The Legend of Mario's First RPG: A Look At Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars 25 Years Later

The Legend of Mario's First RPG: A Look At Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars 25 Years Later
September 20, 2021

By Ryan Porzl

For over 40 years, Mario has been one of the most recognizable and greatest characters in video game history with the character has been in one classic after another. However, while most associate Mario with side scrolling and platforming games, fans were treated to a different Mario in 1996 when Mario made his debut in a Role Playing Game or RPG. That game would be Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars which saw Mario form alliances with new characters and even familiar faces including his archenemy in an attempt to retrieve seven magical stars and to defeat a new threat to the Mushroom Kingdom. With the 25th Anniversary having come in Spring 2021, it's time we take a look back at Mario RPG, one of Mario's best games. This article does contain spoilers.

Characters-

Mario- The main protagonist. Mario was once a plumber from the real world before stumbling into the Mushroom Kingdom where he's become their hero mostly by saving Princess Toadstool from Bowser regularly. Along with being a hero, Mario is also famous in his world for his ability to jump high. Here, Mario leads a party as he travels throughout his world fighting the new threat in the Smithy Gang all the while trying to reclaim the star pieces needed to restore Star Road and defeat Smithy. To no surprise, most of Mario's special moves involve jumping or shooting fireballs. His weapons include gloves, turtle shells, and hammers.

Princess Toadstool- The princess of the Mushroom Kingdom and the object of Bowser's affections. The game starts with her being kidnapped again by Bowser resulting in a fight between Mario and Bowser before Exor invades and drives all three out of the keep while claiming it for the Smithy Gang. After being captured and nearly forced to marry Booster, Toadstool eventually joins Mario's Party towards the end of the game making her the final ally to join Mario's party. Her weapons include gloves and frying pans.

Mallow- A nimbus cloud person who is the biological son of King and Queen Nimbus (thus he's the prince of Nimbus Land) while also being the adoptive grandson of Frogfucius as he was lost as an infant and taken in by Frogfucius leading him to originally believe he was a tadpole despite not looking anywhere near one. He's the first ally that joins Mario's party and is encouraged to do so in order to find his real family. Likely because he's a nimbus, all his magic is weather based. Mallow's is weak physically but is stronger with magic. His weapons include gloves and cymbals.

Geno- A star warrior from Star Road who's real name is ♡♪!?. He is sent to the Mushroom Kingdom from a higher authority to assist Mario and his party against the Smithy Gang and retrieve the seven star pieces which would restore Star Road and the ability to grant wishes. Originally a star, he possesses a Geno doll during his quest which becomes his physical form which also explains his Geno alias. He joins Mario's party after they successfully retrieve one of the star pieces. Geno's has good attack power but low defense. His weapons are guns and his hand which can either shoot at enemies or shoot bullets.

Bowser- Mario's archenemy turned ally. Bowser starts the game like almost any other by kidnapping Princess Toadstool and again loses to Mario in battle only to be forced out of his Keep due to the arrival of the Smithy Gang and Exor who take over the castle. After several failed attempts to reclaim Bowser's Keep with his koopa troop eventually abandoning him, he reluctantly decides to align with Mario in his quest to retrieve the seven star pieces and defeat the Smithy Gang. Bowser has weak special attacks but is strong with physical attacks. His weapons are claws and chain chomps.

Smithy- The antagonist. Smithy is a robotic blacksmith and leader of the Smithy Gang who invade Mario's world in the beginning of the game after breaking the Star Road. Smithy's goal is to conquer Mario's world by breaking the Star Road and collecting the seven pieces thus preventing wishes from coming true and flooding the world with weapons that he creates. He resides in another dimension which is accessible through his giant sword Exor which has taken over Bowser's Keep. In this dimension, Smithy's headquarters is a factory where he creates the Smithy Gang which are anthropomorphic weapons he sends to invade Mario's world.

Exor- A gigantic sword and member of the Smithy Gang. It's Exor who breaks the Star Road and lands at Bowser's Keep at the beginning of the game, thus claiming it for the Smithy Gang. Exor is also the gateway between Mario's dimension where the game takes place and Smithy's dimension where the final battle takes place and where Smithy resides.

