Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars

Background

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is the first Mario RPG game with some platform elements thrown in. The story starts with Toadstool picking flowers in Mario's garden. Suddenly, Bowser swoops in and grabs the Princess, taking her back to his castle. Mario hears Toadstool's screams and rushes to save her. After Mario beats Bowser, he reunites with the princess... but a loud rumble shakes the castle and a giant sword descends from the heavens, destroying the Star Road, and sending Mario, Toadstool and Bowser in different directions. It's up to Mario to collect the seven pieces of the legendary Star Road and defeat the new foe Smithy, or the Mushroom Kingdom will plunge into a world where wishes go unfulfilled and be taken over by Smithy and his gang.

Gameplay

Super Mario RPG has a simple turn-based battle system mixed with platform elements. Mario travels from area to area by a screen map, which makes it easy to backtrack if necessary. Mario can either enter a town to talk to people and buy weapons and items, or a battle area which is swarming with enemies and puzzles. The enemies are visible on the screen. If Mario makes contact, he will enter combat. Up to three party members can battle. In battle, there are four options: Attack, which is a normal attack with a physical weapon, Magic, which requires FP (Flower Points), and can either attack enemies or heal party members, Item, that are used to recover HP, FP or attack enemies, and Defense, where you can either defend yourself or run away from battle. After each battle, the party members gain experience points (whether they battled or not) and sometimes coins and items. There are also various puzzles scattered throughout the game.

Features

~ Mario's first debut in a RPG game
~ 20 hours of gameplay
~ Seven stages and 29 areas to explore
~ Bowser as a party member
~ For one player

International release dates:
Japan: May 9, 96