Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Developer	Squaresoft
Publisher	Nintendo
System	SNES, Virtual Console (Wii, Wii U)
Release Date	Super NES JP March 9, 1996 US May 13, 1996 Wii Virtual Console JP June 24, 2008 EU August 22, 2008 AU August 22, 2008 US September 1, 2008 Wii U Virtual Console JP August 5, 2015 PAL December 24, 2015 US June 30, 2016
Gallery	GH Gallery
Rating	ESRB: E

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is a Super NES game which acts as the first roleplaying game in the Super Mario franchise and is also the first Mario game featuring a relatively complex plot. The game was created jointly by Squaresoft, known for their Final Fantasy series, and Nintendo. It blended the Mario world with traditional RPG elements and would later inspire two separate Mario RPG series.

Story

The story begins with a seemingly average adventure in which Mario once more battles Bowser in order to rescue Princess Peach. However, the battle is disrupted by a giant sword that falls from the sky and lands in Bowser's Keep. This sends Mario, Peach and Bowser flying in different directions, and it also turns out that the falling sword split the wish-granting Star Road into seven star pieces.

With this sword comes a new group of enemies called the Smithy Gang who quickly begin infiltrating and conquering parts of the Mushroom Kingdom. Mario embarks on a quest to defeat them and gather the Seven Star Pieces before the Smithy Gang do, in order to save the world's wishes from falling into evil hands. Along the way, he seeks out the missing Princess Peach and also comes to meet new allies, Mallow and Geno.

Gameplay

Developed by Squaresoft, the studio behind many popular RPG series, this game combines RPG strategy with timing skill. Like most RPGs, it features battles where characters choose attacks or other actions from a menu and carry them out in turn-based combat. Super Mario RPG featured a twist on the formula in the form of timed hits, wherein players could press a button at the right time to make the character's attack stronger or defend against an enemy's attack. Most of the character's special moves also involve unique controls, such as button mashing to shoot out fireballs as Mario or holding a button to charge up some attacks. Following traditional RPGs, there can be three characters in a party at a time, and all characters in a battle will gain experience and level up. The two stats that can be promoted while leveling up are HP (Hit Points) and FP (Flower Points). HP acts as the player's health, while FP is a substitute for MP (Magic Points) in other RPG games, which are used when characters use special moves. The game is depicted from a isometric 3D perspective in which Mario moves throughout environments, with some elements of platforming games strewn throughout the areas, such as blocks that can be jumped into. Once an enemy is touched on the overworld, it will automatically switch into a battle screen. A Starman does also appear as a rare item that has an effect similar to its other appearances: it will allow Mario to temporarily run around invincible and knock out any enemy he makes contact with while under the effect, without going into an actual battle. Mario will still retain all experience points from all enemies he has knocked out. The game also includes a number of minigames, such as riding a rolling barrel down Midas River, racing Yoshis and chasing Booster and his Snifits up a hill.

In addition to Mario, there are four other playable characters who will join Mario's party. This includes both Peach and Bowser, which is notable due to being the first time Bowser was made playable outside of spin-off games like Super Mario Kart, and it also marked Peach's second playable appearance (again discounting spin-offs) after Super Mario Bros. 2. The other two teammates are original characters named Mallow and Geno. Each of the characters have their own unique abilities to deploy in battle.

One of the last Mario games for the Super NES, this features some of the system's most refined graphics, aided by the SA-1 chip. It was also known for its memorable music and a number of humorous elements in the plot that keep the game's tone from becoming uncharacteristically serious.

Legacy

Despite being the original Mario RPG, no official sequel has been made. Instead, two other Mario RPGs were later made that each spawned their own respective subseries: Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. The former was originally made with the working title of Super Mario RPG 2 before it became its own distinct game. Despite their differences, these RPGs do incorporate some elements from Super Mario RPG, such as the timed hits (under other names, such as 'action command'), Mario's usage of a hammer as his weapon and the prevalent humor.

The reason this game has no sequel and that is characters have failed to reappear for the most part is that Square held the rights to all original elements of the game and shortly afterwards started making games for the Playstation instead of Nintendo. Squaresoft and Nintendo have begun working together again in later years (notably on several sports games, Mario Hoops 3-on-3 and Mario Sports Mix), but with only occasional Super Mario RPG-related cameo appearances.

Ports and Remakes

• It was released for the Wii as part of its Virtual Console in June 2008 for Japan, and then for the other regions in late August/early September of the same year. In Europe, it was released as part of the Hanabi Festival promotion, because it had not been originally released for the Super NES in that region. The game would later be released again for the Wii U as part of the Wii U Virtual Console in 2016.
• It was among the games included in the Super NES Classic Edition in 2017.
• In 2023, it was remade for the Nintendo Switch as Super Mario RPG. This remake featured new graphics and additional gameplay features, as well as some changes to the localization script.

References/Homages

• In Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, a Geno doll made a cameo appearance as the host of a minigame, with the credits acknowledging Square's ownership of the character. This cameo was removed from the 3DS remake.
• In the Super Smash Bros. series, a Geno costume was made available for Mii Gunners in Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS/Wii U (where it was available as DLC) and Super Smash Bros. Ultimate. Spirits of both Geno and Mallow also appeared in the latter game.

See Also

• Characters in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
• Equipment in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars