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Super Mario RPG:
Legend of the Seven Stars
Developer(s)Square[2]
Publisher(s)Nintendo[3]
Director(s)
  • Yoshihiko Maekawa Edit this on Wikidata
Designer(s)Shigeru Miyamoto (producer)
Yoshihiko Maekawa (director)
Chihiro Fujioka (director)
Yoko Shimomura (music composer)
Hironobu Sakaguchi (production supervisor)
Platform(s)Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Virtual Console
ReleaseSuper NES
JP March 9, 1996
NA May 13, 1996
Virtual Console (Wii)
JP TBA 2007
NA TBA 2007[1]
Genre(s)Adventure, role-playing[4]
Mode(s)Single player

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars, released as simply Super Mario RPG (スーパーマリオRPG, Sūpā Mario Ārupījī) in Japan,[8] is a hybrid adventure–console role-playing game,[4] developed and published by Square Co., Ltd. (now Square Enix Co., Ltd.) and Nintendo Co., Ltd.[2][3] Nintendo first released the game on Saturday, March 9, 1996 in Japan and on Monday, May 13, 1996 in North America. Neither Nintendo nor Squaresoft ever released a PAL version.

It is the final Mario game for the Super Nintendo Entertainment System video game console, as well as being one of the last games Square produced for Nintendo hardware until Chocobo Land: A Game of Dice in 2002. The game was mainly developed by Square with direct guidance from producer Shigeru Miyamoto.[9] IGN confirmed that Nintendo will re–release Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars on Wii's Virtual Console in North America in 2007.[1]

Gameplay

Super Mario RPG is the first game in which Mario and Bowser fight as allies, and the first console role-playing game (RPG) in the Mario series containing token similarities to many other Square role-playing games such as Chrono Trigger and the Final Fantasy series with a story based in the Mario universe. Square's Final Fantasy series was the model for the battle sequences while the tradition of Super Mario Bros. games demanded a lot of action and introducing Nintendo's longtime Mario fans to an easy–to–play RPG starring Mario.[10]

File:Super Mario RPG Battle Screenshot.png
Mario and Mallow battle the boss Belome in a battle screen.

Mario's enemies are visible in the field; a battle ensues only if he comes in contact with one, allowing the player to evade unnecessary battles, although some fights are necessary to advance the plot. Avoiding battles also means acquiring fewer experience points, causing characters to take greater, and inflict less, damage from attacks, making battles more difficult.

Battle system

The battles themselves are a blend of platforming elements and traditional role-playing game battles. As well as selecting attacks, the player is usually required to perform action commands to increase the damage done. These consist of timed button presses and other movements (such as rotating the control pad or pressing Y repeatedly) to determine the power of the character's attack, a concept that was carried over to some later role-playing games such as Final Fantasy VIII. As with many other role-playing games, items are an important tool in battles. The need to perform action commands in between navigating menus requires the player to be engaged in the battle the whole time. Unlike many role-playing games before and after its release, much of the gameplay was outside of monster battles. In the field, the game plays much like an isometric platformer, with many traditional Mario features as well as many new ones (such as magic spells) playing a key role. There are five characters the player can control: Mario, Mallow, Geno, Bowser, and Princess Toadstool. Each character has a unique set of attacks and techniques.

Plot

Characters

The game's main characters include three of the main individuals of the franchise as well as two original characters. Mario is the main character, who plays the role of the silent protagonist[11], and hero who often saves the world. On his way to find and rescue Princess Toadstool as he has in the preview Mario games, he meets up with the cloud-like being Mallow, who believes he's a tadpole.[12] As he returns to his home with Mario, he learns the truth, that he's not a tadpole, and he was found floating in a river by his adoptive grandfather, Frogfucius, and sets off with Mario in the hope of finding his true parents.[11] On their search, they meet a being from Star Road, who possesses a young boy's doll, Geno, taking on the doll's name name and persona.[11] He explains that he is a "star agent" sent by a higher authority to recover the Seven Star Pieces that must be found in order to stop Smithy, the main villain of the game. They eventually run into Bowser, and save Princess Toadstool. Bowser decides to help Mario, so he can reclaim his castle from the Smithy Gang[12], and Peach, desperate to help, sneaks out of the Mushroom Kingdom to help on their travels.

Story

For a more comprehensive list, see List of locations in Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars.

