Review: SUPER MARIO RPG is Clean and Brilliant
One of the biggest games to release in November was Super Mario RPG. Originally released back in 1996 for the SNES, the game became a fan favorite that led to the Paper Mario series. Now, Nintendo has brought the game back with a fresh coat of paint for the Nintendo Switch. Nintendo was kind enough to supply me with a digital code, but all thoughts below are my own. If you like what you read, you can purchase your own copy of Super Mario RPG from GameStop (affiliate link), Humble Store (affiliate link), or wherever you like to buy your Switch games.
Mario, Bowser, and Peach partner up to repair the wish-granting Star Road in this approachable role-playing adventure
Team up with an oddball group of heroes to save Star Road and stop the troublemaking Smithy Gang. This colorful RPG has updated graphics and cinematics that add even more charm to the unexpected alliance between Mario, Bowser, Peach, and original characters Mallow and Geno. Enter (or revisit) this world of eccentric allies and offbeat enemies in an RPG for everyone.
I have a bit of a cute story when it comes to Super Mario RPG. Back when my wife and I were dating, she said she really loved the game but didn’t have a copy. I went ahead and bought a copy for the Wii Virtual Console and gave it to her when I proposed. That said, I tried playing the game once via the Wii Virtual Console, had a decent time with it, but then life happened and that’s all the time that I got to spend with it. I always wanted to get back to it though. I’m glad I have that chance now.
Because it will be brief, I want to talk about the aspects of Super Mario RPG that I am not a fan of. In combat, you can boost your attacks and abilities by pressing A at the right time. To help with that, they display a fun little exclamation icon. I like all this, but the icon doesn’t always pop up. I don’t know if it’s a thing where I was getting it too many times or something else, but there are a lot of times when it doesn’t pop up which is frustrating. That’s it. That’s the negativity.
Super Mario RPG has been a real blast to play. The updated graphics are absolutely killer! One of the reasons I fell off the SNES version on the Wii Virtual Console was that everything looked a little blurry and this remake is crisp and bright. It looks stunning and runs fantastic. There are some weird moments where the framerate drops, particularly with the cutscenes in the beginning. It’s a little weird, but doesn’t ruin the experience. Everything feels so lively and fun, it’s fantastic.
Meanwhile, in the audio department, the game sounds incredible. The music is top notch, the sound effects are spot on, there is nothing bad to say about it. Plus, if you’d rather listen to the original SNES tracks, you can toggle that in the settings! This does warrant questioning why they don’t let you toggle the graphics to match the SNES ones, except that probably would’ve been a lot more work for something only a handful of gamers would use.
In case you’re not familiar, Super Mario RPG involves turn-based combat like Final Fantasy. You use a team of three characters from your roster which maxes out at five. Each character in the battle can attack, use a special action (basically magic attacks), use an item, or ‘other’ (defend, flee, etc.). Combine this with the aforementioned timed hit button presses and it really feels engaging. I waffle on whether or not I like turn-based combat but thankfully, Super Mario RPG engages me, does not drag on, and feels fun. Part of that does have to do with some of the attacks though. For example, Bowser can get a weapon where he literally throws Mario at the enemy. It is incredible!
Super Mario RPG is a fantastic game. The only reason I would not recommend it is if you really do not like turn-based combat. As I mentioned, the combat in here does not feel like a slog like other RPG titles so you really need an aversion for me to not recommend it. The story is fun, the graphics are lively, the audio is spot on! Also, a lot of the dialogue is really well done. I highly recommend this game if you have a Nintendo Switch.
