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Right, full disclosure — I never even played Super Mario RPG when it came out, having grown up spending countless hours playing Sensible World of Soccer and Speedball 2 on my Amiga. The idea of console RPGs always seemed pointless to me, especially after the massive success of PC gaming. After being begged by the New Player Ready crew to rank it for our SNES rankings, I begrudgingly agreed — and now I’ll sheepishly admit that this is the way to do an accessible RPG without insulting someone’s intelligence.
It was no surprise that Nintendo teamed up with Square to make an RPG together — a dream collaboration of sorts. As such, the end product had all the elements of Mario’s world with actual depth and timing-based combat that truly made turn-based combat enjoyable.
While not groundbreaking, it executed everything perfectly.
What Made Super Mario RPG So Good?
Developers: Square | Release Date: Japan — March 1996, North America — May 1996
Super Mario RPG was released towards the end of the SNES’ life cycle — the Nintendo 64 was already announced. However, Square and Nintendo produced a swan song that showed the possibilities that existed for the console. With isometric perspective and timing-based combat, and humour that played on Mario’s traditional conventions without mocking them, the team delivered a great experience.
The game’s storyline starts off in the usual manner — Bowser kidnaps Princess Peach, and Mario has to go save her. However, a large sword suddenly falls into Bowser’s castle, causing the destruction of the Star Road and spreading seven Star Pieces throughout the world. These Star Pieces will give the user one wish each, and the evil Smithy Gang plans to collect all of the Star Pieces in order to take over the world. To prevent Smithy from obtaining all of the Star Pieces, Mario has to join forces with Bowser, Peach, and the new additions to the cast Mallow and Geno.
The brilliance of Square is that they were able to expand Mario’s world, while keeping the integrity of the franchise intact. Bowser, being a member of Mario’s party, constantly talks about how he hates that his minions have been taken over. Peach has actual character development and isn’t simply portrayed as the ‘damsel in distress.’ The Mushroom Kingdom is portrayed as a living world with cities, residents, and issues other than ‘Bowser is evil.’
Combat That Requires Focus
The main difference between Super Mario RPG and standard turn-based combat systems is that timing matters greatly. When you press the button at the exact time you want to attack or defend, you receive additional benefits. In addition to receiving increased damage during attacks, you also receive reduced damage when defending against enemy attacks. The simple addition of timing to the combat process turns the process of selecting menu options into a fully engaged activity.
In addition to the basic attacks each character has access to, each also has special abilities. Mario has jump attacks and fire spells; Mallow has magical abilities and support spells; Geno has beam attacks and special timing-based moves; Bowser has physical attacks and fire breath; and Peach can heal and has situational offence spells.
Beyond basic attacks, the timed hit system is applied to all special moves. Some special moves require you to press the button a specific number of times in succession; others require you to either hold or release the button at a specific time. Mastering each character’s unique abilities, along with learning the timing requirements for each special move, is truly fulfilling and represents a high degree of skill development in RPGs.
In addition to individual battles, boss battles test your overall mastery of the timing and special moves of each character. Bowyer, for instance, will randomly disable certain buttons, requiring you to adjust your strategy accordingly. Bundt requires you to recognise patterns and react to them in time. The Axem Rangers represent a full party battle, and Smithy’s final form alters his weakness and requires you to strategically switch targets.
World Building That Expanded Mario’s World
Square took the world of Mario and expanded upon it in a way that kept it true to itself. The Mushroom Kingdom has actual towns, residents, and problems beyond ‘Bowser is evil.’ Monstro Town is home to reformed enemies; Yo’ster Isle is filled with friendly Yoshis racing; and Land’s End has deserts and cliffs to explore.
The isometric view of the world creates a sense of visual depth, allowing the developers to create levels that encourage exploration and discovery. The level designers hid secrets and alternate paths behind foreground objects, creating the illusion that the environment is three-dimensional, although technically it was comprised of sprite-based graphics. The pre-rendered 3D graphics used in the game were similar to those seen in Donkey Kong Country.
Each character has a unique personality represented through their animations. Mario’s exaggerated facial expressions, Bowser’s attempts to hide his soft side, Geno’s robotic movements, and Mallow’s emotional expressions all represent the personalities of the characters. Since the game is primarily text-based, the animations help convey the emotions of the characters.
Humour That Works
Super Mario RPG is actually funny, without being obnoxious. The game’s writers knew Mario’s conventions and laughed at them, but respected the source material. Bowser complaining about his minions being taken over, Peach being capable and useful and not just a damsel in distress, and Mario’s expressive animations to show emotion without speaking.
Booster’s bizarre wedding ceremony, Mallow discovering he is not a frog, Geno being a star that possesses a toy doll, and the “AHEM” joke by the Chancellor are just a few examples of the type of humour in the game. All of these add to the personality of the game, and don’t break the story or pull you away from the world.
All of the NPCs have personality and memorable dialogue. The three Musty Fears in Monstro Town, the invisible treasure chest salesman, the mushroom couple arguing about their son. The game feels like it has a real world, and the people in it have problems beyond just “Help me, hero!”
