Unlike time-traveling history games, Mario has been featured in a few different RPG spin-offs over the years. In 1995, Square shepherded in what I consider one of the best video games of all time: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (hereafter called SMRPG). There was never a true sequel, but two other series emerged from the void left by SMRPG: the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series. I kept up with the Paper Mario series as it closely resembled SMRPG, but I neglected the Mario & Luigi series until the past year. What would cause a Mario RPG fan to ignore a string of games for so long? I'm sure being most studious in college was related. Let's dig deeper. Let's start where the Mario RPG affair began.
Back in 1995, I was at the pinnacle of my coloring within the lines ability. I entered a coloring contest for the movie Far From Home: The Adventures of Yellow Dog at Orland Video—a local Blockbuster of sorts. A few weeks later, my entry won the grand prize of either a new dog (Yellow Dog?!) or 100 free rentals at Orland Video. Since my family was already boasting a limit of two with the dogs Maggie and Ginger, my mom sent the new dog to the pound. I'm kidding! What do you think—my mom is a monster? We chose the rentals instead. Initially I was disappointed with the choice, and then I realized Orland Video had a video game section. That coveted section my mom deterred me from during each trip. I had a better chance browsing the back room than the game row. But this newfound power to rent whatever I wanted was mine thanks to sensational crayon-wielding skills. My days outside were numbered, and my family was at the whim of free rentals being held over their head. "Katie, can we please rent While You Were Sleeping?" they asked. I allowed it. Sandra Bullock was a delight—congenially speaking—and I needed rides to the store.
These rentals were a great opportunity to check out games that were outside my library: Doom, Mega Man X, Kirby Super Star, Mario is Missing!, and more. (Postmortem for Mario is Missing!: "Let's cut our losses have Luigi investigate mansions instead.") Through all these trials, there was one game on shelf that I rented over and over again: Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. I...adored that game. I remember playing through it over and over again. I searched every nook, cranny, and monster fanny to ensure I experienced everything the world had to offer. You know what's cool when you're 10? Hanging out at Grate Guy's Casino. You know what's cooler when you're 10? Dreaming of hustling Toads for frog coins.
At the end of my 100 rentals, I rented SMRPG approximately 20 times. My rental total exceeded the cost of purchasing the game, and somehow I didn't know what RPG meant. I pronounced it “errpig” for...some time. I appealed to the clerk to give me Super Mario Errpig based on my feat, and to protect my precious save files. I was sent away and never saw that cartridge again...
(I have since acquired another cartridge of SMRPG, but the game was impossible to find at the end of the Super Nintendo generation.)
I moved on (no, I didn't) and played whatever game I was given for Christmas or my birthday. A couple years later and convinced I had a game addiction, my mom cut me off. (My mom is a monster!) That decision marked the beginning of a dark era. I needed to independently fuel my habit somehow. Being a 12-year-old with few profitable skills besides coloring within lines, I had no choice but to get out on the streets. I went door to door with my "Babysitter for Hire" signs and procured a few clients. Strategically chosen by the size of their homes, surely these people splurged on the latest and greatest toys for their kids. They all had one thing in common...that one system I wanted so badly: the Nintendo 64. I probably babysat their kids, I absolutely played their video games, and I got closer to my goal of raising $300 for a Nintendo 64.
About every six months I was able to buy a new game on my babysitting funds. My dad—seeing how motivated I was by my hobby—would surprise me with a new game on my birthday or Christmas. On one occasion, my dad and I were driving home from the grocery store and he says, "Hey, can you look in the glove box and grab something for me?" I popped it open and a mysterious, colorful box dropped onto my lap: Paper Mario. Now remember, at the turn of the millennium, we were at the whim of the AOL overlords, dial-up, and kids had rules about being in front of a screen with internet access for a reasonable amount of time. I did not know what Paper Mario was–the spiritual successor to Mario Paint? Reading the back of the box, I discovered it was an errpig like SMRPG. I ran with the surprise game up to my room and dropped the Paper Mario cartridge in my Nintendo 64 so hard Square felt the money slip through their fingers.
Much like its predecessor, at its core Paper Mario was a traditional RPG with action, puzzle, stealth (you're a real solid snake, Peach), and platforming elements. I was once again immersed in an expansive and unique game world, filled with interesting characters, an entertaining battle system, beautiful music (Shooting Star Summit!), challenging levels, clever puzzles, and all set to an epic story where Mario collects Star Spirits to save his dearly kidnapped.
A few years later, a new Mario RPG game entered the scene: Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga (hereafter called MLSS). I played it over Christmas break during my Freshman year of college. And I finally beat the game 13 years later this past weekend. What's with the delay? What happened to that Mario RPG passion? Well, I'm going back through my game library, finding those games that I started, and ultimately left behind. Sort of like a "no game left behind" act, but one that's wholly and honestly effective.
Here are my thoughts on MLSS.
