About

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is a Japanese role-playing game (JRPG) made by a joint effort between video game developers Nintendo and Square originally released for the Super Nintendo in 1996. Despite being an obscure title in the Super Mario franchise, it has had a devoted following from various fans throughout the years. A 2023 remake for the Nintendo Switch has also renewed interest.

History

Released in 1996, Super Mario RPG was born out of ideas from Nintendo to make a Mario game featuring RPG gameplay and Square to make a JRPG that would sell well outside of Japan. The two began development in 1994, and the game would release two years later. The game is the first Mario title to feature RPG gameplay, and would inspire future titles with the character in the genre such as the Paper Mario series.

Story

The game starts out with Mario in a typical situation rescuing Princess Peach (then known as Toadstool) from Bowser, only to later delve into a more complex story when a giant sword descends from the sky and lands in Bowser's castle. Mario would later team up with two new characters: Mallow, an anthropomorphic cloud that was raised by a wise frog; and Geno, a celestial being that possesses a wooden doll. Bowser and Toadstool would also eventually join as party members. As the game progresses, it is revealed that the giant sword brought forth a villainous group known as the Smithy Gang, whose leader Smithy plans to overtake the world with mass-produced soldiers. Mario also learns from Geno that Smithy's arrival caused the Star Road to shatter into seven star pieces, and without it, wishes will never come true. It is up to Mario and company to reclaim the star pieces and put a stop to Smithy's plan.

Impact

After the game's release, Super Mario RPG became a more obscure title compared to mainline Mario titles mostly due to Square owning the rights to the original characters and settings, which caused them to not be referenced in other titles. Nevertheless, it has received several positive reviews for its story characters and humor, including a 9.5/10 from IGN^[1]. It has also been a fan favorite across the internet, with online personalities such JonTron and PeanutButterGamer placing it on their favorite SNES games and favorite Mario games respectively.

Switch Remake

During a Nintendo Direct on June 21st, 2023, it was revealed a remake of Super Mario RPG would be releasing in November of that year for the Nintendo Switch.^[2] This generated hype amongst the fandom.

Related Memes

Geno

The party member Geno, who is the celestial guardian of the Star Road inhabiting a wooden doll,^[3] has become a fan favorite due to his uniqueness as a character. Fans have requested Geno's presence in various other titles, specifically the Super Smash Brothers series.

Super Mario RPG Song/Rawest Forest

In June of 2004, Newgrounds user Bryan Baker created a song about the game to the tune of the "Beware the Forest Mushrooms" track from the game.^[5] Three years later, it was remixed into a full song titled "Rawest Forest" with an animated music video by animator Kirbopher. Four years later, Kirbopher would release a new version titled "Waltz of the Forest".

Fight Against an Armed Boss/Dangerous Series

The boss theme played during battles against Smithy Gang members titled "Fight Against an Armed Boss" has become well known through its use in various musical and video edits such as Soundclown and YTPMVs (example of former shown below, left). Dangerous Series is a style of MAD videos on the Japanese video site Nico Nico Douga which make use of the theme. The first Dangerous series video was posted in April of 2008 (shown below, right) and would lead to several other MAD videos using the track whenever the word "Dangerous" is used.

Search Interest

External references