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With so many remakes coming out over the years,Super Mario RPGis a classic that launched a faithful recreation of the original. As you run through the kingdom to fight off enemies in turn-based combat, you can stop Smithy and his minions, which can be harder than expected.
Not only do you need to learn how the combat works, but with all the new systems added to the game, you may find yourself overwhelmed at times. You have a new Action Gauge, a combo chain, and even Triple Moves, so you’ll need to learn how to juggle all those parts. Spend some time learning the best tips, so you can recover the seven stars and bring wishes back to the world.
Updated Jun 17, 2025:We added a video version of this guide that includes a few extra tips on how to play Super Mario RPG.
Treat This RPG Like A Platformer
Super Mario RPG utilises an isometric view, so much like with platformers,you can encounter plenty of secrets and items by exploring the map and jumping around.
For example, after you leave Mario’s Pad, you’ll encounter a spinning flower. If you stand on it and jump, you’ll leap much higher and be able to reach higher ledges.
The same applies to the yellow platforms, which spin around and can help you reach new areas. Make sure youpay attention to new objects to see how they impact the way you may navigatea dungeon.
You can alsouse your platforming to avoid enemies if you don’t feel like fighting.
You’ll level up quickly in this game, so it doesn’t hurt to avoid enemies and save your HP and FP for boss fights.
Learn Your Action Commands, Chains, And The Action Gauge
Action Commands remain the bread and butter of combat:when you perform the command at the right time, you deal more damage. For instance, if you’re punching with Mario, you need to press A right before the first punch hits to perform a second one.
Every weapon type in the game has a unique Action Command, and an exclamation point will appear to let you know the move’s timing.
If you’re playing on a TV and not in handheld mode, practice the input. You’ll have some, soyou may need to press it slightly before or after the exclamation point appears.
you may also use Action Commands to defend against enemy attacks, and the same exclamation point will appear.There are some moves that you can’t defend, usually status ailments,so a message will appear on the right side of the screen.
As you keep landing consecutive Action Commands, you’ll develop a chain, which will give you different bonuses. For instance, if you land two in a row, you get a small boost,but getting five or higher will give you large boosts.
Your chain carries over between battles, so try to enter boss fights with at least five, so you’ll have a large damage boost.
Landing Action Commands fills your Action Gauge, which allows you to perform a special attack.
If you’re early in the game and don’t have a party of three, you can call a Toad to help you. A box will appear, and you can jump into it to start a roulette, which will summon an item to heal you and boost your stats.
Once you have three party members,you may use Triple Moves, which changes based on the party. If you have Mario, Mallow, and Geno, you’ll perform a powerful strike that damages one foe.
Pay Attention To Level Up Bonuses
Whenever your characters level up, you’ll gain stats and new abilities. In addition to specific stat increases, you can choose to apply bonus stats each time you level up too. You can take two approaches to this:give yourself the largest stat boost or level up stats based on how you want to build your character.
you may check out when you’ll gain new moves by pausing the game and selecting ‘Special’.
You can use these bonus stats to help balance your team, for example,Bowser excels with Health boosts, but occasional Physical increaseswill keep his damage up. Mario’s an all-rounder, butPeach and Mallow excel with Magic stats and sometimes Health, while Geno will be your glass cannon, going with Physical and Magic.
Using these bonus stats to cover a character’s weak spot can make all the difference in battle.
Don’t Be Stingy With Your Items, But Use Your Flower Items Wisely
If you’re playing on Breezy Mode, this won’t apply as much, butyou should use your items freely during Normal mode.
Sometimes, you may feel the urge to hoard your items to use a ton of them during a fight. However,you can only carry so many of a specific item at a time, such as only having ten mushrooms on you, so any additional items will go to your Storage Box.
Instead,view your items as a way to stay out in a field, go through a dungeon, and not have to backtrackand use the Storage Box. On top of that, you’ll encounter plenty of HP and FP restore treasure chests during your journey, so it doesn’t hurt to keep an eye out for them.
If you want,you can leave ten or so in Storage then use the rest freely, so you can always pull them out if you go through a lot of items.
The only items these don’t apply to are your Flower Points (FP) increasing items.On top of permanently increasing your FP by the amount specified, they also restore your FP, so you should hold onto them until you’re low on FP, so you get the most use out of them.
If you want to save a Pick-Me-Up for a boss fight,finish the battle while your party member is knocked out. They’ll get back up at the end of the fight with one HP, so you may use a Mushroom to restore their health.
Use Mallow’s Thought Peek On Bosses
Mallow has early access to an ability calledThought Peek, which allows you to check an opponent’s health and weaknesses. While you can use this on normal enemies, they usually have such low health that you can defeat them in a few turns, not making them worth checking.
If you’re going against a boss, you should use the ability during Mallow’s first turn. you’re able to make note of their health and also their weaknesses, so you can use moves that will deal more damage without wasting turns learning them through trial and error.
For instance, Claymorton is weak to Lightning magic, so you’ll want to use Mallow’s Thunderbolt throughout the fight. Alongside knowing what to do against a boss,you may also keep those weak points in mind if you lose against the bossand need to start again.
Just because a character has no weaknesses doesn’t mean that it resists everything.If you don’t see any weaknesses, you’ll need to pay attention and see if Resistance appearsafter you use a move to avoid using that ability for the rest of the fight.
