Super Mario RPG — stories left

A representative for Nintendo of America said that it was "on track to easily exceed our 500,000 target, and it may easily become a one million seller by the end of this calendar year.

In March 1997, Nintendo Power nominated the game for several awards, including "Best Graphics", in a player's choice contest, though Super Mario 64 won "Best Graphics".

Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the graphics, stating that they are "the best seen on the Super NES".

1UP.com stated that the graphic element is "strong enough to resemble a Mario title but still retains the role-playing theme at the same time", and Electronic Gaming Monthly commented that the visuals are "typical of Nintendo, using clean and colorful graphics along with nice animation".

RPGamer editor Derek Cavin called the backgrounds "beautiful" and stated that they "perfectly bring the Mushroom Kingdom and surrounding areas into 3D".

Skyler Miller from Allgame stated that the graphics are "absolutely outstanding, with colorful, 3D rendered visuals that once seemed impossible on the Super NES.

In the Virtual Console re-release, IGNs Lucas Thomas's review of Super Mario RPG stated that the game's experience "completes itself with a compelling story, a humorous attitude and a variety of interspersed mini-games that break up the adventuring action".

The publication also stated that the soundtrack is "spectacular and a joy to listen to" and the graphics "took full advantage of the system's 16-bit technology and looks great".

Cavin said that most of the battle system mechanics "aren't very original" and also criticized the "lack of a unified storyline".

Scary Larry similarly said the game "should please diehard RPG fans as well as novice players", as it is genuinely tough and offers considerable replay value in the form of sidequests and bonus features such as Toadofsky's music levels.

While 1UP.com wrote that the characters were "too childish for older gamers", Next Generation said the game is "held together by the strength of its characters and well-developed world".

In 2023, Time Extension included the game on their "Best JRPGs of All Time" list.

Super Mario RPG appeared on reader-selected "best game of all time" lists, such as 30th at IGN, and critic-selected "best games of all time" lists, such as 26th in Electronic Gaming Monthly.

It has been rated highly around the world, being selected among the best 4 in a vote on the greatest games of all time held on the overseas game site GameFAQs in 2015.

It sold 1.47 million copies in Japan, making it the third best-selling game of 1996 in that region.

Super Mario RPG became the sixth best-selling game of 1996 in the United States.

Though its battle system and characters were criticized by a few critics, it garnered praise for its graphics and for humor in particular.

Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the graphics, stating that they are "the best seen on the Super NES".

Scary Larry of GamePro gave the game a perfect 5/5 in all four categories (graphics, sound, control, and fun factor), and praised the rendered enemies, cinematics, and spell animations.

Cavin said that most of the battle system mechanics "aren't very original" and also criticized the "lack of a unified storyline".

In the Cross Review feature of the magazine Famitsu, the four reviewers gave 9, 8, 8, and 7, for a total of 32.

Square reported that the game was about 70% complete in October 1995.

When Nintendo of America received a 60% complete version of the game in November, its staff was surprised at the inclusion of an RPG battle system.

It sold 1.47 million copies in Japan, making it the third best-selling game of 1996 in that region.

For the game's North American release in May of 1996, Nintendo shipped 300,000 copies to retailers in the United States.

The game's North American sales surpassed Nintendo's expectations, with an estimated sell-through of more than 200,000 units within a month on shelves.

As of March 31, 2024, the game has sold 3.31 million copies, with 860,000 sold in Japan, and 2.45 million internationally, surpassing the Super Nintendo original's release sales numbers.

It is the first RPG in the Mario franchise, drawing from major elements of Square's RPG franchises such as Final Fantasy.

It was released on the Wii's Virtual Console service in 2008, marking its debut in Europe and Australia, and for the Wii U's Virtual Console in 2015.

Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars is one of only seven SNES games released outside Japan to use the Nintendo SA-1 chip.

Super Mario RPG was first released in Japan on March 9, 1996.

It was the last SNES game released by Square in North America, with Treasure of the Rudras and Treasure Hunter G being its last games released in Japan.

It was released for the first time in Europe and Australia for the Wii Virtual Console on August 22, 2008, as part of the third Hanabi Festival (a period in which several games not previously available in Europe were released on the Wii Virtual Console).

Plans continued through February 1996 for the North American version, with the release date being pushed back from winter to spring.

For the game's North American release in May of 1996, Nintendo shipped 300,000 copies to retailers in the United States.

The game's North American sales surpassed Nintendo's expectations, with an estimated sell-through of more than 200,000 units within a month on shelves.

The game was originally not released in PAL regions, as Nintendo representatives cited the need to optimize the game for PAL televisions and translate it into multiple languages.

Nintendo announced a game titled Super Mario RPG 2 for 64DD, which was renamed Paper Mario before its release on the Nintendo 64.

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga features a cameo of Geno in one of the minigames, and the end credits mention Square Enix as the copyright holder of the character; this cameo was removed for the game's Nintendo 3DS remake.