Top 50 Video Games: Number 27

#27: Super Mario RPG
System: Super Nintendo Entertainment System
Publisher: Square
Released: 1996
Players: 1


Ahh, precious irony. Truth in advertising indeed. Also, I'm told the enemy shown above was in Boring Fantasy II or whatever it was called.


When I heard that there was going to be a Mario RPG, I had my doubts. RPGs were serious things, with swords and magic and terrible demons and beasts. Mario was a plumber who ate mushrooms and fought a dinosuar named Bowser. Not exactly epic stuff. The game was being developed by Square who was famous for making a series of RPGs whose name I can't remember (I think it was Last Fantasy or Average Fantasy or something.) Needless to say, the game turned out to be a blast. I'd like to dust off the old SNES and play it again, but my copy of the game is...well...I own Super Mario RPG the way Jimbob owns a dog. Case closed.

SMRPG had Mario working WITH Bowser - basically there are assholes who've taken over Bowser's castle and are threatening the Mushroom Kingdom. Bowser wants his castle back, so he's lending a hand. Also joining the party are Geno (a weird possessed doll of sorts) and Mallow (it's a long story.) The game has a lot of good dialogue and the tongue in cheek humor Nintendo does so well with their mario games. The game uses a standard turn based battle system with a twist: you have to use timing to score critical hits, do extra damage, dodge attacks, etc. This makes the player a more active participant in battle than most RPGs. The game's unofficial sequel, Paper Mario, uses the same battle system to great effect.


Mario, Kooper and Goombario from Paper Mario.


SMRPG helped prove that Mario could successfully star in a game of just about any genre and that Square could once again make an RPG that was fun. SMRPG was also full of fun little mini-games as well as lots of optional things to do and collect. It's intelligent, fun, full of things to do and surprisingly one of the best RPGs I've ever played. While it had no actual sequel, there have since been 2 Paper Mario games which are done in the much the same spirit. SMRPG is more like a deep RPG starring Mario whereas Paper Mario is more lighthearted, like a Mario game with a little RPG goodness mixed in. Regardless, all 3 games are damn good fun.