Super Mario RPG (: Legend of the Seven Stars)

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Mr Ixolite
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Joined: April 10th, 2018, 3:02 pm

Re: Our next podcast recording (23.2.20) - 407: Super Mario RPG (: Legend of the Seven Stars)

Post by Mr Ixolite »

Super Mario RPG
Having dabbled with the Mario & Luigi games, it was interesting to see the origins of their hallmarks - the interactive turn-based gameplay and the irreverent tone - in Super Mario RPG. But courtesy of Squaresoft, the game has an identity all its own, like a new chef mixing up a trusted recipe. So you have recognizable things like Mario, Peach and Bowser, but then Mallow and Geno look like nothing else in the series. You have enemies that feel imported from other JRPGs, or the Donkey Kong Country series. You have Mario himself being allowed way more expressiveness and character than usual; when Mallow had to physically restrain a furious Mario from bumrushing a boss, saying "who do you think you are, Bruce Lee?!" I could hardly believe my eyes.

Yet for all the games charms, my interest eventually waned, until I put it on hold. Having had the same problem with the Mario and Luigi games, I think it comes down to the tone. Its not that I dislike lighthearted or comedic games, and this one is frequently hilarious, but it is not enough to sustain my interest in a multi hour epic. Unless the game is short and sweet, l need some actual dramatic and emotional weight along with the comedy to keep me hooked. Like, I love Monty Python and the holy Grail, but would never want to see a 15 hour version of it.

Still, Super Mario RPG is charming enough that I want to revisit it; hopefully it will get a Switch release sooner or later, as the portability might required for me to finish the game.
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raisinbman
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Re: Super Mario RPG (: Legend of the Seven Stars)

Post by raisinbman »

So of course, there's not much I can say that hasn't been said about this game. I will say, in learning more about Modern Square Enix, I don't have much hope for them to follow this up, at least properly. Of course, there was a big rift between the two companies that's ancient history now, but even still, they seem to be overly precious about their IP. We did finally get (Geno?) in Smash as a costume at least, so maybe never say never?

If I were being fanciful, I'd start imagining a FF7Remake level production, which probably would make a better cross-media promotion than that of the recently released Super Mario movie(it's a kid's movie, which is fine, but....)

One interesting thing I can point out is that Shimomura's music had a certain style with hip hop influences here that she never went back to, IIRC the battle theme is a good example of this that changed.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eh3xFuAvTos
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