The story begins with Mario entering Bowser's Castle to rescue Princess Toadstool. Mario defeats Bowser, but a giant earthquake caused by a sword named Exor shakes the castle, sending Mario, Bowser, and Princess Toadstool flying in three different directions.

Mario falls through the chimney into his house and returns to the Mushroom Kingdom with Toad to inform the Chancellor of the current situation. The Chancellor insists that Mario locate the Princess, defeat Bowser once and for all, and discover the truth behind the sword's intentions. Upon exiting the Chancellor's castle, Mario finds a new character named Mallow, who starts crying after his grandfather's coin is stolen; Mario helps Mallow retrieve the coin from Croco.

Mario and Mallow return to Mushroom Kingdom so Mallow can complete his errand, but they find the Kingdom under attack. After defeating Mack, they discover their first Star Piece, which the Chancellor suggests is connected to the arrival of Smithy. Mario and Mallow head to Tadpole Pond to see Mallow's grandfather, Frogfucius, for more information on Smithy's forces. However, Frogfucius doesn't know what the star is and urges Mallow to aid Mario in his quest.

With the assistance of Geno, a star spirit who assumes the identity of a doll, Mario and Mallow manage to get a second Star Piece. Geno thanks them and introduces himself as a visitor from the Star Road. He explains how Exor shattered the Star Road into seven Star Pieces, and that all seven must be recovered to repair the Star Road. With the mystery behind the origin of the star pieces finally solved, Geno joins the party and they set out to search for the remaining five pieces and Peach.

The heroes next arrive at Moleville where a shooting star has crashed into the hollowed-out mountain on the outskirts of town and trapped two kids that were exploring inside. The party retrieves the two missing kids and the third Star Piece. While in Moleville, Mario also sees Bowser trying to reassemble his forces.

When the crew receive word that someone was seen falling from the sky and landing on the roof of Booster Tower, the home of a rich and greedy madman, they decide to check it out. When they arrive, Bowser is seen standing outside the entrance, reminiscing about his own castle and how much he misses it. When the party explains how Smithy's involvement has affected Star Road, Bowser reluctantly decides to join up with Mario and his friends and help stop Smithy in order to get his castle back. Bowser's help comes in handy, but Booster manages to escape with Peach and takes off for the nearby town of Marrymore in an attempt to marry her.

Upon arriving in Marrymore, the heroes learn that Booster has kicked everyone out of the chapel and barricaded the doors.[13][14] Fortunately, they find the Back Door,[14] and manage to rescue Peach after Booster gets distracted by the enormous wedding cake.

Finally, with the Princess found, the party returns to the Mushroom Kingdom and explains the situation to both her and the Chancellor. Against the wishes of the Chancellor, the Princess decides to join the party. On Frogfucius' advice, they head to Star Hill, where the party discovers a fourth Star Piece.

The quest for the three remaining Star Pieces brings the party to Seaside Town, where the Elder informs the party that a Star Piece has fallen into the ocean and likely is controlled by a ruthless pirate called Jonathan Jones. The party finds Jones' Sunken Ship and manage to defeat Jones, earning the party the fifth Star Piece and Jones' respect.

They return to Seaside Town and find that the Elder was Yaridovich, a spear-themed member of the Smithy Gang, in disguise. In exchange for releasing the citizens of the town, Yaridovich demands the fifth Star Piece. Yaridovich's departure is delayed by Jones, which allows the party to defeat Yaridovich to regain the Star Piece.

The party's journey continues through Land's End, a desolate conglomeration of mountain and desert regions, and Monstro Town, a place teeming with reformed monsters. With some help from the town's residents the party scales an inaccessible cliff in order to get to Bean Valley, which leads to a city in the sky.

The city, Nimbus Land, is made up of inhabitants who look just like Mallow. As the party arrives, the royal advisor Valentina announces that the King's ill condition has turned critical. However, she also claims to have found the lost prince, who takes over for the ill king; Valentina becomes the new queen when the prince asks her to marry him.

Looking around the city, Mallow learns from the royal sculptor, that he is the real prince. Garro is able to sneak the party into the castle in order to rescue the king and queen. Seeing the real prince, Valentina and Dodo (the impostor prince) flee. After briefly falling out of Nimbus Land, the party defeats Valentina and Dodo, making them flee to Booster's Tower. They get the key and rescue Mallow's parents, the perfectly healthy king and queen.

