Super Mario RPG Review! (SNES) The Game Collection!
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- Опубликовано: 1 окт 2024
- Welcome back to The Game Collection! I am SuperDerek and Super Mario RPG is a game that I’ve known about for years but for some reason, I’ve just never gotten around to playing it. This came up during one of my live Q&A streams, and since then it’s been weighing on me. So let’s take a look at one of the strangest decisions Nintendo has ever made, and why it paid off. I am SuperDerek, and this is Super Mario RPG!
In March of 1996, Nintendo released Super Mario RPG in Japan, and then in the United States only 2 months later. What was this game? Is it Super Mario? Or is it an RPG? It was developed by Squaresoft, and published by Nintendo of America. It was an odd mashup of contrasting ideas we wouldn’t see the likes of again until the Kingdom Hearts series years later, but I’ve already talked about those games in another series. Super Mario RPG was the lovechild of Square and Nintendo. Square was having trouble replicating their success in Western markets, and Miayamoto was interested in seeing Mario realized in an RPG world. And with Square being the undisputed king of RPGs at the time, and Mario’s market domination, it was a match made in heaven.
#supermariorpg #jrpg #review
I still don’t get how there’s no way to play this on the switch yet. Pony up Nintendo,
This was the first RPG I ever played as a kid. I remember having to call my mom in a lot to help read certain lines I was so young lol.
That Geno guy looks like a cool character. I wonder if anyone ever thought about requesting him for Smash Bros
LMAO
I love that you give a little history in your reviews!
Thank you! I love learning about the history of games, and how they interconnect :)
I'm so glad the hype didn't kill it for you. Having played this game as a kid, it's hard to imagine what it would be like playing it for the first time after 25 years of hype settled in. Great job with the review!
I just played it recently for the first time. Back in the day I played many SNES RPGs.
I didn't like this game as much as other RPGs. Maybe because I got to play it late or because I played many other titels. I can see this is a great title for newcomers to the genre. That said RPGS like Lufia 2, Chronotrigger and FF 6(3 in US) I enjoyed a lot more.
awsome RPG. Played it a lot.
I'm looking forward for No one lives in heaven. Promising 16 bit RPG in this year.
THIS is how you make a beginners’ RPG, Square, not Mystic Quest.
SMRPG was my very first RPG ever and it opened up my mind to a whole new genre I didn’t know existed before. This is how new all of this was for me: on my ride back home reading the instruction manual I kept seeing the term “HP” and “FP” and I didn’t know what they meant. SMRPG was the first game ever for me that displayed health in numbers, imagine that!
After this game I proceeded to hunt down the first Final Fantasy that I could get my hands on and.... it actually was Mystic Quest (shut up, I actually liked it... I was 11 and as my first FF I didn’t know better). So when FF7 came out I was ready and paying attention.... that is until Square released it on PC in 1998 since I only had an N64 back then.
Happy to see you played it finally Derek. Now join me in praying for a true follow up to SMRPG since Paper Mario never did it for me and was even more simplistic. And the visuals never did it for me.
TL;DR I don’t know about other but SMRPG was my gateway drug to the vast and fascinating world of RPGs.
I would never criticize someone for liking a game, even one I didn't like. Mystic Quest was flawed, but it was also ahead of it's time in many ways! I reviewed it with Daria on her channel a while back. :)
SuperDerek RPGs thanks. I genuinely think I wouldn’t have been able to stomach Mystic Quest had I played it after FF7. I was so starved for another experience similar to SMRPG and since I wouldn’t own a PS1 until much later and the N64 wasn’t providing RPGs I had to make do with a that so-so game.
I will however fight whoever to the death that MQ has some of the best battle, boss battle, and final boss battle music in any JRPG ever.
My first ever RPG!
I absolutely love love LOVE this game, and I'm so glad you finally covered it.
A fascinating thing I've noticed is how this game is basically a design blueprint for a lot of what we see in Final Fantasy VII.
As a matter of fact, there's almost a clean game design evolutionary throughline from Final Fantasy VI, to Chrono Trigger, to Mario RPG to Final Fantasy VII
"would final fantasy 7 have sold as well in the west had super Mario RPG not been a warm up act?"
