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joshcorris — Super Mario RPG

Published: 2011-11-17 22:17:42 +0000 UTC; Views: 18636; Favourites: 278; Downloads: 206
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Description This is one of my favorite games of all time. I had actually never played an RPG by Square before my experiences with Super Mario RPG, so it took me a while to get the hang of the whole turn-battle/ sequence-fighting thing, but by the Forest Maze, I was considerably enthralled. Even after my later encounters with Final Fantasy/ Chrono games (etc.), Super Mario RPG's battle system always resonated a higher note with me, being that it was so much more interactive. Truth be told, most Square RPG's find me doing little more than nursing the A/ circle button in battle sequences. With Mario RPG, you could actually double the power of your attacks and block enemy attacks. The game's follow-up, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, actually provided even more interactive gameplay (and a musical score provided by Mario RPG's Yoko Shimomura), but that is another topic of discussion.
Anyway, depicted above are the protagonists of the game, as well as the "Smithy Gang", an invasive army of weapon-creatures forged by the nefarious blacksmith himself, aptly named "Smithy". The heroes are (l to r):
Geno, a fan-favorite, and my favorite as well. Geno was like the "sweeper" character, being the fastest, and excelling in all offense. Together with the Jynx Belt and Super Suit, this guy is fucking unstoppable.
Mario, complete with his weapons of choice, hammers and troopa shells. The shell weapons were always red on the game, but Mario's red enough. I figured the green shell would provide better contrast. A year ago, for the second time in my life, I successfully performed 100 consecutive jumps using Mario's "Super Jump" attack, and this time during the natural course of the game (the first time I did it, I'd already beaten both Smithy and Culex, which kind of defeats the purpose of earning the "Super Suit"). Mario was a balanced character who turned up fair in all stats. I found it best to outfit him with the Lazy Shell, Hero Shirt, and Attack Scarf.
Bowser, complete with his 3 primary henchmen in the game: Goombas, weird Koopas with armored masks, and Magikoopa, who is the easiest fucking boss on the game. Seriously, the Hammer Bros. are more difficult. Bowser was your brute force character, excelling in HP, attack, and defense. Although Mario, Geno, and Peach is the preferred lineup (especially against Culex), oftentimes I just go with the superpower team of Mario, Geno, and Bowser. I mean, this game is really easy. Having a healer around isn't absolutely necessary for most battles.
Peach, still called "Toadstool" (and for the last time), with her trusty steward Toad, back when he was the only mushroom person named "Toad", and they were a race of mushroom folk, not a race of toads. I always figured after Nintendo changed the princess's name from "Toadstool" to "Peach" that "Toadstool" effectively became her LAST name. I mean, Peach is certainly a better first name than fucking "Toadstool", but they seem to prefer to pretend "Toadstool" had never even been her name in the first place. Whatever. Peach is the healer, but she really turns out pretty good stats in every category except attack. With her special attacks "Therapy", "Group Hug", and "Come Back", you'll never need to purchase any more mushrooms, able juices, freshen-ups, or really even pick-me-ups ever again. The techniques are amazingly good. I like to outfit her with the Safety Ring until I finish Culex, after which I endow her the Frying Pan, Royal Dress, and Quartz Charm.
And then there's Mallow. He's the mage, and has powerful ice and thunder attacks, but, honestly, after acquiring Bowser, I never have much use for this guy anymore. I may bust him out in the Barrel Volcano and utilize the ice weakness all of the enemies share. Or I might not. He is pictured here with his trusty "Froggie Stick", bestowed him by Frogfuscious.
And the Smithy Gang (l to r):
Yaridovich, the con-artist and shape-shifting spear creature.
Bowyer, the bow (bow & arrow) creature who talks like Yoda and says "nya" alot.
The Axem Rangers, supposed to be a spoof on the Power Rangers, although "Axem" does not sound anything at all like "Power". They are obviously axe creatures, who travel around on their flying axe ship called "The Blade". Featured here is their leader, Axem Red.
Mack, leader of the Shysters, (and master of PB Down jokes), who all ride on these pogo-swords.
Smithy himself, who not only wields the blacksmith's hammer, but reveals in his true form that he is, in fact, a giant hammer.
And in the background is the disappointingly easy Exor, the huge sword creature, who looms ominously over the world map through the entire game. I always want the fight with Exor to be much harder than it actually is. Exor itself is actually the skull-like decorative piece at the top of the hilt. The face belows guards Exor with the help of its right and left eye, and, of course, it's potent Neosquid. To date, nobody has any fucking clue why the mouth is called "Neosquid". I'm sure some know-it-all out there would try to provide some vain explanation, but there really isn't one.
And PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE no comments asking me "where is (your favorite character)?" Not trying to be a dick, but I ALWAYS see this stupid fucking question anytime somebody does a group fanart picture, and honestly, the answer is always going to be the same. If you want to see a Mario RPG picture with (your favorite character), go draw it yourself and share it with the world. This is mine, and these are the characters I chose to draw.
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Comments: 15

