I DID IT I FINALLY BEAT MY FIRST JRPG

This has been a genre that has eluded me for far too long. A lot of things factored in to that, most of it being the ungodly long runtimes and my former distaste for turn-based combat, but something about Mario RPG made it all click for me in a way I never thought possible.

Most of the time, when I went to try a JRPG, it would be Pokemon. I don't know why, but for some reason I thought that would be the best path in. It's an IP I'm already incredibly familiar with, so that would help. What those games (falsely) taught me was that JRPG combat is bad, but you get through it for the other stuff. I don't even know if I could consider Pokemon combat "bad," but it's not for me.

Mario RPG showed me what a good turn-based combat system can do. 1v1 battles are boring as hell turn based, but with a full party you have so much more room to actually do some minor strategizing, even if it's not all that deep. Combine that with the slightly more active and "skill based" timed attacks and you have a recipe for something that will actually keep me engaged across a long runtime.

But that was the other huge thing: by presenting a great JRPG in a short (sub-20h) context it manages to make me feel so much less stressed about how many other things I could be doing instead. This thing is also paced immaculately, where no matter what was happening in the game I couldn't wait to pick it back up every day.

There's also just... So much charm here. They do SOOOO much with so little in terms of animation and sprite counts, and at least once every dialogue I said to myself "wow, I never would have thought of that." The visuals are charming, the music fantastically catchy, and the dialogue is witty in all the best ways. I wanted to spend even more time with all of these characters. Geno and Mallow are so much more fleshed out than they have any right to be, and I love how all the legacy characters get characterized here with funny, very stylized dialogue.

I feel like this game has opened Pandora's box for me. I'm going to spend a little more time with Mario first, diving into Paper Mario, but I'm finally starting to feel ready to dive into a "true" JRPG. I can't believe it.

Like the moon over
the day, my genius and brawn
are lost on these fools. ~Haiku

Honestly i would say this is my first Mario rpg experience but i played sticker star when i was little so, fuck it this is my first mario rpg experience now. What can i say that hasn't already been said, yeah gameplay is easy, yeah story is good, yeah soundtrack, yeah the game is super charming. Honestly though i would admit i got a smidge tired of it towards the end but what kept me going was this games charm and really that's kind of what carries this game and why it has so many people fawning over it. From what i see from reviews on here it looks like the only way you can enjoy this game is if your like me and havent played the other ones.

For the longest time I used to write off this game as something only nostalgic boomers liked and because I associated it with people who say things like "I hate Turn Based RPGs... but I do like Mario RPG and Paper Mario!" and that annoyed me to no end. I'm not a petty teenager anymore though and I wanted to examine the game for myself (not counting that I played until the mid point of the story like a decade ago, I forgot everything about it so it doesn't really count).

What I found here was a charming little RPG, that takes the usual Square trappings from the Super Nintendo era and recontextualizes them into Mario's world and style. It's no wonder that some of the same team here also worked on "Final Fantasy: Mystic Quest", another attempt at an easy and approachable RPG which was FAR less successful to this goal. Mario RPG still offers much of what makes the genre appealing: exploring dungeons, buying and finding equipment to keep your characters strong, leveling up and leaning new abilities, boss fights that force you to use your best skills, multiple characters for different party formations... it actually has it all, just in an easier and more streamlined version.

The story is very straightforward and I actually don't have much to say about it. I like Bowser's characterization here a lot and Mallow was the absolute highlight of the entire plot for me, it almost feels like this is his story on an emotional level.

Anyway, pretty decent little RPG, I get why it's remembered so fondly now.

Way back in the distant year of 1996, in a time where Mario wasnt so heavily brand protected, Nintendo teamed up with Square to give the Super Nintendo one last late goodbye. What came out of that team up is still beeing described as one of the best rpgs of all time. A timless classic many europeans like me never got to experience due to it never beeing released outside Japan and North America. But now as the christmas time and the remake just came out, I thought I finaly look into what so many describe as their favorite game. Does it hold up or is it just childhood nostalgia ?

