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Super Mario RPG (2023)

All Armor in Super Mario RPG

By
Ben Chard

As with all good RPGs, gear plays an important role in your effectiveness in battle, and nothing more than armor. Super Mario RPG is no different, and with five characters to plan for, you may be wondering what said armor does for each of them and where you can find it. For the most part, armor is a linear progression, each new shop will offer an upgrade, but there are a few outliers to this rule so keep reading to learn more.

Mario’s Armor

The Hero Suit is Mario’s best armor.

Being the titular character of the game, you’ll be forced to keep Mario in the party forever, not even being able to switch him in and out during battle. As such, he should always be your priority when it comes to armor upgrades. Additionally, one of the special pieces of armor (see the Special section) requires you to control Mario.

Name Stats Location
Shirt Def +6, M.Def +6 Mushroom Kingdom Shop, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Thick Shirt Def +12, M.Def +8 Rose Town Shop, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Mega Shirt Def +18, M.Def +10 Moleville Shop, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Happy Shirt Def +24, M.Def +12 "Marrymore" iconMarrymore Shop, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Sailor Shirt Def +30, M.Def +15 Sea and Sunken Ship Merchants, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Fluffy Shirt Def +36, M.Def +18 Nimbus Land Shop
Fire Shirt Def +42, M.Def +21 "Barrel Volcano" iconBarrel Volcano Merchant, "Croco" iconCroco at "Bowser's Keep" iconBowser’s Keep entrance
Hero Shirt Def +48, M.Def +24 "Croco" iconCroco at "Bowser's Keep" iconBowser’s Keep after Wizakoopa

Mallow’s Armor

The Prince’s Pants is Mallow’s best armor.

Everyone’s favorite cloud joins Mario early in the adventure at the Mushroom Kingdom. When it comes to armor, Mallow’s are the various types of pants he can wear, and you’ll find Mallow in your party often if you’re interested in using his Thought-Peek ability to complete your monster list. When it comes to defenses, Mallow’s armor starts with less Magic Defense than Mario’s before offering the same increases as you reach the last few.

Name Stats Location
Pants Def +6, M.Def +3 Mushroom Kingdom Shop, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Thick Pants Def +12, M.Def +6 Rose Town Shop, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Mega Pants Def +18, M.Def +9 Moleville Shop, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Happy Pants Def +24, M.Def +12 "Marrymore" iconMarrymore Shop, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Sailor Pants Def +30, M.Def +15 Sea and Sunken Ship Merchants, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Fluffy Pants Def +36, M.Def +18 Nimbus Land Shop
Fire Pants Def +42, M.Def +21 "Barrel Volcano" iconBarrel Volcano Merchant, "Croco" iconCroco at "Bowser's Keep" iconBowser’s Keep entrance
Prince Pants Def +48, M.Def +24 "Croco" iconCroco at "Bowser's Keep" iconBowser’s Keep after Wizakoopa

Geno’s Armor

The Star Cape is Geno’s best armor.

This unique Pinocchio-inspired hero will join the team once you reach the end of the Forest Maze area. Geno is useful for a number of reasons, such as buffing a target’s Attack and Defense with Geno Boost. When it comes to defenses, Geno’s increases are much lower than that of Mario’s, making him much someone who can die much easier in the more difficult battles (such as the post-game rematches).

Name Stats Location
Mega Cape Def +6, M.Def +3 Moleville Shop, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Happy Cape Def +12, M.Def +6 "Marrymore" iconMarrymore Shop, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Sailor Cape Def +18, M.Def +9 Sea and Sunken Ship Merchants, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Fluffy Cape Def +24, M.Def +12 Nimbus Land Shop
Fire Cape Def +30, M.Def +15 "Barrel Volcano" iconBarrel Volcano Merchant, "Croco" iconCroco at "Bowser's Keep" iconBowser’s Keep entrance
Star Cape Def +36, M.Def +18 "Croco" iconCroco at "Bowser's Keep" iconBowser’s Keep after Wizakoopa

Bowser’s Armor

The Heel Shell is Bowser’s best armor.

Probably the biggest shock of all, "Bowser" iconBowser teams up with Mario and friends in Super Mario RPG. You’ll need to wait until Booster Tower before he joins, but once he does, you’ll notice he’s a force to reckon with. Bowser’s abilities are nothing to write home about, but he’s strong and naturally resists some status effects, making him a perfect tank. When it comes to defenses, Bowser’s increases may look low, but this is due to his natural high defenses, making him much someone who can withstand a lot more damage in the more difficult battles.

