Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars (SNES, 1996)
Graphics-7.5 Sound-8.5 Control-7.5 Challenge-6.5 Story-7.5
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-7 Fun-7.5 Originality-7
Overall Score-7.5
+
Non-random encounters (several enemies will ambush you though and there are a few rooms with random encounters (booster's tower))
Clean and easy to use interface (could’ve been even better though by showing the commands beside the button layout and showing your characters’ HP when the enemy hits them)
Mixes isometric platforming and puzzle solving with traditional JRPG gameplay
Some good puzzles (bowser's castle's puzzle courses (except for the switch puzzle), last composing puzzle)
Great dialogue (self-aware, whimsy and fun, pop culture references)
Great dramaturgy for the time (heavily animated characters and effective cutscenes)
Some good characters
Does a great job at broadening the Mario universe (the tone and depth is similar to the SMW era Mario comic)
Mini-games (racing, whack-a-mole)
You can stand on other characters and bounce in beds
Real-time battle elements (timed attack/defense – hit attack at the right time for more AP or DP (makes battles more interactive and fast paced and is also pretty forgiving overall)
Cameos by various Nintendo characters
Basic manual character building at level up (hp, attack or magic)
Technically impressive in some ways (mine cart ride, lighting effects?)
Some good bosses
Run button
Hidden items
Party members gain exp even if not in the active party
Some optional paths (bowser's castle) and minor side quests
One rhythm based mini-game (yoshi race)
Nice ending cutscene
+/-
4 save slots
No extra lives
Save points
Status effects wear off after battle
Shared MP pool
3 char party
No formations and you don't get an advantage from engaging enemies from the rear or flank
Some special attacks are OP if you can learn to time them right (ultra jump, star rain)
Mostly linear structure
-
Hard to tell when to dodge a new enemy’s attack (doesn’t tell you when like in the GBA titles)
Also hard to tell what status effect your characters have been inflicted with
Some slowdown
Somewhat limited inventory (about 30 items slots, items of the same kind don't stack)
Some CGI stuff looks pretty dated (menus, copy pasted looking background tiles (due in part to inconsistent shading), some outdoors scenery looks like it's made of plastic, some single color surfaces)
Some uninspired character design on Square's part
Luigi isn't playable and only makes a few appearances
Some tedious platforming segments (Mario's jump is quite fast here so it's hard to align his sprite with smaller and/or moving platforms)
Very linear
Some mini-games/action segments have confusing or just poor control (mine cart, whack-a-mole)
Unresponsive controls for the music mini-game (when deciding on notes) and only the last melody resembles a puzzle (would've been more interesting if it tested ear for music or sense of rhythm)
Mallow is pretty useless at first and then kind of OP towards the end (Peach is also a bit OP compared to not having her in your party for the team healing unless you grind for levels)
Some awkward dialogue if you solve a problem before talking to the NPC having it
Some interface problems (no descriptions during battle, can't use the last item you picked up if your inventory is full, can't immediately equip a piece of gear that you've bought in the shop menu and can't see a piece of gear's stat effects in the shop menu)
So-so hit detection during the booster chase scene
Annoying how characters let enemies get away with things in cutscenes as a story device
Stupid "princess gear" mini-game moment (booster wears the crown so why does he act like it's missing?)
