Take a look at any Best Super NES RPG list and you’ll see a veritable bounty of genre favourites. Chrono Trigger. Final Fantasy VI. EarthBound. Terranigma. Dragon Quest V. The fact that Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars often finds itself on those lists is a real testament to its status as a classic.
In 2023, we’re getting the chance to relive the origins of Mario’s RPG adventures in Super Mario RPG, a Switch remake of the 1996 original, which saw Nintendo and Square team up to blend Mario’s colourful platforming charm with traditional turn-based RPG mechanics. And, after playing through the first three hours of this remake, we’ve been reminded of just why Super Mario RPG is often considered not only one of the best SNES RPGs but one of the best RPGs ever.
What struck us about this 2023 remake in the opening hours is just how incredibly faithful the game is to its 1996 original. From a look-and-feel perspective, this is essentially the same title we first played all those years ago. The visuals have of course been entirely redone, but the 3D top-down perspective and the squished-down character models are straight out of the SNES original. The new visuals and colours look fantastic, and the true vibrancy of the Mushroom Kingdom (and neighbouring locations) has been brought to back to life. If we’re to use a cliché, this is exactly how we remember it looking back in 1996. Whether it retains that feeling throughout is yet to be seen, but the opening hours are extremely promising.
Of course, not everyone is going to be returning to Super Mario RPG, and this rerelease gives many a chance to experience Mario’s RPG origins for the first time. Early on, this remake proves that it's an exceptional gateway into the genre – there are plenty of tutorials, the controls are simple, and it effortlessly blends Mario’s platforming prowess with all of the tricks of the RPG genre.
this is exactly how we remember it looking back in 1996.
No time is wasted throwing you into the action. The first few minutes see Mario running through Bowser’s castle to save Princess Peach, after all. Things don’t quite go to plan, but they also don’t go in the way you’d expect, either. This is an RPG that trims all of the fat from the genre – there’s no complicated story about crystals, personal growth, or defeating God, you don’t need to grind, and the early game’s pacing is extremely brisk. But it’s also stuffed full of charm and humour.
Super Mario RPG is really, really silly. Mario communicates through gestures and re-enacts events to hilarious effect, and NPCs interact with him as though he’s a celebrity, tricking him into jumping and freaking out when he’s talking to them. That lighthearted tone also carries through into the pacing: you'll go from a town to a dungeon to a short minigame within minutes, and every single aspect of the game feels daft or fun. Rolling down the river on a barrel is surprisingly challenging, it turns out. But we were grinning from ear to ear all the time.
Ignoring those minigames, the basic gameplay is split into two separate styles. On the field, you can explore, talk to NPCs, and find treasure chests, which are floating in the air like boxes which Mario needs to jump to hit, or – in dungeons – fight enemies. A truly 3D Mario game was still a few months away in 1996, but Super Mario RPG’s 3D-esque environments let you look around towns, walk into houses, and jump in eight different directions. The remake retains that picturesque box-like feel to a tee; each location and screen is small, but now you can use the full 360 degrees.
If you’re coming back to the game, then a lot of the magic will be spotting those minor tweaks and extra details. The Mushroom Kingdom is full of Toads – some have facial hair, while others have actual hair, and the attention to detail in the grass, water, and brickwork is beautiful. Rose Town, the second town in the game, also gets a similar treatment. If you’re new, however, then the way the early game breaks up the locations – from towns to dungeons – is what will stand out the most. Early locations tend to have a handful of buildings, a shop, and an inn, to explore, and each place is easy to navigate. Even the dungeons are fairly linear, with the Kero Sewers and Forest Maze being two locations that require a bit more puzzle-solving or navigation.
Super Mario RPG is really, really silly.
Then there’s the combat. If you’ve played Mario & Luigi or Paper Mario, then a lot of the elements will be familiar to you. But if you’re completely new to Mario RPGs, then Super Mario RPG is probably the best place to start.
Characters can do a standard normal attack or use a Special – skills that use Flower Points (like magic) – to do damage. There’s an added level of interaction with the Action Command, where if you time an extra button press perfectly, you’ll do extra damage. You can also guard against enemy attacks when they return the favour.
