It always sucks to hear what other countries are getting in their respective digital download marketplaces, because America tends to get the shaft. A typical scenario: "Hey, look: the Japanese Playstation Store got Metal Gear Solid and Einhander! What's new for the US this week? Blasto." *sound of gun being cocked*
But someone, somewhere, must have taken pity on the puny American dollar, because Super Mario RPG--a game that was released elsewhere earlier in the summer--is now available for download on the Wii's Virtual Console. This is big news, because A.) Super Mario RPG is the most "important" game to come out for the VC since god knows when, and B.) hells yes it is worth buying.
Admittedly, it is kind of an odd game; unlike later Mario RPGs, this one feels the most Final Fantasy-ish--half of the creative content belongs to Square, and it doesn't really jive well with the Mario Universe. But it's still a great RPG, and, like Chrono Trigger, one of the few RPGs worth replaying; at around 20-25 hours, it's very well-paced and you never, ever have to grind for experience. Most of the time you'll reach the level cap of 30 shortly before the final dungeon, making the typical tedious late-game leveling a thing of the past--and just like Earthbound's progressive enemy encounter system, Super Mario RPG's ergonomic take on the genre never really caught on outside of its own franchise.
Also worth mentioning is the fantastic, fabulous (other "f" adjective needed here) soundtrack, which may be my favorite work of Square composer Yoko Shimomura. Her soundtrack is bouncy, jumpy ear candy; it's a great mix of arranged classic Mario tunes and her own ultra-catchy originals. And since I'm without cable at my new apartment until tomorrow (don't ask how I'm updating now), all I can do to console myself is put on the OST and try not to lapse into a diabetic coma. Luckily, I have the SMRPG fan remix album Heavy Troopa is Ready to Launch! on my iPod, which is mostly great outside of a few embarrassing rap arrangments that wouldn't even fly in a Knuckles level. There's also an episode of the gaming OST podcast Into the Score, which explains why the SMRPG soundtrack is awesome with fancy-pants musical terminology just in case you don't believe me. But you should.
Oh yeah; there's this, too:
Related Links:
Mario Will Not Retire. He Will Outlive Us All.
Ys and You