Booster- A wealthy but not very bright individual who is the seventh generation of his family and resides in his tower. The party comes in contact with Booster after Princess Toadstool crashes from the sky to his tower after Exor's invasion. Booster than holds Toadstool hostage until the right time to marry her. He mostly likes to spend his time having fun and playing games.

Frogfucius- Mallow's adopted grandfather who originally discovered Mallow when he was an infant and raised him. He's an anthropomorphic frog and sage who originally tells Mario of the Smithy Gang and correctly theorizes the importance of the star pieces. After telling Mallow the truth about him not being a tadpole, he encourages Mallow to join Mario on his quest with the hope that maybe he will find his true family.

Yoshi- Mario's dinosaur friend from Yo'ster Island. A minor character in the game, Mario can visit and ride him throughout the island. Riding Yoshi is the only way Mario can understand what the other yoshi's are saying since they speak their own language. Mario can also ride Yoshi in races against Boshi.

Boshi- A blue yoshi with spike collar and sunglasses. He's Yoshi's rival and becomes leader of the yoshis after winning the mushroom derby and then discontinues it so he can be the permanent leader. Boshi has a weakness for cookies and will agree to race Mario and Yoshi so long as they have some. 

Croco- An anthropomorphic crocodile bandit. Mario and his party encounter and battle him several times during the game after he steals something or attempts to steal something. It's because of his stealing from Mallow that results in Mario meeting and working with Mallow. Towards the end of the game, he sells items and offers advice to the party.

Plot-

Mario's Pad

The game starts with Princess Toadstool outside Mario's Pad until she is captured by Bowser in his clown car. Mario leaves his pad and heads out to rescue her.

Bowser's Keep

Mario travels to Bowser's Keep and fight off his Koopa Troop throughout the Keep until confronting Bowser in his throne room. The two fight on the chandeliers but Mario wins and just as he's about to free Toadstool, a giant sword descents from the clouds and lands in the middle of the keep while seven stars are scattered across the world.

Mario's Pad and Bowser's Keep

Mario is sent flying back to his Pad where a toad is waiting for him to bring Toadstool back but Mario explains what happened. Mario heads back to the Keep but is stopped at the bridge by the giant sword Exor who tells Mario that "the Smithy Gang" has taken over and then destroys the bridge thus preventing Mario from gaining access. Mario returns to the Keep and again explains to the toad what happened. They decide to head to the Mushroom Kingdom to tell the Chancellor what happened.

Mushroom Way

Mario journeys through Mushroom Way fighting monsters while saving the toad from both the monsters and then two Hammer Bros. After beating the Hammer Bros., he collects one of their hammers.

Mushroom Kingdom

Mario explores the Mushroom Kingdom before going to the castle to explain to the Chancellor what happened with Toadstool before agreeing to journey and find her. Just as Mario leaves the castle, a nimbus boy chases after a crocodile bandit who stole his frog coin. After failing to catch him, the boy's crying causing it to rain. Mario meets him who introduces himself as Mallow before claiming to be a tadpole despite looking nothing like one. Mario agrees to help and they journey to get the coin back from the bandit named Croco.

Bandit's Way

Mario and Mallow follow Croco to Bandit's Way where they chase him throughout the area until a fight breaks out. Eventually, Mario and Mallow win with Mallow getting his coin back and Croco retreats.

Mushroom Kingdom

Mario and Mallow return to the Mushroom Kingdom to find it overwhelmed by the Smithy Gang who are terrorizing the Kingdom. After fighting off the henchman, Mario and Mallow make it to the castle where they find the leader of the attack named Mack in the throne room. They battle but Mario and Mallow emerge victorious. After winning, Mario collects a mysterious star piece that was hidden behind Toadstool's throne. After talking with the chancellor, Mallow tells Mario to go to Tadpole Pond and speak with his grandfather. Before leaving Mushroom Kingdom, Mallow exchanges his coin for a cricket pie.

Kero Sewers and Midas River

To get to Tadpole Pond, Mario and Mallow must journey through Kero Sewers where they face new monsters. Towards the end, they face a monster named Belome. After defeating him, a gate opens up where water comes out sending them down a water fall. After that, they ride barrels down the river.

