Super Mario RPG - Mushroom debuff is actually a forced Defend command

Channel:

Master Knight DH

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Published on January 18, 2024 10:00:47 PM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Jka263bc6E

Game:

Super Mario RPG (1996)

Duration: 3:55

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Here is something I was not expecting. The user heikin_fan_club on the Speedrun Discord reported to me that the Mushroom debuff actually has innate damage halving and did have that in the original. I checked. Lo and behold.

I'm using the original version of SMRPG to display that this has always been around, and it's actually great that the remaster kept it as well. If you're curious, the Mushroom debuff actually forces the afflicted character to handle the Defend command, which gives it a point of interest. In effect, the character still does nothing for interactive action, but they do take halved damage, granted if the Defense Up buff isn't already managing that first because that doesn't even stack with this. I have both Mario and Geno de-equipped to help exemplify this.

This is an interesting comparison to the Petrify debuff in Kid Icarus Uprising, which also immobilizes the afflicted character but has them take halved damage. I may as well provide the different advantages for the afflicted character between SMRPG Mushroom and KIU Petrify:

Super Mario RPG Mushroom:
-Recover 10% Current HP on each Turn
-Half-block damage halving still stacks

Kid Icarus Uprising Petrify:
-Damage defense buffs such as Super Armor still stack (modest; they'd have to be active before the Petrify affliction to begin with)
-Take no knockback (minor)
-Can still invoke Effect Recovery or Warp, assuming Interference is not jamming Power usage

Since Mushroom opted to have 2 straight up benefits to the afflicted character that matter (the taken damage halving and the HP recovery), I can safely say that Mushroom is the better designed of the two. The KB prevention for KIU's Petrify is virtually pointless since the Petrify victim is still immobilized and unable to bite back at somebody who can and will easily combo them, and if anything works against them by preventing the knockdown state's still better Mercy Defense. Interaction is better with Mushroom as well even if we ignore SMRPG Switch's improvements. And this is before going into key differences with core gameplay of both games.

The big takeaway is, game develoeprs, please balance your immobilization debuffs. People have not liked dealing with them, but at least with good counterbalances, they can have options.

My thoughts on Megasmiliax Switch are pretty much unchanged: the block balancing there is good, but the behavior script changes are a case of fixing what wasn't broken.

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