Ya know somethin dude? I never thought of that before.
I'm inclined to agree. Super Mario RPG was the one that broke the walls down for the eventual RPG boom that FF7 would be at the center of. The sales in America justify this as well, SMRPG sold over a million copies by the end of the year and it was the most rented SNES game for 14 straight weeks.
I don’t know about others but SMRPG was my first RPG ever and my gateway drug to a genre and type of storytelling in games I didn’t know existed before. So it certainly worked for me.
If only Square had understood earlier that THIS was the right way to make a beginners’ RPG and not Mystic Quest.
@@AlexRN Mystic quest is literally the only final fantasy game I've ever played where I found myself sort of loathing it (only sort of though) and I've played almost all of them.
Joe Hosier Mystic Quest was barebones and stupidly simple but I’d take that game over FF1 or 2... maybe even 3. The first three FFs aged like a milk carton under the summer sun left on the asphalt, especially the NES versions.
So that’s why I’m assuming you probably didn’t play the first three FFs if you think only MQ made you loathe a FF game.
@@AlexRN nope, I love ff 1 and 2, and three, bad as the dialogue was and disjointed as the plot was, was still alot of fun. I haven't played 11, 12, 14 or 15 from the mainline games, those are the only ones missing. I don't intend on playing 11 or 14 either because I don't like MMOs. As far as side games go there are a fair amount, like Dirge of Cerberus for example, but I have all mainline series except those four. That's it.
I've actually never played this but my wife loves it. This is one of those game that I feel like i SHOULD have bought and played. I have no idea why I didn't...
Loved this game in the 90’s and that’s why I would love to see Geno in Smash.
He's already in smash though?
I still remember they had link sleeping on a bed somewhere in that game. This is one RPG I played early on. My fave party: mario, bowser, peach. I hope they pulled a similar game in the future....
I really need to sit down and finish this one day. Thanks for that reminder! It was also fantastic getting to see you play through some of this live on stream as well! Wonderful video, as always.
Thanks man! It was awesome having you there to hang out with! :)
So happy to see your still making videos 🤘🏻
Great Review! I got this game along with the Players Guide way back in the day back for my 11th Birthday that year. Such a good game.
HOW DOES THIS CHANNEL NOT HAVE 1 MIL SUBS?!?!? Love the content, the editing, the history, gameplay footage, and everything else! Hands down the best retro RPG review channel on YT imho.
Thanks man! Maybe some day we'll get there! The tricky part is getting these videos in front of other die-hard RPG fans. :)
I’m 35, been gaming my whole life, and just started playing this for the first time ever a couple days ago :)
That's awesome :) How is it I've never played it but always wanted to lol
To be a 16-bit RPG, it is quite OK, but to be made by Square and Nintendo, being released in 1996 and on 32 mbit with an extra chip, it's pretty awful.
To start with, the graphics are pre-rendered and unlike Donkey Kong Country, it looks directly lifted from the 3d renderer into the SNES, with just the resolution and colours downscaled. No considerations of palettes and AA seems to have been done, so it looks rough and amateurish. Some of the graphic design, mostly in the cities and their interiors, look quite OK. But the environments in the wild feel uninspired and the isometric perspective brings a lot of ugly empty space, which makes it even worse. This could have been solved though, as Landstalker, another isometric game, always made sure to fill the walls with tiles whenever possible. That game, despite being released on a graphically less advanced system 3 years prior, looks far better to me. When looking at the graphics of this game, it's pretty obvious they just made this game to cash in on the franchise and to train the worst of Square to do 3d models for the then already begun 32-bit era. Enemies, magic spells and environments - they are just there without any sense of direction and don't fit together at all. For example, the last dungeon takes place in some Twilight Zone-ish space for the first half, then for some reason changes to a generic factory. Spells are usually some blinking thing, like swords or stars, filling and scrolling over the full screen in a third BG layer.The story isn't anything to write home about either. Since the subtitle is "Legend of the Seven Stars", you can bet your life the mission will be about getting each and every of those seven stars, which are supposed to bring hope and dreams or something. There are some comedic scenes in the game which brings it up a bit, but many jokes fall flat as well. Like Chrono Trigger, only the main protagonist is mute, which I always found annoying. Either all should be mute, or none. The last boss of the game is some weird ugly thing with no interesting features whatsoever. Take over the world, because reasons or something. On a plus side, it was fun to play with Toadstool/Peach/whatever and Bowser, and the two new characters, Geno and Mallow, aren't too shabby either.
