Super Mario RPG (2023) is a great remake of a great game. It's a short, but sweet turn-based RPG that's a solid introduction point to the genre.
Super Mario RPG is a game that's always had a history with me. Listening to Rawest Forest and hearing YouTubers praise Super Mario RPG as a kid was part of my gateway into Smash speculation and retro gaming, a gateway that ended up having a massive snowball effect on my life and helped me develop the taste in games that I have now. Though, if you'd asked me this time last year, it wasn't a game that would rank anywhere near my top favorites. In the near-decade since I first played Super Mario RPG (1996), I had convinced myself that the game wasn't as good as it had been held up to be. It was a belief that had been bolstered by years of surrounding myself with Smash fans, creating a negative stigma that associated "Mario RPGs" with "bland RPGs for people who dislike most other RPGs".
I'm happy to announce that I had convinced myself wrong. Playing this game felt like animorphing into Anton Ego during that one Ratatouille scene. Super Mario RPG is still as charming and fun as when I first played it. In fact, having gotten properly into the RPG genre in the years since I first played it, when my only proper RPG experiences were Pokémon and the Mario and Luigi games, I believe that I appreciate it much more than I did back then.
This is not a good RPG for those who are seeking a challenge, or a particularly engaging story with gripping or interesting characters. What it is, instead, is a great, short RPG for anyone who wants a deeply charming and highly replayable turn-based game to play on-the-go. This remake is gorgeous, with a great remastered soundtrack courtesy of the legendary original composer Yoko Shimomura, and every detail shines with love and affection towards the original classic that is downright lavish.
It's simple, but fun. It's short, but sweet. It's Super Mario RPG, not the way it was, but the way that you remember it.
Super Mario RPG is a game that's always had a history with me. Listening to Rawest Forest and hearing YouTubers praise Super Mario RPG as a kid was part of my gateway into Smash speculation and retro gaming, a gateway that ended up having a massive snowball effect on my life and helped me develop the taste in games that I have now. Though, if you'd asked me this time last year, it wasn't a game that would rank anywhere near my top favorites. In the near-decade since I first played Super Mario RPG (1996), I had convinced myself that the game wasn't as good as it had been held up to be. It was a belief that had been bolstered by years of surrounding myself with Smash fans, creating a negative stigma that associated "Mario RPGs" with "bland RPGs for people who dislike most other RPGs".
I'm happy to announce that I had convinced myself wrong. Playing this game felt like animorphing into Anton Ego during that one Ratatouille scene. Super Mario RPG is still as charming and fun as when I first played it. In fact, having gotten properly into the RPG genre in the years since I first played it, when my only proper RPG experiences were Pokémon and the Mario and Luigi games, I believe that I appreciate it much more than I did back then.
This is not a good RPG for those who are seeking a challenge, or a particularly engaging story with gripping or interesting characters. What it is, instead, is a great, short RPG for anyone who wants a deeply charming and highly replayable turn-based game to play on-the-go. This remake is gorgeous, with a great remastered soundtrack courtesy of the legendary original composer Yoko Shimomura, and every detail shines with love and affection towards the original classic that is downright lavish.
It's simple, but fun. It's short, but sweet. It's Super Mario RPG, not the way it was, but the way that you remember it.