#16: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Platform: Super Nintendo
Publisher: Nintendo
Developer: Square
Release: 01/06/1996

Though I played a lot of games as a kid, my exposure to the thorough catalogue of gaming genres was initially quite limited. Platforming games were my forte, and represented the biggest chunk of the library, whereas sports were a non factor for me back then, and until Looney Tunes B-Ball, I never owned a single sporting game.

Similarly, it took the presence of Mario for me to ever take interest in an RPG game, a foreign concept to me at the time. Upon first renting it, my sister and I watched the opening animation; our minds shifting from wonderment at the graphics to confusion over the flow of battles. Mario leapt forward from a formation, made an attacking animation in the direction of a stationary enemy, who proceeded to explode. But wait! He didn't even touch it! What sorcery is this?

And so, we began our first RPG. Alright, our first turn-based RPG, because in some minds, games in the Zelda series are entries in the RPG genre, though I myself disagree.


Anyhow, Mario RPG follows the same premise as a great number of Mario games; Princess Toadstool has been kidnapped by Bowser, and Mario sets out to rescue her once again. Of course, genre aside, this game is not the same as other Mario games, and this is clear from the moment you see the first level set within the walls of Bowser's castle. For this traditional series of events is merely a skein to the greater adventure, truly one of Mario's most epic, colourful and unique quests.

One of the marvelous things about Mario RPG is that it's a wonderful clash of two worlds: the familiar characters and platforming aspects of Mario, with the story elements and combat style of RPGs like Final Fantasy. Of course, this is because the game was made by the very creators of Final Fantasy, Square, who were churning out quality titles en route to their peak of the late 90s.

This was certainly a cerebral entry in the Mario series. Though more RPGs would follow, the battles were more difficult and tactical in this one, borderline brutal on occasion, and as such, Mario RPG still stands in many people's minds as the finest example of the genre for a Mario title.

It still remains fresh in my mind, all these years later, despite how apathetic Nintendo appear to be towards it. Geno's 'blink and you'll miss it' cameo in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga caused quite a stir among the fan community, and this is indicative of how much love the game still holds.

The game does have a subtitle, after all, and we still wonder if maybe, someday, we'll see another one.