Super Mario RPG was the first RPG I ever played. When I was a little girl I remember thinking how much like an adventure game it was, and for a long time I used to confuse the terms RPGs and adventures. I since found out that RPGs and adventures both evolved from the same place: the text adventures on the mainframe computers of the 1970’s. So, now I can see that my confusion was quite natural. :)

Super Mario RPG features the biggest change in storyline a Mario game has ever seen. The game starts off as usual, with Mario fighting King Koopa to rescue Princess Peach. But, when King Koopa’s castle is taken over by a powerful force, Mario and Bowser actually team up to stop it.

That’s right, you can actually play as Bowser, King of the Koopas in this game! Princess Toadstool is also playable for the first time since Super Mario Bros. 2. Out of all of the Mario RPGs I’ve played over the years, the first one still has the most interesting cast of characters that become part of Mario’s party. There’s Mallow, a marshmallow-like little guy who was raised by frogs. And, Geno, a being who is as mysterious as he is powerful.

In this game, Mario doesn’t talk at all, and pantomimes everything that he says. This leads to some really cute and memorable animations as Mario relates the unfolding story to the people that he meets along the way.

The storyline starts the continuity that has been standard in Mario RPGs ever since. Star spirits live in Star Road and grant wishes to those who wish upon the stars. In this game, the Star Road has been broken into seven fragments by Smithy, the powerful entity that took over Bowser’s castle. Mario and his team mates have to find all seven pieces, defeat Smithy, and use the seven fragments to restore the Star Road.

The game is really cute, the music is great, and there’s some neat jokes along the way. My favorite involves a wall in Booster’s castle. I won’t spoil it, but it was classic Mario in a big way. :) I remember that the game was really hard, and that it took me a long time to beat Smithy when I was a little girl. Replaying it again, I now see that since RPGs were so new to me when I first played this, since it was my first ever, I wasn’t used to the concept of “leveling up”. I must have gotten to the last boss at a really low level. Looking back, it’s amazing I ever finished it at all back then. :)