Essential Tips and Tricks

Super Mario RPG is designed to be approachable by RPG fans and newcomers alike, and no matter what your skill level is, there are always interesting tips and tricks to learn that can help make certain battles and encounters easier if you know what to do.

The tips below are made with the new Super Mario RPG Remake on Nintendo Switch in mind, but certain tips still apply to the SNES original.

Timing is Everything

From the very beginning, you'll learn about Action Commands and timed hits as an integral part of Super Mario RPG's battle system. Even after directing your characters to attack, or waiting for an enemy to make their move, your input doesn't end there.

By pressing the A button right before an attack hits an enemy, or when an enemy's attack is about to land, you can increase your own damage, while lowering an enemy's damage to your party. Not every attack is the same however, and you'll want to spend time learning the best possible moments to press A.

In the Super Mario RPG Remake, this is made easier by?! mark prompts that appear at the correct time to press A. Pressing it perfectly when attacking can cause splash damage to hit other enemies nearby, and pressing it perfectly when defending will summon a shield to negate all incoming damage entirely!

Even for a single character, depending on the weapon you have equipped, the attack or special move you use, the timing will always be a bit different, so make a mental note of the best timing, as the?! will eventually disappear once you start getting the hang of things (but don't worry, it will reappear if you fumble several in a row).

Know Their Weakness

Mallow is a unique character in that he can peek into an enemies head with a special ability that gives you the lowdown on their current health, as well as what attacks they are weak to.

Using this knowledge, you should always try to exploit an enemy's weakness once you figure it out, as it will make certain encounters much easier. Using Mario's Jump on Koopa enemies, or Mallow's Thunderbolt on metal enemies can be a big help, and if you are ever unsure, you can check the Monster List in your menu to reference enemy weaknesses.

In the same vein, certain enemies have immunities to effects. The most common of this is enemies that are immune to Mario's jump attacks, like Spikey enemies. Learn these immunities early on to avoid wasting your abilities, or keep him equipped with Jump Shoes so that he can damage them anyway.

Choosing the Right Level Up Stat

Each time any party member levels up, you'll be able to increase either their Physical Stats, HP, or Magic Stats. Sometimes you might not be sure about which stat to increase next, and to be honest, the game won't really punish you for picking the wrong stat.

Still, if you're ever in doubt, just look at how much the stat increase will make the numbers go up. Odds are, if it's increasing by several points, it might be worth investing in over the stat up that only increases attack by 1 point. Weigh that against the role you have for that character: Mallow excels with elemental spells, so his physical attacks aren't as essential -- but can still help in a pinch!

When to Use Flower Tabs

Flower items in Super Mario RPG are special, as they will increase the maximum amount of Flower Points (FP) that you can have to use Special Moves. However, there's a different between the Flowers you find in chests, vs finding Flower Tab or Flower Jar consumable items.

Flowers found in the world or in chests will automatically raise your maximum FP when you collect them, but will not restore any FP already used. However, using the Flower Tab will both raise your maximum amount, and also replenish your entire stock of FP at the same time.

Because of this, it's often a good idea to sit on a few Flower Tabs if things are going good, and use them after a tough battle when you're running on empty to top off your FP without having to use Honey. The downside is you cannot use Flower Tabs in battle, so make sure to use one before you rush off to the next battle if you are out of FP.

The Right Character for the Job

Once you get more than three Characters in your party, you'll likely start to wonder when the best time to have a certain character in your party will be. For the most part, you can probably get by with any combination, though some may make certain fights more difficult than others.

Since Mario must remain at the head of the party, it really comes down to the strengths and weaknesses of the other four characters: Mallow, Geno, Bowser, and Peach. Each fulfills a role, but some roles are closer than others. For example, both Mallow and Peach can heal, but while Peach is the better healer, Mallow has more utility with damaging abilities and his Thought Peek ability.

As a general rule, it's usually good idea to have one healer (Mallow or Peach) and one damage dealer (Geno or Bowser) to accompany Mario, as you'll be better able to adapt to new threats. However, you can still tweak as needed, like bringing both Mallow and Peach so Mallow can focus entirely on using abilities to deal elemental damage while Peach heals.

Teammate Swapping

In the Super Mario RPG Remake, a new feature allows you to swap party members in and out during a battle -- something that wasn't available in the SNES version.

Not only that, but a character who is swapped in can still perform any action, and does not waste that turn. This means if you come up against an enemy weak to Lightning, you can swap in Mallow and immediately use Thunderbolt without having to wait. This also means that (aside from Mario) you can swap in a character who might usually go last due to their speed, by having them swap with a faster character who usually goes first.

Even better still, this also applies to character who have been hit with status effects, including Sleep, or even knocked out! Instead of just skipping their turn, as long as there is a standby character, you can swap out the affected character so someone can still perform an action on their turn!

Look for Hidden Chests

Once you arrive in the Mushroom Kingdom, you can start to learn about certain floating treasure chests that are invisible. The only way to find them is two-fold: Talk to the old man in the basement of the Item Shop to get a Signal Ring, which will alert you when a chest is in the area you are currently in.

This can help you as a starting point to start jumping up around around the area to try and find the hidden treasure's location - but some can be pretty well hidden, sometimes requiring you to jump off something for extra height.

New to the Super Mario RPG Remake, not only is the Signal Ring given to you early in the game, but the spot where you'd normally get it in the SNES version - over in Nimbus Land - will now give you the Echo Signal Ring. This version will ping higher and higher the closer you get to the Hidden Treasure Chest!

Hidden Treasure Chests contain a multitude of items - from Mushrooms to Flowers, Frog Coins, and even rare special consumables to make you invulnerable for several turns!