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars follows the most basic JRPG story you can get. Mario is fighting Bowser as usuall but suddenly a giant sword falls from the sky, releasing an army of weapon themed badguys that reck havoc upon the World. Thats your evil empire, que the quest to collect the 7 Stars to save the world. Its a formula many old school rpgs used and one Mario RPGs specially would reuse in every game to come. And its a good formula for stringing a lot of fun vignietts together, not so great for a compelling story, but thats not the focus for Mario. The Journey really is the destination and youll be amazed how creative Square got with all the places you get to visit. The great writting and wacky situations keep the game running at an enjoyable jog as you visit Molle people, go up the clouds or fight shark pirates in a sunken ship. All with a party of companiens who arent at all deep, but lovable enough that your gona remember your time with them. Everyone has their little story arc with wich you come to appreciate them.

In terms of pressantation Square chose a isometric 3D Render style. It admitly looks kinda cheap in pictures, but I was seriously amazed of how it looks in motion. Their are so many little animations and different sprites they managed to crame into a tiny Cartridge. Although much like the enviroments, not everything is a hit. Theirs realy neat locations like Boosters Towers and Nimbus Land, while places like the Lands End and Kero Sewers drove me kinda nuts in their saminess. That and the enemie color swaps at the end make the visualls 50/50 for me.

Luckily all the enviroments have very disticnt Musicals tracks. Square really treated this like a reall rpg in all aspects, so you get everything form the big orchestral tracks, upbeat cartoon vibes and the occasional 90s techno midi during boss fights. Its all fantastic except the main battle theme for me. Great at first, but long battle gauntlets had it seriously get on my nerves. And the battle them is sadly the main music track you will hear.

The battles are as one would guess turn based. Each of the face buttons correlate to a specific action. Attack, Magic, Items, Run/Defend. This set up is kinda genius. You really dont have to scroll through any menus and actions are right at your finger tips. The battles managd to hold such a fast past, so they almost never get stale. Mana is also shared between all party members so thats also a lair of complexity you dont have to worrie about. I wouldnt say its a bad system at all, but its very simple. Perfect for beginners tbh.
In addition you get a lot of Luck based bonuses and the now famous action button commands. I personally could never figure out the timing for perfect hits and blocks, mostly because of the perspective. The perspective also snaps the games kneecaps in half whenever theirs a sudden platform segment. For me climbing the beanstocks or platforming across lava is akin to water toture, by far the worst aged part.

In the end I still pushed through and Im glad I did. As the credit music plays and the stars you collected show you little epilogues of the places you traveld to, it all seems so worth it. Beyond its age, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars still delivers a one of a kind adventure. And if Im looking for anything in a JRPG, its that feeling of warmt, that I just completed a journey. I now get why this is so beloved by many and Im excited to someday play the remake.

Jogo incrível e de certa forma ambicioso pra época devido ao seu estilo gráfico bem único, o que infelizmente torna o jogo um certo lento e com fps instável em certas partes, assim como imprecisão em pular certas plataformas, mas isso não tira o charme do jogo, ele é fácil de certa forma, mas alguns bosses pode fazer você ficar preso neles por horas, principalmente na parte final (aka Rangers e Smithy final boss), a adição de Mallow e Geno foi um acerto e tanto, personagens muito carismáticos e que deveriam fazer um comeback na franquia, a trilha sonora é incrível (principalmente a Forest Maze), o estilo de batalha em turnos tem seu charme e só foi aprimorado cada vez mais na franquia "Mario & Luigi". Totalmente recomendado

This is a rare DNF for me, it never happens with mario games, rpg or otherwise.

I just couldn't be bothered to continue. The aesthetics are bland and ugly, the character/enemy designs are out of place in what is supposed to be a quirky way, but it just feels jarring to me. Enemy and boss designs are as forgettable as it gets.

Gameplay is fine, but it is miles behind any other mario rpg. Combat QTEs are poorly communicated and the timing often feels arbitrary. If you don't have a manual you basically won't be able to know what any status effect does, or even what they look like.

The game progression is a bog-standard maguffin hunt, in a world that is a beeline of uninspired areas one after another, each and every one ruined by the godawful art style and confusing isometric perspective.

The main cast has some interesting character designs, but that's it. You can barely even call them characters, they have basically no personality, dialog or development.

I reached the point where you get the sixth star and just gave up out of pure boredom.

I know this is a highly revered game, and I'm sure that it has charmed many people. Unfortunately, I just can't see the appeal.