It'sa me! Mario!

Super Mario RPG K-A (kids to adults)

Ah, the good ol' Super Nintendo. Who doesn't love the system that came out with many a good game? Legend of Zelda? Super Mario Worlds? And, although I was hard for me to play again after playing Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart.

But let's just get one thing straight: Mario RPG is basically one of the best RPGs ever.

For those of you who aren't especially knowledgeable about RPGs, RPG=Role Playing Game. This means that you play one character and work through a storyline plotted out; sometimes, one can choose the path of the protagonist, but usually the choices one makes has little to do with the rest of the game. You sometimes get different responses, a surprised look or, if you're lucky, a different scene than normal (if you're consistant enough).

The games that are made for storyline changing depending on what you choose are usually well known for it. Fable, Elder Scrolls: Morrowind (choosing which side to be on changes who's nice to one when entering villages), and Shadow of Destiny are a few examples.

Those kinds of games remind me of those Choose Your Own Adventure novels; at the end of every few pages, you get to go to another page that will determine what happens to you the rest of the novel. Except that I'd usually die the first time through because I'd want to take the "safe route". Good tips for you guys: by taking the tough route, you usually wind up doing something right in the mess, allowing oneself to live.

So, what's so different about this RPG? What makes this game stand out from Final Fantasy games and anything else that screams "I'm a male main character! I only look like a girl! I swear!"? Well, besides the fact that it's Mario, I suppose it's time for...

A CLOSER LOOK!

First things first, it's to be remembered that this is on the old school:


Perfect fit for hand, really. Anyway, it's noticeable that it doesn't look so different from the PS2 controller. Easy to say that, indeed, it's a good controller. Enough buttons to make one have fun and go crazy.

Instead of getting into the mechanics, I believe that I'll get into what makes this so different: Usually, in an RPG that's turnbased (which means that one takes turns before hitting the other. I hit, but I have to wait a while before being able to hit again), you press a button on "hit", "magic", "special" or "item" (or whatever they have on the plate). Some have time limits, some don't.

But Super Mario RPG keeps you involved. By timing, one presses the button at the right time to make a double hit, which causes more damage, which every character and every move. In fact, to get the right amount of moves on special moves, one has to do the timing correctly. Mario, noticed throughout the game as famous and known for his high jumping, has an ability that can allow you to jump on an enemy more than fifty times (I'd done well at times).

I've yet to find a game with this much of a difference.

You don't wait for fancy moves because you're a part of it.

But it's also Mario. And Bowser and Princess Peach. One doesn't normally get to play with Princess Peach (unless it's Mario Kart).

I'm going to wait to do a full review, after I beat the game "officially"; surprisingly enough, the ending is rather hard. It requires thinking, beating and skill. Another different aspect of the RPG. Usually, one just beats the end guy with brute force.

Nintendo, I love you so much.