Tadpole Pond

Mario and Mallow arrive at Tadpole Pond where they meet Frogfucius who tells Mario of the Smithy Gang and that along with him, Toadstool and Bowser were also sent flying out of Bowser's Keep so they aren't there. Frogfucius brings up that while Mario wants to save Toadstool, he must defeat Smithy as his minions are swarming their world while bringing up Mack was a member of the Smithy Gang. Mallow brings up the star piece to which Frogfucius deduces that stars grant wishes and that they may play a part in beating Smithy. After Frogfucius tells Mallow to go with Mario and then reveals the truth that Mallow is not a tadpole but that he was founded by Frogfucius when he was an infant. As a result, Frogfucius encourages Mallow to go with Mario and maybe he will find his true family. He tells them to next go to Rose Town but before leaving, Frogfucius gives Mallow his froggiestick to use.

Rose Way

Mario and Mallow travel Rose Way to get to Rose Town using floating blocks to travel around the area. Towards the end, they see Bowser with members of his Koopa Troop as he rallies them to reclaim Bowser's Keep from the Smithy Gang before they leave for the Keep.

Rose Town

Mario and Mallow arrive to find the town has arrows raining down and freezing toads who are hit by them. They then go to the inn where they meet a boy name Gaz who has several dolls including a Mario one, a Toadstool one, a Bowser one, and a unique doll called a Geno doll. Mario agrees to play with Gaz but gets hit by the Geno doll's star shot and is knocked out. Later that night, a small star enters the inn and after checking on each doll decides to inhabit the Geno doll becoming a life size Geno. After getting used to his new form, he leaves. The following day, Mario wakes up to overhear Gaz tell his mom he saw Geno walking into the forest but she thinks he's trying to get out of some trouble.

Forest Maze

Mario and Mallow head to the forest maze where arrows are also raining down there. Eventually, they spot life size Geno doll and follow him through the maze. At the end, they find the culprit behind the arrows in a Smithy Gang member named Bowyer. After deciding to hide to learn more, one of Bowyer's arrows brings a star piece to him. The life size Geno doll then comes out of nowhere and demands the star back all the while claiming he serves a higher authority. Eventually, Mario and Mallow decide to help and battle ensues with Mario's party winning and collecting the star. After the fight, the life size Geno doll says that this is just a form he's inhabiting and that he comes from the "Star Road". He explains it's at Star Road where wishes are transformed into stars and when a wish is granted, it becomes a shooting star that falls from the sky. However, because Exor destroyed Star Road during his descent, everything is at a stand still. Because of this, wishes can't come true anymore. He says that the star piece is part of the broken Star Road and he needs to collect them in order to rebuild Star Road. He says they need to stop Smithy, collect the seven pieces, and repair Star Road in order for peace to return. He introduces himself as ♡♪!? but since that's hard to pronounce, he decides to go by the name "Geno" after the doll he's inhabited. Geno says he chose the doll since it looked to be the strongest. Geno joins the party but one of Bowyer's arrows overhears everything and leaves to tell Smithy.

Pipe Vault and Yo'ster Island

Mario's party travels through Pipe Vault which leads to Yo'ster Island. After venturing through it, they land in Yo'ster Island, home of the yoshi dinosaurs. Upon going there, Mario can't understand what they're saying due to them knowing a different language. He finds his friend Yoshi and rides him allowing Yoshi to be his interpreter. It turns out Yoshi's rival, a blue yoshi named Boshi, won the mushroom derby thereby becoming leader of the yoshis and then proceeded to discontinue the race so he can remain leader. The only way to change things is for Yoshi to beat Boshi in a race but the only way Boshi would accept is if Yoshi gives some cookies as an incentive. The two race with Yoshi winning. Yoshi is declared the new leader but he doesn't want the title and just wants to race again so the races are back on and Boshi is humbled by the experience.

Rose Town

The party returns to Rose Town where the townspeople can now move freely. They meet Gaz with Geno explaining what has happened and that he will be back. Gaz gives him a weapon before they leave.

