Summary
Super Mario RPG, like many of Mario’s adventures, manages to include the Koopa King Bowser in its story. However, it may come as a surprise that Bowser is a member of the plumber’s entourage and not the main villain of the first role-playing game in theSuper Mariofranchise. While he makes up for lost time in the firstPaper Mariogame, Bowser inSuper Mario RPGcan be found crying over his taken-over castle and insisting that Mario is one of his minions.
Indeed,Super Mario RPGoffers a unique and comedic take on Bowser that can be seen in between battles and level-up screens. However, for those who have never playedSMRPGbefore, this take on the character may seem a bit normal. After all, evenThe Super Mario Bros. Moviemanages to make the King of the Koopas both terrifying yet goofy, and his “Peaches” song was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song. However, it could easily be said that the humor in Bowser’s personality wouldn’t be as prominent if it wasn’t forSuper Mario RPG.
While Bowser may have been the butt of a few jokes as King Koopa in the Mario cartoons, it was not nearly as comedic as theMarioRPG games portrayed him as, especially in terms ofSMRPGandPaper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door.
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All of Super Mario RPG’s Characterizations Failed to Land Except For One
When one looks atMario’s long history, there are a few less-than-stable approaches to how Mario and friends were portrayed in media for quite some time. WhenSuper Mario RPGreleased, it served as one of the times when players could interact with the Mushroom Kingdom beyond making their way through levels in between castles and bosses. As with many RPGs, this meant that towns needed to have people, and characters needed to have personalities.
The characters inSuper Mario RPGsuch as Genoand Mallow naturally have to have their own character to matter to players, but the plumber, princess, and villain of theMarioseries get their own personalities that stand out against later interpretations. Mario in particular has a bit of a short fuse in the RPG compared to his usual silent “nice guy” heroics, and Peach is portrayed a bit more of an action girl rather than the elegant ruler she’s seen as. Bowser, however, has been seen as this comedic but still powerful villain long afterSMRPG.
Bowser’s Comedic Nature Works Well Outside of Mario RPGs
While other games such asMario Kart 64helped add to the overall lackadaisical nature of Bowser,Paper Mariohelped solidify that the villain could be funny, aloof, yet worth taking seriously as he tells off many of his henchmen, but also managed to gain control of the Star Rod by sticking Kammy Koopa into a story with tape.AsPaper Mariowas conceptualizedas a sequel toSuper Mario RPGbefore becoming a separate game in its own right, it makes sense as to why the Nintendo 64 RPG would take a similar approach to Bowser.
From there, it seems that Bowser has managed to remain a powerful villain, but still be plenty viable for being the butt of the joke from time to time when it makes sense in the narrative of the story. This, in turn, gives Bowser plenty of depth as he can be seen crying over inconveniences inSuper Mario RPGwhile still being a powerful force to reckon with ingames such asSuper Mario 3D World + Bowser’s Fury. Because of this range, the Koopa King has remained one of the most iconic and memorable video game villains of all time.
Super Mario RPG
WHERE TO PLAY
Set out on a classic Mario adventure: Enter—or revisit—a world of whimsy with Mario on a quest to repair Star Road and defeat the troublemaking Smithy Gang. Team up with a party of unlikely allies, like the monstrous Bowser and a mysterious doll named Geno, in a story-rich RPG packed with laughs and quirky characters.A strange party unites to save Star Road: Meet the team of oddballs setting out to thwart the troublesome Smithy Gang and protect everyone’s wishes. Even Bowser is lending a claw!Take it easy with Breezy Difficulty Mode: Players new to RPGs or who want a story-focused experience can use the new Breezy difficulty, which makes battles easier and leveling up faster. You can set the difficulty at any time if you change your mind.Adventure, battle, and traverse across a colorful world: Jump towards your next goal and continue the story. Run into monsters to enter turn-based battles with your party of three. Master the new Chain and Triple Moves system to claim victory.A delightfully reimagined world: Enjoy familiar sights with colorfully enhanced graphics and spiffy upgrades.
