But… we’ve added some elements which allow a moment of action in the gameplay: in other words, a moment of greater Mario-ness.” Fujioka referred to an ingenious bit of interactive game design: the timed button press. The majority of the time is probably spent not pressing any buttons, in fact. The main issue Squaresoft faced in designing Super Mario RPG was its turn-based combat system: “In RPGs, there’s usually a lot of waiting. Both companies were in love with this collaborative project, but its realization would take a lot of back and forth. Due to Squaresoft’s vast experience in the RPG market, Nintendo placed most of the responsibility with them, but would often step in to help guide the game’s creative direction. His idea not only satisfied Miyamoto’s desire to place Mario into an RPG setting, but also Fujioka’s own desire to create a game with worldwide appeal that both children and adults could enjoy. Nintendo has Mario, and Square has RPGs… well, why not simply stick the two together?” That’s a quote from Squaresoft creative director Chihiro Fujioka speaking during an interview with a gaming magazine right before the game’s release. “During business meeting with Nintendo, the topic came up of us working on something together. At this point in time, Squaresoft was responsible for classic role-playing games like Final Fantasy IV, Secret of Mana, Chrono Trigger, and several other turn-based games popular largely among Japanese audiences.
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This Mario RPG idea sat idly in the back of Miyamoto’s head and fermented for almost a full year before coming to fruition during a 1994 press conference with the Japanese game company Squaresoft, which later became the widely-recognized Square Enix after a merger with fellow RPG publisher Enix. “Long before Super Mario RPG got started, I had talked with the staff at Nintendo about wanting to make an RPG that featured Mario,” Miyamoto explained to a Japanese magazine in 1995. He wanted the mustachioed plumber to explore a whole new kind of adventure that had never been seen before: Miyamoto wanted a Mario RPG. He pondered and pondered this idea for four long years before finally reaching a brilliant revelation. What hadn’t Mario done yet? What areas of the gaming landscape were left for him to traverse? Like a philosopher of ancient times, Miyamoto thought. After more than a decade of Mario’s platforming prowess on full display, Miyamoto wanted something different. However, creative director Shigeru Miyamoto wasn’t satisfied. Nintendo’s popularity was rising quickly with no signs of slowing down. The SNES had just taken the world by storm with the smash hit Super Mario World and everything was looking bright for Mario’s future.
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