Super Mario RPG – 1995 Developer Interviews (Patreon)

http://shmuplations.com/supermariorpg/

This October ’95 interview with Super Mario RPG director and then-Square employee Chihiro Fujioka sheds some light on the collaborative process and the division of duties between Square and Nintendo, with a particular focus on expressing the “essence of Mario” within the parameters of seemingly dissonant structures like isometric game maps and conventional RPG tropes. Interestingly, the “timed hit” battle system, perhaps the most innovative and Mario-like conceit, was something they were still holding close to their chest just months before release.

Along with some brief comments from other developers including composer Yoko Shimomura, I’ve appended some additional reflections from Fujioka from a 2014 interview; despite spending most of his post-Square career working on Mario RPG titles, he still regards the original as his crowning achievement.