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Tuesday 19 February, 2008
GAMEPLAY 2:
One thing im finding really annoying is the fact that I always feel like I'm moving diagonally. I'm playing this game on an SNES emulator, so I use the arrow keys on my computer to move. In order to go straight on each map, I have to press two arrows at once (i.e. up and right). The fact that this game seems to be sort of set up at an angle always confuses me while I'm playing, because I will start to move one way and then realize that I need to be moving the opposite way. The gameplay overall is okay, but I think that the cutscenes take up too much time and are boring to watch. I guess that may be caused in part by the fact that I am spoiled with the really good game graphics that games nowadays have.
I don't know if I really liked the story. I mean, there wasn't anything wrong with it, but it has quite an over-used, mediocre plot-line. The whole "saving the princess" thing is quite overrated. The characters are good though, but then again they are the same characters that appear in all the Mario games. Basically the two main characters are Mario, who you get to play as, and Peach...err I mean Toadstool, the princess. I don't know where the name Peach came from, but I guess the original name for her was Toadstool. I'm not exactly sure, but I'm thinking that Toadstool and Toad (the mushroom looking guy) are a couple or something. I haven't really played far enough into the game to figure that out.
DESIGN:
Overall I don't think this is a very good game. I mean, for its time it is a pretty good RPG, but I was pretty frustrated by the controls and the gameplay in general. Like I mentioned earlier, there is the issue of the game being angled in a way that I had to press two keys at once to go straight. I'm sure that is due to the fact that it is a 3D game, but I think it could've been oriented in a way where just pressing one key would get you going in the right direction. The turn-based battle sequences, as I also mentioned, were pretty unique, allowing equal opportunities for both sides to attack each other. However, in a way I felt like this constricted my freedom, but maybe I'm just partial to games that allow you to attack at will.
There isn't much of a reward structure in this game. Actually, there is almost none. You really don't receive anything when you beat levels, except for the satisfaction of having saved the princess. There are no coins that you collect throughout the levels, and you don't get a prize after you beat a boss. I guess it doesn't really matter though, because the point is to get through a series of challenges to reach the princess, not to be constantly rewarded. I think Super Mario RPG could have been better, but nonetheless it is a decent game for the knowledge and technology of its time.
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