Super Mario RPG – Switch

Super Mario RPG (Role Playing Game) is a remake of the classic Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars from 1996 on the Nintendo SNES.

It is a very beginner friendly RPG that sees the player travel with an ever-expanding party across the Mushroom Kingdom to repel the invading Smithy Gang who invaded while destroying the Star Road and took over Bowser’s Castle.

Pro:

Graphical update.

Easily the biggest upgrade in this remake is the change from pre rendered 3D models like we saw back in Donkey Kong Country to now true 3D models using the Unity engine.

It’s not just the character models that have had the visual update but the whole world has, as seen with Bowser’s castle in the first part of the tutorial as the world has lovingly recreated to visually look the same as the SNES classic but updated for the modern age.

As now the player can see new environmental details with beams of light from the winds, the glow of the lava peeking out from underneath the spike covered doors to even later environments, where there are now accurate reflections on the floor that were not possible to create on the SNES version.

Frame rate.

Super Mario RPG aims for a constant 60fps as the new baseline for the game and for the most part it does hit that target and only really suffers when there is a lot of particle effects on screen, but even then, it is only temporary and then returns back to 60fps when in the world or battle.

Cut scenes.

The game has new exclusive cut scenes that are now 60fps to match the frame rate of normal gameplay and also have the same chibi art style as the game. To make sure there are no frame rate drops the cut scenes are now video files that play seamlessly and don’t have any long loading times.

The new Triple Attack mechanic introduced in this remake has a pre rendered cut scene play out that changes upon which characters are in the active battle when chosen, and these always look fantastic and a real highlight, so I would recommend players change up their party regularly to see these new attacks and their useful benefits in battle.

Music.

New remixed music from the original creators but still has the option to choose the original SNES music at any time from the menu, so the player isn’t locked to the original or the new remixes only.

I do wish that upon completing the game that there was a jukebox available on the menu or in Mario’s house so players can listen to these songs at their leisure, as the soundtrack is just that good.

Accessibility.

New easy mode, called Breezy Mode, which lowers enemy HP and reduces the amount of damage the player receives. There are more ease of gameplay options like an expanded inventory so players don’t have to keep deleting items or equipment all the time.

Post game.

You can refight most important bosses, including the hidden boss in Monstro Town, that will definitely test players and require the player to be near the level cap of 30 with good equipment, so they aren’t constantly being wiped out.

Con:

Platforming.

An issue that seems more prevalent in this remake is that I found Mario and party falling off platforms a lot more than in the original, even when automatic dashing is turned off.

No hard mode.

While the game received a new easy mode with Breezy Mode, there wasn’t a new harder difficulty introduced. This is a shame as the game is now even easier than ever with the new triple attacks and free area of effect damage when timing the action commands perfectly.

Conclusion:

A faithful remake that keeps all the charms of the original while updating it for a modern audience with new conveniences.

It’s an ideal first RPG for younger players to introduce them to the genre of RPG as it is still a very straightforward game that can be finished in 10 hours and that doesn’t require any grinding to finish the game.

Score: 8.0