Combat is also where the most new additions have come in, and so far, they slot in perfectly to the gameplay loop. If you time your Action Command just right, not only will you do extra damage, but you’ll also do splash damage to the rest of your opponents. If you get really good at this – and it’s not as easy as it sounds – then turn-based encounters become breezy, fast-paced affairs that are over in seconds. And while this doesn’t factor in much during the early game, depending on the characters in your active party, you’ll get a Party Buff if you manage to chain perfectly timed hits together.
There are also Triple Moves, a brand new attack that sees all three of your party members team up to deal devastating damage to a single enemy (or group). Throughout fights, you’ll charge up a meter in the bottom-left corner of the screen by timing your attacks or blocks perfectly. Once the meter is at 100% you can unleash a dazzlingly animated Triple Move featuring all three characters in your party. We’ve only seen Mario, Mallow, and Geno’s so far, but like everything else in the game, we’re sure they will all put a smile on our faces.
All in all, the first three hours of Super Mario RPG’s Switch remake have reminded us of just how delightful the original was. The SNES game is timeless, and so far, the Switch remake retains that level of excellence that we experienced in '96. If it manages to retain the charm and joy all the way through, all while sprinkling in a few little touches throughout, then we reckon every Mario fan – of Super Mario RPG or the character in general – will have their wish come true come 17th November.
Comments 84
Oh, this is great news. I prefer rpg to the paper mario series (and that's not to take anything away from paper mario.) Hope we see a sequel
I'm hoping after this and the TTYD remake we get a Paper mario 64 remake, it is my favorite Mario RPG and a top 5 game for me
Exactly the impression I got, an extremely faithful remake, but with a couple of addition to the combat system, extras and incredibly beautiful visuals... can't wait to replay Super Mario RPG thanks to it!
Absolutely wonderful news!
I hope they also give us the OG version... along with the N64 Virtual
starting today im officially PUMPED for this game! probably the last SNES game i ever rented, as i believe i already had a PSX at this point. I never got to beat it or even get very far but i loved it!
Honestly, never heard each letter of SNES or NES pronounced individually until I started watching internet videos. Growing up, we just pronounced it as one word. I know it's an acronym, and I know this doesn't matter at all. Just an interesting observation.
Now all we need is a mario and Luigi remake
I can't wait for this game!
Despite growing up during the era (I was born in '81), I never did get the original game and only ever played a little bit via emulation. Plus, by the time it was released, I was more into PC gaming (and eventually got an N64).
I guess, in the end, it worked out as I get to experience "for the first time" in a more modern form.
This game came out 5 years ago on the SNES Classic for $20 more and with 20 more SNES games. I think a release like this would have made a lot more sense with a game that wasn't made accessible in recent years. Or you know.... just make a new game. Clearly they spend time and energy making this from the ground up. Why didn't they just make a new story with the same characters and come out with Mario RPG 2. Oh well, I'm sure plenty of people will enjoy it just not me. I guess I'm also sure that like me some of the 5,300,000 people that bought a SNES mini won't feel the need buy this game again even if it is cool that they kept the feel of the game close to the original masterpiece. And I'm sure there are others that missed out on the SNES classic. Really my hope is that they are trying to gauge interest for a sequel... but to be honest I am very interested... but very uninterested in just a rerelease with new graphics.
@GrailUK I'm the opposite, I prefer Paper Mario because of the badge system etc., but still absolutely love Super Mario RPG and would gladly take a sequel!
@Papery0shi Couldn't agree more, 64 is also a fantastic game and absolutely deserving an official remake (although luckily in the meantime a fan called MasterKillua is making a texture pack for it)!
@Princess_Lilly Really hope all the games that are getting remakes on Switch will eventually get the original versions added to NSO just like Link's Awakening did.
I've never ever played the original.
As someone who loves Mario games (both 2D and 3D) but isn't particularly a fan of RPG games at all I'm unsure whether I'll like it or not
I am looking forward to playing this over the holidays.
It's a great way to know what's perfect is gonna remain perfect
I'm going to use my last voucher to get it day one. Maybe this time I'll see the true ending. I stronglt recommend this game. It's funny, beautiful and so fun! A true gem!
