I adore the original release of this game and it will likely always be in my top ten. When I saw the announcement trailer, my heart skipped a beat and then, almost immediately upon seeing it in action, I felt very worried.
Unfortunately, the worries were warranted. The game does has plenty going for it: a wonderfully nostalgic feel, beautifully remade music by the same composer Yoko Shimomura , and a battle system that has aged like fine wine. Timed hits and blocks make RPG battles consistently fun and the same holds true with this remake.
The downside comes with almost everything else. It's far, far too easy. The original SNES was never a crazy challenge, but this version has made it significantly less so with attacks that seemingly do more damage coupled with a "splash" effect that damages other enemies when a timed hit is done. It makes most battles trivial and boss battles an absolute joke. On top of that, a new mechanic is added where a gauge can be filled to 100% and a triple move can be preformed with the three party members currently on the field. It's very powerful and, despite being flashing and fun to look at, I simply stopped using it because it did TOO much damage in a game that's already a pushover.
On top of that, you can switch party members mid-battle AND the item inventory is insanely huge. Previously, party members could not be swapped during a fight, calling for strategic planning beforehand. Item management was crucial as space was very limited, but I didn't even think about items once because whenever you have any overflow, it just automatically sends them to a box for you to pull from later. I never even opened that box once.
The art direction is an odd one for me. The updated graphics are nice at a glance, but in practice, they feel somehow worse than the original. The animations are stilted, which I understand is a way to evoke the SNES, but it feels cheap and undercooked here. On top of that, cutscenes have been added for key plot beats or openings to certain boss fights. These, too, feel underwhelming, as half of them don't have basic sound effects until they sometimes occasionally do, making it feel rushed and second-rate.
The game also desperately needs a harder difficulty. A lot of these quality of life improvements would go great with a game that challenged you a bit, but other than two fights, both of which take place in the same area, almost nothing requires more than passive button pressing if you know how to time attacks and blocks. There is a post game boss challenge, but it's somewhat tedious and absolutely too little too late.
Super Mario RPG is a unique and amazing game on original hardware. It has an excellent cast of characters, a fun and engaging story, and a battle system worthy of praise. As a Switch remake however, it simply doesn't do enough to bring any of that into the present and makes notably poor choices in dumbing down an experience that could have used more challenge, a better art direction, and some fun changes and updates. It truly is faithful to a fault, for better and worse. I had some fun and the nostalgic bliss certainly rushed over me, but it's grossly undercut by some glaring and unignorable issues.
I can and will wholeheartedly recommend the game, but only the original.
Unfortunately, the worries were warranted. The game does has plenty going for it: a wonderfully nostalgic feel, beautifully remade music by the same composer Yoko Shimomura , and a battle system that has aged like fine wine. Timed hits and blocks make RPG battles consistently fun and the same holds true with this remake.
The downside comes with almost everything else. It's far, far too easy. The original SNES was never a crazy challenge, but this version has made it significantly less so with attacks that seemingly do more damage coupled with a "splash" effect that damages other enemies when a timed hit is done. It makes most battles trivial and boss battles an absolute joke. On top of that, a new mechanic is added where a gauge can be filled to 100% and a triple move can be preformed with the three party members currently on the field. It's very powerful and, despite being flashing and fun to look at, I simply stopped using it because it did TOO much damage in a game that's already a pushover.
On top of that, you can switch party members mid-battle AND the item inventory is insanely huge. Previously, party members could not be swapped during a fight, calling for strategic planning beforehand. Item management was crucial as space was very limited, but I didn't even think about items once because whenever you have any overflow, it just automatically sends them to a box for you to pull from later. I never even opened that box once.
The art direction is an odd one for me. The updated graphics are nice at a glance, but in practice, they feel somehow worse than the original. The animations are stilted, which I understand is a way to evoke the SNES, but it feels cheap and undercooked here. On top of that, cutscenes have been added for key plot beats or openings to certain boss fights. These, too, feel underwhelming, as half of them don't have basic sound effects until they sometimes occasionally do, making it feel rushed and second-rate.
The game also desperately needs a harder difficulty. A lot of these quality of life improvements would go great with a game that challenged you a bit, but other than two fights, both of which take place in the same area, almost nothing requires more than passive button pressing if you know how to time attacks and blocks. There is a post game boss challenge, but it's somewhat tedious and absolutely too little too late.
Super Mario RPG is a unique and amazing game on original hardware. It has an excellent cast of characters, a fun and engaging story, and a battle system worthy of praise. As a Switch remake however, it simply doesn't do enough to bring any of that into the present and makes notably poor choices in dumbing down an experience that could have used more challenge, a better art direction, and some fun changes and updates. It truly is faithful to a fault, for better and worse. I had some fun and the nostalgic bliss certainly rushed over me, but it's grossly undercut by some glaring and unignorable issues.
I can and will wholeheartedly recommend the game, but only the original.
SurprisingSnake
4 months ago
Actually I think it might be available on Nintendo Online 🤔