This review contains spoilers
TLDR: Oddly creepy boss designs and occasional hardcore JRPG design keeps the game interesting. It's a nostalgic classic for me through and through.
Longer version: It's a weird Mario/Square Enix hybrid. There's clearly a Final Fantasy influence in the general JRPG design and the difficulty ramp up towards the end is clearly reminiscent of classic JRPGs like Final Fantasy VI. This also includes the trademark "this isn't even my final form" memes. Some character designs creep me out and the occasional difficult boss fight threw me in for a loop. I beat the game this time at around level 22 with the very powerful Lazy Shell combo. I admit the game lacks story depth besides the simple character development of Mallow. And it's fine, it's a simple Mario game, so something on that scale would be out of place. The gameplay is great in many ways. Of course the timed button presses in battle add that extra spice to the experience. Also, deciding on who to have in your team is also fun. I started with a Mallow/Bowser combo, then moved to a Peach/Bowser, then Peach/Geno till the end. The game gets drastically harder towards the end. I noticed a difficulty spike at the cloud land. Isometric platforming felt weird at times, so I wouldn't mind that getting improved. I am fond of the sprite art and the odd character designs. Some of them add a feeling of unease to an otherwise happy Mario game. This is unique to this game alone. I remember being a child once and when I played through some of the sections, I was creeped the hell out. Memorable gaming moments haha. I was rushing towards the end of the game, so I didn't grind to level 30 this time. The lazy shell was a lifesaver for me. I had trouble fighting Smithy, but I lucked out and managed to eke out a win this time. Smithy is no joke and I honestly didn't expect this degree of difficulty from a Mario RPG game. I honestly thought I was set once I got the Lazy Shell. Boy was I wrong. It was still a tough match that took quite a bit of time to get through. I admit that the game has its shortcomings, but I cannot deny the game's creativity and charm. No matter what Mario RPG games have come out after this game, Super Mario RPG is still worth coming back to even to this day. Memorable characters, beautiful music, hilarious character writing, I had a blast returning to this old school JRPG.
Longer version: It's a weird Mario/Square Enix hybrid. There's clearly a Final Fantasy influence in the general JRPG design and the difficulty ramp up towards the end is clearly reminiscent of classic JRPGs like Final Fantasy VI. This also includes the trademark "this isn't even my final form" memes. Some character designs creep me out and the occasional difficult boss fight threw me in for a loop. I beat the game this time at around level 22 with the very powerful Lazy Shell combo. I admit the game lacks story depth besides the simple character development of Mallow. And it's fine, it's a simple Mario game, so something on that scale would be out of place. The gameplay is great in many ways. Of course the timed button presses in battle add that extra spice to the experience. Also, deciding on who to have in your team is also fun. I started with a Mallow/Bowser combo, then moved to a Peach/Bowser, then Peach/Geno till the end. The game gets drastically harder towards the end. I noticed a difficulty spike at the cloud land. Isometric platforming felt weird at times, so I wouldn't mind that getting improved. I am fond of the sprite art and the odd character designs. Some of them add a feeling of unease to an otherwise happy Mario game. This is unique to this game alone. I remember being a child once and when I played through some of the sections, I was creeped the hell out. Memorable gaming moments haha. I was rushing towards the end of the game, so I didn't grind to level 30 this time. The lazy shell was a lifesaver for me. I had trouble fighting Smithy, but I lucked out and managed to eke out a win this time. Smithy is no joke and I honestly didn't expect this degree of difficulty from a Mario RPG game. I honestly thought I was set once I got the Lazy Shell. Boy was I wrong. It was still a tough match that took quite a bit of time to get through. I admit that the game has its shortcomings, but I cannot deny the game's creativity and charm. No matter what Mario RPG games have come out after this game, Super Mario RPG is still worth coming back to even to this day. Memorable characters, beautiful music, hilarious character writing, I had a blast returning to this old school JRPG.