, and the Kingdom Hearts series) composed the music for this and the spiritual sequel, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and she arranged music by Koji Kondo (Super Mario and the Legend of Zelda series) and Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy series) as part of the score.

Three tracks from the Final Fantasy series appear. (See Culex.)

[edit] Reception

Super Mario RPG received very good reviews, including an 8.75/10 from Electronic Gaming Monthly.^[8] Audiences also received it well: 1.43 million copies were sold in Japan,^[9] and audience-made "best game of all-time" lists consistently feature the game, such as 26th on GameFAQs,^[10] and 30th at IGN.^[11]

[edit] Sequels

Officially, Super Mario RPG does not have a direct sequel, especially in terms of a sequel based on the original game's plot. However, several successive RPG-themed Mario games including Paper Mario (Nintendo 64), Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (Game Boy Advance), Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo GameCube) Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (Nintendo DS) and Super Paper Mario (Wii) (which is currently set for an April 2007 release date) are considered to be its "spiritual" and thematic successors. In fact, Paper Mario was originally titled Super Mario RPG 2.^[12] However, because of Square's involvement in the original game, direct sequels were not legally possible without Square's permission and/or involvement, so the title was changed, although the development of the game mechanic itself went for the most part unaltered.

Some of the original team members (including some from Square) that worked on Super Mario RPG worked on the Mario & Luigi series as well, including directors Yoshihiko Maekawa and Chihiro Fujioka and music composer Yoko Shimomura, albeit providing very different or similar styles and mechanics in those games then the original Super Mario RPG (as explained below).

Certain conventions established in the original Super Mario RPG have been carried over to the de facto sequels and expanded upon. For example, the use of "Flower Points" instead of magic points, timed action commands during battles, the platforming elements of the game, and the basing of the collecting of the seven stars in this game. These games also took the non-RPG concept from Super Mario RPG and expanded upon it, allowing Mario to jump, hammer, ground pound, and use a variety of other techniques. Geno was featured in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, albeit in doll form. This is the only instance of a character originating from Super Mario RPG in another game. Square was credited at the end for owning the rights to Geno.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars at MobyGames
• Soundtrack listing and review at SoundtrackCentral
• RPG Classics
• Super Mario RPG Secrets
• SNES Super Mario RPG (USA) in 2:40:26.17 by Spezzafer - Aims for fastest time, abuses programming errors in the game, and manipulates luck.