Mario’s relationship with RPGs seemed to be on an unofficial break since the release of Sticker Star. The Paper Mario series has slowly moved from turn-based battles that give you experience points and party members into something of an open-world adventure game. Meanwhile, the Mario and Luigi series has been dormant ever since their development team, AlphaDream, was shut down. Since then, fans have been clamoring for more Mario RPGs, only really getting held over by the Mario + Rabbids series, and at best, tolerating the new direction the Paper Mario series was taking. However, with the recent release of the Super Mario RPG remake and the Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door remake on the way, it seems like Nintendo is once more toying with the idea. Judging from how well this game was, it seems to be a good start to a revival era for Mario RPGs.
It’s the start of the same old story; Bowser kidnaps Peach, and Mario invades the castle and beats him. However, a giant sword soon drops from the sky, crashing into Bowser’s Castle and splitting the three across the globe. Mario soon finds out that this sword is Exor, a sign that Smithy and his gang have arrived in the Mushroom Kingdom; a group of sentient weapons that want to take over the world. Not only that but during this sword dropping down onto the castle, a place called Star Road, a land where wishes from the Mushroom Kingdom come true, was shattered. Now Mario has to not only stop Smithy but also go around the world to get seven star pieces to repair Star Road.
This is an RPG, with you and the enemies taking turns to attack one another. However, you’re not just hitting the attack button over and over again and using spells whenever an enemy is weak to it. The game has something that most other games don’t, and it’s called action commands. They have you hitting the action button in time with your attack, increasing your power during the attack. If you manage to hit the action command perfectly, you’ll not only do more damage but also provide damage to all the other enemies in the field, allowing you to quickly take out larger crowds that would normally overwhelm you. The timing for regular action commands has been increased, but if you want the damage for all the on-screen enemies, the timing is just as strict as the original game.
Alongside Mario, you’re going through this adventure with 4 other characters for you to play as. The cloud fellow, Mallow, serves as a mix of mage and healer, being able to heal you and do some elemental damage. The ambassador of Star Road, Geno, is an attack mage and can boost others to have them deal more damage while taking less damage with successful action commands. Koopa King Bowser is a giant with a lot of health and physical attacks but doesn’t have good magic attacks, even if he is capable of causing status effects. The Mushroom Kingdom princess, Peach, meanwhile serves as the healer, being able to fully heal the party, save them from status effects, and even revive any dead party members.
In terms of combat, the game has a lot of variety in the enemies you fight and how you deal with them. Some enemies will be resistant to one or multiple forms of attacks, while others will be weak to them. You’ll be able to figure out these weaknesses by having Mallow use his Thought Peek move, letting you see just what the enemy is weak to and their remaining health. alongside what they’re thinking if you time your action command just right. With each successful action command in a row, not only does a team gauge fill up but depending on who is currently in your party, your stats also rise. This encourages you to try out new and old characters depending on what enemies and situations you find yourself in. Once you have 3 different party members, you’ll be able to use your special move, each one dealing either a lot of damage against some enemies or giving yourself a boost, be it shielding you from an attack or restoring your health and reviving all partners. The effect also differentiates depending on just what characters are out at the party. If you need to change characters during the fight, you can do that when the turn is on a character besides Mario. With all these tools for fighting enemies and bosses, you’re always going to be busy thinking about how to most effectively fight and use your characters.
However, this does come with a drawback; battles can become more or less trivialized if you go around and keep fighting as many enemies as you can. When you start, your attacks will be able to barely not be able to finish off enemies and have to survive their attacks. Soon enough, if you can go around and never back down from a fight, perfect action commands can clear rooms of enemies before your enemies can even attack, or even with just one attack. You can even use action commands against enemy attacks to reduce damage, and if you do it perfectly, you can take no damage whatsoever. It can feel like the game has become too much of a walk in the park, and the challenge can only be found in the post-game boss fight rematches. It’s nice that there can still be some challenging moments, but it takes a while to get there.
Thankfully, the base game is still a blast as always. The comedy of the original game is still there, giving this entry in the Mario series its unique flair. The updated graphics and music managed to bring the original visual atmosphere and soundtrack of the SNES game to a new and heightened level, savaging and improving it. The locations of the original game still stand out and are just as lovely as they were back in the day, and the way the characters are designed still looks and feels as fresh and creative as they were back in the day. These characters give off a new and fun life in the Mushroom Kingdom, being nice to interact with and see how their personalities are. Heck, even Mario has more personality here than in other mainline games (when was the last time you saw Mario ready to throw hands against a kid because said kid bested Mario with a doll the previous night?).
The overworld is still a blast as ever to explode. There is some light platforming here and there, but the real standout achievements are all the side quests you can get wrapped up in. From going into debt to a hotel to become a bellboy, playing hide and seek against a boss and his minions behind some curtains, to even composing a melody with a conductor using tadpoles as notes; there are plenty of vast and different ways for someone to have fun here. Of course, the side-quests are all still a blast as well, be it unlocking a special item that unlocks a bonus brutal boss or helping a man grow a giant plant to get some powerful armor and weaponry, the game is always rewarding you for stepping outside the box of normal thinking and just have a blast looking around and jumping all over the world. Some rewards can be equipment to increase your stats, and others can just be a funny piece of dialogue telling you to get off someone’s head.
In the end, the Super Mario RPG Remake was just what the Mario RPG line needed; a fresh new breath of life and a showcase that people still love the RPG roots the series has. The combat, even if it feels too easy at times, is still a blast to take part in and to level everyone up. The updated animations, graphics, and music are more than worth the entry fee to play this game. The bonuses of the monster list and descriptions of them, alongside the fight rematches in the post-game only add fuel to how great it is to see this game get brought back into the spotlight. The writing and character designs are all still as great as they were back when it was first released onto the SNES. It’s a fantastic remake and a great time for both returning and newcomers. Now, if only we can get the Mario and Luigi series to make a comeback like this…
