Review SuperFieroStatus 4/5 · Jul 16, 2013
Older JRPGs (hell, even newer ones) are harder and harder to play for me. The long commitment, the grinding, the increasingly confusing and bad stories...Super Mario RPG, however, was really enjoyable. There were a lot of little things that added up here. Things like:
- When a character dies it's resurrected after the battle.
- Everyone gets XP from a …
Older JRPGs (hell, even newer ones) are harder and harder to play for me. The long commitment, the grinding, the increasingly confusing and bad stories...Super Mario RPG, however, was really enjoyable. There were a lot of little things that added up here. Things like:
- When a character dies it's resurrected after the battle.
- Everyone gets XP from a battle, even dead characters or characters not in your party.
- Your health and mana are fully healed after boss fights.
- Some of the platform-heavy areas have very generous checkpoints.
- No random battles. Enemies are on the screen Chrono Trigger style, but don't chase you that aggressively. You can make it through most areas without fighting if you really wanted to. Obviously you'd be underleveled though.
The game is absolutely a simplified version of the 90s JRPG formula. No elemental alignments, the party shares one mana pool, its fully set to "wait" mode (you can take as much time as you want between turns. This is a BIG one for me I love it). While it is simplified, it's not dumb. There are a couple tricky fights, but you probably won't game over a whole lot. There are a TON of hidden collectibles and events (like gimmicky racing events) to take part in. I did not, but if I was a kid I would have eaten that up.
My only real complaint is the platforming. The game, on occasion, asks you to jump around on confusing planes. The game is isometric, so gauging distance and whether or not something is in front of you or behind you is difficult. These times wore there welcome out very quickly and became frustrating.
The story is simple and not particularly compelling, but it's very easy to follow. It's not bogged down by confusing, unnecessary plot points, and the dialogue is on the whole well written. There are actually some very funny moments, too.
I'd recommend it to JRPG fans, and even people who aren't so into that kind of game. If you have the attention span for an RPG I'd say give it a shot. It's worth the time.