Video: Super Mario RPG Gets Another Side-By-Side Graphics Comparison (Switch & SNES)

...Do people still watch GameXplain even? I kinda stopped a long time ago after a lot of the main members left due to...coughs...reasons. lol

This honestly just proves why I don't think a remake was necessary. The original art direction holds up well and I don't think the remake translates the qualities that made that art direction so great and it looks very inconsistent and in some cases uncanny as a result.

I didn't think it was a necessary comparison. It's not like that 2.5 HD remake of DQ3 that's in development, but that's just my 2 cents.

@Joeynator3000
I stopped right around the same time

@Joeynator3000 Literally stopped right after that lol.

I'm loving the look of the remake, though it is distracting how they added a carpet to Johnny's room in the overworld then it isn't there in the battle. Like why bother then?

All we need is a Mario & Luigi remake and we will have the trifecta of Mario RPGs all remade on switch.

@blindsquarel All for it... that would be rad.

@tekoii
If only there was a game in the series that was heavily flawed but had tons of potential to be great. If only.

@Joeynator3000 Same, I never really went back after that

@Joeynator3000 I watch their videos every now and then but I've mostly replaced them with NintendoLife's YouTube channel or SwitchUp.

@Joeynator3000 Add me to the pile of people that left after that fiasco.

@N00BiSH If they used the original pixel art graphics for this re-release then the game will look very ugly. It only looks good on video due to filters, upscale, and edits. The actual game you get on console will look nothing like the video. Nintendo made the right move to remake this in HD for the modern audience, HDTV just can't do justice to the original.

@Serpenterror That's what they said about the Crash remake

It looks pretty.
I have never played that game before.
I will get the game for sure.

I generally love SNES games and graphics but just found the original SMRPG too grating to push through, giving up getting stuck in the first real dungeon. I'm usually not too much of a stickler for graphics... but this could definitely use the refresh, IMO. Hope I can give it a fairer shake this way, because I could definitely already start to see what people loved so much about the original (and how much it paved the way for every Mario RPG that followed.)

Uh what happened to gamexplain that made people stop watching?

Cant wait to play this gem.

@Serpenterror It wasn't pixel art rather it was pre rendered 3D graphics like DKC and at the time it was considered a big deal. This is graphically a very faithful remake but with much higher resolution.

@Greatluigi The Good Vibe Gaming guys left claiming they were in a toxic environment due to being overworked.

@Joeynator3000 What happened? What reasons?I must be living under a rock haha

Yup, the graphics are different than the one made 27 years ago.

Yeah, what happened to GameXplain? I have lost some "episodes".. I know some have left but I don't know the reasons..

@MrGawain My thought entirely. Why even bother with a side by side comparison of the same game? Both have been made using completely different game engines almost three decades apart. I wonder if we'll get a side by side comparison of OG MK & MK1.

I like the old graphics more. The music gets a nice touch up though.

SNES looks better!
I never played the original, most likely will also not play this one.

Would be so great if they included the original as a surprise bonus.

Why give us the original on NSO when Nintendo can charge full price for a bare bones remake.
Nintendo has become more anti-consumer than EA at this point.

@Joeynator3000 I'll watch any video that catches my eye. It helps that I don't really follow online drama.

hmm, seems about 50/50 to me overall which version looks better.

@blindsquarel They already remade Mario & Luigi, two of them, a few years ago, for the 3DS.

@Andy_Witmyer Here ya go: https://www.vice.com/en/article/bvx555/former-workers-allege-youtube-gamexplain-was-exploitative-workplace

The reason I could never get into Mario RPG was because the graphics were so blurry I could never tell what was even happening. Normally graphics are just a bonus for me because gameplay is what matters most, but omg. Mario RPG's original graphics give me a freaking head ache. I know they were a technical achievement on par with the original Donkey Kong Country... but I'm glad we can have intelligible modern day graphics instead.

@Joeynator3000 I also quit watching at that time, but it wasn’t really because of the controversy. I just didn’t click with the new personalities. I tried Good Vibes Gaming since that’s the people I liked more, but I didn’t really click with their videos either. They definitely have a different flavor from the old gamexplain stuff I think. So I just moved on.

@MSaturn GVG I watch every now and then, still fun to listen to Jon every now and then. lol

@KingMike
Not on switch, plus Partners in time still needs a remake.

Like others have said, I have tried playing this game 3 separate times, and just could not get into it because of the old SNES graphics. Therefore, I'm looking forward to playing this on the Switch.

The funny part is, a lot of commenters are saying that the graphics still hold up. Contrast that with the remake of Paper Mario Thousand Year Door, where I found the "older" graphics to still be perfectly fine, and in some ways more charming, but the majority of people seemed to feel were better with the update. To each their own!

Ugh. Added cinematics, just no. I'm loving some of the upscaled graphics like the toy box in Booster's Tower and the revamped OST from Yoko, but this is getting close to fixing what wasn't broke. They're adding that splash damage from timed hits which is going to make an already breezy game candy coated. I'll still buy it but this game only ever needed the graphical facelift.

The remake looks pretty generic.

@Croctopus
All Super Mario RPG bosses are a joke in terms of difficulty compared with other Square games like Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest.

I'll be too busy with Star Ocean 2R to dabble in baby's-first-RPG remake come November. Mario games are just too mind numbingly easy.

I hope it sells extremely well so we can dream of Super Mario RPG 2.

Ugh... they went the route of modern popularity and made the text tiny. I don't understand why text-heavy games do that! I play on TV, and have seating that I'm more than 2-inches from the screen. I'll admit I'm not a young sprite, but can games have bigger text for Christ's sake? Why make it so flipping small?!

@blindsquarel Hmmm... are you say talking about Partners in Time? That's the only one I really heard had some issues.

@tekoii
Yep, it has so much potential.

I remember playing it a bit before.. I've only really beat Superstar Saga. Yea, with the whole Partners in Time thing, seems like it would have a lot of ideas that can come from it. It's nice that we have NSO+ for Saga at least. All the GBA and N64 stuff really makes me wanna upgrade.

Yeah I’m gonna pass on this one. When the original was released it was groundbreaking in its collaboration between Nintendo and Squaresoft AND it was one of the best looking games of its generation. Landmark gaming. Now it’s aged 30 years and looks… fine. I’m happy for those who are happy about it, but personally I think it’s a mistake.

The remake looks slick but it only makes me want to play the original

@Don : I don't really agree. I had more challenge on Super Mario RPG's bosses than those of Final Fantasy VI, Live A Live or Chrono Trigger. For example, Axem Rangers or the final boss took me several tries to beat them.
Moreover, at that time, Dragon Quest games were not Square games yet.

Graphics aside, I hope they tweaked the gameplay enough to make it a fair challenge, and not the cakewalk the original was.

The addition of new, more challenging boss re-encounters is cool to be sure, but more than optional extra challenge I want a consistent, meaty experience throughout.

I remember playing a romhack version that tweaked encounters, stats and the like, which made the experience feel both fresh and challenging, without falling into the pitfalls of fan-made BS challenges.

I can't wait to give this one a shot though, for nostalgia mainly.

@Joeynator3000 Ootl; what happened?

@Joeynator3000 I genuinely don't know what happened to Gamexplain, they used to be so big and suddenly weren't anymore... can you fill me in?