Story: Princess Peach greets ambassadors from the Beanbean Kingdom, only to fall victim to their ruse. Her voice stolen and replaced with explosive emoticons—it's up to Mario and Luigi to retrieve her voice. Traversing Beanbean Kingdom leads the Mario Bros. to a cola factory, a spooky school, an airport, even a Mushroom Kingdom immigrant’s community. A very eclectic set of destinations each with its own unique inhabitants. The story was fun, credible, and dramatically meaningful. MLSS is a journey worth completing.
Characters: One highlight of the Mario RPG family is the quirky characters, and MLSS doesn't stray from this element. The Mario Bros. are a lovable duo. Mario is brave and ready to take on any challenge; Luigi is a bit hesitant, but able to summon courage to confront his fears. Luigi stood out to me this game as a multi-dimensional character. He would interact more with the NPC’s: poking at their bean skin and shaking his butt taunting them. These unique traits gave him a goofy, relatable personality that I looked forward to seeing more of during cut scenes. Those traits were reserved for cut scenes, however, and in battle he was just as capable as his brother. Mario's role aligned with the silent (actually, one with few words) protagonist—a neutral avatar in the game.
The NPC’s stick to a more one-dimensional definition. The main antagonist, Cackletta, is hell-bent on taking over the world by any means necessary, and is obviously annoyed by the Mario Bros. resistance. Fawful is Cackletta's dedicated minion with a memorable personality. He has fury, he has metaphors, and he has speech patterns I wish I could produce impromptu: "At last, my entrance with drama!"
Gameplay: I have a love-hate relationship with random encounters, so I'm glad MLSS sticks with enemy patrols in the game world. The enemy design was fantastic with each having multiple move sets that proved challenging to anticipate and counter. The bosses were worthy of their boss status. I qualify that by swallowing my pride, and admitting I did die a couple times (just…a couple). Also, I was very excited to see the Koopalings return in this game—especially Iggy with his fruit loop mop. I know he's a palm tree now, but the glasses and rainbow blast really worked for him.
The turn-based battle system felt similar to Paper Mario, but added a level of complexity; namely, the individual button inputs for Mario and Luigi took some adjusting. In battle, Mario is A and Luigi is B, and only those buttons work for each brother. If you make an incorrect selection on Mario's turn, you can't back out by pressing B. You must cycle off the "Execute" command onto the "Back" command with A. The most challenging part for me was on defense against enemies that would attack at different paces...at random towards the Mario Bros. I had to remember to dodge with the right button, at the right moment, which proved a challenge when the pace varied. About five hours into the game, I felt acclimated with the controls and was able to take action in battle without too much thought. A minute to learn, a lifetime to master. Thanks Mario, Luigi, and Othello!
In addition to the battle inputs, familiarizing myself to cycle through each of the unique field skills on the shoulder buttons also hindered me. Many of the challenges in the game require you to go through a sequence of actions unique to each brother. By the end of the game, I still hadn't memorized the action cycle order, and wished I had a controller with twice the inputs.
One challenge that I think needed more polish was the Peach escort mission in Teehee Valley. Your goal is to guard Peach while navigating the level until you reach the destination. At one point you have to travel across the screen with her on two different land masses while jumping, changing the actions of each bro (high jumps, spiral jumps, and barrel jumps all require different button sequences), and executing quickly so she doesn't walk off the screen. A couple times I cycled through the actions incorrectly, and Peach would go off the main screen, getting instantly captured and placed several screens away. I felt that was too punishing for not executing the sequence correctly. Also, I couldn't interrupt the kidnapping despite being in the enemy's path, which was equally frustrating. Surely if the player was able to assign hot keys (on a Gameboy, yes, I know I'm out of scope here) or disable certain choices, they could better cycle through the actions needed for each challenge. The game designers crammed a lot of different challenges into this game, and it shows when I was still adapting halfway through the game.
Level Design: There were a couple levels I felt could use improvement. Teehee Valley for the aforementioned reason, and Stardust Fields which is the tutorial level of the game. Your objective is to collect 100 coins. It takes...a decent chunk of time to get through this, and I recall this area as one of the reasons I abandoned the game 13 years ago. (There it is). I felt I was farming money and not in a fun, grass-slashing, rupee-materializing sort of way. Despite that, I think almost every other level entertained.
Sound: The music was fitting for this game. All the battle themes are catchy, but the boss battle music is the superstar of this soundtrack. Outside the battle grounds, the final level boasted the most interesting background music, and thankfully so since you spend well over an hour playing through it. The level prior to that had a Lavender Town-like sound to it, which gives you the intended eerie vibe. After a couple hours of hearing it, I felt I was going crazy, and likely my neighbors thought I was based on my music selection. Also, the addition of some Mario game melodies helped make the world of Beanbean Kingdom feel familiar. Solid soundtrack, despite nothing striking me as selections I need to add to my game music playlist.
Final Thoughts: I love SMRPG, and the first two Paper Mario games are extraordinary additions to the Mario RPG family. MLSS too is an excellent addition to this family. That said, if there is one collaboration I yearn for, it's Square (-Enix) and Nintendo. I will not give up on you Super Mario Errpig 2!
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