After Mallow's reunion with his parents, the party continues onward, told by the queen that a star fell into the Barrel Volcano. The party finds the sixth Star Piece, but it is stolen by the Axem Rangers, an elite Smithy Gang fighting force. After chasing them onto their warship, Blade, the party defeats the Rangers.

The last star piece is in Bowser's Keep. After battling through many of Smithy's elite forces, they battle Exor. After defeating him, Exor transports them to a dark and lifeless factory, the center of Smithy's operations.

The party makes its way through the factory and confront Smithy. After being defeated, Smithy destroys the factory, and reveals his true form. Despite this, he is defeated and explodes.

With Smithy gone, and the final Star Piece in hand, Geno thanks the party, and returns to the Star Road to repair it. The party heads outside in time to see Exor disintegrate.

Graphics

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is one of only three games outside Japan for the SNES to utilize the Nintendo SA-1. (The other two are Kirby Super Star and Kirby's Dream Land 3.) The microprocessor allows higher clock speed, faster RAM, greater memory mapping capabilities, data storage and compression, new DMA modes (such as bitmap to bitplane transfer), and built-in CIC lockout (for piracy protection and regional marketing control).[15]

The graphical presentation is not a full top view like many RPGs of the time, nor is it the side scrolling style that was the norm for previous Mario games. Instead, the game uses an isometric view to give the otherwise 2-D game a 3-D feel. All character models are 2-D sprites based off of 3D models. The graphics have often been compared to clay models.

Audio

Music

Yoko Shimomura (Parasite Eve, Legend of Mana, and the Kingdom Hearts series) composed the music for this game. She arranged music by Koji Kondo (Super Mario and the Legend of Zelda series) and Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy series) as part of the score. Three tracks from the Final Fantasy series appear.

Many songs are popular with the communities of gamers and musicians, including OverClocked ReMix.[16]

The Super Mario RPG sound track was released on CD as Super Mario RPG Original Sound Version, with the code PSCN-5047 / PSCN-5048. The publisher was NTT. Although it contains 61 songs, the game features 73 tracks.[17]

Sound effects

For sound effects, as for music, the game employed the SPC700. The sound chip's built-in function was not something unique to this game, with a primitive simulation of a reverb effect through a short delay (or echo). The game features 210 sound effects.[18]

Reception

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars received very good reviews, including an 8.75/10 from Electronic Gaming Monthly,[19], and audience-made "best game of all-time" lists consistently feature the game, such as 26th on GameFAQs[20] and 30th at IGN.[21] Japanese audiences also received Super Mario RPG well with 1.47 million copies sold, also making it the third best selling game in Japan in 1996.[22] [23]

The game was often praised for it's graphics, which were advanced for a Super Nintendo game.[11] However, a few critics have called the graphics slightly cartoonish, while also mentioning the game could have passed as a Nintendo 64 game, graphics wise.[24] Many critics, however, agree that the story was the lowest point of the game, despite the story being much more original than the usual game from the Mario franchise at the time.[11][24][25]

Unfortunately, the game has also been known to have been overlooked. Critics often blame the release date for the lack of attention the game received.[24] Nearly a year and a half before, the PlayStation had been released, and Nintendo's next generation gaming system, the Nintendo 64, had already been released in Japan, and was nearing it's release in the United States. The release of these new systems had caused fans to move on from their Super Nintendo, which had been released for over six years at the time Super Mario RPG came out.[24] The game has also been noted for being overshadowed by the game Chrono Trigger, which had come out several months before Super Mario RPG, and had been extremely well reviewed and had sold very well commercially.[24]

Legacy

[original research?]

Officially, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars does not have a direct sequel, especially in terms of a sequel based on the original game's plot. However, several successive RPG-themed Mario games including Paper Mario (Nintendo 64), Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (Game Boy Advance), Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Nintendo GameCube), Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time (Nintendo DS), and Super Paper Mario (Wii) are considered to be its "spiritual" and thematic successors. In fact, Nintendo originally titled Paper Mario as Super Mario RPG 2. However, because of Square's involvement in the original game, direct sequels were not legally possible without Square's permission and/or involvement, so Nintendo changed the title to Paper Mario, although the development of the game mechanic itself went for the most part unaltered.