Some money grinding
Mostly non-interactive town environments
Can't manually ask NPCs about anything (no dialogue trees)
Some slow battle animations
Some trial & error (bosses shutting off abilities or challenging a single char to a duel), enemies and bosses sometimes get to move two times in a row, tedious mushroom/juggling mini-game, difficulty spike at the switch puzzle in bowser's castle, tedious control change in one of the action course rooms towards the end (no mid-air control, annoying "near the platform edge" animation that stops movement for a sec)
Missable final weapons in bowser's castle (since you only go through 4 of 6 paths - should've been designed so that you get all of them either way)
Overly drawn out final dungeon
No quest log/journal feature
Kind of ugly last form for the final boss
Bugs:
-Item sequence in moleville (gave carbo cookie to mole in bucket, then got sucked into the bucket and when returning to moleville the sequence reset so I never got the next item and lost 440 coins)
Level Design-7.5 Frustration-7 Fun-7.5 Originality-7
Overall Score-7.5
+
Non-random encounters (several enemies will ambush you though and there are a few rooms with random encounters (booster's tower))
Clean and easy to use interface (could’ve been even better though by showing the commands beside the button layout and showing your characters’ HP when the enemy hits them)
Mixes isometric platforming and puzzle solving with traditional JRPG gameplay
Some good puzzles (bowser's castle's puzzle courses (except for the switch puzzle), last composing puzzle)
Great dialogue (self-aware, whimsy and fun, pop culture references)
Great dramaturgy for the time (heavily animated characters and effective cutscenes)
Some good characters
Does a great job at broadening the Mario universe (the tone and depth is similar to the SMW era Mario comic)
Mini-games (racing, whack-a-mole)
You can stand on other characters and bounce in beds
Real-time battle elements (timed attack/defense – hit attack at the right time for more AP or DP (makes battles more interactive and fast paced and is also pretty forgiving overall)
Cameos by various Nintendo characters
Basic manual character building at level up (hp, attack or magic)
Technically impressive in some ways (mine cart ride, lighting effects?)
Some good bosses
Run button
Hidden items
Party members gain exp even if not in the active party
Some optional paths (bowser's castle) and minor side quests
One rhythm based mini-game (yoshi race)
Nice ending cutscene
+/-
4 save slots
No extra lives
Save points
Status effects wear off after battle
Shared MP pool
3 char party
No formations and you don't get an advantage from engaging enemies from the rear or flank
Some special attacks are OP if you can learn to time them right (ultra jump, star rain)
Mostly linear structure
-
Hard to tell when to dodge a new enemy’s attack (doesn’t tell you when like in the GBA titles)
Also hard to tell what status effect your characters have been inflicted with
Some slowdown
Somewhat limited inventory (about 30 items slots, items of the same kind don't stack)
Some CGI stuff looks pretty dated (menus, copy pasted looking background tiles (due in part to inconsistent shading), some outdoors scenery looks like it's made of plastic, some single color surfaces)
Some uninspired character design on Square's part
Luigi isn't playable and only makes a few appearances
Some tedious platforming segments (Mario's jump is quite fast here so it's hard to align his sprite with smaller and/or moving platforms)
Very linear
Some mini-games/action segments have confusing or just poor control (mine cart, whack-a-mole)
Unresponsive controls for the music mini-game (when deciding on notes) and only the last melody resembles a puzzle (would've been more interesting if it tested ear for music or sense of rhythm)
Mallow is pretty useless at first and then kind of OP towards the end (Peach is also a bit OP compared to not having her in your party for the team healing unless you grind for levels)
Some awkward dialogue if you solve a problem before talking to the NPC having it
Some interface problems (no descriptions during battle, can't use the last item you picked up if your inventory is full, can't immediately equip a piece of gear that you've bought in the shop menu and can't see a piece of gear's stat effects in the shop menu)
So-so hit detection during the booster chase scene
Annoying how characters let enemies get away with things in cutscenes as a story device
Stupid "princess gear" mini-game moment (booster wears the crown so why does he act like it's missing?)
Some money grinding
Mostly non-interactive town environments
Can't manually ask NPCs about anything (no dialogue trees)
Some slow battle animations
Some trial & error (bosses shutting off abilities or challenging a single char to a duel), enemies and bosses sometimes get to move two times in a row, tedious mushroom/juggling mini-game, difficulty spike at the switch puzzle in bowser's castle, tedious control change in one of the action course rooms towards the end (no mid-air control, annoying "near the platform edge" animation that stops movement for a sec)
Missable final weapons in bowser's castle (since you only go through 4 of 6 paths - should've been designed so that you get all of them either way)
Overly drawn out final dungeon
No quest log/journal feature
Kind of ugly last form for the final boss
Bugs:
-Item sequence in moleville (gave carbo cookie to mole in bucket, then got sucked into the bucket and when returning to moleville the sequence reset so I never got the next item and lost 440 coins)