That’s good to read. It already seems to be faithful just from the footage alone. A little dialogue has been changed in spots but whatever. The game itself still looks and sounds like such a joy to play. As long as it’s been since I played this on Wii VC, it’ll still feel like new in addition to all of this. People who are truly new are in for a happy, delightful treat.
I’m really looking forward to this. It sounds like a perfect game for the holiday/Thanksgiving season.
I did't play the original. I was in my last year of college and was more vested in Madden and fighting games to pick this up. Now I'm really looking forward to it.
@JohnnyC It's the opposite for me. Never heard as one word growing up; always letters. I think it'a one of those regional oddities.
I'm excited for this game, and hope it comes with some fun preorder bonuses.
Man, November 17th cannot come soon enough!
SE is on a roll this year, this game and Star Ocean 2 R, never thought I'd see the day
@TG1 I wonder what the pre-order bonuses would be if that did happen. I know GameStop would have something lame like pins that are just PNGs of the characters.
Such a special game this is! Glad to see the faithfulness to the remake. Can't wait to see the Secret Final Fantasy boss!
Very m7ch looking forward to this. But in general I would prefer collections with QOL improvements and new entries in a series.
With Paper Mario no longer an RPG, and the Mario & Luigi series now defunct,
I expect they're seeing how this does with a view to making a sequel on the Switch successor.
This was such an awesome game when I got it back when it released on the SNES. I’ve gone back and beaten it a few times, so it seems like an inevitability that I’ll pick this up at some point. The switch re-invigorated my love for RPGs, so I still have quite a few to get through before going back to this. Great to hear it retains the charm from the original.
I like how when you start your adventure in this game, you actually traveling clockwise around the world going back to where you started. Anyways I already got this game pre-order but probably won't be able to get to it until I finish Sea of Stars, Baten Kaitos 1 & 2, and Star Ocean: The Second Story R first. Ooh so many RPGs this holiday.
I wish it were not a "faithful remake", the last time I went to play the SNES version I didn't like it much
@JohnnyC I had the exact opposite experience. I never heard it pronounced "Sness" or "Ness" until I watched Alex on these videos. We always pronounced each initial (an initialism rather than an acronym, like SCOTUS, where the letters are designed to be pronounced as a single word).
When I first heard Alex say, "Sness," I had NO idea what he was talking about, until I listened a few times.
Can’t wait to play this!
I loved the ness game, but never finished it (for some reason) i think i just had to many games at that time.
I am thrilled for this one! Love good remakes.
I seriously hope we will get a new one Mario RPG 2 on the Switch 2.
I wish it was more of a remake with some added features and bonuses instead of just a remaster like this.
@BobaTheFett Probably where the kids where I grew up got it. If GamesMaster said it, I'm taking that as the King's English.
Preordered already, can't wait!
This and Paper Mario: TTYD are both day one. Fantastic games.
@alanahagues
Does the game allow you to turn off the accessibility features in combat and just play it how it was on the SNES version?
I love this game, but it was never too challenging, and I worry it will be far too easy with the additional ways to speed up the combat.
This looks fantastic, but as someone with the SNES cartridge I'm not seeing any reason to buy this. If there were some extra dungeons or new playable characters (maybe Booster?) I'd be tempted, but if there's absolutely nothing new...
It looks great from what I've seen. Looks similar to the Mario & Luigi games, so I'm excited to see where those games got their inspiration.
Sounds like we can expect speedruns to keep to the current 3-4 hour window. Interesting
@KevinLo9 There's no option to turn them off, I'm afraid. Gotta stick with them or impose some of your own challenges, I suppose!
@mikegamer well squaresoft made the original game they did not merge with enix yet..
I’ve always loved this game but never been one to scream for Geno in smash or even have a remake of this game.
And I think it’s because I never imagined how good it could be.
I’m so excited to play this, and equally excited for my partner to play it as he’s never played the original.
This really looks so good, and I wish Nintendo would lean harder into marketing it to new players!
@Quarbit You need to buy it though so they can get your money and know that you want a sequel. You can resell it after if you don't want to play it.
Didn't play this back in the day, I will give the original an hour on snes classic and if I'm enjoying it, pre order this.
can’t wait to replay this and cry myself out of nostalgia. It was Mario RPG and Pokemon what made me such a freak of this genre
@GamingFan4Lyf I did play it back then, and even have it on the Mini SNES as well, but it's been so long I have played it, it might as well count as a first time playing.
