LogFAQs > #942470614

Music was decent, but there were some standout tracks that were really really good. Those felt like only a handful that were truly GREAT, but every song was pretty consistently good

World building was very well-done, really felt like we were seeing the mushroom kingdom in a brand new way. Interconnectedness of the world, on the other hand, couldve used some work. Everything progressed more or less in a straight line, and one area didnt really feel very heavily connected to the ones before or after it. Near endgame this is fixed a little bit by having side quests and whatnot in older towns to have a reason to revisit them, but other than that, once youre done with the story segment of an area you can just forget about it and never look back. I think a few branching paths, possibly optional areas and more backtracking (the way the world map is designed wouldnt make this tedious at all). For example, tweak the story here and there, and possibly follow Booster back to his tower, or maybe at a certain point you need to talk to Frogfucious and he tells you about a macguffin you need to find in a new section of Kero section that opens up. Just some examples of how this couldve been implemented.

some small things like having a battle system that allows for all 5 members in a battle wouldve been nice, but its obvious why they didnt do that

The humour in the game is just as good as the other Mario rpgs Ive played (M&L 1-3). I mentioned before, but those games have much more dynamic cutscenes in regards to animations, character actions, and music especially. Im sure system limitations is part of that, and although I think the game wouldve been enhanced with more music and animations, the game is definitely self-aware when it comes to that, and plays it up for laughs. A lot of people mentioned Mario and co miming what happens, and thats a funny bit that can only really be done in SMRPG, specifically because of its limitations and its awareness of them. I especially love each characters pose where they look up to the sky and raise their hands with open mouths. So cute!

One thing that really bothered me was how little our party felt like an actual party. Outside of interacting with Mario, the other 4 party members barely interact with each other at all, and thats something I think everyone playing wouldve looked forward to. A lot of RPGs fix this by dedicating a segment of the game to a certain character for an episode of sorts. Mallows was obviously in the beginning until getting to Tadpole Pond, and then later in the Clouds. SMRPG does a good job establishing who Mallow is quickly and also giving him an episode later on, but Id say no other character gets that. Im guessing the developers expected kids playing at the time to not be interested in reading text, so they tried to make everything as brief as possible. Even when theres potential for some interesting dialogue or interactions, the game would rather just zip its mouth and move on.

Mallow was the party member that was easily given the most love, Im not counting but Id say he has the most lines of dialogue in the team, and shows up most often. Right from the start its shown what kind of character he his, and I think by the Cloud portion everyone was expecting him to have a (however small) character moment of him becoming more assertive, less of a crybaby, etc. doesnt really happen all that much and he stays pretty much the same throughout. Now Im not crazy, Im not expecting some crazy earth-shattering character development from a Mario rpg made for kids new to the genre, but they shouldve introduced the concept of characters growing up, and Mallow was the perfect choice, it seemed set up that way. Besides that though, Mallow definitely feels like a part of the crew and has a good friendship-bond with Mario. I think Mario interacts with Mallow the most out of all the other party members.

Geno.... I have no idea why anyone would want him in smash brothers. He has like, absolutely no character. The biggest example of something unique that struck me about him is how he says Yo like once or twice through the whole game. His intro episode is the coolest, and had an air of mystery to it, but nothing was done with it. And after that little intro episode in the forest and Rose town, he never does anything of note ever again. If he wasnt an active party member for being such a good unit, I wouldve forgotten he was even in the team. And thats all he is, a unit. Not a character. Hes set up as this stoic badass dutiful type, but no not really. Hes also set up as the one character who actually knows the backstory about whats going on with the plot, and can be used to explain certain key story elements to Mario/The Player, but he doesnt do that either. Hes... such a nothing character. Even him leaving at the end of the game felt hollow. Star Road definitely shouldve had some sort of conflict that was personal to Geno. Or at the very least, get him to make some comments about the area, seeing as its literally the area hes trying to save! I dont even think he comes out to make a single comment about Star Road at all. A lot of people have already said it felt empty, so it wouldve been a perfect spot to give Geno an episode.

Bowser was the other standout in regards to character. They did a really good job especially since before this in games like SMB3 and SMW he was just a generic baddie. The route they took with his character was really fun to see and every other Mario rpg follows it, clearly. I love seeing him as this sort of dumb self-centered jock with a heart of gold (for his troops etc) who totally lacks self-awareness. SMRPG and BiS nail that feel. They definitely should have had more moments with him. Especially when he first got recruited, I was fully expecting him to have a scene arguing with Booster, and he has surprisingly few interactions with the princess. No one bats an eye when hes in the mushroom kingdom, etc. more of this Bowser wouldve been welcomed.

Not really much to say about Toadstool/Peach, she was fine, pretty much what I wouldve expected. No issues or complaints, other than the same thing for all characters, in that they dont have enough character moments/highlights, and not enough interactions in the party.

If we couldve had just one more fight with Croco, one more instance of him being an asshat, I think he wouldve been better than Popple. Maybe on the sunken ship searching for treasure and screwing with you? Idk. Him just absolutely insulting the player was great. Couldve been truly great but again, we just didnt get enough exposure to him. Johnny was another cool dude, same thing. I wouldve liked some more material with him. Maybe a sequence after his fight but before the Yardiovich fight, where you have to... idk help his sister or find some lost item of his, which earns you his respect and him saying he owes you a favour. Booster was absolute gold. Insane troll logic.

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Patient Gamer