Super Mario RPG : le premier RPG Mario, de 1996 au remake

Super Mario RPG: From the First Mario RPG in 1996 to the Remake

1892 mots | Temps de lecture : 9 minute(s)

In 1996, two giants of Japanese video gaming joined forces for a project that seemed unthinkable: Nintendo, master of platforming, and Square, creator of Final Fantasy, brought Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars to the Super Nintendo. The first RPG in the series' history, it dared to do it all: an original story, new characters like Geno and Mallow, and even Bowser as a playable ally.

Long inaccessible in Europe, this cult classic experienced a spectacular second life thanks to its Nintendo Switch remake in November 2023, selling over 3 million copies in just a few weeks. Let's look back at the history of a foundational game, without which neither Paper Mario nor Mario & Luigi would exist.

Summary

When Square Met Nintendo: A Historic Alliance

In the mid-1990s, Square reigned over Japanese RPGs with Final Fantasy, while Nintendo dominated platformers with Mario. From this encounter arose a hybrid project: entrusting the mustachioed plumber to RPG specialists. Development was handled by Square and publishing by Nintendo, with Shigeru Miyamoto himself as producer. Direction was by Chihiro Fujioka and Yoshihiko Maekawa, and the soundtrack by a certain Yoko Shimomura, who re-arranged themes from Koji Kondo (Mario) and Nobuo Uematsu (Final Fantasy) for the game.

Unveiled by Miyamoto at the 1995 V-Jump Festival in Japan, the game impressed with its pre-rendered isometric 3D graphics, the result of over a year's work. Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars was released on March 9, 1996 (Japan), then on May 13, 1996, in North America. It was both the first RPG in the Mario franchise and the last Mario game released on the Super Nintendo. It was a success: 1.47 million copies in Japan, where it ranked as the third best-selling game of 1996, and sixth in annual sales in the United States.

Exor, Smithy, and the Seven Stars: A New Storyline

The game opens with a classic: Bowser kidnaps Peach, and Mario sets off to rescue her. But everything changes when a giant sword named Exor crashes into Bowser's castle, expelling everyone from the premises. The impact shatters the Star Road, the celestial path where inhabitants' wishes turn into stars before being granted. Its debris, seven star fragments, are scattered across the world: until they are reunited, no more wishes can come true.

Behind this invasion is Smithy (the French name "Forgeroi" merges "forgeron" meaning blacksmith and "roi" meaning king), a mechanical tyrant from another world, where his factory produces sentient weapons. His gang, composed of animated swords, bows, and spears, occupies Bowser's castle, with Exor serving as a portal between the two worlds. For the first time, Mario must ally with his former enemies: Bowser joins the team as a playable character, a first for the series, alongside Peach, still called "Princess Toadstool" in the 1996 American version.

Geno and Mallow: Two Heroes Created by Square

The game's great audacity lies in its two new heroes. Mallow is a small cloud creature, rescued as a baby by a wise frog near Tadpole Pond: he believes himself to be a tadpole until he discovers he is the prince of the Nimbus Land kingdom, the land of clouds. Mario's first companion, he is the team's magician, with meteorological attacks (lightning, regenerating rain) that compensate for his low physical strength.

Geno, on the other hand, is a wooden doll animated by a celestial spirit sent by the Star Road authority to repair the path of wishes. His true, unpronounceable name is written as ♥♪!? — so he adopts the name of the doll he inhabits. A warrior with the appearance of an armed puppet, he instantly became a cult figure. But these two characters belong to Square (now Square Enix), not Nintendo: this is why Geno has only reappeared in rare nods, such as a cameo in a mini-game in Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga on Game Boy Advance (credited to Square Enix in the credits, and removed from the 3DS remake) or a Mii costume in Super Smash Bros.

Foundational Gameplay: Timed Hits

How do you make turn-based combat appeal to platformer fans? Square's answer came in one brilliant idea: timed hits. By pressing a button at the right moment during an attack, you increase the damage inflicted; when taking damage, a well-timed press reduces the damage taken. The platformer player's reflex is thus integrated into turn-based combat, a mechanic subsequently adopted by all Mario RPGs.