Some of the original team members (including some from Square) that worked on the original worked on the Mario & Luigi series as well, including directors Yoshihiko Maekawa and Chihiro Fujioka and music composer Yoko Shimomura, albeit providing very different or similar styles and mechanics in those games from the original.

Certain conventions established in the original have been carried over to the de facto sequels and expanded upon. For example, the use of "Flower Points" instead of magic points, timed action commands during battles, the platforming elements of the game, and the basing of the collecting of the seven stars in this game. These games also took the non-RPG concepts from the original and expanded upon it, allowing Mario to jump, hammer, ground pound, and use a variety of other techniques. Geno was featured in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, albeit in doll form. This is the only instance of an original character appearing in another game; Square is mentioned in the end credits as owning the rights to Geno. Nintendo also reused Star Hill from Super Mario RPG twice. Mushroom Cabinet Minister in Super Mario RPG (Chancellor in the English version) also makes a brief appearance in Paper Mario. Nintendo also reused the theme for "Mario's Pad" in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, although it's in a different octave.

References and notes

  1. ^ a b c Mark Bozon (Bozon-IGN) (2006-11-08). "IGN: Virtual Console Gets Updated Again". Wii Launch Guide. IGN.com. p. 1. Retrieved 2006-11-20. When it comes to gathering clues for potential Virtual Console titles, Nintendo isn't always the best source to get answers from. The company has its priorities during this holiday season, and for that reason fans have been looking elsewhere for details in regard to what the Wii's unique retro catalog will offer. The ESRB (Entertainment Software Ratings Board) has already helped us confirm multiple titles expected to hit Wii early next year, and we've received an updated list just this morning... Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (Super NES; rated E for Everyone) {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help)
  2. ^ a b Scott Pelland (1996-04). "Epic Center". Nintendo Power. Vol. 83. M. Arakawa, Nintendo of America, Inc. p. 56. ISSN 1067-6392. Led by Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, talented teams at Nintendo Company Ltd. and Square Soft spent more than a year developing the most stunning graphics of any RPG yet. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b Jason Kemp (Qeomash) (2006-05-13). "Secrets of the Seven Stars". GameSpy.com: PC Games - Video Games - Cheats. IGN Entertainment, Inc. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-03-31. http://sotss.classicgaming.gamespy.com/media/prerelease/smrpg/npvol77_pg29.jpg {{cite web}}: External link in |author= and |quote= (help)
    Scott Pelland (1995-10). "Special Features". Nintendo Power. Vol. 77. M. Arakawa, Nintendo of America, Inc. p. 29. ISSN 1067-6392. In Japan, the Super Famicom version will be published by Square Soft. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b Scott Pelland (1996-05). "Now Playing". Nintendo Power. Vol. 84. M. Arakawa, Nintendo of America, Inc. p. 97. ISSN 1067-6392. Square Soft, publisher of Final Fantasy series of RPGs, developed this hybrid adventure for Nintendo with the help of Shigeru Miyamoto. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  5. ^ Scott Pelland (1996-04). "Epic Center". Nintendo Power. Vol. 83. M. Arakawa, Nintendo of America, Inc. pp. 56–57. ISSN 1067-6392. Get Ready For 32 Megs Of Certified Star Power As Mario Embarks On An Epic Journey To Save The World! {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ {{Cite video game |title=Super Mario RPG |developer=Square Soft (now Square Enix) |publisher=Nintendo |date=1996-03-09 |platform=Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Virtual Console |level= Title Screen |language=Japanese |isolang=jp |quote=© 1995 Nintendo/Square
  7. ^ Jason Kemp (Qeomash) (2006-05-13). "Secrets of the Seven Stars". GameSpy.com: PC Games - Video Games - Cheats. IGN Entertainment, Inc. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-03-31. http://sotss.classicgaming.gamespy.com/res/smrpg/smrpg_title.jpg {{cite web}}: External link in |author= and |quote= (help)
    Square Soft (now Square Enix) (1996-05-13). Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES, Virtual Console). Nintendo. Level/area: Title Screen. © 1996 Nintendo/Square
  8. ^ Andrew NcNamara (1998-01). "Features". Game Informer. Vol. VIII, no. 56–57. Richard A. Cihak. pp. 20–21. ISSN 1067-6392. Super Famicom… Title… Super Mario RPG… Super Nintendo… Title… Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YObbL5LwCJs