The music is quite OK, especially the famous "Beware of the Forest Mushrooms" tune. The sound effects mostly suck and some of them even sound like they came from the Master System's noise channel.
The UX of this game is godawful. It's often hard to know where you can go, and not. NPCs who give directions where to go during story segments, don't repeat crucial information when you speak to them again.Despite many interesting features in the battle system, for example timing hits to do critical damage like in Final Fantasy VIII, and a cool interface using each of the four main buttons to do commands, I found most battles annoying. Enemies are often too many and attack too often (usually before you, by the way), with spells taking too long to cast. There is no cooldown after you have fought some enemies, so you may have the next boring battle directly afterwards. You cannot fight without Mario and the last boss battle is impossible without Toadstool/Peach/whatever, so you can literally only pick one character in that battle. The level cap at 30 sucks.
You often don't know where to go, the level design tends to be either extremely straight forward or labyrinthine. Many scenes have way too many enemies on them.
A few good things: the game has been really well scripted, with lots of story events, using character animations, sound etc. There are also plenty of mini games, which spice up the game a bit. Unfortunately, most of them suck and require timing, which I suck at. But A for effort nonetheless.
I wouldn't say it's an awful game, but a quite annoying one which should have been far better. It seems like they only worked on it for around 11 months or so, so I guess it's quite an achievement to make it in that short amount of time. But I always disregard a game's development time when rating it, as it doesn't make a game better or worse, really. I'd give it 6/10
All of your reviews are really pleasant, and Super Mario RPG is brilliant.
A huge hug from Italia. 💝
I hadn't realized Yoko Shimamura was the composer here. She really is an incredible musician and composer.
Super Mario RPG is hands down the greatest video game of all time.
When I had the SNES, this was by my favorite game. I must've spent countless hours trying to figure out all the secret like those invisible chests and beating the option bosses likes Jinx and Culex. Finding all the Frog Coins was a struggle too.
Who is here after the remake announcement?
I am looking forward to seeing if you got the Super Suit. 😂
An absolute classic. Beat this back when I was like 10. A decade and a half later when I replayed I stopped at the bootleg Power Rangers. Need to pop it back in again soon.
Derek, please get together with Johnny Millenium for another great RPG chat video, love that video so much
I'd love to! Unfortunately John and I live pretty far from one another now that I had to move. Some day though! :)
You never forget your first.
I have found memories of this game,great review bro!
These reviews get better and better - love this !!!
You think you might try DarkKefka's Armageddon v9 ?????
That is the way to play after experiencing this game
no too grindy and TOO MUCH BULLSHIT INSTADEATH and worst of all if you dont play as the developer intended for you to play then you will be soft lock with no way to escape
I was 14 desperately waiting for super Mario 64. When I got wind of this I had to have it. One problem, it was not coming to the PAL market!! So my dad got it me from a business trip in florida. I got myself a ‘cartridge converter’, enjoyed it for about 15 mins and it killed my Super Nintendo 😢. Only started playing it again last night on my old wii (my brother downloaded it years ago) and it’s such a great addictive game. Was up til 4am playing and now I have work lol
I played through both this game and Final Fantasy 7 for my first time within the last couple years, and I loved both of them. One thing I noticed playing the games so close together was that FF7 used some of the same attack sound effects from this game. Every time I attacked with Aerith's staff it instantly took me back to SMRPG. It made me smile.
I think SMRPG is more fun than both Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga. But Paper Mario 2 is probably my favorite Mario RPG, and probably one of my favorite games of all time!
That last bit is legit actually a really good question that I'm curious about now. I'd never really thought about the fact that Mario RPG being an RPG made by Square, but using a massive brand like Mario to attract the eyes of people new to the genre, could've had a major impact on the genre itself. Like, it's pretty obvious that FFVII had a large chance at success regardless, because it was so cinematic and drove game storytelling so much further at that point in time. But would it have caught the same level of attention of Mario RPG hadn't first made the genre approachable for people who had never touched such a game?