And I am looking firward to it.
I really wish I got on with turn based combat-it's just never clicked with me. I just attack attack attack and I don't get it... anyone got any suggestions for a good first stepping stone into the genre?
Looks likes I'll have to get this so I can read Bowser saying 'Fungar'.
@JohnnyMind I think Paper Mario is better myself. So many characters, funny scenario , and paper puns.
Too bad that level of creativity, freedom with characters, and story got less and less over time.
This looks really good. Never actually got around to playing this game originally, so this will be a new experience for me.
@FawfulsFury We already got those on 3DS
@Johnno137426 I am not massive into Turn based either, but I love the Mario RPG and Paper Mario style combat (before stickers and paint etc). It might not feel like much, but those extra timed button presses when you attack really make it a lot of fun and less traditional turn based than you might expect.
I honestly think much of the art here looks like a B-team made it. It all just looks a little bit off from where it should be imo. Not convinced.
Having said that, I think the small version of Mario in Super Mario Bros. Wonder looks wrong too, and no one else seems to have even noticed, so I don't suppose it matters at all.
But, I guarantee there's a least a couple of people out there who get exactly what I'm talking about.
Original is quite possibly my favorite game of all time so I cannot wait for this. It's not even been that long since I played the original, did a run of it in like July, but still very eager.
I wish they'd have used the original font. Not the same size as the original, just shrunken down for modern displays. But if that's gonna be my only complaint, this'll be one of my favorite games of the year.
@Exerion76 This is Nintendo. They have a severe crisis just giving out discounts.
@johnedwin Your point being?
@Exerion76 Nice critique, I bet you can do better /s
@mikegamer The classic "Do better" whenever someone critiques anything.
Always fun.
Fantastic game, all who’ve never played this are in for a treat! Let’s hope this’ll mean we get a Mario RPG 2 🤞🏼
@JohnnyC weird, complete opposite for me, I can't stand the non letter pronounced way of saying it
I’d love a special edition… but there’s none right?
Don’t get the comments dismissing this because a straight emulation exists on SNES Mini or Virtual Console. The Switch has about 100 million more users. They’d all never play this game if it didn’t come out now, and a modernization is going to attract so many more players than just adding the unchanged original to the online service.
It does look nice, and your review was also funny
I have never played this game before so really looking forward to it. Christmas shaping up to be so much fun!!
I’m curious how the SNES Switch controller handles this game.
@Bratwurst35 The classic lack of rebuttal. also fun. Cope and seethe.
@Johnno137426 Well, i don't think there's anything out there will get you hooked. Turned Based is the core of the genre. I sympathize, as there's only a handful I enjoy.
The best one for myself is Yakuza: Like a Dragon. I would recommend you play it, but there is a difficulty spike that requires alot of grind.
I stuck it out because the story and characters were so refreshing that I pushed through. Hopefully in the squeal they refine the system so it's not so grind.
If you find a story or plot that you enjoy, that might help you deal with the gameplay.
I want to be excited for this and TTYD remake, but me and RPGs…. It usually just doesn’t work because I get bored. It is a genre I really wish I could enjoy.
I think I want the combat in RPGs to be strategic and from my experience it seems to not be (or I am doing it wrong). Also maybe it is just supposed to be mostly about enjoying and being curious about the story/world/characters. Maybe that is the mindset I should try.
Curious if anyone else used to feel this way and now enjoys them.
This looks charming, and I'm glad it's a faithful remake. I will grab this one, but I'm in no hurry. I've played the original, and I have a plethora of other games waiting lol.
I'm grateful that it keeps the good old frame rate of the SNES original. Wish it was more common to double the frame rate instead of cutting it in half while acting like a nice remake has been created. I've used one of my vouchers and can't wait to play this in couple weeks!
@FawfulsFury I LOOOOVVVEEEDDD the 3DS entries, even Paper Jam because in addition to having Mario on one button and Luigi on another, you now had a third for paper Mario so it felt like it added an extra layer of difficulty. Plus, the sounds in that game were so soothing if you liked paper and stationary. I’m nerdy so it really hit my ASMR nerves.
