System: Switch
Release date: November 17, 2023
Developer: Square Enix / ArtePiazza
Publisher: Nintendo
As a classic of the SNES era of RPGs, a remake of Super Mario RPG was a bit of a shock reveal earlier this year. Originally a collaboration between Nintendo and Square, it was a bit of a surprise back then as well. With a complete and from the ground up remake, we see new 3D graphics, crisp menus, and a bit of extra content for a game on Switch that many would say is one of the best RPGs of its time – but what about now? Let’s take a look at how Super Mario RPG fairs in today’s standards, as spoiler free as possible.
I consider myself pretty lucky to have grown up in the early 90s. As a child with access to an older sibling’s SNES, I soon found my elementary-school self completely enamored with the console’s impressive list of storied games with long play times. While the standard platformers, beat ’em ups, and puzzle games were standard faire that I easily cut my teeth on before I could read, literacy opened up a new realm of entertainment for me: the RPG. One of my first actual adventures happened to be Super Mario RPG, so cutting into the game felt incredibly nostalgic.
The last time I played Super Mario RPG, I was in middle school. I remember colorful pixel art and jumping around as Mario on a 3D plane, but also a battle system that would become the basis for combat in other games I’d play later on in life (like this year’s Sea of Stars, for example.) Exiting Mario’s house felt like visiting an old friend. Though there was a small change in the sign above the door, and small changes here and there for other artistic assets, it more or less felt like an HD upgrade to the game I knew and loved as a child, and like any child the first thing I did when in my house was jump on the bed and ignore the pressing issues I’d need to be attending to once I left on my journey.
Combat has also undergone some changes, and all for the better. The standard list of RPG combat choices will display upon entering battle, showing Mario’s ability to attack, use skills, utilize items, or other things. While this seems simple, new additions to the mix bring the combat up to the modern day. While the original release did reward the player for well-timed button presses by having characters deal out a little extra damage, players can now deal even more damage, see splash damage, and reduce damage of attacks when blocking to a point where damage can be nullified entirely with a barrier. Characters will still level up per usual and learn skills that utilize the shared Flower Power resource, and these skills can also take advantage of the timed presses in addition to a newly-included chain system that give buffs to various battle stats and taking combat to a more involved place than before with the reward for well-timed button presses stacking with those buffs.
In addition to the turn-based combat that is the backbone of these sorts of RPGs, Mario and his party can also find, buy, and equip various weapons along with armor and accessories. These items will help round out each characters stats for battle, with Mario being a more offensive character and focusing on physical combat. Players will want to play each character to their strengths, which being smart about equipment will really help with. Magical attackers and high defense characters will also exist in the party as you journey forth. Mario’s first new friend is Mallow, a strange looking “frog” creature that you meet in the Mushroom Kingdom on your very first visit. You encounter Mallow in his attempt to get back a stolen item by a local thief named Croco. Deciding to help out in getting the item back, the player will have Mallow join the team from that point onward.
Being one of your magically inclined characters, normal attacks won’t work very well early on with Mallow, and while I could choose to pump his low offensive capabilities upon leveling up, I knew from my first few plays of Super Mario RPG on the SNES that Mallow was more centered around magic attacks and that investing at all into physical capabilities wouldn’t really benefit the character in the long run. Would it make him able to deal out a little more damage from a normal attack or take less damage from a hit? Definitely, but I ultimately decided that that would be a complete waste of Mallow’s potential in battle. You’ll add other party members for a total of five, and though making those level up decisions isn’t exactly crucial to your enjoyment of the game, it will be useful towards making things easier at the end of this journey (which is around 14 or so hours if you do just a little bit of grinding, more if you want to chase all the post-game content, of which there is now more of).
Graphically, the game shines in both handheld and TV modes, and I’d definitely want players to experience whichever allows them the best experience of the soundtrack – these songs are redone from the classic versions but you can actually swap back to the original music if you’d like to enjoy the songs from the SNES release. Both versions of the soundtrack were handled by composer Yoko Shimamura – yes, she returned 27 years later to make sure that the widely-loved music would be handled with care, and it very much was.
With all the friendly features that work well for newcomers, old fans will also appreciate a few quality of life additions like fast travel on the world map, expanded storage, and the ability to save the game without the use of the once few and far between save blocks. And all new Scrapbook will have entries from your party in the Journal menu as the story progresses so you can check back on what you’ve already completed. On the battle end of things, you get access to Triple Attacks that make use of the team gauge and featuring short 3D cutscenes that are entirely new, adding a bit more flair to the flow of battle. Players will also find that a tool that used to be acquired in the late game is now available earlier, making it way more useful as you play through the story and possibly saving you a lot of backtracking later on.
So how does Super Mario RPG’s remake work out for modern gamers? Incredibly well. With its short run time and extra content (quests, equipment, and post game encounters) players will be able to romp through the main story in less than fifteen hours easily, but completing the bestiary and the rest of the available content can be several more play hours for those who enjoy completing everything a title has to offer. A New Game+ run will have harder post game bosses with different abilities, so players who like a challenge will find this incredibly engaging – I definitely did. For those on the opposite end who may find the turn-based combat and timed button presses a little too much, a new difficulty called Breezy Mode also was added to make the game easier on the player so they can enjoy the story without as much worry about levels and stat builds. This mode would likely appeal to those who have not played a turn-based RPG before, but still want to play through this romp in the Mushroom Kingdom.
Overall, Super Mario RPG’s remake is not only quite faithful, but feels like a wonderful modernization of a classic favorite. While it may not be 100 percent the same, the small changes that have been implemented do a great job at alleviating what used to be stressful for players and making the journey flow more smoothly. Being able to quickly move between previously visited areas, rechecking story progression in the Journal, and the new Breezy Mode all help make this as accessible an adventure as possible. If you never encountered this back on the SNES, I’d definitely recommend giving it a whirl on Switch.
The Verdict
As someone who often reminisces over summers spent devouring long, winding adventures on the SNES, Super Mario RPG’s remake did a wonderful job of preserving what made the game so well loved while simultaneously bringing it a bit more up to date with modern times. With its humor so well intact and a revitalized combat system that feels fun and involving, the Switch version is a fantastic way to experience the Mushroom Kingdom and its people and learn more about the world of Mario and friends.
Super Mario RPG copy provided by the publisher for the purposes of this review.