2:15 to 2:22 was pure art! 😅
Super Mario RPG was the swansong for the SNES, in my opinion. Not the last game on the console, but definitely the last massive release for the system as PlayStation had already taken a massive bite out of the market in 1996.
To the question of whether or not it helped sell Final Fantasy VII, I think that's a no-brainer. The explosion of RPGs on PS1 owes a great debt to the genre's rise in popularity on the SNES, and that certainly applies to this game, the biggest RPG on the console.
I generally dislike battle systems that involve timing mechanics because I am not great at em but Super Mario RPG is an exception for me cause its just fun.
if i wanted some kind of streaming service for it would be for old school rpgs like this one
My first JRPG game shortly before I played FFIII/VI and Chrono Trigger.
The very first RPG game I played was this game. If it wasn’t for this I wouldn’t have played FFVII which is the game that really got me into RPGs.
Sweet review bro thanx!
Why not block more attacks in your video? You took unnecessarily high amounts of damage!
I never really got the love for this game. I mean, it's ok.... but I wouldn't go above that.
Just wanted you to know I discovered your channel today and was pumped to see you reviewed this game as it was my first game I ever beat as a kid lol. Great video and I'm excited to play some other games you've recommended!!
That's awesome dude, good to have ya here! Maybe check out Terranigma, if you like action RPGs too. It's an absolute gem! :)
@@SuperDerek will do!
Currently playing for the first time on the SNES Classic. Not an RPG fan, but Mario’s charm has kept me hooked despite the damn isometric jumping. At the Bowser’s Keep level now so I’m almost done. Might give other RPGs a try, maybe Earthbound or Secret of Mana next.
I never got into the turn-based RPG games. It always reminded me of what I disliked about animation that was not fluid, like Curious George from the 80s and 90s; too slow and a test of patience. Now, so many years later I want to get into the broad spectrum of RPG's without overdoing it and getting burned out, so I might just start here. This or Earthbound, perhaps.
As a Massive fan of Earthbound, let me tell you that it's really not a great entry point into turn based RPGs. Even though it was mine. Super Mario RPG is probably the way to go for a newcomer, I think. Let me know how it goes! :D
@@SuperDerek It was thoughtful of you to give such an honest reply. Thank you. It would be a challenge to find a "start here by genre" video for gaming since it is subjective, but finding simple pleasures that turn into great memories are always welcomed in life. Be well.
@@kennypitts4829 Dragon Quest games are great for getting into JRPGs that are turn based. Here are my recommendations for you:
Persona 5, Dragon Quest 5, 8 or 11, Final Fantasy X, Fire Emblem: Awakening. All great, accessible JRPGs that are timeless imo
I really enjoyed SMRPG, but I've found it's one I never really go back to. I like the music, gameplay, characters, and story but for some reason I don't really get the urge to replay it like FF7, Chrono Trigger, Lunar, etc. And I'm still honestly not sure why.
Oh my gosh, I loved this game like it were my own son. It was so amazing. But with that said...
*GIMMIE FROG COINS*
I have a low latency display...a 27 inch Emerson flat screen CRT with S Video and composite outputs.
My favorite SNES RPG, and probably my favorite RPG in general. This game is so good.
My older cousin, whom I considered a gamer god as a child, adamantly refused to play this game despite my accolades when it first came out. Fast-forward to the SNES mini, he tried it, and he loves it. Now, decades later, it has become his gateway into RPGs. He now has beaten Earthbound and FF3 (SNES), despite saying RPGs are his least favorite genre!
What took ya so long to get to the first RPG of Mr. Video Game himself? :D
Loving that classic superderek intro
Like many, I learned the basics of RPGs from this game as FF6 (FF3) was too complicated for me.
It was easy enough for many to pick up while having enough challenge to push the player without grinding too much.
Its definitely a good entry level RPG for those who want to get into the genre.
Mario rpg is a good entry point for the jrpg genre.
