I remember when I first got this game. I never played the original Mario RPG until just recently (I wasn't even alive when it came out) so what most people thought when that game came out is basically what I thought when playing this game.
I start a new game to get greeted with a surprisingly long cutscene at the time (which is actually pretty short for most RPGs), then get put in an area where you can get accustomed to the field controls. They then threw me into battle and explain everything to you. It definitely was a change from platforming, but the game eased you into it. It's definitely a great first RPG. After a few battles, I faced my first boss, who is probably the funniest character in all of Mario. By the end of it, I not only discovered my love for this game but also my love for RPGs in general. Here's my review.
STORY
As with most RPGs, the story in this game is a complex one, but it is also a great one. It's not Persona 3 or anything, but it does its job - it's interesting and provides motivation to do what you gotta do.
The opening cutscene shows two visitors to the Mushroom Kingdom, Lady Lima and Pea, who represent the neighboring Beanbean Kingdom (hence their names referencing beans or green beanlike vegetables). They present a gift to Princess Peach, which winds up being a clown face that sprays her with a gas. This gas, as we soon find out, steals her voice, and it is revealed that the guests were not Lady Lima and Pea, but instead the evil witch Cackletta and her right-hand man, Fawful. Mario and Luigi head to the castle to find Peach, who, instead of being speechless, speaks in explosives (and that, I gotta say, is hilarious). Bowser, who realises that he can't kidnap such a dangerous damsel, decides to journey with Mario and Luigi to the Beanbean Kingdom to figure out what the heck is going on, taking Bowser's Koopa Cruiser there.
The trip gets hijacked by Fawful, who, after talking about the "mustard of your doom" and "the sandwich of Cackletta's desires" gets defeated by Mario and Luigi. Unfortunately, however, the ship still has to make a crash landing in Stardust Fields, where the story really begins.
I won't spoil any more, but the story has its twists and turns, and it isn't predictable in the slightest. It has its funny moments, specifically those involving Fawful. Most importantly, however, it is interesting. You don't know what will happen next, but you know that you have to press forward to defeat Cackletta and Fawful and recover Peach's voice, among other things.
Another great thing about Superstar Saga is that it's a continuous story. There's no subplots, which makes it a major difference from Paper Mario and its sequels, where you go somewhere looking for a Star Spirit, Crystal Star, or Pure Heart, and solve its problems, hoping to find the collectible along the way. In this game, there are no "chapters". It's one continuous saga, and every sub-plot becomes an integral part of the story, and, instead of lasting for part of the game, it lasts for most, if not all of the game. You revisit areas frequently, but always have something different to do and new areas to explore, making it fun and not painful like Chapter 4 of Paper Mario 2 (but that's another story).
All-in-all, the story is great, and, while it can't be made into a movie like some RPGs, it does its job, and I love it for that.
4.5/5
GAMEPLAY
Super Mario RPG set the formula, but this game expands on it, removing a lot of the RPG staples in favor of making the battles more hands-on and less equipping of weapons and relying on the game to do the work for you.
There's two types of gameplay, like most "non-Bethesda" RPGs. There's the field, where you move around, collect stuff, talk to people, etc. There's not too much different here from most RPGs. There are occasionally puzzles to solve or minigames you have to play (and they are all really fun), but overall, it's like most other RPGs. The notable difference is that you control Mario and Luigi simultaneously, unlike most RPGs where you only control one character which represents your entire party.
If you touch an enemy that roams around the field, the game changes to a turn-based fight. You select your attack, and then press buttons to actually do it (a la Super Mario RPG). Also like Mario RPG, there are four main options when it is your turn. You can do a solo attack, which is essentially a standard attack. The notable thing about the solo attack, however, is that you don't equip weapons. All of your "weapons" are available to you. Then there's a brothers attack, which uses both Mario and Luigi. These require multiple button presses and also deals more damage, however it depletes your BP (Bros. Points), which is your magic equivalent. Then there's the opion to use items which improve stats, recover health or BP, or eliminate status effects such as Poison. Lastly, you can run away, which, instead of being based on luck, requires you to mash the A and B buttons so that you lose less coins as you flee. The escape system is a nice change that I like. If you go bankrupt, it feels like your fault.
Bosses are the same as normal battles, however there usually is a bit of a gimmick, which I like. It makes each boss feel different. If a boss just attacks and you attack back, it doesn't feel fun, but when Hohoros hides behind pillars or when Dragohoho hops on the Hoohoo Block, it feels different.
Overall, playing the game is fun, which is something a lot of RPGs fail to accomplish. Your story can be Hollywood material, but if you don't like playing the game, that's a problem. This game doesn't suffer from that problem.
5/5
GRAPHICS
It's SNES-quality graphics, which doesn't really show everything the GBA can offer, but is that really important? It looks great and it doesn't impact the gameplay. That's all I ask for.
5/5
MUSIC & SOUND
There isn't too much to say except for the fact that it's amazing. Some of my personal favorites are the Popple and Rookie theme, the Cackletta Battle theme, the Chucklehuck Woods theme, and both Final Battle themes.
The sound effects amplify the game experience. There's a satisfying squish sound when you jump on enemies, letting you know that you press the button correctly. For every button press on Bros. Attacks, there's a nice little action sound to tell you that you succeeded. To me, I always thought the sound effects on Bros. Attacks wanted you to go "yes... yes... YES!!!" It's just great.
5/5
PLAYABILITY
Nothing in the game dampens the gameplay experience. Therefore, it gets a perfect score.
5/5
IMPACT
This game SHOULD be a revolutionary game. For some reason, however, Mario RPG and Paper Mario get all the credit. You can't deny the fact that this game perfected what Mario RPG started. This game and its sequels, along with the Paper Mario series are the only RPGs in existence that make battles fun and not puching buttons, and both series did it in completely unique ways. Super Mario RPG, while it did create the idea, still involved lots of menus and pushing buttons. This game is one of two of the pioneers of complete player integration into turn-based battles. That makes it great, and it even has a great story, great characters, and fun minigames to boot!
5/5
TOTALS
4.5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 + 5 = 29.5 / 30 98%
Pros: I normally would be more specific, but literally, EVERYTHING.
Cons: NONE.
The Bottom Line:
Just play this game.
Games were made to be fun, and that's exactly what this game is.
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