Progression and Equipment
The equipment system in the game is simple, yet very effective. For each character there are weapons, armour, and accessories that provide various bonuses. There is nothing too complex or overwhelming in terms of equipment, however, there is enough variety to allow for different builds.
The best part of the equipment system is the accessories. Some increase statistics, some grant elemental resistance, and some provide unique abilities, such as auto-healing or reviving. You cannot equip all of the accessories at once, therefore, you must choose what is best for the situation.
As you level up each character, you gain visible improvements. Your health increases, your magic points (FP) increase, and your attack and defence increase. Your special moves become stronger as you continue to level up. The levelling curve is perfectly balanced — you are never overpowered, nor are you ever underpowered when you fight regularly.
Learning each character’s unique abilities, and when to use them, and learning the timing required for maximum effectiveness of each ability, creates a level of depth in the game that goes beyond simply using the strongest attack.
Graphics That Showcased the Possibilities of the Late SNES
The graphics in Super Mario RPG were created using the same pre-rendered 3D graphics technique as Donkey Kong Country. Detailed character models were created on Silicon Graphics workstations and then compressed into sprite-based graphics. The end result was visually stunning for the 1996 SNES.
The isometric perspective of the game creates the illusion of visual depth in the game’s worlds. Secret areas and paths are hidden behind objects in the foreground. The designers used visual tricks to make the environments seem three-dimensional, although they were technically composed of sprite-based graphics.
Each character has a lot of personality expressed through their animations. Mario’s exaggerated facial expressions, Bowser’s attempts to hide his soft side, Geno’s mechanical movements, and Mallow’s emotional expressions all contribute to the game’s personality.
Is Super Mario RPG Still Good Today?
Yes. I played it for the first time in 2022 and it worked perfectly fine. The combat is engaging. The timing mechanics add a layer of skill to turn-based battles. The humour works. The progression is rewarding without grinding. The difficulty curve is fair.
The game doesn’t waste your time. You don’t spend hours grinding. You don’t backtrack excessively in dungeons to pad the runtime. The story is told at a good pace. The 20-25 hour runtime is long enough to develop characters and a world, but short enough to not drag on.
Players today may find the timing window for perfect hits a little strict at first, but it’s something that you can easily master with practice. Players may also find it difficult to judge the distance of objects due to the isometric view, but you will quickly adapt. These are the only minor complaints I have about the game.
The Nintendo Switch remake updated the graphics and included many quality of life updates, but retained the core gameplay. Honestly though, the original SNES version is still perfectly playable and charming in its own right.
Why Is It Ranked #6 On Our List?
Super Mario RPG is ranked #6 on our SNES rankings because it executed its vision flawlessly without being revolutionary. It is an example of an accessible RPG that is done correctly — the timing-based combat makes the combat exciting, the progression makes you feel rewarded, and the humour is spot on without being obnoxious.
Tim and I fought hard to put it near the top of the list during our crew debates, because we believe it represents the best of game design for the player. No unnecessary grinding, no obscure puzzles, and no padding. It is simply a solid RPG experience with Mario charm.
Joe enjoyed that the game treated Mario seriously as a world. Sam enjoyed the timing-based combat and the skill ceiling it provided. Carl enjoyed that the game was short enough to complete quickly.
The games above it on the list are more innovative or bold in their approaches. However, Super Mario RPG is perhaps the most flawless execution of a game designed specifically to fulfil a single purpose: create an RPG that Mario fans and RPG newcomers alike can enjoy without sacrificing quality.
Legacy That Influenced an Entire Genre
Super Mario RPG did not spawn a direct sequel. Nintendo and Square parted ways, resulting in the creation of Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi as spiritual successors. However, the influence of Super Mario RPG is evident in both series. Timing-based combat, humour that pokes fun at Mario conventions, and expanding the Mushroom Kingdom beyond traditional platformer-style games.
The game demonstrated that Mario could thrive in non-platformer genres, and that Nintendo’s world could be deepened with storytelling. That accessible does not mean shallow. These lessons have impacted Nintendo’s approach to Mario spin-offs for generations to come.
Verdict
Super Mario RPG is the correct way to create an accessible RPG that insults no one’s intelligence. The timing-based combat adds a layer of skill to turn-based battles. The humour is respectful of its source material. The progression is rewarding without grinding. The world of the game expands Mario’s universe thoughtfully.
This is a prime example of game design that knows exactly what it wants to be and executes that vision flawlessly. Not every game needs to be groundbreaking — sometimes executing a game well is enough.
If you are new to RPGs, this is a great starting point. If you are a seasoned RPG fan, this is a tightly crafted and well-designed experience that respects your time. If you are a Mario fan, this is your world given personality and depth.
I have to admit, even as an Amiga gamer who thought console RPGs were beneath me, I found Super Mario RPG to be genuinely excellent.
Rating: 9/10 — Accessible RPG perfection
Return to our complete SNES rankings →
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John grew up swapping floppy disks and reading Amiga Power cover to cover. Now an IT manager in Manchester, he writes about the glory days of British computer gaming—Sensible Soccer, Speedball 2, and why the Amiga deserved more love than it ever got.
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