Is Super Mario RPG overrated?

[The Chef]

Neither of them are as good as Mario & Luigi, but I will say that SMRPG needs a sequel with more Square-Enix parody aspects.

[goodie]

In my opinion, everything about SMRPG is better than Paper Mario. Paper Mario felt watered down in comparison. TTYD was a bit better, but I still like Super Mario RPG more.

[Captain Jim]

I dunno. I think it may be a tad overrated, but not too much. But in all honesty, I enjoyed the Paper Mario series more.

[PaperLuigi]

So did I Captain Jim. Paper Mario:TTYD kept me interested with its story and even though the battle system was really simple, it was still fun to use.

[penguinwizard]

Hm, I wouldn't say it's overrated. It had a great story, well developed characters and an awesome soundtrack. I guess that's pretty much what I ask from an RPG. It's too bad they never realesed it here in Europe though.

What the cat said, great story, well developed characters, awesome soundtrack, what more could you ask for. This makes the RPG at least good. After that, it seems to come down to which games had the characters and music and humor I liked more. Story I don't seem to focus on as much unless it really blows me out of the water (which is pretty much the only reason Chrono Trigger's high on my list. Other than that, it just doesn't seem as accessible as some of the other RPGs I've played).

You may complain of monotonous battles. Well, I'm a turn-based RPG diehard, it's the style I prefer and don't get tired of, so the battle system's no problem. I eventually got used to the battle system in Chrono Trigger (after I realized that with the "Wait" mode, the time to attack again is a cool way of indicating move order), but I still prefer to have time to think out my moves. Granted that most of the time it's just slamming the attack button, but I'm very sensitive to being attacked twice by an enemy before I can move. Plus, the 30-level cap might help to lessen the level-grinding issue. I don't recall spending much time upgrading my characters before a battle. But in EarthBound, there was level-grinding a plenty.

And it's pretty fun to finally play as Bowser.

By the way, I voted for not overrated. It was just great all around. I didn't think it was a religious experience when playing it, but it was unique and remains one of my favorite SNES games (among a ton of others).

[Bag of Magic Food]

If you don't fight enemies, how are you going to level up?

They should come up with an alternative to that.  Like, how about a character who gains experience just for exploring?

[MEGAߥTE]

It's called a dungeon crawler.

[Bag of Magic Food]

I don't care what it's called!  I want to see it in action!

[BP]

Nah, Mß, I think an adventure game fits that description better--Mario gets no stronger as you run and jump around levels, but you get better at the game. In theory.

In a perfect RPG, level grinding would only come as punishment for those fools who do not follow the rule of RPGs: Kill every enemy you see. Ever. Unless it's inaccessible, like those times you see New Age Retro Hippies and Annoying Old Party Men generate on those clifftops between towns. Most RPGs require more than that, and some are just too easy or, like the Thousand-Year Door, become really easy when you master the battle system.

Going back to the "kill every enemy you see." Why do people avoid enemies in RPGs? Fighting is more than half the game. Just waking from town to town buying weapons and armor is cool too, but if you're going to avoid fighting, why would you do that in the first place? Perhaps you're just interested in the story... well, part of the challenge you must overcome to find out what happens next is beating up some Manly Fish. In Ace Attorney it's figuring the logic of situations; try that if that's more your style.

[MEGAߥTE]

He asked for a game where the character gains experience when exploring, not the player getting better.  In dungeon crawlers, your character literally gains experience points when exploring.

[Lizard Dude]

Games with Mario running and jumping around levels are not adventure games. They are called platformers.

I want MEGAߥTE to name some of these dungeon crawlers.

[N64 Chick]

It's a good game, but perhaps a tad overrated. However, I think that Geno really is overrated. I find the fans that whine about him not being in SSBB to be rather annoying.

Eh, I'm voting "Somewhat."

[Zarkanthesmasher]

It's a good game, but perhaps a tad overrated. However, I think that Geno really is overrated. I find the fans that whine about him not being in SSBB to be rather annoying.

Eh, I'm voting "Somewhat."

Oh yeah, that gets really annoying. I remember reading old mailbags that kept clamoring for the return of Geno - as if he was the greatest Mario character ever. Come on!

In a perfect RPG, level grinding would only come as punishment for those fools who do not follow the rule of RPGs: Kill every enemy you see. Ever. Unless it's inaccessible, like those times you see New Age Retro Hippies and Annoying Old Party Men generate on those clifftops between towns. Most RPGs require more than that, and some are just too easy or, like the Thousand-Year Door, become really easy when you master the battle system.

Well, that's what I do as well. Problem is, when you've killed 20 or 30 of the exact same enemy, you're less inclined to kill even more of that enemy. :\

[Chupperson Weird]

You Really Don't Get The Point.™

[Zarkanthesmasher]

You Really Don't Get The Point.™

Or maybe it's just that you and I have totally different tastes in video games. Which, BTW, isn't bad.

The whole reason I really started this topic was because I was wondering how revered SMRPG is today. I remember reading old mailbags here that kept having people writing in on how SMRPG was the best game ever, and it looks like it's still a lot like that today. I respect people if they like the game so much, but I think it's a bit rude to claim that I don't get the point just because I don't like the game.