Back when it was first released on the Super NES, the idea of an RPG starring Mario was so novel that the genre was included as part of the title. Thee game is fun more than 20 years later, especially for RPG novices, even if some aspects seem dated.
The plot is relatively thin for an RPG, and mainly revolves around Mario and his companions trying to find the seven stars to repair the wish-granting Star Road, as well as defeat the evil Smithy and his gang of minions. That said, it does have some twists that were novel for the time, such as a new villain upstaging Bowser, Bowser being forced to join Mario and Princess Toadstool being rescued early on in the game.
SMRPG, like Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi alternates between you exploring the various areas and combat. The game is in an isometric perspective, so while the controls are mostly responsive, it can be a bit awkward moving or jumping diagonally. While there are no Random Encounters, and you instead get into battles by touching enemy avatars, there is no way to gain(or lose) the advantage in battle, unlike subsequent Mario RPGs.
Minigames provide a fun change of pace, such as grabbing coins while floating down a river or riding a mine cart. Doing well in these minigames can net you some nice rewards, but none that you can't complete the game without.
Combat is turn-based, but by timing button presses properly, you can cause your attacks to do more damage or reduce the damage of enemy attacks. It's a fun and novel mechanic, but unfortunately, it can sometimes be hard to tell the proper timing of an attack or how much the timing affects the damage. Compare Paper Mario, where if you hit A at the right time for a jump, Mario will bounce off the enemy and hit a second time, but if not, he will only hit once.
As an RPG, SMRPG's relatively simple, likely to appeal to novices. There are only a handful of weapons and pieces of armor, which, with a few exceptions, only affect your primary offense and defense stats. You will sometimes have to consider enemies' elemental resistances and weaknesses, but it's not as critical as in other series.
That said, while most random encounters are rather easy, the boss battles can be challenging. Most bosses have at least one unique mechanic, such as summoning allies, giving the boss battles a good amount of variety.
SMRPG is rather short for an RPG, and I finished my most recent playthrough in 14 hours. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as you can complete the game without Level Grinding as long as you don't avoid enemy encounters, so the game has good pacing. There are a few sidequests and Bonus Bosses, which can be fun diversions.
SMRPG is not just a novelty as the first Mario RPG, but is one of the most fun and accessible RPGs on the SNES. While later Mario RPGs have refined some of the concepts this game introduced, it's still well worth your time, especially if you're new to the genre.
Fun game, even if some parts haven't aged well
Back when it was first released on the Super NES, the idea of an RPG starring Mario was so novel that the genre was included as part of the title. Thee game is fun more than 20 years later, especially for RPG novices, even if some aspects seem dated.
The plot is relatively thin for an RPG, and mainly revolves around Mario and his companions trying to find the seven stars to repair the wish-granting Star Road, as well as defeat the evil Smithy and his gang of minions. That said, it does have some twists that were novel for the time, such as a new villain upstaging Bowser, Bowser being forced to join Mario and Princess Toadstool being rescued early on in the game.
SMRPG, like Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi alternates between you exploring the various areas and combat. The game is in an isometric perspective, so while the controls are mostly responsive, it can be a bit awkward moving or jumping diagonally. While there are no Random Encounters, and you instead get into battles by touching enemy avatars, there is no way to gain(or lose) the advantage in battle, unlike subsequent Mario RPGs.
Minigames provide a fun change of pace, such as grabbing coins while floating down a river or riding a mine cart. Doing well in these minigames can net you some nice rewards, but none that you can't complete the game without.
Combat is turn-based, but by timing button presses properly, you can cause your attacks to do more damage or reduce the damage of enemy attacks. It's a fun and novel mechanic, but unfortunately, it can sometimes be hard to tell the proper timing of an attack or how much the timing affects the damage. Compare Paper Mario, where if you hit A at the right time for a jump, Mario will bounce off the enemy and hit a second time, but if not, he will only hit once.
As an RPG, SMRPG's relatively simple, likely to appeal to novices. There are only a handful of weapons and pieces of armor, which, with a few exceptions, only affect your primary offense and defense stats. You will sometimes have to consider enemies' elemental resistances and weaknesses, but it's not as critical as in other series.
That said, while most random encounters are rather easy, the boss battles can be challenging. Most bosses have at least one unique mechanic, such as summoning allies, giving the boss battles a good amount of variety.
SMRPG is rather short for an RPG, and I finished my most recent playthrough in 14 hours. However, this isn't necessarily a bad thing, as you can complete the game without Level Grinding as long as you don't avoid enemy encounters, so the game has good pacing. There are a few sidequests and Bonus Bosses, which can be fun diversions.
SMRPG is not just a novelty as the first Mario RPG, but is one of the most fun and accessible RPGs on the SNES. While later Mario RPGs have refined some of the concepts this game introduced, it's still well worth your time, especially if you're new to the genre.