Moleville and Coal Mines

Next they head to Moleville where they find out another star crashed in the mine nearby. Again, they see Bowser with fewer Koopa Troops but he tries to rally them and they leave to try again. The party then finds out when a star crashed into the mine, many mole people were trapped and they agree to help them. They enter the mine, fighting off monsters until seeing a spring. They jump on it but hit the ceiling and fall unconscious. From there, Croco and some bandits rob them of their coins and the party chase them around the mine defeating the bandits and then Croco to get their coins back. They get a bomb from Croco and use it to further explore the mine. They eventually come across a bomb throwing monster named Punchinello who they battle. During the fight, he unleashes bigger and bigger bob-ombs until finally losing, at which point he drops a huge bob-omb that squashes him and goes off but the party survives and collect the third star. Afterwards, they find the remainder of the mole children and escape the mine via minecart. After crash landing in a house and returning the children, the party set to leave but before they do, they see three characters named "snifits" who are chasing a beetle for some guy named "Booster" and they bring up he's entertaining a princess who fell from the sky.

Booster Pass and Booster's Tower

The party travel through Booster Pass in order to get to Booster's Tower. After arriving, they find Bowser alone and sad that Booster has a great tower while he lost his. As Bowser and Mario's party talk with Bowser trying to stay in character, Princess Toadstool hears them from the top of the tower and calls for Mario. Bowser briefly leaves and Mario tries to enter the tower but it's locked. Bowser comes back and breaks the door down by ramming it back first. He then invites himself to the party by claiming he's recruiting Mario's party to the Koopa Troop. They enter the tower and meet Booster who claims he normally plays with others but is too busy entertaining Toadstool. They travel the tower and fight the monsters until reaching the top where they briefly hide from Booster while he and his snifits plan his wedding to Toadstool. Eventually, Mario is spotted and they leave with Toadstool but as Mario's party follows them to the balcony, they're jumped by two characters named Knife Guy and Grate Guy but eventually defeat them. Afterwards, they jump to the ground and give chase to Booster.

Merrymore

Mario's party chase Booster to Merrymore where Booster takes over the church and kicks the guest out. They sneak in the church and eventually stop the wedding. However, before anyone can leave, the chefs bring the cake in which turns out to be alive and the party must fight it. After beating it, Booster eats it and leaves for his tower as he thought the wedding was fun. Toadstool joins Mario's party.

Mushroom Kingdom

The party returns to the Mushroom Kingdom and meet with the chancellor. They explain everything that has happened (including why Bowser is aligned with them). Toadstool wants to come but the chancellor won't allow it so she goes to her room. As the party leaves, Toadstool uses her umbrella to land on the ground and reveals her grandma is pretending to be her as she decided to join the party, Mallow then suggests they meet Frogfucius.

Tadpole Pond

Mario and crew return to Tadpole Pond to find out where to go next. Frogfucius points them to Star Hill saying a star fell there.

Star Hill

They travel to Star Hill next with Geno explaining this is where shooting stars fall after wishes are made but these wishes haven't been granted yet because Smithy destroyed Star Road. They venture through the Hill, even reading wishes from people like Mallow, his parents, and Luigi before finding the fourth star.

Seaside Town and Sea

Next, they head to the Seaside Town which is very unusual as the toadspeople are gray face and acting odd not to mention, two are guarding a house and won't let the party inside. The elder requests a star piece that crashed in the ocean. They then travel to the sea in order to reach a sunken ship.

Sunken Ship

After entering the Sunken Ship, the party must fight their way through it as it has not only monsters but ghosts. While there, they must solve a puzzle in order to advance by collecting clues along the way. Upon doing so, they face a squid and it's tentacles which they defeat. Afterwards, they continue exploring the ship and eventually meet anthropomorphic shark pirates and their captain Johnny who has claimed the star piece for himself but offers to fight for it but the party eventually wins. Johnny then awards them the star.

Seaside Town

Mario and his party return to find the elder and toadspeople waiting for them. Sure enough, they reveal they're not real toads as the elder claims to be Yaridovich, a member of the Smithy Gang. He brings up Smithy knowing their journey and being worried about them collecting the stars. He eventually blackmails Mario into giving the star or threatens to keep tickling the real elder. Mario then chases Yaridovich and the two fight after Johnny prevents Yaridovich from escaping. Mario's party emerge victorious and reclaim the fifth star. Afterwards, Johnny leaves a note warning them about a giant ax ship and the party recover a gold key which rescues the true townspeople.

