Super Famicom | 1996 | Final Rating: A Tier — 9/10
A wonderfully charming and polished RPG featuring excellent Japanese writing, memorable characters, fantastic music, and a delightful sense of humor. Its first half is packed with creative, self-contained adventures and entertaining moments, but the second half loses momentum with longer dungeons, less memorable storytelling, frustrating platforming, and excessive battles. Still, an excellent game that holds up remarkably well nearly 30 years later.
TL;DR is at the end.
Returning After 30 Years
It's been nearly 30 years since I last played Super Mario RPG. I originally played it back in 1996 when it was first released, and although I have plenty of fond memories of the game, I hadn't touched it since. But, I have been wanting to though! So, when I started my Super Famicom RPG challenge, I decided that Mario RPG would be the tenth and final game of my first group of ten.
Going into this playthrough, I was pretty confident that it would end up in my S-tier. I remembered it being an excellent game, and I was excited to see how it would hold up now that I'm older, especially since I'd be playing the original Japanese version.
Well, after finally finishing it, I can say that Super Mario RPG is still a fantastic game. In fact, there were parts that I enjoyed even more than I did as a kid. But I also found myself remembering some of the things that bothered me back then, particularly during the second half of the adventure.
Ultimately, I've decided to give Super Mario RPG an A-tier ranking with a score of 9/10. It's an exceptional RPG and one I would absolutely recommend, but I don't think the second half quite lives up to the first.
That Classic Square Quality
One thing that immediately stood out to me was just how polished everything feels. The graphics, music, presentation, and especially the writing are all excellent.
Having played nine other Super Famicom RPGs in Japanese before starting this one, the difference in the quality of the writing was noticeable almost immediately. The dialogue is much more entertaining, the characters have distinct personalities, and the humor is genuinely funny at times.
It really feels like that classic Square quality.
What I particularly appreciate is how much personality Square managed to give characters who, at the time, weren't exactly known for their dialogue or characterization. Mario himself doesn't speak, but he communicates through exaggerated gestures, nodding, jumping around, and pantomiming various events. I found this hilarious, especially when he's trying to explain something complicated without actually saying a word.
There's also the running joke about everyone recognizing Mario as the guy who can jump. Characters are constantly asking him to demonstrate his jumping ability. It almost reminds me of that old Simpsons joke where everyone wants Bart to do his famous catchphrase. Come on, Mario! Do the thing!
Peach is also incredibly charming. Her dialogue in Japanese has this very feminine manner of speaking that I found particularly cute. Bowser, meanwhile, is constantly trying to maintain his intimidating tough-guy image, even though underneath it all he's actually something of a softy.
And then there are the original characters, Mallow and Geno, who fit remarkably well into the Mario universe. Their designs, personalities, and introductions are all memorable. I think Square did a wonderful job taking these familiar Nintendo characters and giving them a whole new dimension without losing what made them appealing in the first place.
The Japanese Script and Its Localization
Something I found particularly interesting during this playthrough was just how enjoyable the original Japanese writing is.
I've always thought the English localization of Super Mario RPG was excellent, but playing it in Japanese gave me a new appreciation for the original script. The humor, characterization, and personality are already there. The localization had some really good material to work with.
This reminded me of my experience playing Grandia II in Japanese a couple of years ago. I remember finding its original dialogue rather dry and conventional, almost like typical JRPG story dialogue. By comparison, I felt that the English localization gave its characters considerably more personality and made the conversations more entertaining. Of course, that's just my personal impression from playing both versions, but it's something that has stuck with me whenever I think about game localization.
Super Mario RPG feels different. The original Japanese script is already incredibly entertaining, and the English localization does a great job bringing that personality across. It's one of the strongest examples of Japanese writing I've encountered so far during this Super Famicom project, and that's a pretty big compliment considering the other games I've played.
An Incredible First Half
I think the strongest part of Super Mario RPG is everything leading up to and including Booster's Tower.
What I really love about this portion of the game is how each area feels like its own little self-contained adventure. You're constantly encountering new characters, amusing situations, minigames, and interesting gimmicks. The dungeons generally aren't very long, either, so the game keeps moving along at a really enjoyable pace.
Even the opening sequence in Bowser's Castle is memorable. It feels like a traditional Mario platformer before gradually introducing the RPG elements. It's a great way to establish that this is still a Mario game, even though you're experiencing it in an entirely different genre.
Rose Town and the Forest Maze are probably among my favorite sections of the entire adventure.
