Even in a game library as beloved as the Super Nintendo Entertainment System's, few carry the same weight as those with Super Mario in the title. At the time of the SNES' release in 1991, Mario had already reigned as Nintendo's primary mascot for a decade. His fame resulted in multiple Mario SNES games of various genres, leaving a few underrated Super Mario hidden gems to fly under the radar.
In his early years, Mario proved time and time again he deserved his position, with games like Super Mario World, Mario Kart, Yoshi's Island, and more. But flooding the market with Mario games only gave lasting fame to a select few. So which SNES Super Mario game didn’t get the renown it deserved?
Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars released for the SNES in 1996. Using turn-based combat was a risk for the plumbing platformer at the time, but it opened players’ eyes to what else the Super Mario franchise could be. Critics praised the Super Mario RPG's 3D-style graphics, its music, and its humor, and it received high marks from various publications. Yet it never received an official sequel - though it did jump-start a new Mario game style that has stuck with the franchise to this day.
The success of Super Mario RPG can be traced to the creation of additional Super Mario games: the Mario & Luigi and Paper Mario series. These games retained the combat style Super Mario RPG experimented with, and each spinoff has made influential marks on the greater Super Mario universe. Fans of these newer series will find a similar style of gameplay and storytelling in Super Mario RPG, in which they'll fight not Bowser but the lesser-known evil King Smithy and his Smithy Gang.
The SNES left a long list of games in its wake, many of which have become staples in avid Nintendo gamers' collections. Fans of the Super Mario franchise have multiple titles to devour on the SNES, but none are quite as memorable as Mario’s first foray into the RPG genre. Even 25 years after Super Mario RPG's release, whether players undertake the experimental masterpiece for the first time or the tenth, Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is still sure to entertain.
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March 22, 2021 at 05:45AM
