By Isaac Espinosa

The original Super Mario RPG, released on March 9th of 1996, is considered by many to be one of Nintendo’s greatest, a timeless classic. After playing Mario’s first ever endeavor in the RPG genre, many walked away from the experience loving graphics, humor and simple yet effective gameplay loop. The title was also a collaboration between Nintendo and Square Enix, which at the time was one of the most iconic combos a video game fan could ask for. Needless to say, there was a lot of hype leading up to the Super Mario RPG remake for Switch, which was announced this past June and released on November 17th.

Apart from some minor tweaks to the dialogue, Super Mario RPG retains the original plot we see in so many Mario offerings: Bowser kidnaps Peach, and it’s up to Mario to save the day. Upon arriving at his keep and trouncing the Koopa King, Mario’s victory is cut short by a giant sword that plunges straight into Bowser’s Castle. Despite being launched away, Mario is persistent and returns to the castle only to find that not only are Bowser and Peach both gone, but the castle is now under the rule of an unknown enemy, a monster known as Smithy. With no way to access the castle, and Peach’s fate in the balance, it’s up to Mario to find the Princess and stop this new threat from conquering the Mushroom Kingdom. 

The overall themes of the story remain, as do its beats: preserving the hopes and dreams of the people of the Mushroom Kingdom, fighting against the mechanical monstrosities of Smithy’s army, maintaining peace versus fomenting chaos. The narrative is straightforward, but the characters give it life in the way they bounce off each other in whimsical ways. It was incredible to see all of the original characters from Mario RPG brought back to life with a fresh coat of paint, especially since the Mario RPG titles have limited themselves to a finite number of unique characters. Mainstays like Peach and Bowser have kept a lot of their hilarious interactions, and newer personages Mallow and Geno finally make a return. They’re playable, and it’s the first time in almost three decades that they’ve appeared, other than a few cameos in smaller games. We see Mallow’s development from a sad “frog boy” (yes, he thought he was a frog at one point) to the courageous Prince of the Clouds, and we see Geno, with his calm and collected attitude and epic presence on the battlefield. We also revisit Smithy’s machine-made army and its memorable generals such as Exor and the Axem Rangers, and the interesting side bosses outside of Smithy’s Army, like Booster or Johnathan Jones. Maybe there’s even a special superboss still waiting for you, just where he used to be. It’s almost as if the developers, up until this point, were still reluctant to introduce new characters, and wished to stick to their roots with basic enemies and mainline cast members. With the return of all these colorful characters, and with the same quirky designs we remember, Mario continues to be as wacky as always.

Aesthetically, everything about the remake is an absolute treat. The original’s top-down style still works, and it allows you to take in everything that has been updated or added. The models look amazing, and the worlds feel much more complete now that they have detailed backgrounds rather than the solid color backgrounds found in the original version. But the element of the remake that seems to have gotten the most amount of attention is the music by Yoko Shimomura, the game’s original composer. Shimomura is one of the most well-known video game music soundtrack artists of all time, and has worked on many different incredible games such as the Mario & Luigi series, the Kingdom Hearts Franchise, and Final Fantasy XV. She was the original composer for Super Mario RPG, and her return as the Remake’s composer means the already catchy tunes have been amplified to become greater aural delights. Some stand-outs for me included the remixes to “Fight Against a Somewhat Stronger Enemy” and “Nimbus Land.”

The battle system stays mostly true to the original Mario RPG, but there are some notable changes. Mario and the Gang take turns doing their usual attacks and special moves, and timing their action commands in order to do the most damage. When they are on the defensive, those action commands are instead used to block enemy attacks, and if you time it properly, you can manage to take zero damage. Keep in mind though, some spells still can’t be blocked, such as Light Bubble, which puts your party to sleep, or Petal Blast, which turns everyone into a mushroom and prevents you from attacking.

The differences become apparent in some of the new attacks at your disposal, and in changes to the action commands. First, you now have access to Triple Moves and Chain Bonuses. Timing multiple action commands in a row will give you a Chain Bonus, which will slowly build up a meter that, once full, allows you to unleash a powerful Triple Move. This is an attack that has all three current party members working together for greater impact on the battle. When paired with Mario, Bowser and Mallow can unleash elemental devastation, hitting enemies with tons of different kinds of damage, like fire and electricity. Pairing Peach and Geno with Mario grants them a shield that protects them from a single attack. Triple Moves are very useful when in a tight spot, and I almost felt like the game knows this.

Here’s why: In my playthrough of Super Mario RPG, it seemed as though enemies do a lot more damage if you don’t time your blocking correctly. Spells like Water Blast did substantial damage in the original; they seem to do even more now. This was most likely done to emphasize the importance of Triple Moves as a concept, since Chain Bonuses will also stack from blocking enemy attacks properly. But it seems a fair trade-off for having a stronger attack in your arsenal against enemies doing more damage if you fail to block. This means the game will still give you a rough time if you don’t know what you’re doing, despite action commands overall having a wider window to perform than in the original. 

The remake isn’t without flaws, though. Like the original, Super Mario RPG Remake is, in my opinion, too forgiving. With some post-game exceptions, the most difficult threats you’ll face can be taken down with ease if you come in with the correct strategy. You’ll likely have enough items throughout the game to feel safe during your journey, whatever threats you face.  That said, the game can definitely put you through the wringer, even when you are prepared. The Spells in particular are as dangerous as ever, with their damage and status conditions still being unblockable nightmares.

Mario RPG set a standard for Mario games in that it truly made Mario feel weird, partly for the diversity of its characters, locations, and story beats. The Mario RPG Remake not only keeps, but amplifies these positive aspects, which is what makes Mario’s adventures so iconic to fans of the franchise. While I wasn’t born when the game was initially released, I ended up playing it when friends introduced me to it and to Mario’s other games. Knowing how much this game meant to them, I understand how important it was for the Mario RPG Remake to nail every aspect. In my mind, there’s no doubt that the Mario RPG Remake is just as great as the original was all those years ago. And with the Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door Remake coming in 2024, it can definitively be said that Mario has returned to his former RPG glory.

Bronx native Isaac Espinosa is a Member at the New York Videogame Critics Circle. Along with being named the Circle’s first assistant Mentor, Isaac also published his first story in The Verge.

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