  10. ^ Scott Pelland (1996-10). "Epic Center". Nintendo Power. Vol. 89. M. Arakawa, Nintendo of America, Inc. p. 60. ISSN 1067-6392. Mario: now that's a name you may never have expected to see in this column, but by all accounts, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is an unqualified hit among long–time Mario fans and RPG enthusiasts alike. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ a b c d e "Super Mario RPG  » Review". All RPG. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
  12. ^ a b Nintendo/Square, ed. (1996). Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Instruction Manual. Nintendo. pp. 33–41.
  13. ^ Sue Nelson (1996-11). "Counselors' Corner". Nintendo Power. Vol. 90. M. Arakawa, Nintendo of America, Inc. p. 77. ISSN 1067-6392. It takes teamwork to break down Marrymore's barricaded doors. {{cite news}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  14. ^ a b Square Co., Ltd. (now Square Enix Co., Ltd.) (1996-05-13). Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES, Virtual Console). Nintendo. Level/area: Marrymore. Snifit 1 : Booster's wedding is in progress.
    We've barricaded the door, so don't even bother trying to sneak inside.
    I'm not letting you in here! And you can forget about the back entrance. It's locked. (At least I THINK it is...)     {{cite book}}: line feed character in |quote= at position 51 (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. ^ My Roms.com (2007-03-20). "MY ROMs.com : Super Nintendo Roms". MY ROMs.com : GBA Roms NDS. My Roms.com. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-05-06. SA-1 65c816 8/16-bit processor, clocked at 10 MHz. It contains some extra circuits developed by Nintendo, which includes some fast RAM, a memory mapper, DMA, several real-time timers, and the region lockout chip. The SA-1 was a multipurpose chip that could be found in games such as Kirby Superstars, Kirby Dreamland 3, and Super Mario RPG. {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help)
  16. ^ OverClocked ReMix (2000-11-28). "Game: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES) - OverClocked ReMix". OverClocked ReMix - Unofficial Game Music Arrangement Community. OverClocked ReMix. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-08-22. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  17. ^ 49 (Hexadecimal) = 73 giangurgolo (2006-04-09). "Bytes - Music" (ASCII). SMRPG ROM Documents. giangurgolo.home.att.net. p. 1. Retrieved 2006-06-26. 49 {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help)
  18. ^ D2 (Hexadecimal) = 210 giangurgolo (2006-04-09). "Bytes - Sound" (ASCII). SMRPG ROM Documents. giangurgolo.home.att.net. p. 1. Retrieved 2006-06-26. D2 {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help)
  19. ^ Game Rankings (CNET Networks) (2004-12-30). "Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars Reviews". Game Rankings - Video Game Reviews, Release Dates, Cheat Codes. CNET Networks. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-02-20. AVERAGE RATIO: 88.4% - (88.3%)
  20. ^ GameFAQs (CNET Networks) (2006-03-23). "GameFAQs - Fall 2005: 10-Year Anniversary Contest - The 10 Best Games Ever". Video Game Cheats - Video Game Reviews - Video Game Codes - Video Game Web Site - GameFAQs. CNET Networks, Inc. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-02-20. The Top 10 + 90 Games: The Users' Picks... #26: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars - SNES
  21. ^ IGN Entertainment (2006-10-05). "IGN Readers' Choice 2006 - The Top 100 Games Ever". Video Game Cheats - Video Game Reviews - Video Game Codes - Video Game Web Site - GameFAQs. IGN Entertainment, Inc. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-02-20. Readers' Picks Top 100 Games: 21-30 # 030 // Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
  22. ^ http://www.the-magicbox.com/topten2.htm
  23. ^ The Magic Box (The Webmaster) (2006-10-31). "The Magic Box: Platinum Game Chart, Japanese Console Games Sold Over One Million". The Magic Box: International Videogame News. The Magic Box. p. 1. Retrieved 2007-02-20. Japan Platinum Game Chart (Games sold over Million Copies)Platform… SFC Developer… Nintendo… Game Title… Super Mario RPG Units Sold (in millions)… 1.47 {{cite web}}: External link in |author= (help); line feed character in |quote= at position 132 (help)
  24. ^ a b c d e "Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars review". Arm Chair Empire. Retrieved 2007-09-04.
  25. ^ "Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars review". RPG Fan. Retrieved 2007-09-04.

See also

Official

Notable

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