Verkins [2012-11-16 19:14:42 +0000 UTC]

Simply amazing artwork!

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

drdoom1145 [2012-06-22 14:12:25 +0000 UTC]

i wish they would remake the game for xbox and wii

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

joshcorris In reply to drdoom1145 [2012-06-25 22:00:46 +0000 UTC]

They wouldn't remake it for Xbox, since it's a Mario title. I doubt they'd even remake it for the Wii, since, following Nintendo's falling out with Square in the late 90s, Nintendo has failed to really acknowledge the game's existence anymore, even after they and Square patched things up.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Raskolnikov2007 [2012-06-05 03:53:01 +0000 UTC]

I love it; and when I first seen it, I mistook Bowser's tail for his ballsack, and now I just wish it was his balls.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

animeinvaders [2012-05-06 21:37:09 +0000 UTC]

I DOWNLOADED THIS GAME ONTO MY WII!!!! the reason- the forest maze songs! and chuggaconroy's walkthrough. GREATEST MARIO GAME EVER

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

pistachioZombie [2012-03-27 22:14:41 +0000 UTC]

This is really awesome! Late comment is late, but I just started playing SMRPG again on my emulator, and its so easy to get into. I really like your style, though. You made everything look so amazing and dark. (: This is really cool to see in someone else's style !

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

Loopy-Lupe [2011-11-18 23:20:48 +0000 UTC]

Very nice. I like how you and your brother both share the same kind of wild style, and I can tell yours is more unhinged, so that makes this all the better!
Fantastic job with all of the characters, I like how menacing Geno looks in this.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

joshcorris In reply to Loopy-Lupe [2011-11-21 20:35:19 +0000 UTC]

his style's really more unhinged. i learn a lot of methods and techniques just by watching him do his pictures.

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

Loopy-Lupe In reply to joshcorris [2011-11-23 04:50:32 +0000 UTC]

Ah, I see! Well, either way it's a good stepping stone for finding a style to stick with.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

bascalot666 [2011-11-18 20:01:13 +0000 UTC]

Some good Ninty, finally.

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

HoppyBadBunny [2011-11-17 23:28:49 +0000 UTC]

NIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINTYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

JosephPMorgan [2011-11-17 22:21:09 +0000 UTC]

Simthy = Nuff Said! [link] After he transformed, I thought to myself "Shit just got real!"

Love this drawing!!!

👍: 0 ⏩: 1

joshcorris In reply to JosephPMorgan [2011-11-17 22:22:29 +0000 UTC]

yeah, that smithy transormation sequence is pretty badass. you enter that weird red area with a million smithy heads just lying all over the place.

👍: 0 ⏩: 2

CosmicGrounds In reply to joshcorris [2014-04-27 00:01:37 +0000 UTC]

Definitely good ole' nightmare fuel. 

👍: 0 ⏩: 0

JosephPMorgan In reply to joshcorris [2011-11-17 22:24:45 +0000 UTC]

I know right, when you land I bet the crew was like "What the Fu@*k!"

👍: 0 ⏩: 0