Land's End and Monstro Town

The party travels through Land's End fighting monsters but eventually get stuck as they can't climb a mountain. Eventually they go to a secret after going down quicksand. They solve the puzzles in order to advance and run into Belome again and fight him but win again. They then make it to Monstro Town which is a town inhabited by peaceful monsters. They meet the landlady who instructs the paratroopers to help Mario scale the mountain. At the item shop, Bowser reunites with one of his goombas who went AWOL and started a family and a new life in Monstro Town which Bowser accepts. They then reach a dojo where another former Koopa Troop member named Jagger trains. He challenge them to a fight but they win. They then face the sensei of the dojo: Jinx who is tougher but they beat him. Jinx then gives the dojo to Mario.

Land's End, Grate Guy's Casino, and Bean Valley

The party returns to Land's End where the paratroopers allow them to scale the mountain they previously couldn't. They travel through Bean Valley where they originally pass through to get to Grate Guy's Casino before venturing further where they must face a multi-headed piranha plant named Smilax but they defeat him despite a shy guy repeatedly watering him resulting in him growing bigger. After winning, the Shy Away brings up how he's going to get and that a "Queen Valentina" didn't want anyone in Nimbus Land before he runs away. They then punch a floating block which sprouts a giant vine they can climb. The party then travels in the clouds for Nimbus Land.

Nimbus Land

Mario then reaches a kingdom called Nimbus Land in the sky with people that look exactly like Mallow. Just as he arrives, a woman named Valentina shows up and announces that King Nimbus' health has taken a turn for the worse but that she's found "Prince Mallow" but when "Mallow" comes out, it's an oversized crow that looks nothing like a nimbus. Valentina then claims "Mallow" wants to marry her and she accepts. The party then goes to a sculptor named Garro and along with the Valentina statues, one looks like Mallow but Garro says that was King Nimbus when he was younger and realizes Mallow is the real Prince Mallow. He disguises them as statues so they can sneak into the castle to find out what Valentina is up to. It turns out "Prince Mallow" is actually a dodo named Dodo who polishes her statues everyday. After successfully sneaking in, they fight their way through. They come across nimbus people locked up with one giving Mario a key to advance. They then come across a giant egg in the middle of a room who wants to play and offers another key so they accept and fight. After originally fighting the egg, it hatches to reveal a Birdo but they eventually defeat it. They find the king's room but it's locked and they decide to confront Valentina who it turns out has imprisoned Mallow's parent and is trying to take the throne. After confronting her, they chase her around the castle, fall through the clouds, and stop her in the village where they fight her and Dodo but end up winning. Valentina escapes with Dodo but drops the key which allows Mallow to free his parents and have a heartfelt reunion and Mallow introduces everyone. They then head to the royal hot springs which leads to the volcano

Barrel Volcano

The party fall inside the volcano and journey through it hoping to find a star piece. Eventually, they come across a fireball dragon named Czar Dragon, fight it, and win. Afterwards, they find the star piece but just as they collect it, it's stolen by five colorful, ax wielding characters named The Axem Rangers who escape with it to their giant ax ship called the Blade but the party gives chase and fight them. After defeating them and the Blade's cannon, the party escape the ship with the star piece.

Monstro Village

Using a shiny stone, Mario's party enters a sealed door and go to another dimension where they meet a dark knight named Culex who resembles a purple demon. Before leaving for his dimension, he seeks out the strongest knight in Mario's world and challenges Mario's party to a fight which they accept. Culex along with four elemental gems prove to be the strongest challenge Mario and his party face but they eventually defeat him after a grueling battle. Afterwards, Culex gives a quartz charm and thanks him for the fight before leaving.

Nimbus Land

The party returns to Nimbus Land where they seek help from Mallow's parents as the last star piece is at Bowser's Keep but they can't reach it. The king offers the royal bus to transport them there.

Bowser's Keep

Bowser is happy to be home and promises Smithy will pay for taking his castle. They fight their way through it eventually finding Croco who offers to sell them items. They also face one of Bowser's Magikoopas who Smithy has taken control of but they defeat and free him. After solving six puzzle doors, they reach the throne room where they fight a swordsman named Boomer on the chandelier but they defeat him. Afterwards, the party rides the chandelier up to the roof of the castle where they face Exor but eventually defeat him after taking out his eyes and mouth. After defeating Exor, he sucks them into Smithy's world.