I didn't care for Super Mario RPG when it came out, as I was a diehard JRPG fanatic. At the time I felt SMRPG was gimmicky, watered down, and clearly pandered to Americans' lack of taste and appreciation for serious story driven RPGs. I still feel most of that is true, but after giving it a chance, it's really not all that bad. As Derek mentioned, it is a really good beginner RPG also.
This was one of my favorite games from the snes. I played through and beat this as a kid. Another great video Derek
I played this game on the Super Nintendo Classic Mini and loved it. Always wanted to play it but, like you, never got around to it. Thanks to this game, it got me into the Mario and Luigi games. Have always wished Square and Nintendo would make a sequel.
You're mentioning its release in "the west" quite a lot, even though this game has only been released in the US/Canada and Japan. To this day I have no clue why they didn't relase it in europe as well and I'm still salty about it (I'm living in germany). They even announced the game in various magazines, but in the end they cancelled the release... :-/
That game is nothing short of a masterpiece. I played it when it was new, beat it and now finally after all those years finally replaying it (I am at the Ghost Ship currently.)
I was just wondering if it was as well received by the SNES community as it should be, glad to see that this gem while under-mentioned is not under-praised.
I would love to see a sequel to super Mario rpg. They need to put in more characters in though with the previous. I would like to see Luigi, Yoshi, Warrio, and a few Square characters in.
Been having a sour day so far. But it is Mar10 day and the 25th anniversary of this was yesterday. Gonna give myself the day off from stressing about the small stuff and play this. Awesome video thanks for making it.
I remember back in the 90s wanting to play this game but I never did. It wasn’t until I got my snes classic that I finally played it. Great game. 👍
This is why Mario doesnt just so strait to bowsers castle. When its just TOO EASY, the universe knows it and has to buck back.
Great review as always!
What makes me want to play this more than a Paper Mario game is the combat looks more JRPG-like. The Paper Mario combat feels so repetitive and boring to me. Every encounter feels the same and there's no real variation as to what you should or need to do to enemies.
My second ever RPG, right after EarthBound.
Looking forward to this one Super Derek. 👍
i describe this game as babys first rpg (but not as an insult!). it is a story anyone can get into, its light hearted and funny, and the combat is straightforward and basic. I played it to my wife (who was not a gamer growing up) and she loved it.
i thought she was going to die laughing when we met booster. such a clown
I remember playing this as a kid and couldn't get past the octupus you fight in the ship because my nintendo stopped working. I wasn't able to beat it until years later when I was in high school. I liked how you can find other nintendo characters in the game and the secret boss you can fight.
This was also my first RPG and yes it was immediately followed by ff7, so yeah, maybe ff7 owes a bit to SMRPG
Where is Luigi? I thought it was odd that he’s not in the game back when I played it years ago.
I didn't know what an RPG was when this game came out
Looking at the magazine ads then, all I knew was that the graphics looked awesome and that I wanted it.
Great review!, I have to take some time to play this game as well and I kinda like it's not a super long rpg game.
Great review, thank you for the high quality content good sir
Favorite game of all time pretty much
Good taste.
I play through this at least once a year. Such a great game. Nice video!
Once again, Derek, you have knocked it out of the park.😀
This game and Chrono Trigger were my first rpgs, ever since then I have been hooked on the genre.
It was the commercials that sold FF7 lol
True, but SMRPG was the game that opened the doors for the RPG boom. It outsold the other SNES RPGs that preceeded it and set a record for rentals at that point too.
The yoshi race is actually really easy when you realize you need to press the button to the music in the background.
I watch you on Twitch (Dkarma12) and have watched your RUclips videos for just over a year or so (I was sent to you via Wood from Beatemups and then later on sent to you through Johnny from HappyConsoleGamer) and I have to admit that you're one of the greatest reviewers and entertainers I've ever watched!
You truly are Super Derek in terms of bringing SUPERB content (pun totally intended btw)! I look forward to the RPG weekly updates, and especially these reviews! I've been a fan of RPGs since I was too young to understand them, but I would watch my cousins play them with great interest (Chrono Trigger, FF4, FF6, Illusion of Gaia, Super Mario RPG, Earthbound, Secret of Mana, 7th Saga and many more were some that I watched them play and then would go on to play on my own later as I grew older) as a small boy of around the age of five or six. I can't describe the excitement and joy these games have brought me and continue to bring me as I relive those past moments in watching reviews like yours.
