Growing up, I had the original SNES version of this game on the Wii Virtual Console but because I was pretty bad at RPGs I didn't really get very far, so for pretty much everything past the first 'chapter' of this game this was my first time playing Super Mario RPG and... well, what can I say, I really liked it!
I'm generally not the biggest RPG person (which I guess is a little ironic since my favorite game is technically an RPG) but I certainly had a really good time with this game pretty much all the way through. The story isn't necessarily anything particularly amazing but I definitely found myself intrigued by what was going on, and the characters definitely feel full of life, each of them with their own personalities and backstories that unfold throughout the game whether they be the main characters, NPCs or the antagonists. There's a lot of fun humor here, with moments like the characters, even on Mario's end where it's mostly told through visual gags despite him being a mute antagonist throughout the game (especially with him just... changing into other characters randomly at times lol).
The gameplay is also just a lot of fun. As the title suggests, taking the RPG forumla and adding a Mario spin which the game does in some clever ways, such as adding some platforming sections here and there with Mario still being able to jump of course. The options you get for weapons too often provide some variety for visual gags in battle (Mallow can equip Cymbals and a Golf Club as a weapon which is amazing), and with the game offering a few different playable characters that you can unlock you do get some nice variety in options for things like Weapon and Armor. I also really like the whole system involving timed button presses in order to either defend yourself and reduce the damage you receive when an enemy attacks, or elevating your attack when it's your turn.
The Switch version also adds some accessibility/difficulty features on this note - giving an indicator on timing to help ease the player into this mechanic, and I do gotta say this certainly helped me understand the timing of my defense and attacks which I probably wouldn't have pulled up as well if I were just playing the SNES version. Plus I like the addition of the "Triple Move" feature - where once you fill up your 'Action Gauge' you can pull out a move that changes based off of your team combination - which gives some nice variety and incentive to experimenting with different characters and whatnot.
I think my only real gripes with this game were that it did get a bit... weirdly cryptic at times. Nothing too major, but a few times I did run into stuff like the Dry Bones enemies in which they're immune to normal attacks but the game doesn't indicate this (at least in battle) so until I figured that that out (by searching online) I was left confused as to why these random Dry Bones enemies seem to have a lot of health that I couldn't chip away from until I filled up my gauge for the Triple Move. Also the vine jump in Bean Valley that's extremely tough until you realize there's an invisible platform on one of the beanstalks that only shows up when you hit it.
Admittedly, up to this point, the only other Mario RPGs I've played all the way through were Bowser's Inside Story and Dream Team (even though I made decent progress in the other M&L games), but playing this may have inspired to finally beat some of the others that I haven't before. Definitely interested in the Thousand Year Door remake whenever that comes out.
I'm generally not the biggest RPG person (which I guess is a little ironic since my favorite game is technically an RPG) but I certainly had a really good time with this game pretty much all the way through. The story isn't necessarily anything particularly amazing but I definitely found myself intrigued by what was going on, and the characters definitely feel full of life, each of them with their own personalities and backstories that unfold throughout the game whether they be the main characters, NPCs or the antagonists. There's a lot of fun humor here, with moments like the characters, even on Mario's end where it's mostly told through visual gags despite him being a mute antagonist throughout the game (especially with him just... changing into other characters randomly at times lol).
The gameplay is also just a lot of fun. As the title suggests, taking the RPG forumla and adding a Mario spin which the game does in some clever ways, such as adding some platforming sections here and there with Mario still being able to jump of course. The options you get for weapons too often provide some variety for visual gags in battle (Mallow can equip Cymbals and a Golf Club as a weapon which is amazing), and with the game offering a few different playable characters that you can unlock you do get some nice variety in options for things like Weapon and Armor. I also really like the whole system involving timed button presses in order to either defend yourself and reduce the damage you receive when an enemy attacks, or elevating your attack when it's your turn.
The Switch version also adds some accessibility/difficulty features on this note - giving an indicator on timing to help ease the player into this mechanic, and I do gotta say this certainly helped me understand the timing of my defense and attacks which I probably wouldn't have pulled up as well if I were just playing the SNES version. Plus I like the addition of the "Triple Move" feature - where once you fill up your 'Action Gauge' you can pull out a move that changes based off of your team combination - which gives some nice variety and incentive to experimenting with different characters and whatnot.
I think my only real gripes with this game were that it did get a bit... weirdly cryptic at times. Nothing too major, but a few times I did run into stuff like the Dry Bones enemies in which they're immune to normal attacks but the game doesn't indicate this (at least in battle) so until I figured that that out (by searching online) I was left confused as to why these random Dry Bones enemies seem to have a lot of health that I couldn't chip away from until I filled up my gauge for the Triple Move. Also the vine jump in Bean Valley that's extremely tough until you realize there's an invisible platform on one of the beanstalks that only shows up when you hit it.
Admittedly, up to this point, the only other Mario RPGs I've played all the way through were Bowser's Inside Story and Dream Team (even though I made decent progress in the other M&L games), but playing this may have inspired to finally beat some of the others that I haven't before. Definitely interested in the Thousand Year Door remake whenever that comes out.