Factory

The party then travels through the Factory fighting monsters and several henchmen such as factory workers. In the end, they finally come face to face with Smithy, himself. They demand he give up the star piece while Bowser wants him to leave as well but Smithy wants them to give him their pieces so he can take over the world and flood it with weapons. A fight ensues and despite Smithy's power, the party emerge victorious. After defeating Smithy, the party acquires the seventh and final star piece. With all the pieces Geno takes the star pieces, bids farewell, and leaves in his star form to repair the Star Road while Exor disintegrates. Mallow returns to Nimbus Land as the true prince while reuniting with his parents. Bowser and his Koopa Troop return to Bowser's Keep to repair it (while a shy guy commandeers Bowser's clown car). Johnny oversees the sea. Yoshi beats Croco in a race despite Croco's best efforts to cheat. The composer Toadofsky composes his latest piece while Frogfucius looks on. Booster and Valentina marry with Dodo officiating. Finally, Mario and Toadstool return to the Mushroom Kingdom. During the end credits, a parade takes place with Luigi leading the way and featuring floats from all the major characters culminating with Mario and Toadstool on a giant star while Geno in star form flies around and we get fireworks.

Gameplay-

Super Mario RPG mostly plays like your typical role-playing game. There's overworlds, dungeons, villages, and all sorts of places to explore. Villages have inns where characters can rest to restore their health and flower points as well as shops to buy weapons, armor, and health items. Battles are turn based which means the player and their party members taking turns against enemies and whoever kills the other first wins the battle. Upon winning battles, the party earns coins which are used as currency as well as experience points. If a character gets enough experience points, they gain a level which enhances their stats while the player also has the opportunity to further enhance either a character's hit points or power/defense or magic. During battles, the player usually has four options in either using a regular attack, a special attack which requires flower points, items which allow them to use an item, or run away from battle though the latter is not available during boss battles. As is the case with RPG games, the player's party members each have hit points and share flower points (instead of magic points). Hit points are how much energy or life a character has and how much damage they can take. The higher the hit points, the better. If one of the player's characters hit points goes to 0 then they faint and aren't available until they are revived with an item. If all party members fall, the game is over. Flower points replace magic points but they're used the same way as they allow party members to do special moves be it attack or healing. However, the party member needs enough FP in order to do the special moves. The player can also save their game but not everywhere. They can only do it if they jump on golden star squares which are scattered throughout the locations. The player can use up to three characters in their party at a time.

Despite a lot of similarities, Super Mario RPG does do some things differently then the typical RPG. One of the most notable is enemies and battles. In most RPGs, battles randomly happen as you walk the overworld or explore certain areas. In Super Mario RPG, the enemies are on the screen and only touching them will trigger a battle. If an enemy spots you, they will pursue you unless they touch you or you run away. During battles, the game also has "time based attacks" which means if the player hits the "A" button or "Y" button just as their attack makes contact with the enemy or at the right time, they deal more damage to the enemy. Same is also true with defending as pressing the right button (likely the "A" button) at the right time can result in the enemy dealing less damage. The game also includes elements from classic Mario games as there are floating question mark blocks that Mario can jump punch revealing items or coins like classic Mario games. A second thing is sometimes blocks can be invisible and only appear if the player jump punches them. While rare in the game, the player can also get a star which allows Mario to be invincible for a few seconds during which time he can run through enemies on screen without triggering a fight all the while being able to collect experience points with every enemy he runs through. The party also shares the amount of flower points between them instead of being given a certain amount which makes doing special attacks and magic not as common and having to be more selective than the typical role playing game.

Behind the Scenes-

Super Mario RPG was co-directed by Yoshihiko Maekawa and Chihiro Fujioka. Both had previously worked on some Final Fantasy games (Maekawa for Final Fantasy V, Fujioka for Final Fantasy Legends III, and both did Final Fantasy Mystic Quest) while both would also later work on the Mario & Luigi series. Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto served as producer. One of the writers was Kensuke Tanabe who previously served as a scenario writer for the Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past & the Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. The composer was Yoko Shimomura who prior to Super Mario RPG either composed or contributed to several Capcom games like Final Fight, Street Fighter II, and Breath of Fire. She later would work on the Kingdom Hearts and Mario & Luigi series.

