I have played the original on SNES which actually became a best of both worlds for me. MARIO AND RPG??? Which eventually became my obsession for the Paper Mario games. And then eventually this was announced and I pooped my pants.
I finally gotten around playing this game, and what a faithful remake it was towards the original. Everything from the art style, gameplay, soundtrack, dialogue, and Easter eggs (??? a lil sus). Then the additional cutscenes they have added brings life into the characters introduced in the original.
The gameplay is mostly the same, i had the homies Mario Geno and Bowser being the powerhouses (SHOOTING STAR SHOT IS OP) and Mallow for sweeping and Peach for healing. The added 100% gauge attack made the game super duper easy and cheesey. I do not remember the original being like this, I was struggling. Anyways the two games are very similar and has the original style, and this could be a perfect beginner RPG to start off with.

14h 58m
6806 COINS / 63 FROG COINS
72/72 FP
13 CONSECUTIVE JUMPS (TRASH) / 60 CONESECURIVE ACTION COMMAND SUCCESSES
MOST DAMAGE DEALT 926
MARIO LV 30 ULTRA HAMMER / HERO SHIRT / JUMP SHOES (ALL ATTACK)
GENO LV 30 STAR GUN / STAR CAPE / JINX BELT (ATK AND MAGIC DEPENDING ON HOW MANY POINTS WERE FOR THE BONUS)
BOWSER LV 30 DRILL CLAW / HEEL SHELL / ZOOM SHOES (HEALTH)
MALLOW LV 30 SONIC CYMBALS / PRINCE PANTS / SAFETY BADGE (MAGIC)
PEACH LV 30 WAR FAN / ROYAL DRESS / SAFETY RING (ATK, JUST INCASE ONE OF THE POWERHOUSES GETS MERKED)

AND NO I DONT WANNA FIGHT CULEX CAUSE I ALWAYS GET CLAPPED.