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Originally Posted by Time Works The Same Way  yeah yeah, i know. but seriously, smrpg is just jrpg starring mario, while PM/M&L are jrpg + Mario, if you get my meaning. I don't think mario lends itself well to generic rpg, attack magic item run stuff, the other series adds more flare and action and fun to stuff.
plus square doesn't actually make good jrpgs anymore |
I can agree that Square and Enix both ain't what they used to be as far as relevance and creativity go, but it looks like you're neglecting a lot here.
SMRPG managed to create a lot of concepts unique to SMRPG, not just Mario or RPG's. It also set the standard for the battle system that pretty much every Mario RPG game has used since. Just because it didn't have some stupid plot that revolved around Koopa's obsession with being a jackass doesn't make it somehow more generic.
To humor the "generic jrpg" crap, since when have you not been collecting crap in most Mario games? As far as the story elements go, it derives heavily from the star road in SMW. The seven stars are a better plot than rescuing Toadstool for the 90th time. Besides, Mario's been collecting **** starting most recognizably with SMB3.I can't say I've really seen any characters resembling Geno or Mallow in any other game, and I think the whole part with Booster is 100% great original Mario-style character and plot.
If anything the other games are just becoming less relevant in succession as much as Square is as a company. Back when SMRPG came out, I would've loved a sequel. Nintendo was following Miyamoto off into lala land, though, and turned out Paper Mario. Decent game? Maybe, but not particularily compelling considering the history of the series and the genre.
And why can Square not make Square-style games? If you don't like that, no problem, but the whole problem with JRPGs as a whole is that they are all made in imitation of Square or Enix.
Considering your weak JRPG argument even further, the game's lacking a romantic sub plot, an overworld with random battles, a catastrophic and yet obvious plot twist, airship or any kind of air travel... It really seems like what you're missing about SMRPG is that it lampoons standard RPG story elements. Did you really take Mallow's orphan status, and his thinking he was a frog to be a serious effort in the direction of a JRPG cliche? Do you think Bowser being over turned in the first 2 minutes of the game was an attempt at a serious "the head bad guy isn't the real head badguy" archetype?
And this supposed lack of "Mario" elements... in what other RPGs exactly do you jump around the world hitting blocks? Travel via green pipes? Ride Yoshi dinosaurs? How exactly do you think Mario's actions were defined
in game, in canon up to that point?
SMRPG invented Mario's personality, in game. It was unprecedented and has since been overshadowed by whatever the hell it is you think makes a Mario game.