Plans for a Mario RPG came about as Miyamoto was interested in making a RPG style game starring Mario while Square was also interested in doing the game as they wanted a game that would be more successful outside Japan then their usual games. After a meeting between both parties, work began on Super Mario RPG in early 1994. They first decided on was a basic system as they chose the isometric view in order to bring the world to life. Unlike most of Square's RPGs, Super Mario RPG was made more action and movement focused in an attempt to fit with the rest of the Mario series. While Square developed the game, Miyamoto served as guidance. Square decided to combine the RPG elements from games such as the then recent Final Fantasy VI with platforming elements seen in Nintendo games. Square would use their Final Fantasy series as a model for the battle sequences while the traditional Mario games demanded a lot of action. The graphics took a year to develop. Using advanced computer modeling techniques, the developers created both the interior and exterior elements. Super Mario RPG is one of only seven SNES games that was released outside of Japan to use the Nintendo SA-1 chip which allowed for faster clock speed, greater mapping capabilities, data storage, and faster access to the RAM (Random-access Memory). Though most of Yoko Shimomura's music was original, some songs were borrowed from previous games. The most notable being the "Super Pipe House" is the same song as the Mario theme, the "Fight Against Bowser" song is the same song used in the final battle with Bowser in Super Mario Bros. 3, and the "Fight Against Culex" song is used as the boss theme in Final Fantasy IV while the victory song is the same one from the Final Fantasy games and his farewell has the Final Fantasy theme song.

Due to having to translate it in several languages as well has having to optimize it for PAL televisions, Super Mario RPG was originally not released in PAL Regions. It wouldn't be until 2008 on the Wii Virtual Console that PAL regions finally had access to the game. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars would also be the last game released by Square on the Super Nintendo console in North America (Square would release Treasure of the Rudras and Treasure Hunter G in Japan following Super Mario RPG). 

Release-

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was released on March 9, 1996 in Japan for the Super Famicom and May 13, 1996 in North America on the Super Nintendo though it didn't get an initial release in PAL regions. The game would receive critical acclaim with GameRankings scored it 89%, 1Up.com scored it an A, AllGame scored it a perfect 5 stars, EGM scored it 8.75/10, Famitsu scored it 32/40, IGN scored it 9.5/10, Next Generation scored it 4/5 stars, and Nintendo Life scored it a perfect 10 stars. It would be nominated for Nintendo Power's "Best Graphics" award for their Player's Choice Awards but lost out to Nintendo 64's Super Mario 64. EGM would name it both runner up for their Super Nintendo Game of the Year and RPG of the Year, losing to Tetris Attack and Blood Omen: The Legacy of Kain, respectively. It would later be ranked #26 on EGM's 100 Best Games of All Time list in 1997 while placing #30 on IGN's 100 Best Games of All Time list in 2006. The game was mostly praised for it's graphics and humor. The battle system was mixed by some reviewers as RPGamer didn't consider it original and also criticized the lack of a unifying storyline while Next Generation said it refreshingly differed from tradition. The music got mixed reviews as some enjoyed it while AllGame found the music during battle to be "monotonous". Other notable complaints were AllGame saying there wasn't much replay value while 1Up.com thought the characters seemed too childish for older gamers. 

The game would prove very successful as it sold 1.47 million copies in Japan making it the third highest selling game in the country for 1996. It also exceeded expectations in North America as it quickly sold 200,000 copies within a month after shipping 300,000 and Nintendo believed it was able to reach a million by the end of the calendar year. Meanwhile, by August 1996, the game was the most rented in the country for fourteen weeks.

Aftermath-

Since it's initial release, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars has been re-released a few times including on the Wii Virtual Console in 2008 (which would also be the first time it was released in PAL regions), the Wii U Virtual Console in 2015/2016, and on the Super NES Classic Edition in 2017. Originally, plans were reportedly in place for a sequel in 1999 as part of the short lived and failed Nintendo 64DD add-on for the Nintendo 64 but the game would eventually become Paper Mario and released in 2000 on the Nintendo 64. Despite not having a sequel as of 2021, Super Mario RPG did open the door for spiritual successors such as the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series which carried traits from Super Mario RPG such as flower points serving as magic points, Mario using jumps and hammers as weapons, time based attacks, turn based format, collecting stars in Paper Mario, and Princess Toadstool and Bowser being playable in Super Paper Mario. The Geno costume and hand cannon would be a paid for downloadable content for a player's Mii in Super Smash Bros. For Nintendo 3DS and Wii U as well as Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.