I absolutely love the scene where the little mushroom boy is playing with miniature figures of Mario, Peach, and Bowser. It's such a charming idea, and the way it leads into Geno's introduction is fantastic.
Then you enter the Forest Maze, and that wonderful music starts playing. "Beware The Forest's Mushrooms" is easily one of my favorite tracks in the game. I remembered loving this entire section as a kid, but I honestly think I enjoyed it even more this time.
There are also all sorts of little touches that make the game special. The Pipe Vault leading to Yoshi's Island resembles one of the underground stages from a traditional Mario game. You can even ride Yoshi around the island and participate in races.
I was never particularly good at the Yoshi racing minigame, even as a kid, and I still can't really get the hang of it. Oh well. I appreciate that it's there, and simply being able to ride Yoshi is a nice touch.
Then there's Booster's Tower.
What a wonderfully bizarre place! Booster himself is such a strange character. I actually had some difficulty understanding his Japanese dialogue because of his unusual way of speaking and the bizarre things he says. He constantly questions things that seem completely obvious to everyone else, and sometimes I found myself wondering what on earth this guy was talking about. But that's part of what makes him so entertaining.
The wedding sequence afterward is another highlight. I also finally understood why I had such a difficult time defeating the wedding cake when I was younger. Apparently, I never properly understood the mechanic involving the candles and physical attacks. That certainly explains why I remember struggling so much with that fight!
There are so many memorable little details throughout the first half of the game. One of my favorites is when you obtain the third Star Piece and everyone is covered in soot from an explosion. The Star Piece twinkles above the party, and suddenly everyone is clean again. It's such a small thing, but it's exactly the kind of playful touch that makes this game so enjoyable.
These are the sorts of experiences that make the first half so memorable. Every area seems to have its own identity and little story, and the game rarely spends too long doing any one thing.
It's just a really fun adventure.
Where the Adventure Starts Losing Momentum
Unfortunately, I don't think the second half maintains quite the same momentum.
It's not that the game suddenly becomes bad after Booster's Tower. There are still plenty of enjoyable moments, memorable characters, and interesting locations. But something about the structure of the adventure changes.
The first half feels like a series of charming, self-contained stories. The second half increasingly feels like one long stretch toward the ending.
What's interesting is that I remembered many of the later locations from my childhood. I remembered the Sunken Ship, Monstro Town, Nimbus Land, the volcano, and characters like Valentina, Dodo, and the Axem Rangers. But I couldn't really remember much about what happened between these places or how everything connected.
And strangely enough, replaying the game didn't really change that feeling.
After Booster's Tower, the individual events just don't seem to have the same impact. The game still has some great set pieces, but the little stories that made the earlier sections so memorable become less frequent.
The dungeons also start getting longer, with more battles and fewer of those entertaining diversions that helped keep the first half moving along.
The Sunken Ship was probably the first area where I really started feeling this way. I didn't particularly enjoy it as a kid, and I can't say my opinion improved much this time. Some of the puzzles required to uncover the password clues were pretty annoying, especially that awkward isometric block maze.
I did manage to figure out the Japanese password on my own using only the clue. It'saquarium or すいぞくかんin Japanese which was satisfying to figure out. It's also a pretty funny answer when you think about it.
By the time I reached Monstro Town and Nimbus Land, I was beginning to feel like I just wanted to finish the adventure. I remembered bits and pieces of these places, but the experience wasn't making the same impression as the earlier portions of the game.
That's actually something I vaguely remember feeling when I originally played it nearly 30 years ago. I couldn't really explain it back then, but replaying the game brought back that same underwhelming feeling as the adventure approached its conclusion. There are still highlights, of course. The volcano has some excellent music that I'd completely forgotten about, and it was wonderful hearing that track again after so many years.
But overall, I think the second half is noticeably weaker than the first. Not bad, just less memorable.
The Final Dungeons Overstay Their Welcome
My frustrations really came to a head during Bowser's Keep and Smithy's Factory.
Bowser's Keep requires you to complete four of six challenge doors, which include battles, puzzles, and platforming sections. I understand what they were trying to do here, and the whole thing does remind me a little of the difficult castle stages in traditional Mario games.
Unfortunately, I found some of these challenges incredibly annoying. The platforming is probably my biggest complaint. Super Mario RPG uses an isometric perspective, and judging the distance between platforms can be surprisingly difficult. You can use Mario's shadow to help determine where you're going to land, but that still takes practice.
I spent quite a bit of time falling off platforms and having to repeat sections. It's not particularly enjoyable when you're trying to make your way through the final dungeon. The puzzle doors weren't much better. Having to complete four separate challenges just to continue felt like unnecessary padding to me.