The team features five playable characters — Mario, Mallow, Geno, Bowser, and Peach — with three active in combat. The world is also full of secrets, including the most famous hidden boss in Mario history: Culex (Cristax in French, "dark knight of Vanda"), lurking behind a sealed door in Monstro Town. This optional battle is an overt homage to Final Fantasy: 16-bit pixel art sprite, elemental crystals, and music from Final Fantasy IV. More powerful than Smithy himself, he rewards victors with a rare accessory, the Quartz Charm.

An Immense Legacy: Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi

After this brilliant success, their paths diverged: Square went on to develop Final Fantasy VII for PlayStation, and the collaboration ended there. Nintendo, however, announced a Super Mario RPG 2 planned for the 64DD... which would eventually be renamed Paper Mario upon its release on Nintendo 64. The lineage doesn't stop there:

  • Directors Chihiro Fujioka and Yoshihiko Maekawa joined AlphaDream studio, where they worked on the Mario & Luigi series, a direct heir to the timed hit battle system;
  • Yoko Shimomura composed the music for almost all Mario & Luigi games (with the exception of Brothership), before becoming globally famous with Kingdom Hearts;
  • The codes established in 1996 — absurd humor, unlikely allies, action in battles — still permeate all Mario RPGs today.

Without a direct sequel, Super Mario RPG thus became the ancestor of two entire series, making it one of the most influential games in Nintendo's catalog.

The 2023 Remake: The Rebirth of a Cult Game

A surprise from the June 2023 Nintendo Direct: Super Mario RPG returned in a full remake for Nintendo Switch, developed by ArtePiazza and released on November 17, 2023. Faithful to the original game down to its animations, it modernizes the graphics and offers a re-orchestrated soundtrack with the participation of Yoko Shimomura — with the option to switch to the original Super Nintendo music at any time.

The new features cater to both novices and veterans: a simplified difficulty mode, new Triple Moves, and a post-game with challenging boss rematches, including a showdown against Culex in 3D. A historic event for French players: the original game never released in Europe on the Super Nintendo (it only arrived in 2008, in English, via the Wii's Virtual Console), this remake constitutes the first official French translation of the title. The public responded massively: 3.31 million copies sold by March 31, 2024, including 860,000 in Japan, and an average of 84/100 on Metacritic. The foundational game of 1996 finally found the global audience it deserved.

Super Mario RPG in brief: Key verified facts

Original Title Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars
Super Nintendo Release March 9, 1996 (Japan), May 13, 1996 (North America)
Developer / Publisher Square / Nintendo
Key Team Shigeru Miyamoto (producer), Yoko Shimomura (music)
Playable Characters Mario, Mallow, Geno, Bowser, Peach (3 in combat)
Remake Super Mario RPG, Nintendo Switch, November 17, 2023 (ArtePiazza)
Remake Sales 3.31 million copies by March 31, 2024

🍄 Want to extend the adventure? Discover our Mario toys in the shop.

FAQ

  • Was Super Mario RPG released in Europe in 1996?
    No. The game was never released in Europe on the Super Nintendo: released on March 9, 1996 (Japan) and then May 13, 1996, in North America, it only reached Europe on August 22, 2008, in English, via the Wii's Virtual Console. The 2023 Switch remake is the first officially translated French version.
  • Who is the villain in Super Mario RPG?
    Smithy, a blacksmith tyrant from another world where he manufactures sentient weapons. His giant sword Exor crashes into Bowser's castle and shatters the Star Road into seven fragments, preventing wishes from coming true.
  • What are timed hits?
    A mechanic invented by this game: pressing a button at the right moment increases the damage of an attack or reduces the damage taken. This system was subsequently adopted by the Paper Mario and Mario & Luigi series.
  • Who is Culex, the game's secret boss?
    Culex (Cristax in French, "dark knight of Vanda") is an optional boss hidden behind a sealed door in Monstro Town. It's an homage to Final Fantasy: 16-bit pixel art design, crystals, and music from Final Fantasy IV. The 2023 remake adds a rematch against a 3D version in the post-game.
  • Is the 2023 Switch remake worth it?
    Yes: rated 84/100 on Metacritic and having sold 3.31 million copies by March 31, 2024, it remains very faithful to the original while adding an easy mode, triple moves, boss rematches, and a re-orchestrated soundtrack that can be switched to the original music.
Back to blog