Thank you, sincerely and truly, Derek! Honestly, great work and I hope these games bring you the some sort of happiness as they do, and will for sure continue to do, for me! I'm looking forward to watching you stream next, especially because one of your viewers gift subbed me this latest stream weekend of yours! Take care man!
Wow, it's comments like these that are music for my soul. Thanks man, I appreciate you taking the time, and thanks for watching. :)
Super Mario RPG was my first ever RPG and, even though I loved it, it took Chrono Trigger and Final Fantasy VII to fully get committed to the genre. I'm absolutely glad I did.
Can someone please tell me why geno and mallow aren’t in smash brothers yet?
Stupid isometry.
Sup Derek
Hope you're doing well
-Derek
As it so happens, this was my first RPG. I was aware of RPGs prior, but never tried them because screenshots always made them look intimidating, with all the menus and numbers onscreen. Not as simple as jumping over platforms and stomping on enemies. Even Mario RPG, I was gonna avoid, because the game just looked too weird. But my grandpa got it, and I tried it, fell in love with it, and became one of the biggest fans of RPGs in general.
YOU are Super Derek and great review as always my man
This guy makes me cringe but his videos are great
i tried several times to get into the game but it never clicked and I always stopped after playing it for about 5h...
For me Paper Mario 1 and 2 was far more appealing
Totally understandable! I never got too far, way back when I tried this game on an emulator. Believe it or not, I think the graphics were actually a turnoff for me back in the day. Kinda funny, that.
2:18 frilling!
Did you find the secret FF boss?
Awesome and refreshing.
FF7 is a great game that got alot of advertisement during its release, it would sold well even without Mario RPG.
Absolutely agree. We didn't even get Super Mario RPG in Europe, but FF7 still sold a bucketload.
I never beat this game. I think I lost interest because of the CGI sprites. I'v always hated that Donkey Kong Country look no matter where I see it. Mortal Kombat, the Vectorman games... It all looks like garbage to me. But the game itself is pretty good from what I remember, so I'll probably push through it someday.
I am surprised it outsold FF6 and Chrono Trigger, though. I was familiar with those games despite never owning a SNES as a kid, but Super Mario RPG is something I never even knew existed until long after I had beaten FF7. Probably not until after the Play Station 2 was out. So it certainly wasn't a part of my decision to play FF7, but other people might feel differently.
I'm also loving the display shelves back there. I never knew the PS2 Suikoden games looked so nice in a row like that. I guess I'll have to track them down boxed when I get around to them.
hi derek just found your channel and i will admit your reviews are well informed and smrpg was also my first rpg and to this day still one of my fondest memories
Thanks Jeremy! I'll have more reviews just around the corner! :)
My favorite video game of all time.
One of my favorite rpgs ever
Man, glad to see your reviews again! Glad to have you back!
I'm making 'em at about a rate of 1 each month, make sure to check out my Shadow Hearts II review if you missed it last month! :)
Dude. Who does your hair?
I was eleven when Super Mario RPG came out and it was my first game in the genre. I've always used it to introduce people to JRPGs who are interested but unsure of things. It's definitely among the best beginner JRPGs, in my opinion.
Interesting point at the end of the video about Super Mario RPG acting as a lead-in to the Playstation era of JRPGs. It worked that way for me. I was the right age to get into Super Mario RPG when it released and to then go on to get hyped about the Playstation RPGs. I might not have read about Final Fantasy VII so intently in the magazines of the era if I didn't already know Squaresoft. I also might not have gone back to experience past games like Earthbound, FFIII, and Secret of Mana.
Keep it up man some great content!
Back when Square was focused on gameplay, way more than graphics. Maybe, do Paper Mario tTYD next?
Well... I mean, this game DID lean pretty heavily on graphics. Those Silicon Graphics workstations used to render polygonal sprites certainly weren't cheap! That said, the game was also super fun, which helps a lot too. :)
@@SuperDerek For sure, but I feel older 90's Square was more invested in solid gameplay more than graphics. Graphics only carried a game so far in the pixel days. You had to engage the player in every way possible. Best way was by solid gameplay/writing.