Name Stats Location
Happy Shell Def +6, M.Def +3 "Marrymore" iconMarrymore Shop, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Courage Shell Def +12, M.Def +6 Monstro Town Shop
Fire Shell Def +18, M.Def +9 "Barrel Volcano" iconBarrel Volcano Merchant, "Croco" iconCroco at "Bowser's Keep" iconBowser’s Keep entrance
Heel Shell Def +24, M.Def +12 "Croco" iconCroco at "Bowser's Keep" iconBowser’s Keep after Wizakoopa

Peach’s Armor

The Royal Dress is Peach’s best armor.

The final member of your globe-trotting party is the Princess herself. You’ll have to play through half of the game, up until you finish the events at "Marrymore" iconMarrymore, for her to join you. Peach is the natural support character of Super Mario RPG, and as such, is ideal for the Lazy Shell once you obtain it (see the Special section). When it comes to defenses, Peach’s increases mirror that of Mario’s.

Name Stats Location
Lovely Dress Def +24, M.Def +12 Default
Sailor Dress Def +30, M.Def +15 Sea and Sunken Ship Merchants, Seaside Town Shop (after star)
Fluffy Dress Def +36, M.Def +18 Nimbus Land Shop
Fire Dress Def +42, M.Def +21 "Barrel Volcano" iconBarrel Volcano Merchant, "Croco" iconCroco at "Bowser's Keep" iconBowser’s Keep entrance
Royal Dress Def +48, M.Def +24 "Croco" iconCroco at "Bowser's Keep" iconBowser’s Keep after Wizakoopa

Special Armor

Beyond each character’s set of armor, they can upgrade throughout your adventure, there are three pieces of armor that can be equipped by all characters, and as such, they have more features than that of the regular armor. Outside of the Work Pants, which are purchased, the other two are rewards from Side Quests.

Name Stats Effects Location
Work Pants Atk +10, Def +15, Spd +5, M. Atk +10, M. Def +5 Moleville Shop
Super Suit Atk +50, Def + 50, Spd +30, M. Atk+50, M. Def +50 Nullifies status effects and elemental damage Speak to "Chow" iconChow in Monstro Town after performing 100 Super Jumps with Mario
Lazy Shell Atk -50, Def +127, Spd -50, M. Atk -50, M. Def +127 Nullifies status effects and most elemental damage Rose Town Gardner after handing over the Seed and Fertilizer

Super Suit Location in Super Mario RPG

As you can see from the table above, the Super Suit offers the ultimate in stat boosts and, on top of it, complete protection against both status effects and elemental damage. It is, however, one of the toughest tasks in the game that not all players will be able to pull off.

When you head to Monstro Town, you’ll find a "K-9" iconK-9 by the name of Chow in one of the houses and speaking to him will reveal your current record of Super Jumps. Once you reach 30, Chow will hand over the incredibly useful Attack Scarf but persist and hit the max of 100 and you’ll obtain the Super Suit. There’s not much more to say about this other than practice makes perfect.

Lazy Shell Armor Location in Super Mario RPG

The Lazy Shell, both weapon and armor, are the best in the game.

When you look at the Lazy Shell on paper, you may be initially drawn to the -50 in all attack stats and Speed, but look beyond that and you’ll notice a massive boost in both Defense and Magic Defense that dwarfs even the Super Suit. Having this equipped makes a lot of battles so much easier and it makes the perfect companion for Peach, as you won’t be using her to attack anyway.

To obtain it, you need to find both the Seed and Fertilizer items and bring them back to the gardener in Rose Town. The first item, the Seed, can be obtained by defeating the Megasmilax in "Bean Valley" iconBean Valley as part of the main story.

For the Fertilizer, you’ll have to finish the events at Nimbus Land and defeat Valentina, then walk on the invisible path in the right-hand corner to find a "Beezo" iconBeezo who will hand over the Fertilizer. When given to the Rose Town gardener, you’ll have a beanstalk you can climb to reach two chests, both containing Lazy Shell (one as Mario’s ultimate weapon and the armor).

More Mario RPG Guides

There’s more than just armor that you can equip in Super Mario RPG, and if you’re looking for information on what the best accessories are or where you can find the ultimate equipment, look no further than the pages below!

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Guide Information
  • Publisher
    Nintendo
  • Platforms,
    Switch
  • Genre
    RPG
  • Guide Release
    17 November 2023
  • Last Updated
    28 November 2023
  • Guide Author

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Super Mario RPG is a wonderful and whimsical remake of the 1996 classic Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. You’ll need to assemble a group of heroes (starting with Mario of course!) to embark on a quest to repair the wish-granting Star Road! Along the way you’ll encounter enemies from the Smithy Gang, and you’ll unlock access to a whole cast of nostalgic playable characters, from Princess Peach to Geno the puppet to the adorable Mallow.

This guide includes everything you need to make your way through the Super Mario RPG remake. Whilst this game is a faithful remake of the original, the game developers, ArtePiazza, have also included some fun post-game match-ups for those who are looking for an extra challenge and a departure from the OG game! We’ve got walkthroughs for the following:

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