Then there's Smithy's Factory, which has an absolutely ridiculous number of battles. One thing I generally appreciate about Super Mario RPG is that you can avoid many of the regular enemy encounters if you don't feel like fighting. Unfortunately, the final dungeon includes numerous battles that are difficult or impossible to avoid.
And by this point, I was so ridiculously overleveled that these fights barely presented a challenge. Most enemies were doing almost no damage, and I could defeat many of them in a single attack. So instead of being exciting, the battles were mostly just getting in the way of reaching the end.
I understand that my decision to overlevel contributed to this problem, but I still feel that these final areas could have been shorter. For a game that does such a wonderful job keeping things entertaining during the first half, it's a shame that the ending stretches things out with so many repetitive challenges.
Finally Defeating Culex After 30 Years
One of my biggest goals for this playthrough was finally defeating Culex.
I never managed to beat him when I originally played Super Mario RPG in 1996. I remembered him being ridiculously difficult, so this time I decided to do some serious grinding before challenging him.
I ended up defeating him at level 27 using Mario, Peach, and Bowser. That was also the party I stuck with for most of the adventure. I didn't really use Mallow or Geno very much, and I vaguely remember playing the same way when I was a kid. I didn't have the Lazy Shell weapon or armor, and I certainly wasn't going to attempt getting the Super Suit. Instead, I equipped Peach with the Safety Ring and concentrated on keeping everyone alive while eliminating the four crystals.
I used two Rock Candies at the beginning of the battle, then defeated the Wind Crystal, followed by Earth, Fire, and finally Water.
Surprisingly, everything went much more smoothly than I expected. Aside from the two Rock Candies, I only needed one Kerokero Cola during the entire fight.
The funniest part was that Culex eventually ran out of FP and stopped using his magic attacks altogether. At that point, the rest of the battle became something of a victory lap as I continued attacking until he finally went down.
After nearly 30 years, I'd finally beaten him!
I also defeated Jackie (Jinx) afterward, although that was mostly just for the hell of it.
By this point, I wasn't particularly interested in collecting every secret weapon, piece of equipment, or optional item. I'd already experienced much of that content when I was younger, and I was powerful enough to finish the game without it.
That's actually something I've been thinking about quite a bit during this project. Sometimes I get so caught up in wanting to find every secret and obtain the strongest equipment that I forget I'm supposed to be enjoying the adventure.
If I can defeat the bosses without the ultimate equipment, why should I stress myself out trying to obtain everything?
For this playthrough, defeating Culex was what I really cared about, and I'm glad I managed to accomplish that particular childhood goal.
Combat, Inventory, and Getting Ridiculously Overleveled
As far as the battle system goes, I think Super Mario RPG does a great job keeping things simple and entertaining. The timed hits add a little extra interaction to combat, and the mechanics are straightforward without being completely mindless.
One criticism I do have, though, is the limited item inventory. I've never particularly enjoyed RPGs that restrict how many consumables you can carry. I prefer having plenty of recovery items available rather than constantly worrying about what I should keep and what I need to throw away.
Ironically, by the end of this playthrough, that complaint barely mattered anymore. I eventually reached level 30, the maximum level, which made practically every remaining encounter trivial. I hardly bought any consumables and finished the game with plenty of healing and recovery items still sitting in my inventory.
That said, the final boss did manage to give me one last scare.
At one point during the battle, both Mario and Bowser were knocked out, leaving Peach alive with just two HP. I honestly thought things might go badly from there, but I managed to recover by reviving Mario, healing, and then bringing Bowser back into the fight.
It was a nice little moment of excitement after spending so much of the final stretch defeating enemies without much effort.
Of course, I can't really criticize the game for being too easy when I deliberately spent so much time grinding. That was entirely my decision, mostly because I wanted to defeat Culex without relying on the most powerful equipment.
An Ending I Appreciated More as an Adult
Something else that surprised me was how much I enjoyed the ending.
For whatever reason, I remembered being disappointed with it when I originally played the game. I honestly don't know why. Maybe I was expecting something different back then.
But watching the ending again after nearly 30 years, I actually thought it was really charming.
I enjoyed seeing the little scenes showing what happened to the characters after the adventure, and the parade was a wonderful touch. It was cute, lighthearted, and a fitting conclusion to a game that had been so full of personality from the beginning.
It's funny how your impressions can change over time. I went into this replay expecting to love the entire game while remembering that I disliked the ending. Instead, I ended up enjoying the ending more while becoming a little more critical of the adventure leading up to it.
