Is Super Mario RPG overrated?

[BriGuy92]

In my opinion, PiT was a terrible game, aside from the boss battles. The awesome music was its only saving grace. I really enjoyed fighting the bosses, but, as has already been stated, the whole attack item system was terribly flawed. It's not so much a bad concept, it was just put to use in the most unimaginative of ways. Bros. Items would have worked so much better if they were used in a way similar to, say, Final Fantasy VII's Materia. That is to say, you have this item, now you can do this attack which costs x amount of points. IF you sell this item, you can no longer do this attack.

As for SMRPG, it's a bit overrated. I have to say though, what's with all the Geno hate? I agree that there is too much fanboyish whining about him, but he's really not that bad of a character.

[ShadowBrain]

In my opinion, PiT was a terrible game, aside from the boss battles. The awesome music was its only saving grace.

QFT (though I think the boss battles took way too long. Then again, I often got so sick of using Bros. Items that I resorted to intemittent "normal" attacks--which is why it took me three hours to beat the final boss)

[N64 Chick]

Oh. Sorry, SB. It kinda sounded like you eventually got tired of the game and never finished it.

Incidentally, it took a friend of mine a few hours to beat the final boss as well...because he did a low-level run. XD

[Reading]

I have to say though, what's with all the Geno hate? I agree that there is too much fanboyish whining about him, but he's really not that bad of a character.

That happens with characters like Geno and Shadow (from Sonic). A large group of people think they're awesome, and then the other large group of people isn't so fond of them, gets annoyed, and starts hating them simply because the other group loves them. It doesn't make any sense, really.

[MEGAߥTE]

I don't think a large group of people ever thought Shadow was awesome.

[Reading]

I hear it a lot on Sonic forums that Shadow is overrated. He was really popular in Sonic Adventure 2, wasn't he? It seems his popularity is declining though, likely because they ruined him in Shadow the Hedgehog.

[Turtlekid1]

"Shadow!  Defeat the Black Aliens!  Use this conveniently placed and thoroughly Un-Sonicish rifle!"

...Yeah.

[ShadowBrain]

Shadow's not overrated because he's not even "rated". His primary fanbase is sixth-graders who are saving up for a 360 and/or read Series of Unfortunate Events.

Okay, maybe that made no sense, but the point is... I'll refer you to the majority of posts on the "is Sonic or Mario cooler?" thread, or whatever.

[Nintendoverlord]

Basically all you do is fight a ton of enemies that are all the same

 (note - I haven't actually played the whole game - it got too boring too quickly).

The second line explains why you shouldn't make a statement like that first one. Depending on how far it was you got in the game, you can't really say that. The enemies do infact change from area to area.

Anyhoo, I don't find the game overrated at all. The gameplay was fun and innovative, the story was good, and the characters were lovable. It's my favorite game of all time.

[Zarkanthesmasher]

The second line explains why you shouldn't make a statement like that first one. Depending on how far it was you got in the game, you can't really say that. The enemies do infact change from area to area.

Anyhoo, I don't find the game overrated at all. The gameplay was fun and innovative, the story was good, and the characters were lovable. It's my favorite game of all time.

You're assuming that I haven't gotten very far through the game at all. Actually, I have - the farthest I've ever gotten was 6/7 stars, which is the wide majority of the game. I could have beaten it if I wanted, but I got extremely bored and never finished it.

As for your reasons for loving it so much, they're all a matter of perspective. I personally think that the Paper Mario gameplay was great, because it both a great combat system (I personally don't care at all about the low attack and HP numbers) and lots of puzzles (and SMRPG was almost totally devoid of any puzzlework). As for loveable characters, there were plenty in Paper Mario as well. Characters like Kolorado, Tubba Blubba, Bow, Sushie, Goombario, Lakalister, and many others were all fun to see (and BTW, I personally think that most of the ones I listed are better than ultra-average Geno). The story... I admit that the first Paper Mario was pretty basic, plotwise, but the highly enjoyable and diverse characters made up for that. Besides, Paper Mario TTYD made up for that - it by far has one of the best storylines ever in a mario game, and IMO has the best of all the Mario RPG's.

[Toad]

These are Mario games. It's ok to fight some form of Goomba in at least six out of eight areas (I know the RPG's have more areas than that, but you know what I mean..) There are going to be Goombas, Koopas. Paratroopas, ect wherever you go.

I like how the Paper Mario series (and even M&L) have varaitons on Goombas not seen in the platforming games (like the Spiked Goomba, or the Hyper Goomba). PM2 even goes a bit further and has various forms of Pirahna Plant. Those plants seem to be adaptable to just about anywhere..

[Nintendoverlord]

I realize that you never said how far you got into the game, hence why I said "Depending how far you got in the game..."

And yes, this is all a matter of opinion, I realize that. I never compared it to Paper Mario, another game I think is great. I don't really see how all the enemies are the same, they did pretty much just recycle a few enemies from early in the game and slapped them into the later levels, but pretty much every Mario game has done that.

I actually prefer the first Paper Mario as opposed to The Thousand Year Door, but the second one definately upped the challenge level, but pretty much all of the Mario RPG's have been using the same plot over and over again but altering it slightly. The plotline in Thousand Year Door is deeper, but it's not much different from Super Mario RPG and the first Paper Mario.

I'm not sure how this Shadow discussion started, but I personally think Shadow was cool in Sonic Adventure 2, but then just lost it all after Shadow the Hedgehog was made.

[Chupperson Weird]

RPGs don't need to have puzzles.

[Nintendoverlord]

RPGs don't need to have puzzles.

No one said they did, but puzzles can make the game more fun.

[Reading]

I actually prefer the first Paper Mario as opposed to The Thousand Year Door, but the second one definately upped the challenge level, but pretty much all of the Mario RPG's have been using the same plot over and over again but altering it slightly. The plotline in Thousand Year Door is deeper, but it's not much different from Super Mario RPG and the first Paper Mario.

Are you referring to the whole "collect the 6/7/8 star/hearts and then go to the final area to fight the big bad boss" thing? They've been using that one to death, yes, but I don't think you can really call "Bowser stole the Star Rod, trapped the Star Spirits and Peach, now rescue them" and "A demon was sealed thousands of years ago that can only be opened by the Crystal Stars, a secret organization plans to unleash the demon, so they stole Peach to use her as a vessel, so collect the Stars and save Peach" the same plot. Gameplay-wise, yeah, it's similar, but at the core, taking every aspect of the story into account, they're almost entirely different plots. They're at least more varied than "Eggman has this new monster thing and uses the Chaos Emeralds to power it up but then it goes crazy and Sonic goes Super to defeat it". Mario and Luigi: SS did a good job by not being about collecting things, except for the Beanstar Hunt which didn't really take up a significant part of the game.

Just a question, but in your opinion, what makes the original PM better than TTYD? I'm not trying to degrade your opinion, but f you ask me, TTYD improved upon almost every aspect of the original: new, crisper graphics style, original and more epic plot, new major villain, slightly more mature content, etc. I finished PM1 and I'm currently playing TTYD again, and it's as amazing an experience as ever.