Super Mario RPG review – a gorgeous re-imagining of a classic RPG adventure
Super Mario RPG is one of the most charming games I've ever played. Everything about the game, from the presentation, the humour and the characters had me enamoured for the entire runtime.
I’ll get this out of the way right now – outside of running around Mushroom Way for about 10 minutes – I’ve not played the original SNES edition of Super Mario RPG. I’ve admired it from afar, but until I got my hands on this remake, I didn’t understand what the hype was about. However, after playing Super Mario RPG on Nintendo Switch, I get it. It's an absolute joy.
Gameplay-wise, Super Mario RPG is almost identical to the original version, barring some changes to the battle system. The timing-based hits seen in the original (and carried over to later RPG spinoffs like the Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi series’) are subject to the biggest changes in this remake.
The most drastic change to this system is a new meter which fills up as you perform timed hits and blocks. Not only does this start a combo chain which will give your party buffs and fill said meter the higher the chain goes; but once it’s full you can perform a Triple Move which can drastically change the tide of battle in your favour. Another new wrinkle to the timing system is that now, getting that perfect hit will send out a shockwave which damages every enemy on the screen as opposed to just the one you’re targeting.
These are cool updates in theory, but I’m not sure if the difficulty of the original SNES game has been rebalanced to accommodate this. Super Mario RPG is a very easy game, with the majority of fights being a breeze. Even the harder fights (such as Culex or Jinx) only felt worse because they were long, rather than actually being difficult.
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I don’t know if my main team of Mario, Bowser and Mallow is somehow broken, or if the game is just really that easy. There are post-game boss rematches in there that scale up the difficulty, but it would’ve been nice if the base game wasn’t such a walk in the park. That being said, it does make the game an easy recommendation for newcomers to the genre, which I imagine is exactly what Nintendo was going for.
Fun Adventure, Cheerful Adventure
Outside of the easy gameplay, Super Mario RPG is an absolute joy from start to finish. In a year when Pikmin 4 was released, I would've been shocked that any game would be able to match that level of charm, but Super Mario RPG is a surefire contender. Everything from the way the characters look in the stubby art style, from the animation, the dialogue, and Yoko Shimomura’s phenomenal soundtrack is just wonderful. I’m not even kidding, my favourite part of the game is the level-up screen, which has all of the party do a little jig in celebration of who just levelled up.
Mallow and Geno are excellent additions to the Mario canon, both as unique party members and memorable characters. Both of them have their compelling storyline to carry them through this adventure, even more so than the familiar faces themselves. This is just as much their game as it is Mario, Peach and Bowser’s. Even the side characters like the absolute troglodyte that is Booster, and the Axem Rangers are far more memorable than most RPG bosses. This is mainly down to the sharp writing and humour.
New to the Nintendo Switch release are some full-blown cutscenes which are used sparingly throughout the adventure. These are typically used to introduce party members and bosses, but the best use of them is during the aforementioned Triple Moves. Each three-member lineup of the party has their own unique Triple Move which comes with its own gorgeous animation to boot. Plus it means you get to see more of Mallow; who is just the peak of ‘just a wee guy’ character design, I had a serotonin boost every time he showed up in a cutscene
As I mentioned in the Super Mario RPG preview, because Mario can’t speak, the cast tends to pantomime events to explain them to other characters. And while this joke could have gotten old for the amount of time it’s repeated – it got a giggle from me every single time it happened.
While more seasoned players may find the experience a bit too easy until the post-game, Super Mario RPG is a great introduction to the RPG genre for newcomers. It’s also just an incredibly charming game, and it's a joy to look at from start to finish.
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