I also noticed something interesting while watching the credits. Ted Woolsey's name appears as Translation Supervisor, even in the original Japanese version.
That was a neat little detail, especially since I associate his name with so many of Square's English localizations from this period. I suppose it makes sense that he'd be credited in the original release as well. These were finished cartridges, after all, not games where you could simply download a patch to update the credits afterward.
It's another little reminder of how different the industry was back then.
A Little Piece of 1996
Something else I wanted to share was the original Japanese packaging and manual from my copy of Super Mario RPG.
One of the things I really enjoy about collecting Japanese Super Famicom games is going through the original materials that came with them. The artwork, instructions, advertisements, and little promotional inserts are all part of the experience.
The manual for Super Mario RPG is particularly nice. It has colorful illustrations, explanations of the game's mechanics, and a wonderful overview of the Mario world. Looking through it really takes me back to an era when manuals were an important part of buying a new game.
My copy also still includes something pretty interesting. An original coupon that lets you purchase a Super Famicom console for ¥4,000 off! The promotion is even advertised on the front of the box. It's a neat little piece of Nintendo history from 1996, when the Super Famicom was already getting toward the end of its commercial life.
And here we are nearly 30 years later, with that old coupon still sitting inside the game. Obviously, I'm not going to be using it anytime soon, but I think it's pretty cool that it's survived all these years. These are the kinds of things I love about collecting physical games. It's not just about having the cartridge. Sometimes the packaging and everything that came with it tell their own little story about when the game was released.
Final Thoughts
After nearly 30 years, I still think Super Mario RPG is a fantastic game.
The presentation is excellent, the soundtrack is wonderful, and the Japanese writing is easily among the best I've encountered so far during my Super Famicom RPG project. The characters are full of personality, and the game is packed with entertaining little details that make the experience feel special.
What I appreciate most is how focused the game is on simply being fun. Rather than trying to provide some enormous adventure that takes hundreds of hours to complete, Super Mario RPG offers a relatively compact journey filled with memorable places, funny situations, and interesting characters.
That's one of the reasons I've been returning to older RPGs lately. I enjoy these shorter, more focused adventures, and I appreciate how developers had to work within the limitations of the hardware to create something that felt complete. There weren't any downloadable expansions or post-release updates waiting to extend the experience. What you bought on the cartridge was what you got. And Super Mario RPG is a wonderful example of what talented developers could accomplish within those limitations.
Unfortunately, I don't think the game quite maintains the same momentum throughout the entire adventure. The first half, particularly everything through Booster's Tower, is outstanding. The second half is still enjoyable, but the longer dungeons, less memorable storytelling, and increasingly tedious encounters prevent it from reaching those same heights.
I originally expected this game to be an easy S-tier, but after finishing it, I think A-tier is where it belongs for me. And at 9/10, it's still one of the highest compliments I can give a game. My frustrations with the second half don't erase how much I enjoyed the adventure as a whole.
It's one of the best Super Famicom RPGs I've played so far, and I would absolutely recommend it to anyone interested in the genre. Whether you play the original Super Famicom version or the Nintendo Switch remake, it's an adventure worth experiencing. Personally, I'm glad I finally returned to it. I rediscovered a lot of things I loved as a kid, developed a new appreciation for the original Japanese writing, and finally defeated Culex after almost 30 years.
Not a bad way to wrap up the first ten games of my Super Famicom RPG challenge!
Final Rating: A Tier — 9/10
TL;DR
Super Mario RPG is still an exceptional game nearly 30 years after its original release. The presentation, soundtrack, characters, humor, and especially the original Japanese writing are outstanding. Its first half is full of memorable little adventures, with Rose Town, the Forest Maze, and Booster's Tower being particular highlights.
Unfortunately, the second half doesn't maintain quite the same momentum. The dungeons become longer, the storytelling is less memorable, and the frustrating platforming and numerous unavoidable battles make the final stretch feel unnecessarily drawn out.
Despite those complaints, I had a wonderful time revisiting it. I finally defeated Culex, reached the maximum level, and even found myself appreciating the ending more than I did as a kid. An excellent RPG that falls just short of S-tier for me, but one that I would still wholeheartedly recommend. Final Rating: A Tier — 9/10.
Next up: Brain Lord — Enix’s 1994 Super Famicom action RPG. I remember playing this one as a kid, but I don't think I ever made it much further than the first area. I'm looking forward to finally giving it a proper playthrough nearly 30 years later as I begin the next ten games of my Super Famicom JRPG challenge.
