Super Mario RPG (the Snes original) wasn't just well made, it was creative and ambitious and mixed genres to make something unique.
Very little if any of my perspective on the original game comes from nostalgia, it's not just a memory or a bias for the past, maybe it was for many other people. but it isn't for me.
I replayed the original game just a few years ago and still enjoyed it as much as I had before even though it was probably the fifth or sixth time I've played through it, the game still felt compelling and I appreciated some aspects of it more than I had before.
So considering my appreciation for the original it's no surprise this remake was my most anticipated game this year, not just this year but in a long time.
The respect for detail and most of the original translation is commendable, and adding a new soundtrack to go with the new look was a good choice, and having an option to switch to the original music is something I wish every remake did. Most of the charm and character is unchanged and the look and sound is accurate if not better.
There's a lot that can go wrong with remakes (and it often does) so it's a relief that it turned out the way it did.
New features like post game content, bestiary, options menu, autosave, team attacks, and fast travel are a nice addition and though not necessary they improve things overall, I have no complaints with the these things. They did try to make it a smoother experience and these are all good additions. They are the kind of changes that remakes should have; additions that don't take away from the experience or appeal of the game, but are significant enough to make a positive change.
If only all the changes were like that.
The original Super Mario RPG has three distinct identities, Platforming and exploration, side games, and the battle system.
These three aspects are mostly separate from one another but compliment each other extremely well while breaking up the pace, this made the gameplay stand out from everything else and is part of what made it so great, it's packed with unique and creative scenarios.
After completing the remake, a lot of it lived up to my expectations. The remake does two of these aspects just as great, but the third...
As much as I can praise this remake, even if it still is mostly the same game, story, characters, and really fun side games and excursion with most of the style intact, there is something that really holds it back.
For the first 6 hours playing this remake something really didn't feel right. the game looks great, plays fine, and still has great music, and yet I didn't feel anything at all. I couldn't figure out why.
I've played many newer and deeper games in the genre since then, maybe I couldn't appreciate this anymore, I wondered if my standards had just changed since then, but that's not the case.
While I did enjoy several parts of the game, I thought I'd feel the same kind of joy and innocent wonder the original game still gives me but outside of a few moments that didn't happen.
During my entire time playing I had this feeling like the game felt so small, and insubstantial in odd ways I never experienced playing the original, yet it took the same time to complete and the maps are identical.
The game really is small.
Take Rose way or especially Booster pass for example; they're no more than a few small connected rooms, even several of the main areas aren't larger than most beginning dungeons in any typical RPG, I'd just never noticed before.
It took me awhile to realize why I wasn't enjoying it. It's not that the scope of the game had changed it was how long I was taking in each area.
Those places felt larger because I was fighting enemies for longer. needing to try and make an effort to avoid losing, using real strategy, items, special moves, ect made everything feel more substantial.
That's the main problem I have with this remake, by changing the battle system it affects the pacing of the game and makes most fights an afterthought, not only did I have less incentive to use all of my resources and instead just mindlessly attack and perfect guard, I was blowing through every encounter.
The splash damage, super attacks, and perfect guards make this easy already, but now party members can be swapped in a single battle, there's no tension when I can switch to peach to heal/revive any time, or use Bowser/Mallow to absorb damage and switch back.
There was a risk reward to choosing power over defensive characters, or sticking with magic types while trying to outlast a dangerous boss, most bosses didn't even get to use all of their attacks or have any chance at all to pose a threat.
And all of this happened in my playthrough where I forgot to buy gear for the first 4 main areas in the game, I was using starting equipment, and went out of my way to avoid most enemies and level ups and I STILL defeated bosses in half as much turns as the original game.
I won't call the original perfect, but every attempt to modernize it comes with some risk of taking something away, and over-correcting. Part of the appeal just isn't there anymore, it was already easy for the genre, that was the most significant flaw, instead of fixing that it's just worse.
My problem isn't just that it's different, I know if I didn't have the context for the original game I'd still think this remake is overly easy.
I have some mixed feelings on this game, some parts are better and really well executed, while the main part of the game is changed in a way I don't think benefits the game at all.
So it's not all bad, but its not as great either, I did end up having a good experience with it once I got to the sunken ship and onward and the post-game finally provided some real battles.
It's not really unpolished at all or poorly designed, despite everything there's enough here that it was worth my time, it unfortunately does not replace the original game, but it has a different appeal (added features and visuals) that the original can't replace either.
Still great for beginners, especially anyone that might have struggled with the original, there are still some fantastic aspects of this game.
Fans of the original or anyone interested should still try it out.
The developers had some respect/restraint with the source material. I don't think it's as "faithful" as everyone says but it's no disgrace to the original game either.
