If you like Mario and like RPG's...you'll LOVE Super Mario RPG!

User Rating: 9 | Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars SNES
In '96 I had rented this game with no preconceived notions to how Mario would fare in an RPG. I didn't read any of the reviews, previews, or what my friends would have thought at the time. Actually, I didn't even KNOW it existed until I looked on Blockbuster's shelves and thought "this would be worth $4 (or however much it cost 14 years ago)." So, I finally get to finish where I left off...or rather, start at the beginning, because it was another 12 years before I would see this game again.

To sum it up, yes, I liked SMRPG. There's little to not like of it. It has Mario, Bowser, Princess (Peach or Toadstool, whatev) and some new (and not seen since) entries to the series, such as Mallow and Geno. The story is darker than your average Mario game, and it starts off, simply enough, with the tried-and-true tenet of seeing our beloved princess kidnapped by Bowser, and then the story begins. I thought I would NEVER see Mario team up with Bowser (sorry if that was a spoiler) and wow, do they make a great team! At least in my save file they did. The game play, for the most part, didn't let me down. My issue was you never knew where Mario was going to land in spots where you needed him to land, and he would fall in lava, or land on an enemy, causing unnecessary battles. Earning money was never an issue, and not much level grinding was required, either, as you always saw yourself leveling up. The nifty thing about leveling up was that you got to pick what level up bonuses you got, which was not common when this game was originally released. The game was not very difficult at all, and my toughest challenge came near the end, and I saw very few party wipes, and I consider myself an average gamer!

Square and Nintendo did well to make this a great gaming experience. It's worth the $8 you'd spend for it, and I enjoyed this game more in '09 than in '96. Definitely a must play if you like '90's RPGs!