The VG Resource

Sure, it implemented a lot of good ideas that are commonplace in a Mario RPG (including timed hits), but they were vastly improved upon in later games. Also, I don't understand the design of enemies. While I will agree that several enemies are creative, they mostly seem out of place/too freaky to be in a Mario game. As for the common Mario enemies, they took some unusual creative liberties with them, range from a simple name change to an odd redesign (the gingerbread Goombas were one thing, but I'm baffled by why the Spinies look like knights).

The other thing is that the layout of the world is very odd. It's one thing to have Bowser's Castle (or Keep in this case) next door to Mario's house, but how come one little town is considered the Mushroom Kingdom? Shouldn't it make more sense that the entire world (or at least a sizable part of it) be the Mushroom Kingdom instead? I realize that there's the potential for irony and symbolic meaning by reducing the seemingly vast Mushroom Kingdom to a small town, but the thing is that I'm not sure if that was actually done on purpose. Also, the world itself looks pretty fake by not only having location that don't look natural (Star Hill looks more like a toy meteor than something that crashed into the planet naturally, and don't get me started on the look of Barrel Volcano), but also the world is a ring. I know this is Mario we're talking about, but if you compare the other RPGs, they put in a little more thought in the world map and general overworld.

Speaking of the overworld, is there any reason why the game is so linear outside of story progression? In a Paper Mario game or a Mario & Luigi game, areas are either blocked off by a lack of abilities or there's an obvious "gate" preventing access. Sure, these games are no less linear than Super Mario RPG, but what's stopping Mario from waltzing all the way to Monstro Town at the start of the game? Besides a few exceptions (such as the Land's End Paratroopa thing), there are no obvious barriers to keep Mario from progressing too early in the game apart from certain locations not becoming selectable on the map. If Mario RPG had a physical overworld without any tweaks applied to the game as it is, then it's possible for the player to venture anywhere due to a lack of "plot gates" and Mario himself never learns any new exploration tricks (the same goes for his partners). Personally, I think it would be a good thing if Super Mario RPG was non-linear for the most part (something that even Paper Mario: Sticker Star experimented with). That way, the player has the choice to collect the Star Pieces in any order and overall choose their initial difficulty. That's how it was in the Zelda games (especially the first one), and if the player is having too much trouble with a harder dungeon, all the player has to do is seek out an easier dungeon before tackling harder ones. Besides, it'll make EXP grinding a lot more interesting.

A pet peeve I have about the game is how everyone keeps blabbing off about how Geno is the best character ever. Sure, he's very useful in battle and his overall character and backstory are interesting (the idea of a star possessing a doll's body is pretty unique), but he's honestly not as good as most people hype about. If anything, the best party member in terms of character development that isn't one of Nintendo's own characters is Mallow. I know he's not the best in combat and he tends to whine, but hear me out. Mallow's backstory is a lot more deep and interesting than Geno's. As silly as it that he thinks he's a frog and how generic it is that he ends up as a prince from another world, it's at least a huge step in the right direction during a time when Mario games are not known for elaborate stories. When you first meet Mallow, he was a confused, whiny "frog" who only wanted to do his errands without some crocodile giving him trouble. After joining forces with Mario to retrieve his stolen coin and save the day from a giant knife-like pogo-stick, he returns home to learn of his true origins from the man he thinks is his grandfather. With Mario's help, Mallow sets off on a journey to not only set the world right, but also find where he actually belongs.

I personally think that Mallow is better than Geno because he's more relatable and actually grows as a character. While there's not that many people I know of who is an all powerful servant from a higher order, the idea of losing your true parents and being raised by someone completely different is very believable. Mallow truly thought that he belonged in Tadpole Pond and everyone liked him there. Once he got the news that he wasn't a tadpole, it gravely distressed Mallow. It wasn't until he shortly realized that his parents were still out there that he gained a glimmer of hope and a new purpose in life. In fact, the moment he found his parents' wish on Star Hill is one of the most profound moments in the game for me. As for Mallow's personality, it's actually his imperfections that breaths a little more life into him. Even though Mallow is physically weak, not exactly brave, and tends to whine a lot, he makes up for it throughout his journey with Mario. Not only does he muster up the courage to defeat many foes, but he even acts as Mario's straight man/voice of reason when he's out of control (the instances before fighting Bowyer and during the scene where Geno gets his Finger Shot in Rose Town comes to mind). Besides that, he's sometimes cocky and often acts as the comic relief, which further rounds out his character. With Geno, though, he mostly remains the same throughout the game. He acts like he's superior to Mario, is mostly fixated on bigger problems while usually ignoring smaller ones, and only has two emotions more or less (authoritative and smug). There's never really a moment that gives any insight on Geno's flaws and there's overall nothing to make him more "human." As a result, he has no more character development than the wood he is made of and lacks any emotional depth. As awesome of a character as Geno is, he's basically a cardboard cutout of a cool superhero in essence.