Very little if any of my perspective on the original game comes from nostalgia, it's not just a memory or a bias for the past, maybe it was for many other people. but it isn't for me.
I replayed the original game just a few years ago and still enjoyed it as much as I had before even though it was probably the fifth or sixth time I've played through it, the game still felt compelling and I appreciated some aspects of it more than I had before.
So considering my appreciation for the original it's no surprise this remake was my most anticipated game this year, not just this year but in a long time.
The respect for detail and most of the original translation is commendable, and adding a new soundtrack to go with the new look was a good choice, and having an option to switch to the original music is something I wish every remake did. Most of the charm and character is unchanged and the look and sound is accurate if not better.
There's a lot that can go wrong with remakes (and it often does) so it's a relief that it turned out the way it did.
New features like post game content, bestiary, options menu, autosave, team attacks, and fast travel are a nice addition and though not necessary they improve things overall, I have no complaints with the these things. They did try to make it a smoother experience and these are all good additions. They are the kind of changes that remakes should have; additions that don't take away from the experience or appeal of the game, but are significant enough to make a positive change.
If only all the changes were like that.
The original Super Mario RPG has three distinct identities, Platforming and exploration, side games, and the battle system.
These three aspects are mostly separate from one another but compliment each other extremely well while breaking up the pace, this made the gameplay stand out from everything else and is part of what made it so great, it's packed with unique and creative scenarios.
After completing the remake, a lot of it lived up to my expectations. The remake does two of these aspects just as great, but the third...
As much as I can praise this remake, even if it still is mostly the same game, story, characters, and really fun side games and excursion with most of the style intact, there is something that really holds it back.
For the first 6 hours playing this remake something really didn't feel right. the game looks great, plays fine, and still has great music, and yet I didn't feel anything at all. I couldn't figure out why.
I've played many newer and deeper games in the genre since then, maybe I couldn't appreciate this anymore, I wondered if my standards had just changed since then, but that's not the case.
While I did enjoy several parts of the game, I thought I'd feel the same kind of joy and innocent wonder the original game still gives me but outside of a few moments that didn't happen.
During my entire time playing I had this feeling like the game felt so small, and insubstantial in odd ways I never experienced playing the original, yet it took the same time to complete and the maps are identical.
The game really is small.
Take Rose way or especially Booster pass for example; they're no more than a few small connected rooms, even several of the main areas aren't larger than most beginning dungeons in any typical RPG, I'd just never noticed before.
It took me awhile to realize why I wasn't enjoying it. It's not that the scope of the game had changed it was how long I was taking in each area.
Those places felt larger because I was fighting enemies for longer. needing to try and make an effort to avoid losing, using real strategy, items, special moves, ect made everything feel more substantial.
That's the main problem I have with this remake, by changing the battle system it affects the pacing of the game and makes most fights an afterthought, not only did I have less incentive to use all of my resources and instead just mindlessly attack and perfect guard, I was blowing through every encounter.
The splash damage, super attacks, and perfect guards make this easy already, but now party members can be swapped in a single battle, there's no tension when I can switch to peach to heal/revive any time, or use Bowser/Mallow to absorb damage and switch back.
There was a risk reward to choosing power over defensive characters, or sticking with magic types while trying to outlast a dangerous boss, most bosses didn't even get to use all of their attacks or have any chance at all to pose a threat.
And all of this happened in my playthrough where I forgot to buy gear for the first 4 main areas in the game, I was using starting equipment, and went out of my way to avoid most enemies and level ups and I STILL defeated bosses in half as much turns as the original game.
I won't call the original perfect, but every attempt to modernize it comes with some risk of taking something away, and over-correcting. Part of the appeal just isn't there anymore, it was already easy for the genre, that was the most significant flaw, instead of fixing that it's just worse.
My problem isn't just that it's different, I know if I didn't have the context for the original game I'd still think this remake is overly easy.
I have some mixed feelings on this game, some parts are better and really well executed, while the main part of the game is changed in a way I don't think benefits the game at all.
So it's not all bad, but its not as great either, I did end up having a good experience with it once I got to the sunken ship and onward and the post-game finally provided some real battles.
It's not really unpolished at all or poorly designed, despite everything there's enough here that it was worth my time, it unfortunately does not replace the original game, but it has a different appeal (added features and visuals) that the original can't replace either.
Still great for beginners, especially anyone that might have struggled with the original, there are still some fantastic aspects of this game.
Fans of the original or anyone interested should still try it out.
The developers had some respect/restraint with the source material. I don't think it's as "faithful" as everyone says but it's no disgrace to the original game either.