…Might have to play that again this holiday…
@Quiet2down Hopefully if this and the TTYD remake sell well they'll combine the best parts of older and newer Paper Mario games for the next one... which is why I encourage anyone interested in these games and the series to buy them!
@Member_the_game I'd give it a try (or at least try the original through emulation before buying this) as it's much simpler than most RPGs and action commands add, well, more action to the combats.
@Johnno137426 Super Mario RPG or the first Paper Mario which is on NSO are good starting points as they're much simpler than usual RPGs while Action Commands make the battles more interactive.
@jon128 Less so Super Mario RPG, but TTYD can be quite strategic if you want to, but it isn't required at all and you can simply play these for the story/world/characters, in fact that's what I like about them first and foremost!
@Zeroo It is a remake as it has clearly been remade from the ground up and it has several additions (also @Quarbit): as far as we know it has a couple of new combat options, switching between the new and original soundtrack, a monster list and postgame boss rematches - including a completely new one judging by the footage.
@KevinLo9 I can see where you're coming from, but I feel that it shouldn't change the difficulty that much, not to mention that thanks the added "postgame" this remake should be way more difficult than anything in the original except for the hidden boss.
Here’s my own devilish little preview:
One of the all-time great video game properties handled by one of the best RPG houses of the era, but SMRPG is not a great RPG. And it didn’t need to be. It was a great novelty in it’s time, but these days a Mario RPG should be an exceptional one
Has anyone done a comparison of the text/translation? I actually really liked Ted Woolsey's take on the localization back on the original SNES title - I hope they haven't largely re-written it.
@JohnnyC That's the exact opposite of my experience. No one in my area, ever, even once, called it a "Snes" (one word) — it was always S-N-E-S.
(Honestly, a lot of us back in the day would also just call it "The Super".)
I didn't know Snes (one word) was a thing until literally like maybe 2020.🤣
@Andy_Witmyer I think someone commented somewhere here on Nintendo Life that unfortunately changes have already been spotted, not sure to what extent though.
@Cheez what does you not being interested in a re-release with new graphics have to do with this?
@JohnnyMind
Thanks for sharing your thoughts on it. I think there is some potential for me to enjoy RPGs with the right mindset of focusing on the story, world and characters. I did enjoy Chrono Trigger (DS version) when I played it 4-5 years ago. I didn’t finish it though, I think I got to the final boss and thought I was going to need to grind a bunch to beat it and stopped.
I have enjoyed a couple of tactical RPGs as well and in the case of Triangle Strategy I enjoyed the story and not just the combat.
For Mario RPGs specifically I think I need to pick the one I want to try because I think there is a good chance that even if I like the first one I play I won’t necessarily want to play another one for quite a while. Recently I’ve played a little of Paper Mario on NSO and could maybe see myself getting into it.
I guess another thing that is hard for me with many RPGs is that they are long and I tend to prefer shorter games in general.
@jon128 Most Mario RPGs should be even more so your cup of tea then since they're generally shorter than RPGs usually are!
@LikelySatan I imagine you read the article but likely you missed the part that says "What struck us about this 2023 remake in the opening hours is just how incredibly faithful the game is to its 1996 original. From a look-and-feel perspective, this is essentially the same title we first played all those years ago."
@Cheez the point of the article is that it's very faithful to the original. Your point was that it is just the original w better graphics. I imagine you read the article, but likely missed the part that goes over the changes and additions they've made here.
@120frames-please Man I want to use those vouchers as I have quite a bit of eshop cards but I like getting the box and game-card...
So my eshop cards sit in dust just waiting to be used...
Being very faithful to the original does nothing for me. I can still play it on the SNES mini and on the Wii U VC.
Remaster of a classic makes those whom missed on previous consoles like me happier it came back. But sometimes this is what it takes to make a classic again a classic game.
@JohnnyC ....it absolutely SHOULDN'T matter and it's completely a phonetic me thing but...my soul twitched imagining people pronouncing SNES and NES as a word lol
I think the big thing keeping me from getting the Switch version is the fact that I got it on Wii U Virtual Console right before the service shut down.
Show Comments
Leave A Comment
Hold on there, you need to login to post a comment...