The Best of Mario in an RPG
Written: Nov 20 '02
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Good graphics, great audio, fun battle atmospheres, new interesting plot, cool interesting characters
Cons: A little bit small of a game, level 30 limit
The Bottom Line: I recommend it to everyone because it is very fun to play, has fun music and sound effects, and has many new fun characters.
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| jul_7_1989's Full Review: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars for Sup... |
INTRO
You (Mario) start off rescuing Princess Toadstool from Bowser (as usual) but when you're just about to get the princess, and loud crash happens in the castle and large rumbling sends you flying off. When you get back to the castle, you see in astonishment a huge sword through the castle. He claims he's part of the "Smithy Gang" and then shoves you off by destroying the bridge to the new Smithy Castle.
You venture on to find out from a messenger from the Star World and he says that that sword when it came down from the sky, it also split through something called the Star Road. The Star Road generates wishes and makes them come true. In order to repair it, you need to collect the seven stars that form it. But Smithy found that out and he's also racing to collect them all to take over the world and make it so no wishes ever come true.
GRAPHICS
The graphics are very good compared to other SNES (Super Nintendo) games. You don't ever see those graphical blocks in anything in the game. Everything is almost 3D because everything seems so realistic but you can't change views.
The characters all look according to what their supposed to be. You see Mario dressed in a red plumber's suit, Princess Toadstool is dressed in a nice pink dress, and bowser isn't dressed but he has those big orange eye brows, and that big spiky shell on his back. The only weird thing is that all the townsfolk always have mushroom hats on their heads just like toad does and there are so many toads so you can't tell them apart. They also always have to be moving their feet even when they're standing still.
The setting graphics are very good. You see lots of details to each place you ever enter. In the houses you see tables with table cloths and dishes for eating. You see kitchens with counters and sinks, and you see bedrooms with lamps, beds (really?), and dressers. In the outside you will paths, nice trees and bushes, and many cliffs.
The in-battle scenes are very repetitive though. For example, all battles in a dry area will appear exactly the same with the same grass patches and stuff. Also, the corners are just black and it's not really part of the battle field. But besides these minor flaws in the graphics, it's very well done. (Overall Graphics: 8.5/10)
GAMEPLAY
The gameplay in this game is fantastic. In each town, there is an inn and a shop. Sometimes, there is more than one shop. One sells items while the other sells weapons and armor. I like the idea of telling you which building is the inn and which is the shops. They do that by putting a star right outside the inn and a mushroom right outside the shops. This is very convenient so you don't have to search through every building to find the right one.
The characters you play with are Mario, Mallow, Geno, Bowser, and Princess Toadstool. They each have their strengths and weaknesses and have their own unique abilities. You can only have three people in your fighting force at once. You can switch characters whenever you want except in battles. You always have to take Mario so altogether you have to pick two from Mallow, Geno, Bowser, and Princess Toadstool.
The battles are fun to fight. There are turns taken and it depends on the character's or enemy's speed of when who goes first. When its a character's turn, next to his face are the four buttons of A, B, Y, and X. Each is a certain thing to do during your turn. A is attack with your normal attack, B is gives the options of defending, take less damage, or flee from the battle which is not always successful. The Y button gives you your special abilities menu. Each one requires a certain amount of flower points. You can add more to your maximum through getting certain items and other things. And finally, the X button gives you the items list. This is what I really like about Mario RPG. There is such a variety of items. There are attacking items, recovery items, shielding items, and special items. There are so many in each category. It's so fun when you have a variety of items.
There are many secret treasures. You can't see them but if you hit it, you get the special item that is in there. Make sure that you find that item that rings if there's a secret treasure somewhere! It helps!
Like in every SNES RPG, your characters get level ups where the characters can get more powerful. The only problem is that you can only go up to level 30!
CONTROLS
The controls are simple like every SNES game. You press A for select, B for exit, X to go to your option's screen where you can check the map, you status, etc. And the Y button where you can run instead of walk when you move around. It's all very simple and you won't ever have trouble.
DIFFICULTY
I have to comment that this game is a little easy. There are some hard bosses at times and hard battles but the right strategy will give you the winning side. There were a couple times where I got stuck because of some really hard fight but after trying to figure out what to do, I came up with the conclusion that always have princess in your army! Her healing powers are very, and I mean very vital. (Overall Gameplay: 9.5/10)
AUDIO
The sound effects are excellent. Everything fits everything. When you open the door hard or close it, you will hear a slam. The battle sound effects are very well done. You hear these ringing sounds if you attack with the star gun, when you blast someone with a cannon, a blast is sounded, and when you burn someone with a fire attack, you here those mean fire sound effects.
The music is fun. It may get on the nerves of all people over the age of 11 1/2 but thats ok. Where ever you go, the music matches. When you enter a cave, you hear a dark spooky music, and when you enter a town gone bad, you hear gloomy music. It's very fun to hear the battle music and the boss music is just excellent. You hear fast paced music to keep you going. (Audio: 8.5/10)
OVERALL
This is a great game that I want to replay over and over again. This game is fun, and clear. It has a very interesting plot while you meet new, interesting characters. I recommend this game to everyone!
Ratings Averaged out: About 8.8
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID: jul_7_1989
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Location: Seattle, WA, USA
Reviews written: 18
Trusted by: 10 members
About Me: "Knowledge is having it, to apply it; not having it, to confess your ignorance."
-Confucious
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